I took my dog, Phil, to the vet's (獸醫(yī)診所) yesterday. When the doctor came into the room, he was
limping (跛行).
     "What's wrong?" I said. "Oh, it's my knee. They want me to really appreciate the operation I'm about to have, so they delayed it another month, so I would suffer more," he replied.
     It was then for the first time I actually showed my scar to someone. "Look, I had an operation on my
arm." My wife has been telling me that it really didn't look bad. It healed very nicely. When I showed it to
the doctor and his assistant, they said, "That's terrible!"
     That's when I discovered something.
     "Doctor, when I was a kid, I fell. I remember showing the scar to all my friends because I thought it
was 'cool'. Having a scar at that age was like having a battle injury."
     "Then I went into the young adulthood and vanity (虛榮心) took over. I was in a band and never
wanted anything to scar my beautiful face. Now, at 59, I just joined that group of older folks who are
proud to compare operations, aches and pains," I said struggling to get it out without laughing.
     The winner is the one who is in the worst shape, I guess. Then there are those at any age, who use their scars as an excuse. The kind of excuse holds them back, limits them and provides a crutch for why they
aren't happy. "Too short"... "too fat"... "my family"... "ever since we had children" and so on.
     All scars never heal because we keep picking at (扯拉) them. I promised I'd never do that, yet today I didn't even hesitate to show the doctor my scar. It's okay. I see it as returning to my childhood. What
scars do you have?

1. The doctor would limp for another month because _____.

A. he wanted to show it to the author
B. his operation was put off
C. he was proud to suffer from it  
D. he was too busy to receive the operation

2. The author felt bad about his scars when he was _____.

A. a baby  
B. a teenager
C. a young adult  
D. a middle-aged man

3. As a child, the author _____.

A. often compared aches with others  
B. was proud to wear a scar
C. often fought with other kids          
D. had an operation on his forehead

4. The underlined word "crutch" in the passage most probably means "_____".

A. support  
B. injury  
C. experience  
D. chance

5.The passage suggests that we should _____.

A. avoid showing our scars              
B. fight against our scars
C. be optimistic about our scars    
D. show off our scars to others

     During my elementary school years, I used to compare my mom with my best friend Tiffany's mom.
     Tiffany's mom always gave her lots of money to buy the most fashionable clothes and favorite food.
Her mom allowed her to do anything she liked. I really admired Tiffany. My mom didn't give me much
pocket money and she always told me that I should behave myself. I was annoyed with her.
     Whenever I didn't get what I wanted, I would complain to my mom, Tiffany's mom would give her
that! I wish she were my mom. Every time, my mom would calmly say "Poor Tiffany". I couldn't
understand her. "She shouldn't be feeling sorry for Tiffany!" I thought, "She should be feeling sorry for
me."
     One day, I couldn't help saying to Mom, "Poor Tiffany? Lucky Tiffany! She gets everything she
wants! Why do you feel sorry for her?" I burst into tears.
     My mom sat down next to me and said softly, "Yes, I do feel sorry for her. I have been teaching you
a lesson that she will never be taught."
     I looked up at her, "What are you talking about?"
     Mom said with care, "One day she will really want something. Maybe she'll find out that she can't
have it. Her mother won't always be around to give her money, and what's more, money can't buy
everything."
     She continued, "I have taught you valuable lessons by not giving you everything you want. You'll
know how to look for bargains and save money, but she won't. You'll understand that you need to
work hard to get the things that you want but she won't. When Tiffany is a grown woman, she'll wake
up one day and she will be wishing that she had a mom like the one you've got. Life lessons are more
important than modern clothes and delicious food."
     It took some time, but I eventually understood my mom's words. Now I am a happy and successful
woman. 

1. During the author's elementary school years, she __________.

A. wished that her mom were as good as Tiffany's
B. went to school with Tiffany every day
C. usually compared her lesson with Tiffany's
D. sometimes gave lots of money to Tiffany 

2. Why did the author's mom always say "Poor Tiffany"?

A. She felt sorry for Tiffany because Tiffany was poor.
B. She wanted to tell a lie to comfort the author.
C. She thought that Tiffany was spoiled by her mother.
D. She told the author this and wanted her to help Tiffany.

3. What do we learn about the author's mother?

A. She was strict and taught the author to be independent.
B. She cared for other people's children more than her own.
C. She thought that life lessons were as important as money.
D. She was so poor that she couldn't give the author much money.

