Brodie's unusual story began in 1984 when she lost her right front leg in a hunting accident. Just two years
old at the time, Brodie recovered quickly and had no trouble getting around on three legs."Most people meeting
her for the first time didn't know that she had only three legs because she was so quick," says Mrs. Willey,
Brodie's owner.
     Bad luck struck Brodie again at the end of 1989 when she developed bone cancer in her right hind (后面的)
leg. To stop the cancer from spreading to the rest of her body, the leg had to be amputated (截肢).
     Mrs. Willey and her family considered putting Brodie to sleep, as owners often do. But Mrs. Willey believed
that Brodie was brave enough to succeed at walking on two legs." I knew that if any dog could make this
situation work, it was Brodie, and if any owner could, it was me."
     Soon after Brodie was brought home from the pet hospital, Mrs. Willey began walking the dog by tying a
towel under her body and holding it like a sling (吊帶). Brodie's left front leg was already strong to keep the
front of her body balanced. Mrs. Willey said it was only a matter of time until Brodie was strong enough in her
left hind leg and we let go of the sling.
     It has now been a year since her operation, and Brodie gets around like any four-legged dog. Mrs. Willey
says," It just proves that you can't give up anyone or any dog."

1. What caused Brodie to lose her right hind leg?

A. an accident
B. a fight
C. an operation
D. a disease

2. The underlined part in the third paragraph probably means _____.

A. They wanted Brodie to have a rest
B. They wanted to desert Brodie
C. They wanted to put an end to Brodie's life
D. They wanted to protect Brodie

3.  According to the passage, how old is Brodie now?

A. 2
B. 7
C. 5
D. 8

4.  Which of the following can be used to describe Mrs. Willey?

A. friendly but impatient
B. kind and strong-willed
C. brave but strange
D. clever abd honest

5.  What's the best title for the passage?

A. A lovely dog
B. An unusual two-legged dog
C. A lucky dog
D. How to keep dogs

     When a person passes through the customs (海關) between two countries, he would be questioned by a
customs inspector (檢查員). If a person brings in goods of great value, the inspector may ask him to pay
taxes on them. Some people try to hide the valuables they have with them so that they will not have to pay
these taxes. But customs inspectors are hard to fool.
     Inspector Joseph Koehler has worked for the US Customs Service for years. One day a group of
passengers arrived on a flight from Belgium.
     Koehler took special notice of one of the women among them. At first he did not know what made him
pick her out of them ― the woman's baggage was made of a purse and two suitcases. She showed no sign
of fear when Koehler opened them. Yet Koehler could not rid himself of the feeling that something was wrong.
     Suddenly he knew what it was. The woman was too tall. This woman's height didn't seem right somehow.
Then it was found that the bottom parts of her shoes were filled with something.
     The inspector opened them. A handful of diamonds fell out on the floor. More jewels were found under a
false bottom in one of her suitcases. Their total weight was 3,387 carats. It was one of the largest diamond
hauls (繳獲) ever made by the US Customs.

1. From the passage, we can know that Joseph Koehler _____.

A. only asked the women passengers to pay taxes on the valuable goods
B. had worked for almost one year in the US customs
C. opened every passengers' package when they passed the customs
D. found a false bottom in one of the woman's suitcases

2. The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 4 refers to"_____".

A. the tax the woman should pay
B. the reason to pick the woman out
C. the woman's baggage
D. the inspector's duty

3. We can learn from the last paragraph that _____.

A. the woman was fond of making jokes
B. the jewels were of high quality
C. Koehler made great contributions to US Customs
D. US Customs are in great need of inspectors like Koehler

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Koehler was attracted by the woman's beauty.
B. The woman made some changes to her baggage.
C. The job of a customs inspector is dangerous.
D. The jewels were damaged by the US Customs.

　Our boat floated on, between walls of forest which were too thick to allow us a view of the land we were
passing through, although we knew from the map that our river must from time to time be passing through
chains of hills which crossed the jungle plains. Nowhere did we find a place where we could have landed:
where the jungle did not actually spread down into the river, banks of soft mud prevented us going ashore.
In any case, what would we have gained by landing? The country was full of snakes and other dangerous
creatures and the jungle was so thick that one would be able to advance only slowly, cutting one's way with
knives the whole way. So we stayed in the boat, hoping that when we reached the sea, a friendly fisherman
would pick us up and take us to civilization. 　　
     We lived on fish, any fruit and nuts we could pick up out of the water. As we had no fire, we had to eat
everything, including the fish, raw. I had never tasted raw fish before, and I must say I did not much enjoy
the experience: perhaps sea-fish which don't live in the mud are less tasteless. After eating my fish, I lay back
and dreamed of such things as fried chicken and rice, and ice cream. In the never-ending heat of the jungle, ice
cream was a particularly frequent dream.　　
     As for water, there was a choice. We could drink the muddy river water, or die of thirst. We drank the
water. Men who have just escaped what had appeared to certain death lose all worries about such small things
as diseases caused by dirty water. In fact, none of us suffered from any illness as a result. One day we passed
another village, but fortunately nobody saw us. We did not wish to risk being taken prisoners a second time:
we might not be so lucky as to escape in a stolen boat again.

