I'm a 21yearold boy, and this is my story.
     A month after I graduated from high school in 2004, I was coming home from swim practice and was
involved in a car accident.I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma (昏迷) for over two months at
Prince Georges Hospital.
      I died eight times during my coma and I couldn't talk or communicate when I woke up.Walking was
never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries.Just like my body, my dreams were shattered  (破滅). But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from living my dream.
      After 14 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to learn how to talk, eat, walk, shower, and live
independently again.When I was out of hospital, I still had to go to outpatient therapy (門診治療) in
Waldorf, Maryland.After spending a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby  steps to walk on my own.
It was a miracle (奇跡) that I  could walk again, but I wanted to prove that I could not  only walk, but
run.When it came true, I wanted to get  back in the pool again.After a few lung tests, I was able  to go in
the pool a little bit each week.After a few months  of swim training, I began my freshman year at St.Mary's College of   Maryland and became a proud member of the swim team.
     By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world.I am just trying to live each day
to the fullest and inspire other people to never give up on their dreams no matter how bad a situation is.I
remember when I was still in my hospital bed, I would have my mom and dad push me around in my
wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and talk to them and their families.I wanted to let
them know that everything was going to be okay.Somehow, things would work out for the best.

1.When the car accident happened, the author________.

A. was a high school student
B. had finished his high school education
C. was a college student
D. was returning home from a swim competition

2. It can be inferred that the author________after he woke up from his coma.

A. was out of hospital
B. was in surprise
C. faced physical and mental challenges
D. was worried about his lung

3. What can we learn from the author's recovery?

A. Attitude is everything.
B. Actions speak louder than words.
C. Everything happens for a reason.
D. A good beginning is half done.

4.What procedure did the author follow to full recovery?
a. ran
b. received membership of the swim team
c. trained for swim
d. baby walked
e. learnt to live all by himself

A. d, a, c, b, e  
B. e, d, a, c, b
C. d, a, b, c, e  
D. e, d, a, b, c

5. What does the author mainly want to show in the last paragraph?

A. His purpose of sharing his story.
B. His painful experiences.
C. His influence on others.
D. His great achievements.

     I remember that when I was in my teens,I used to go against many of the Dos and Don'ts my parents
taught me.For example,when I kept playing jazz records on the player,my father would think of such
music as making noise and replace  them with disks of classical music that I always considered extremely
dull.
     My mom and dad were also very particular about the friends I went out with,always saying that "One
rotten (腐爛) apple could ruin a whole barrel of apples". When I insisted on sleeping with my pet dog,
they immediately said NO because they thought that I would be bitten by fleas (跳蚤).
     These are just a few examples of many of the things that I thought my parents were unreasonable
about.Today,however,I am a father of a boy of sixteen,and I find that I,too,am pressuring my son with a
lot of rules that he seems to find hard to accept.The other day,I noticed that my son's hair was too long,
so I told him to go to the barber's and get it cut short.Usually,he is fairly obedient,but this time he put_his_
foot_down."What's wrong with my long hair?I don't think you have the right to order me to cut it short,
even if you're my father!"
     When I was a boy,if I had spoken in such a way to my father,he would have taught me a good lesson.
But now we are living in a world with more freedom.My son's insistence on wearing his long hair was only an example of the generation gap that existed between us.So I tried to be more understanding and now
he still wears his long hair.

1. The writer's parents thought it proper for him to________.

A. sleep with his pet dog
B. listen to jazz
C. be careful about making friends
D. wear long hair

2.  Which of the following is true?

A. The writer gave more freedom to his son.
B. The writer's son often went against him.
C. The writer always obeyed his parents as a child.
D. The writer liked wearing long hair.

3. The underlined phrase "put his foot down" in the third paragraph means ________.

A. obeyed  
B. insisted  
C. accepted  
D. left

4. The writer thinks that________.

A. parents should be more strict with their children
B. no generation gap exists between parents and children
C. parents have the right to order their children
D. parents should show more respect to their children

     Much as Robby tried,he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm (節(jié)奏). But he dutifully reviewed
his lessons.Over the months he tried and tried,and often repeated to me "My mom's going to hear me play some day."
     But he seemed hopeless,with no born ability.A real bad advertisement for my teaching!I was so happy when one day he stopped coming.
     Several weeks later my students were to have a recital (演奏會(huì)). To my surprise,Robby came,asking
to play in the recital.
     "But,it is for current pupils,you dropped."
     "My mom was sick.But I have been practicing.I've just got to play!"
     I didn't know what led me to agree,maybe...
     The recital came.I_put_Robby_up_last_to_play_before_my_"curtain_closer",by which,I could save the recital if...
     The recital went off well.Robby came up on stage,clothes wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd run an eggbeater through it."How could his mom...?"
     Robby pulled out the piano bench and began.It was Mozart's work!I was not prepared for what I heard next.Like in a dream,I was then woken up by the wild applause-everybody was on their feet!
     "I've never heard you play like that,Robby!How'd you do it?"
     Through the microphone Robby explained:"Well,Miss Hondorf,remember I told you my mom was
sick?Actually she had cancer and died this morning.She was born deaf,and tonight was the first time she
ever heard me play.I wanted to make it special."
     My eyes were wet.He was not a student of mine,but a teacher!

