It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

　　Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

　　"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."

　　And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"

　　Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"

　　"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!"

6. The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A. stop the soldiers going to towns      B. stop the soldiers meeting their friends

C. train the new soldiers               D. make the young men live quietly

7. Mr. Hunt let the nine soldiers have a holiday because _______.

A. he was kind to them       B. they felt lonely

C. they had something important to do      D. they were the best of all

8 The young officer was worried because _______.

A. a traffic accident had happened

B. he was afraid something happened to the nine soldiers

C. the nine soldiers didn't come back on time

D. the nine soldiers drank too much in the town

9. The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because _______.

A. something was wrong with their buses  B. their horses died on the return way

C. it took them much time to run back    D. they all had drunk much in the town

10. Which answer do you think right?

A. I'll believe only the last soldier.       B. The officer believed the nine soldiers.

C. I'll believe none of the nine soldiers.   D. The officer won't punish his soldiers.

Animal moms are great moms. You might be surprised at some of these moms.

Octopuses (章魚)

       The mother octopus lays about 50,000 eggs. For about 300 days, she stays with the eggs, cleans them and protects them. She does not leave to feed. However, this animal mom dies as soon as the eggs are hatched (孵化).

Crocodiles(鱷魚)

       A crocodile mother puts a lot of time and effort into raising her babies. She starts by building a nest (巢), which she guards for over two months! When the eggs are ready to hatch, the young crocs call out to their mother, who digs them out and helps them hatch. She then carries them in her mouth down to the water, where she will guard them for several more weeks or months until they learn to hunt on their own.

Bats （蝙蝠）

       Bats become moms by hanging head up in a cave, giving birth. Catching the youngster before it can fall to the ground below, she puts it in a pouch (育兒袋). Bat moms may carry babies with them when feeding for the first few days. As the little bats get bigger and heavier, moms help them hang on the wall of their caves and return often to feed them. It continues for about three weeks, until the babies are grown up and able to fly on their own.

Koalas (考拉)

       The animal mom gives birth after a pregnancy (懷孕期) of only 35 days. The hairless baby climbs into its mother’s pouch and lives there for another five months. When the little koala is between five and eight months old, it leaves the pouch for short periods of time but returns for safety. Once it is too big to return to the pouch, it will climb onto its mother’s back and ride there until it is about 12 months old.

1. Which animal moms die when their babies are born?

A. Octopuses.        B. Crocodiles.   C. Bats.                  D. Koalas.

2. A crocodile mother usually carries her baby to the water _____.

A. in her mouth    B. on her back   C. in her pouch        D. by her tail

3. A bat mom _____.

A. gives birth by lying in the nest   B. gives birth by hanging in a cave

C. leaves its babies in the pouch for months  D. lets its babies live on their own after birth

4. How long does the bat mom help to feed her babies?

A. About 3 days   B. About 3 weeks     C. About 13 weeks   D. About 3 months

5. How long does a young koala usually stay with its mom?

A. 35 days.              B. 5 months.           C. 8 months.           D. 12 months.

Long ago there was a poor farmer in Russia. He had been very  1  with everything he had. However, when he found his elder brother was  2  than him, he felt disappointed. So he  3 hard about how he could also be richer. Finally he got an idea. He started to spend less money on food and clothes to  4  some money to buy more land. Once he had enough money, he started  5  for land.

       He  6  that on the neighboring land, there were some nomads (游牧民) living there. He bought some gifts and went to  7  their head. He presented the gifts to the head and told him the  8  of his visit. The head welcomed him, accepted the gifts and agreed to his  9  to get the land. The head told him that he could have the land  10  giving him anything. He can take as much land as he could  11  by walking through the land before sunset (日落). He should start in the morning and whatever distance he could travel during the  12 , he could have it.

       The farmer became very  13  when he heard this offer. Now he could have lots of  14  without paying anything. He came  15  the next morning and started running, not walking,  16  he could cover the largest area. To reach his goal, he neither ate food, nor drank water, nor had any rest. He just continued  17 . Without eating, or drinking, or resting he just got very  18 . When he came back to the head in the evening, he  19  right on the spot. Sadly his son buried him in a piece of land about 6 x 4 feet.

       Don’t be greedy (貪婪的) or you will  20  everything finally.

1. A. careful           B. pleased           C. bored                   D. busy  

2. A. healthier         B. stronger         C. richer                  D. cleverer

3. A. thought        B. learned          C. tried           D. worked 

4. A. borrow            B. spend          C. make                 D. save 

5. A. waiting            B. looking     C. preparing           D. caring   

6. A. explained         B. hoped          C. noticed               D. guessed

7. A. see              B. follow           C. help            D. cheat

8. A. chance            B. result           C. condition            D. purpose

9. A. promise    B. request     C. suggestion            D. order  

10. A. for                B. by            C. without              D. before

11. A. cover             B. farm            C. buy           D. have

12. A. year                B. month          C. week               D. day

13. A. interested    B. sad            C. happy           D. calm

14. A. land                    B. crop          C. experience       D. knowledge

15. A. quietly         B. early        C. finally             D. suddenly

16. A. so that     B. even if     C. because                    D. whether

17. A. dreaming         B. walking     C. speaking                   D. running

18. A. nervous          B. excited      C. tired            D. worried

19. A. refused        B. died           C. appeared                    D. rested

20. A. lose                B. face             C. change          D. defeat

 I would like to buy an apartment, large, comfortable and        , easy to work by bus.

A. in all          B. after all       C. first of all       D. above all

 We hung a net round the bed, which could protect us _____ mosquitoes and other insects.

A. from     B. by                 C. off                   D. under

 Never judge a man by his _____ alone — you might be fooled by what he looks like.

A.    character    B. appearance         C. intelligence        D. application

 _____, I think the show is going to be a great success though many people don’t think highly of it.

A. Personal                  B. Logical       C. Personally  D. Logically

 We can’t afford such an expensive car. You know, our total _____ adds up to no more than $10,000 a year.

A. income    B. loss  C. cost      D. charge

 However busy he is, the young man will go to the country to see his granny _____.

A. every few days  B. every a few days   C. each few days     D. each a few days

 The boy, who admitted _____ in the exam, promised the teacher that he would work hard at his lessons.

A. cheat                B. to cheat             C. cheated                    D. cheating