1. The only thing that they could see in the boat was _______. 　　

A. chains of hills 　　　　
B. high walls
C. vast land 　　　　　　　
D. tall trees 　

2. They were prevented from landing because they could not _______. 　　

A. find the place marked on the map 　　 　　
B. go through the thick forest 　　
C. go across the soft mud 　　　　　　　　 　
D. see the plains 　

3. This passage is mainly about ______. 　　

A. the problem of landing 　　　 　
B. a terrible experience 　　
C. walls of forest　　　　　　　　
D. the fishermen's worries 　

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? 　　

A. The author and his partners were trapped during scientific exploration. 　　
B. They were floating on a small boat in the jungle without help. 　　
C. The dirty water they drank didn't threaten their lives. 　　
D. They had no food or drinking water prepared.

     A man went to a barbershop to have his hair and beard cut as always. He started to have a good
conversation with the barber who attended him. They talked about so many things on various subjects.
     Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said," I don't believe that God exists as you say
so."" Why do you day that?" asked the client (顧客)." well, it's so easy; you just have to go out in the street
to realize that God does not exist.""Oh, tell me."" If God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would
there be so many abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't think
of God who permits all of these things." The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn't want to
respond so as to prevent an argument.
     The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw
a man in the street with long hair and beard. Then the client again entered the barbershop and he said to the
barber," Knowing what? Barbers do not exist."
     " How come they don't exist?" asked the barber,"Well I am here and I am a barber.""No!" the client
exclaimed,"They don't exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that
man who walks in the street."
     "Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to me." "Exactly!" affirmed the client.
"That's the point. God does exist, what happens is that people don't go to him for help. That's why there's
so much pain and suffering in the world."

1. The client was trying to prove that _____.

A. God exists
B. God permits suffering and pain
B. barbers do not exist
D. people have to look for God

2. According to the barber, if God existed, _____.

A. there would be so many sick people
B. there would be deserted children
C. there would be no suffering in the world
D. there would be no people with long hair and beard in the street

3. Why did the man in the street wear long hair and beard?

A. he was poor and had no money to go to the barber's
B. he was not willing to go to the barber's
C. it is fashionable to wear long hair and beard
D. it is not mentioned in the passage

4. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. the barber wad talkative
B. the client was very clever
C. God does exist
D. God does not exist

     People constantly focus on wealth and winning as the most important parts of life. But we shouldn't forget
that life is too short not to live a little.
     At high school, the pressure of trying to get excellent grades can be very great. Sometimes it seems like I
live at school! When I am home all my time is spent doing homework in my room.
     I have a younger sister. We used to see a lot of each other, but after I graduated from the school she
attends, I see less and less of her.
     Then one day I came home to an empty house and found a note from my mom saying that my sister was
at her friend's and would be dropped off (送回).
     At five o'clock I saw my sister walking toward the door with her friend and her friend's father. I heard
them talking.
      "Is anyone home?" the father asked.
      "Just my mean big sister, and she's probably in her room as always,"my sister replied. I couldn't believe it.
I opened the door, thanked the father for bringing her home, shut the door and started to cry.
     A huge fight followed and it ended with me driving my sister to her room. When my mom got home, I told
her what had happened, and I realized what was worse than the fight was that I really hadn't been a good big
sister… I had lost track of what was important, what really mattered.
      I had fallen into a whirlpool of competition, and it took my sister's honest observation to show me that the
grades I got didn't matter to everyone-certainly not to her. All that matters to her is that I'm her big sister, and
that's what matters to me, too.

1. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably advised us _____.

A. to work hard and be successful
B. to enjoy the pleasure of life
C. to take our time in daily life
D. to live like rich people

2. What kind of life did the author live at high school?

A. Happy and active.
B. Peaceful and comfortable.
C. Busy and competitive.
D. Wild and empty.

3. Why did the author's sister consider her as a mean sister?

A. Because she didn't take her sister home after school.
B. Because she didn 't do well in her schoolwork.
C. Because she always fought with her sister at home.
D. Because she didn't care more about her sister.

4. What lesson did the author learn from her experience?

A. It is love rather than grades that matters in life.
B. Winning at school can win you respect from others.
C. One shouldn ' t compete with one ' s sister for parents' love.
D. There is no end in looking for what really matters.