One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend in charge of his 8-year-old
brother and 4-year-old sister. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a
wonderful job of babysitting the younger children. Later, I discovered that I was completely wrong.
     I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I
called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end
of the line, allI heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
     It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed,
and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. "I'll give him a lesson, " I said.
I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea,
but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
     Finally, in desperation (絕望), I called his girlfriend's house. His girlfriend answered. "Yes," she said
brightly, "He's right here."
     He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, patient．After all, one of the rules of survival for
modern parents is that you can't trust modern teenagers. "Where are the children?" I said. He said they
were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend's house just for ice cream and cake. Well, it turns out that I shouldn't have believed it. It was only part
of the truth.
      The following Saturday evening we were at my parents' home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest
son gave me the children's gifts-a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best
clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken
by the father of my son's girlfriend.

1. The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because _____.

A. she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter
B. she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend
C. the older children have always loved the younger ones
D. she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night

2. Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that _____.

A. her son had brought his girlfriend home    
B. her son had left home with his girlfriend
C. she shouldn't have completely trusted her son  
D. she should have taken the children along with her

3. "It was only part of the truth." implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also _____.

A. had their pictures taken
B. received some gifts
C. had a birthday party  
D. showed off their best clothes

     A British train station has put up a no kissing sign to stop lovers going full steam ahead with their
overamorous farewells.
     Commuters (通勤者,每日往返上班者) have been told: if you want to get up to that kind of
business, do it in the car park.
     The sign has been put up at the dropoff point (落客處) at Warrington Bank Quay station in the
town of Warrington, between Liverpool and Manchester in northwest England.
     A similar sign, this time permitting kissing, has been put up elsewhere in a zone where kissing is
considered tolerable.
     "We have not banned kissing in the station," said a spokesman for operators Virgin Rail.
     "But we have put the sign up at the dropoff point because it is not a very big area and it often gets
busy. The sign is a lighthearted way of reminding people to move on quickly. If people wish to spend
a little more time with their loved ones before they leave, then they should park in the shortstay car park
nearby."
     The busy station links the town with the major cities London, Birmingham,Glasgow, Edinburgh,
Liverpool and Manchester.
     However,one station is trying to rescue love from the tracks. High Wycombe,northwest of London,
is having none of it and is actively urging commuters to show their emotions in public.
     "Kissing is welcome here!...we would never dream of banning kissing," says a poster of a cartoon
couple embracing, framed by a pink heart. "Railway stations are romantic places," insisted Kirsteen
Robertson from Chiltern Railways. "They are where fond farewells and emotional reunions take place,
where relationships start with a glance and even, in the case of our Marylebone station last November
where one passenger will propose (求婚) to another over the public address system."
     "So our passengers are more than welcome to share a kiss in our stations."

1. The train station has put up a no kissing sign in order to _____.

A. ban kissing in the station
B. get passengers to walk quickly
C. avoid embarrassment
D. prevent illegal practice

2. The underlined word "it" here refers to _____.

A. rescuing love from the tracks  
B. banning kissing in the station
C. farewell kisses between lovers
D. kissing in the car park

3. We learn that in High Wycombe _____.

A. kissing is encouraged
B. kissing is forbidden
C. kissing is intolerable
D. kissing is limited to a certain time

4. We can infer that _____.

A. the dropoff point is not a safe place
B. the dropoff point is a quiet place
C. the dropoff point is a romantic place
D. the dropoff point is often packed with the traffic and passengers

     It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 2004, to
support the Red Cross's campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines (地雷). 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 matters 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 Rifkidnd, 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 Defence 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 2004________ .  

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

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

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

3. Some members of the British government criticized Diana because_________ .

A. she was ill-informed of the government's policy
B. they were actually opposed to banning landmines
C. she had not consulted the government before the visit
D. they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola

4. How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

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

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

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

     After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept
the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to
him, so I agreed.
     During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular
dystrophy (肌肉萎縮癥). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five,
and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me
because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my
dreams.
     I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, "Why me?" He spoke
about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about.
He didn't mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about
his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him
he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He
looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, "You are a champion. You
earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you."
     Last summer I received a letter from Matthew's parents telling me that Matthew had passed away.
They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dick,
     My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to
let you know that the doctors tell me that I don't have long to live any more, but I still smile as
much as I can.
     I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I
will never get to do that. However, I know I'm a champion, and God knows that too. When I get
to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you
for loving me.
                                                                                                         Your friend,
                                                                                                           Matthew

1. The boy looked forward to meeting the author because _________.  

A. he was also good at weight lifting      
B. he wanted to get to the Olympics and win a medal  
C. he was one of the author's fans
D. he admired the author very much

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that _______.

A. the boy never complained about how unlucky he was to have this disease
B. the boy never complained about not being able to go to school
C. the boy never complained why the author had never come to see him before
D. the boy never complained about not getting a medal

3. From the passage we learn that _________.  

A. Matthew was an athlete
B. Matthew was an optimistic(樂(lè)觀的)and determined boy  
C. The author used to have the same disease as Matthew had
D. Matthew became a champion before he died

4. Matthew didn't accept the author's medal because _________.  

A. he thought it was too expensive
B. he was sure that he could win one in the future
C. he thought it was of no use to him as he would die soon
D. he would not be pitied by others

5. What would be the best title for this passage?  

A. A sick boy.  
B. A special friend.  
C. A real champion.      
D. A famous athlete.