Caring a lot, in a quiet way
      The situation seemed hopeless.
       From the day he started at my junior-high,Willard. P. Franklin lived in his own world,
shutting out his classmates and me,his teacher. My attempts at establishing a friendly
relationship with him were met with complete indifference (冷淡). Even a "Good Morning
Willard" received only a very low grunt (咕噥).I could see that his classmates got on no
better. Willard was completely a loner who seemed to have no desire or need to break his barrier (障礙) of silence.
      Shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday,we received word of the annual Christmas collection of money
for the less fortunate people in our school district.
       "Christmas is a season of giving,"I told my students. "There are a few students in the school who might not have a happy holiday season. By contributing to our Christmas collection,you will help buy food,
clothing and toys for these needy people. We start the collection tomorrow. "
      When I called for the contribution the next day,I discovered that almost everyone had forgotten,
except Willard P. Franklin. The boy dug deep into his pants pockets as he walked up to my desk.
Carefully,he dropped two quarters into the small container.
      "I don't need any milk for lunch,"he said very quietly. For a moment,just a moment,he smiled. Then
he
turned and walked back to his desk.
      That night,after school,I took our meager contribution to the school principal (校長(zhǎng)). I couldn't help
sharing the incident that had taken place.
      "I may be wrong,but I believe Willard might be getting ready to become a part of the world around
him,"I told the principal.
       "Yes,I believe it sounds hopeful,"he nodded. "And I think we might do well to have him share a bit
of his world with us.I just received a list of the poor families in our school who most need help through
the Christmas collection. Here,take a look at it. "
        As I gazed down to read,I discovered Willard P. Franklin and his family were the top name on the
list.
                                                                                                                Anonym

1. From the second paragraph,we can see that the teacher  

A. established a friendly relationship with Willard
B. tried hard to pull Willard out of his own world
C. found Willard got on better with his classmates
D. believed that Willard would gradually open his heart

2. What do we learn about the collection of money at Christmas?    

A. It is intended for the poor families in their school district.
B. Everyone was unwilling to contribute to the Christmas collectior.
C. Students were encouraged to buy food,clothing and toys for needy people.
D. It is collected every year to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

3. What does the underlined word "meager" in Paragraph 7 mean?

A. Great.    
B. Generous.    
C. Huge.        
D. Small.

4. Which of the following can best describe Willard?  

A. Poor but proud.          
B. Lonely but caring.
C. Indifferent and sad.      
D. Bright and hopeful.  

5. How did the teacher feel after he saw the list of the poor families in their school district?

A. Happy.        
B. Touched.      
C. Angry.        
D. Sad.

                                                            What's A Real Friend?
      You can have the same neighbors for years. You love them or you think you love them. And you hope
that they love you. But do you ever really understand them?
    Charlie Kemp and his family lived next door to me for 15 years. We were good friends all the time. I enjoy
friendship. I think it's the best thing in the world. And friendship with the Kemps was easy because they
seemed to welcome it.
     They were interesting and clever people. Their house caught fire twice, and twice the whole family slept
in mine. They are always losing things like money, keys and watches. Pictures fell off the walls, the children
fell out of bed …
     I was their neighbor and their friend. Life was always interesting, never dull. Best of all, I liked the whole
family.
     One day, I lit a fire in the garden to burn some rubbish. After some time Charlie Kemp came out of his
house and walked up the road.
     "Morning, Charlie," I said, "lovely day, isn't it?" He smiled at me and nodded. I went on with my work.
     Twenty minutes later, a policeman arrived. He walked into my garden and said, "You'll have to put out
that fire. Your neighbor has complained (抱怨) to us. He doesn't like the smell."
     "My neighbor …?" I asked.
      "Yes," the policeman took out his notebook and read, "Charlie Kemp. He lives next door, doesn't he?"

1. According to the passage, ______.

A. Charlie Kemp is the author's neighbor and his real good friend
B. Charlie Kemp is the author's neighbor but not his real good friend
C. Charlie Kemp treats the author as his real good friend
D. the author doesn't treat Charlie Kemp as his real good friend

2. The author was blamed by the policeman because ______.

A. he was found burning the rubbish by the policeman
B. he was found polluting the environment by burning the rubbish
C. his neighbor Charlie Kemp complained about his action and called the policeman
D. he burnt something of his neighbors

3. The author's experience tells us that ______.

A. a friend in need is a friend indeed
B. it is difficult to understand a person, even your friend
C. anyone is sure to be friendly to you if you are friendly to him
D. friendship is the best thing in the world

     It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to
support the Red Cross's campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving
in Angola, television screens around the World were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. "I knew the statistics," she said. "But putting a face to those figures
brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and
people like her."
     The Princess concluded, with a simple message: "We must stop landmines". And she used every
opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
     But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which
refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the
press. They described her as "very ill-informed" and a "loose cannon (亂放炮的人)".
     The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: "This is a distraction we do not need. All I'm
trying to do is help."
     Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To
make m atters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess's trip had been approved by
the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the
British government's policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the
government.
     To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, claimed that the Princess's
views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was "working towards"
a worldwide ban. The Defense Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was "a misinterpretation
or misunderstanding."  
     For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity
to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience
had also given her the Chance to get closer to people and their problems.

1. Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997 ________.

A. to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims 
B. to clarify the British government's stand on landmines
C. to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims there
D. to voice her support for a total ban of landmines

2. What did Diana mean when she said "... putting a face to those figures brought  the reality home to
     me" (Line 5, Para. 1)?

A. She just couldn't bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.
B. Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation.    
C. Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.
D. The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home.

3.What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?

A. It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.
B. It had caused embarrassment to the British government.
C. It had greatly promoted her popularity.
D. It had affected her relations with the British government.

4. How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

A. She made more appearances on TV.      
B. She paid no attention to them.
C.She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.
D. She rose to argue with her opponents.