1. We can infer from the underlined sentence that the writer________.

A. was fully confident that Robby would perform well at the recital
B. thought that Robby would make the recital special
C. thought that Robby wouldn't play at the recital
D. had no confidence in Robby at all for the recital

2. What made the boy succeed in the recital?

A. Love for his mother.
B. Musical talent.
C. The writer's help.
D. Regular practice.

3. What made the writer think that Robby was her teacher,not student?

A. That he played better than her in the recital.
B. That he loved his mother more than she did.
C. That he never gave up.
D. That,the audience gave him more applause than her.

4. What is the highlight of the recital?

A. The writer's performance.  
B. Robby's performance.
C. Robby and his mom's story.  
D. The audience's applause.

     I used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, credit and success.I wanted it and worked
toward it like everyone else, all of us separately chasing the same thing.
     One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart.I found myself homeless and alone.I had
my truck and $56.I searched the countryside for some place I could rent for the cheapest possible amount.I came upon a deserted cottage in a small remote valley.I hadn’t been alone for 25 years.I was scared,
but I hoped the hard work would distract and heal me.
     I found the owner and rented the place for $50 a month.The locals knew nothing about me.But slowly
they started teaching me the art of being a neighbor.They dropped off blankets, tools and canned deer
meat and began sticking around to chat.They would ask if I wanted to meet cousin Albie or go fishing.
They started to teach me a belief in a different American dream, not the one of individual achievement
but of neighborliness.Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream or truck parts to see if I was up for
courting.I wasn’t, but they were civil anyway.The women on that mountain worked harder than any I’d
ever met.They taught me how to store food in the stream and keep it cold and safe.I_learned_to_keep_
enough_for_an_extra_plate_for_company.
      What I had believed in, all those things I thought were necessary for a civilized life, were nonexistent
in this place.Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbors.
     After four years in that valley, I moved back into town.I saw a lot of people were having a really hard
time, losing their jobs and homes.With the help of a real estate broker (房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)人) I chatted up at
the grocery store, I managed to rent a big enough house to take in a handful of people.It’s four of us now, but over time I’ve had nine come in and move on to other places from here.We’d all be in shelters if we
hadn’t banded together.
     The American dream I believe in now is a shared one.It’s not so much about what I can get for
myself; it’s about how we all can get by together.

1. Before a series of unhappy events happened, the writer________.

A. had a wellpaid job
B. worked hard for his American dream
C. worked hard and liked to share
D. felt hopeless about his American dream

2. What does the underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refer to?

A. The house. 
B. The job.
C. The company.  
D. The American dream.

3. What does the underlined sentence “I learned to...”in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A. The writer learned to run a company.
B. The writer learned to share with others.
C. The writer learned to keep enough plates.
D. The writer learned to save money for his company.

4. Why did the writer rent a big house?

A. To make some money.
B. To show off his wealth.
C. To share with those people in need.
D. To make friends with his neighbors.

5. The writer mainly tells us about________.
A. his unhappy experiences
B. the friendly people in the valley
C. the change of his living conditions
D. his new idea of the American dream

     Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up.“How high can they go？” is the question on everyone’s lips.“As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, nothing might be able
to prevent housing prices going up, ” said one house seller in Santa Monica, California.
   “It’s crazy, ” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach.“In 1993, I bought my first place, a
twobedroom flat in Venice, for $70,000.My friends thought then that I was overpaying.Five years later, I
had to move.I sold it for $230,000, which was a nice profit.Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in
the local paper that the exact same flat was for sale for $510,000！”
     It is a seller’s market.Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking
price.Donna, a new owner of a onebedroom flat on Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did.I told the
owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you $20,000 more under the table, so you don’t have to
pay your house seller any of it.I was tired of negotiating with the house sellers.”
     Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate.“Whether you decide to buy or not, you still feel like
you made the wrong decision.If you buy, you feel like you overpaid.If you don’t buy, you want to kick
yourself for passing up a great opportunity.”
     Everyone says the bubble (氣泡) has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after
they sell their house.Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring.“All we can say is
that, clearly, these things go in regular cycles, ” said the state director of housing.“What goes up must
come down.But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down (被接
受). So you can’t lose over the long run.Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more
than you paid for it.”

1. If Tim had sold his flat last year, he could have earned________.

A. $510,000  
B. $440,000  
C. $280,000  
D. $160,000

2. Donna paid another $20,000 to the owner secretly because________.

A. she felt like offering 10% more
B. secret money made low price
C. the owner asked for the money
D. she was bored with bargaining

3. We can infer from Tim’s words in Paragraph 4 that________.

A. homebuyers feel hesitate facing rising house prices
B. buying a house is always a great opportunity
C. homebuyers never make the right decision
D. both sellers and buyers become desperate

4. Which of the following is TRUE about the housing bubble?

A. It is something everyone hates to see.
B. Only experts know when it will burst.
C. It is unavoidable in the regular circles.
D. It usually stays for about twenty years