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A. The author was quite annoyed with her mother in the past.
B. The author's mother felt sorry for Tiffany.
C. Tiffany's mother took the author's mother's advice.
D. The author is thankful to her mother now.

     After a disabled woman's cat started a house fire, her specially trained dog came to the rescue and then died when trying to help the cat still in the house, Jamie Hanson said the 13-year-old dog named Jesse,
brought the phone so she could call 911 and also brought her artificial leg.
     "She got me outside and then she heard the cat upstairs and went up there to get the cat out but she
wouldn't come back to me," Hanson, 49, said at a news conference at Aurora Sheboygan Memorial
Medical Center where she was being treated for her injuries.
     "She received third-degree burns on an arm in the fire at her home," the Sheboygan County Sheriff's
Department said, adding that both pets died in the fire.
     Hanson, who lost a leg in a car accident three years ago, said she was on the couch watching television when the cat ran over the back of the couch.
     "And he jumped onto a table that had a candle on it and tipped it over and finally set the artificial plants on fire," she said.
     Hanson said she fell off the couch and was unable to get her artificial leg from the table. "So my dog got my leg for me and went to get the phone and brought it to me, so I could call 911."
     She said she tried to put the prosthetic leg on, but it was too hot, and the dog, a German shepherd,
came to her aid again before going back inside for the cat.
     When rescuers arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames, the Sheriff's Department said. Hanson
was in the doorway and was assisted by a deputy (警官).

1.What was the cause of the fire?

A. The disabled woman fell off the cough.
B. The cat ran down the lighted candle on the table.
C. The woman's artificial leg caught fire.
D. The dog ran after the cat.

2.Which of the following is RIGHT?

A. As soon as it brought Hanson her leg, the dog went to save the cat.
B. The dog went to save the cat after it helped Hanson put on the leg.
C. Hanson fell off the couch when the cat jumped over the couch.
D. The dog went to save the cat after it helped Hanson call 911.

3.When the story was reported, Hanson most probably _____.

A. at her own home
B. at a news conference
C. was being treated in a medical center
D. was looking for her dog and cat

4.We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. the German shepherd dog was 13 years old
B. it was too late for the rescuers to save the pets
C. Hanson lost her leg in a car accident
D. there were three people in Hanson's family

5.What would be the best title of the text?

A. The difference between a dog and a cat.
B. A dog saves her owner but kills a cat.
C. The importance of keeping a pet dog.
D. A dog saves her owner, dies trying to save a cat.

1. Why didn't the morning phone call surprise the author?

A. Because he/she was only 6 years old.
B. Because the phone call was a case as usual.
C. Because he/she was just eating breakfast.
D. Because it was a normal Saturday morning.

2. The author's mother began to cry       .

A. after the father comforted her on the couch
B. before she received the important phone call
C. when she knew her father was in the hospital
D. as her children didn’t understand what had happened

3. The author's family seldom got to see the grandparents because       .

A. they had no spare time                
B. the old couple lived too far away
C. the old couple were often in hospital
D. they didn't have a private car

4. We can know from the passage that       .

A. both the father and the mother went to the hospital
B. the author cared much about his/her grandfather
C. people with a heart attack should be in hospital at once
D. the mother was in time for having a word with her father

5. It can be inferred from the passage that       .

A. the author's family was poor in 2000
B. the author's father wasn't sad at all
C. the author's sister knew a heat attack was a serious disease
D. there were three children in the author's family

     If I left the decisions up to my daughter, she'd never play competitive sports. In her first season of 
forced sports, when she was four years old, she cried every time she kicked the soccer ball. She stopped on the way from the parking lot to the soccer field, wailing that her legs hurt. And worse, she cried, "I'm
sweating!"
     A few years have passed, and she just completed her fourth soccer season. She's starting her second
year of softball. Sports trophies (獎(jiǎng)杯) line her window platform.
     I learned from the years of football, soccer and baseball in my son's youth that kids need to experience being on a team, and they might not beg you to sign them up. You might have to force it on them.
     They need to learn about sacrificing, and about commitment. If you read parenting articles out there,
you'll find plenty of folks who shy away from competitive sports because they want their kid to always feel like a winner. I don't know what kind of idyllic (田園的) life these parents must be leading, but in my
world, I'm thinking I need to sign my kids up for something that will teach them about life's devastating
disappointments.
     Hence, I think my daughter picked up some good life lessons when her team lost almost every game in the last season. Sometimes life is like that. Sometimes you get a bad call, the people on your team suck, you're tired and don't feel like playing, the coach is mean to you, someone scratches your face and steals the ball. And the next week, you put on your uniform, and try your best.

