I had the meanest mother in the whole world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast．When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids' also．But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．

My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and where we were going．We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath everyday．

The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning．We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends．So while they slept --- my mother actually had the nerve to break the Child Labor Law．She made us work．We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things．I believe she lay awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us．

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit．We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school．Our marks in school had to be up to par．Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks．With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out．

My mother was a complete failure as a mother．Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education．None of us have ever been arrested or divorced．Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country．She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults．Using this as a background, I am now trying to raise my three children．I am filled with pride when my children call me mean．Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the whole world．

What can we infer from the passage?

       A．The author is not happy to have such a mean mother．      

       B．The author's mother broke the Child Labor Law to make money．

       C．The author's mother failed to educate her children to be honest adults．

       D．The author is strict with her children．

Why couldn’t the author eat candy for breakfast?

     A．Because she preferred cereal, eggs or toast to candy．

     B．Because her mother couldn’t afford for candy．

     C．Because her mother thought it not good to eat candy for breakfast．

     D．Because her mother had to give candy to the author’s sister and two brothers．

The author’s mother made her children work because _________ ．

     A．she had trouble falling into sleep．

     B．she could not keep such a big family without her children’s help．

     C．she was teaching her children to live by themselves．

     D．she had no time to do the housework．

The country has already sent up three unmanned spacecrafts, the most recent ____at the end of last March．

       A．to be launched         B．launched         

       C．being launched        D．has been launched

______ the term is finished, I’m going to rest a few days and then take a trip.

A. Now that                         B. Even if                    C. As if                        D. So that

I am _________down my thoughts about it.

A. write         B. writes            C. writing           D. wrote

No matter how I tried to read it , the sentence didn’t       to me .

A. make out          B. make up          C. make sense       D. make a difference

-- Your telephone number again? I ____ quite catch it.

   -- It is 7657457.

   A. didn’t               B. wouldn’t          C. don’t                      D. won’t

For miles around me there was nothing but a desert, without a single plant or tree ______.

    A. on earth     B. in sight     C. at a distance        D. in place

The student’s behavior cost the teacher a steepless night . He never thought his student ______ computer games for a whole class .

A. played              B. was playing             C. had been playing              D. would play

My best friend, Tom, and I live in a senior-citizen apartment in a lovely small town. Tom is a ten-year-old dog and I am a sixty-nine-year-old lady .

Years ago, I __36__  when I retired I would get a dog to __37__  my golden years. From the very beginning, Tom has always been __38_ and I never have to tell him anything more than once. He is extremely __39___ and always puts back the toys where they were after __40__.He is a wonderful companion. We sometimes play a ___41___together. He does many amusing things that make me laugh. As a result, I enjoy his__42___.

One afternoon, Tom started acting ___43__. I was sitting on the floor playing with him, __44___he started sniffing at the right side of my chest. He had never done anything like this before, suddenly he threw his entire__45__at the right side of my chest, and I cried in___46___.

Soon after this, I felt a lump(腫塊). After X-rays and tests, doctors told me I __47__cancer. When cancer started, for an unknown __48___, a wall of calcium(鈣化壁) built. Then the lump or cancer _49__ itself to the wall. When Tom __50__on me, the force broke the lump away from the calcium wall, which made me ___ 51__the lump. Before that, I couldn’t see or feel it, so there was no way for me to know it was there.

I had a complete __ 52___ and the cancer did not spread. The doctors told me if the cancer had gone unfound even six more months, it would have been too late.

Was Tom ___53__ of just what he was doing? I’ll never really know. What I do

know is that I’ m glad I made a promise to_ 54 __my golden years with this wonderful creature---- for Tom not only shares his life with me; he has made sure that I will be ___55___to share my life with him.

A. suggested       B. insisted       C. told        D. promised

A. take            B. bring         C. share       D. carry

A. well-behaved     B. well-built     C. well-dressed D. well-known

A. dirty            B. neat         C. lazy        D. sad

A. working         B. sleeping      C. eating      D. playing

A. joke            B. fun          C. game       D. face

A. company        B. kindness      C. care       D. comfort

A. happily         B. luckily        C. strangely   D. sadly

A. while           B. when         C. as         D. before

A. power           B. energy       C. devotion    D. weight

A. joy             B. surprise      C. pain        D. relief

A. enjoyed         B. had          C. lived       D. treated

A. cause           B. excuse       C. reason      D. idea

A. attached         B. devoted      C. fell        D. dropped

A. jumped          B. sat          C. stood      D. put

A. watch           B. witness      C. observe     D. notice

A. task             B. work        C. operation   D. job

A. fond            B. aware        C. ashamed   D. afraid

A. waste           B. spend        C. cost       D. make

A. in              B. around       C. out        D. outside