How do you feel when you stay in hospital alone? Jenny, 13, a US student, feels bored. She knows the feeling because she has been in hospital many times herself. One day, she thought of an idea—if patients could get some books to read, they would feel better. So, from May, she and many of her friends began to collect books for hospital patients.

In six months the students collected 1,250 books at school. They decided to donate the books to the North Shore Medical Centre, a children’s hospital next door to their school. “There are books for kids of all ages, from babies up to high school level.” said Jenny.

The students put the books into “early readers”, “middle readers” and “advanced readers”. Then they wrote their best wishes to patients on bookmarks (書簽) and letters, put the books in big boxes and donated them to the hospital.

“We wrote things like, “Keep on reading!’ and ‘Hope you feel better!’,” siad John, 14, Jenny’s brother. “And we also wrote some funny things to make them laugh.”

Frank, 12, and Steven, 14, helped carry 16 large boxes of books into a car. “I think these books will make me a lot of patients feel happy.” said Frank. Steven shared his opinion. “It is really the most meaningful thing that I have ever done in my life.”

1.Who first thought of the idea of helping those bored patients in hospital?

   A. John.         B. Frank.           C. Steven.      D. Jenny.

2.From the article, we can learn that _______.

   A. in half a year Jenny and her friends bought 1,250 books

   B. the North Shore Medical Centre is far from Jenny’s school

   C. Jenny and her friends were willing to help bored patients

   D. Steven had a different opinion from Frank and John

3.The best title for the article might be “_______”.

   A. Collecting books for bored patients   B. Writing a letter to a medical centre

   C. Donating books to poor students       D. Reading books for hospital patients

4. Which of the following words can be used to describe those student?

   A. Polite and hard-working           B. Lazy and stubborn

   C. Selfish and proud                 D. Thoughtful and helpful

Recent research from the Pew Internet Project suggests that 90% of Americans aged from 12 to 17 use the Internet, and 51% of those teens use social networks. However, there are many possible problems with social networking sites and the teenagers who use them.
Apart from the social advantages, social networking sites can be used to record school research, develop artistic talents and experiment with other forms of subject creation. They provide a way to communicate with others who share the same interests and to get helpful advice on ongoing projects.
Along with these advantages come some dangers. For example, most social networking sites are open to all, especially MySpace, which is the most popular social network among teens in America. It means that they could be put in unpleasant and frightening situations.
A greater danger is that teens may become objects of the people with secret purposes. The secrecy of some social networking sites makes it easy for dangerous people to find young teens and invite them into dangerous conversations. It’s easy for them to pretend as teens and draw children into dangerous real-world communication as well. Then further hurt might be on its way.
Another danger is identity stealing, which can happen when teens share too much information about their names, dates of birth and locations.
Therefore, it’s very important to make sure teens are safe when they use social networks.
Many of the same rules that work for online chat work for these sites:
※ Don’t use your real name.
※ Don’t give out personal information to people you don’t know. A last name and a town are enough for a bad guy to find where you are.
※ Don’t believe that people are who they say to be.
※ Immediately end any communication that makes you uncomfortable and report it to a parent.
Only if you are sure of your safety, can you enjoy the fun brought by social networking. Besides, trying to deal with all problems on your own can lead to terrible results. Remember, asking your parents or school officials for help doesn’t mean you are unable to do anything but wiser than many others.                                             
【小題1】How many dangers of using social networks are mentioned in the passage?

“The only thing holding you back is yourself. Never say never”, said a rising 17-year-old singer, Justin Bieber, who was just an ordinary boy in Canada a few years ago.
After the accident of falling from the 18^th floor and lying in the snow for three hours, my hands were frozen and my spinal cord (脊髓)was seriously injured. All the doctors and professors in the famous hospitals in Beijing told me that there was little chance for my hands and my body to recover (康復(fù)).
After half a year of medical treatments and recovering exercises, I could not make any more progress for over a year. What was worse , I suffered a lot from depression (絕望). On top of this, I suffered from insomnia, making every minute of the night seem to last forever. Hopelessly, mom and I came back to my hometown, which is small town in Guangdong.
At that time, I thought that I would never be able to walk again. I would never love and be loved. I would never be able to earn even a penny. I would never be able to repay the kindness I got from my parents and many nice people. Life was meaningless.
Now two years has passed. My hands are 80% recovered. I can even type faster than a healthy person! Up to now, I have worked for a law firm as an interpreter for half a year already. Although I don’t earn as much as before, I am able to pay for the food and clothes I need. What’s more, I even have extra money to buy thanksgiving presents for my parents and my boyfriend. Through my blogs (博客) , many people get to know me and like me. I can bring happiness to them. I can help those who are still suffering from depression and the pain of illnesses by chatting with them….You see, I am living a meaningful life and I am happier than ever I could have dreamed.
So, my friends, never say never. As long as you are alive, there is always hope and possibilities. It is never too late to take action to realize your dreams.     (382 words)
【小題1】What’s the writer’s present job?

What do we really mean by being open? Being open is a kind of invitation to others to come in, to speak and to share. It is important in letting others get to know how we think and feel. In this way we will be understood and accepted by others. If we aren’t open with others, we won’t fully believe in ourselves or others.
Here are a few ways for you to be more open. First, make your outside behavior the same with your inside feelings and thoughts. Second, share how you really feel about something instead of just opinions. Third, try to change your questions into statements(陳述句) and talk in the first person so that people will understand you more easily. For example, you might say, “I feel happy that you’re here,” instead of, “Are you glad that you’re here?” Finally, try not to say, “I don’t know.” This usually means I don’t want to think about it any more.
Remember also that it is not suitable to be open with everyone in every situation. You may want to be more open with close friends, but not with people you don’t know well, because you are not sure how someone else will use what they know about you. Besides, some people may not be used to too much openness. If we say everything we feel or think to them, they will feel very uncomfortable at times.
In all, being open is a good way for us to get on well with other people, but we’d better keep the balance between being open and not being too open.