1. What attitude does the author have towards competitive sports?

A. He supports children in taking part in competitive sports.
B. He doesn't like competitive sports himself.
C. He doubts whether competitive sports can really benefit children.
D. He believes competitive sports are not suitable for young children.

2. What do we know about the author's daughter?

A. She hates the author signing her up for competitive sports.
B. She hasn't realized the importance of competitive sports.
C. She wants to give up competitive sports.    
D. She now likes competitive sports.

3. What should we do if a child doesn't like competitive sports, according to the author?

A. Get him interested in sports first.
B. Sign him up for competitive sports.
C. Leave him alone.
D. Give him some trophies first.

4. In what way is life similar to sports?

A. They both mean a lot to children.
B. They both need great courage.
C. They are both full of hard times.
D. They both can teach children good lessons.

5. We can infer from the fourth paragraph that competitive sports       .

A. can destroy a child's feeling of success
B. are sometimes too cruel to children
C. have already been accepted by most parents
D. can prepare kids for the realities of life

     Introductory Chemistry was taught at Duke University for many years by professor Bonk.
One year, two guys took the class and did pretty well on all the quizzes and mid-terms. They
each had a solid A. These two friends were so confident in going into the final that the weekend
before finals week, despite the Chemistry final being on Monday, they decided to go to the
University of Virginia to party with some friends.
     They had a great time there. However, with their hangovers (宿醉) and tiredness, they
overslept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather
than taking the final then, they found professor Bonk after the final and explained to him how
they missed the final. They told him they went up to the University of Virginia for the weekend
and had planned to come back in time to study, but they had a flat tire on the way back and
didn't have a spare. So they were late getting back to campus.
     Bonk thought this over and agreed that they could take the final the following day. The two
guys, happily and relieved, studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Bonk had
told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet. He told
them to begin.
     They looked at the first problem which was something simple about solution (溶解). It was
worth 5 points. "Cool," they thought, "this is going to be an easy final". They then turned the page.
They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on it. The question contained only two
words: (95 points) Which tire?

1. The two guys decided to go to the University of Virginia because___________.                  

A. they were afraid of the final
B. there was a party there
C. the final would be held there
D. they thought they can pass the final easily

2. When did they take the final at last?

A. On Sunday      
B. On Monday    
C. On Tuesday      
D. On Saturday

3. From the passage we know____________.

A. the two guys came back to campus late on purpose
B. Bonk wasn't strict with the two guys
C. repairing the flat tire took the two guys a lot of time
D. Bonk didn't believe the two guys' explanation

4. After the final, they_____________.

A. may apologize to professor Bonk
B. must have the same scores
C. wouldn't be confident in their Chemistry
D. would feel happy and relieved

5. From the passage we can get a lesson that____________.                        .

A. he who makes no mistakes makes nothing
B. he is wise that is honest
C. one never loses anything by politeness
D. think twice before you do

     Pango was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their
forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people
elsewher e who liked to eat frog's legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so
they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
     This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were  
no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children
were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over
the money.  For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn't last
long.
     The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More
worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
     The villagers decided that they couldn't just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak.  They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides (殺蟲劑)and medicines. Soon there was
no money left. 
     Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn't been useless. They had
been doing an important job-eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing
more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
     Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of
insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.

1. From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers ________.

A. worked very hard for centuries                
B. dreamed of having a better life
C. were poor but somewhat content              
D. lived a different life from their forefathers

2. Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?

A. The frogs were easy money.                
B. They needed money to buy visitors.
C. They wanted to please the visitors.            
D. The frogs made too much noise.

3. What might be the cause of the children's sickness?

A. The crops didn't do well.                    
B. There were too many insects.
C. The visitors brought in diseases.              
D. The pesticides were overused.

4. What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?

A. Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country.
B. Health is more important than money.
C. The harmony between man and nature is important.
D. Good old days will never be forgotten.