“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two?” I asked my friend. It was clear that she was wondering where I had come up with such a question. Losing Jenna would be like losing a very close sister. We hung out together. We gave each other advice.

“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two.” Jenna announced loudly.

The next year, in the fourth grade, we met Jamie. The three of us soon became close friends. We played together almost every day. I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken.

The three of us started fighting a lot. Before Christmas, we had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy. I felt helpless and lonely. I thought Christmas would be horrible!

I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me an awesome Christmas card she had made for me. I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me.

“Wow, ” I said, breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door. “Thanks.”

 “Okay…well…I have to go,” she said softly.

“Okay. See you later then…” and I closed the door.

“Who was that at the door?” my mum asked.

The card started off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends. I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting. A fight won’t stop us from being friends. Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eight-two.”

I stopped reading and started laughing. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in her back yard. I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to get even and making my friends feel sorry for me that I had forgotten about real friendship.

1.How would the author and Jenna get along with each other after Christmas?

A. They would be close friends again.

B. They would not speak to each other.

C. They would lose touch with each other.

D. They would go on fighting with each other.

2.The underlined sentence “I was bossy” in the fourth paragraph means “_________”.

A. I looked like a boss                               B. I acted as a boss

C. I was fond of giving orders                    D. I was fond of fighting

3.Which of the following is the right time order according to the passage?

a. Jamie became our friend.

b. I felt lonely and unhappy.

c. Jenna, Jamie and I fought a lot.

d. Jenna brought me a Christmas card.

e. I was sorry for what I did to her.

f. Jenna and I promised to be lifelong friends.

A. f a b c e d       B. a c f b d e         C. a b c f e d         D. f a c b d e

4.The author was delighted when she read the card from Jenna because _________.

A. what Jenna wrote was funny                  

B. Jenna would be her friend again

C. she was happy about the coming Christmas

D. she was happy to receive a Christmas card     

I watch her and her mother decorate her college dormitory room. Everything is in place organized and arranged. Her room nicely accommodates not only her clothes and bric-a-brac(小擺設(shè)), but her ___36___ as well. I begin to accept that her room at home is no longer hers. It is now ours, our room for her when she ___37___.
I ___38___ myself thinking of when I held her in the cradle of my arm, in the chair alongside my wife's hospital bed. One day old. So ___39___, so beautiful, so perfect, so ___40___ dependent on her new, ___41___ parents. Time marches relentlessly(不停地).
She looks up now, catching me ___42___ at her, causing her to say to her mother." Mom, Dad's looking at me ___43____”.
The last few days, I touch her arm, her face--- ___44___ that when my wife and I return home, she will not be ___45___ us. I have so much to say, but no ___46___ with which to say it.
My ___47___ changed from the day I drove this child home from the hospital. I saw myself ___48___ that day, and it has led to a lot of places that I would never have found on my own.
She says, “It'll be all right, Dad. I'll be home from school ___49___.” I tell her she will have a great year but I say little else. I am afraid somehow to speak and I only hold on to our good-bye hug a little longer, a little ___50___.
I gaze into her eyes and ___51___to go. My wife's eyes follow her as she leaves us. ___52___ do not. Maybe if I don't look, I can imagine that she really hasn't ___53___ ; I know that what she is embarking upon(開始) is exciting and wonderful. I remember what the world looked like to me ___54___ everything was new.
As I walk to the car with my wife at my side, my eyes are wet, my heart is sore, and I realize that my life is ___55___ forever.

Evelyn Glennie was the first lady of solo percussion in Scotland. In an interview, she recalled how she became a percussion soloist (打擊樂器獨(dú)奏演員) in spite of her disability.

“Early on I decided not to allow the  36  of others to stop me from becoming a musician. I grew up on a farm in northeast Scotland and began  37  piano lessons when I was eight. The older I got, the more my passion (酷愛) for music grew. But I also began to gradually lose my  38 . Doctors concluded that the nerve damage was the  39  and by age twelve, I was completely deaf. But my love for music never  40  me.

“My  41  was to become a percussion soloist, even though there were none at that time. To perform, I  42  to hear music differently from others. I play in my stocking feet and can  43  the pitch of a note (音調(diào)高低) by the vibrations (振動). I feel through my body and through my  44 . My entire sound world exists by making use of almost every  45  that I have.

“I was  46  to be assessed as a musician, not as a deaf musician, and I applied to the famous Royal Academy of Music in London. No other deaf student had  47  this before and some teachers  48  my admission. Based on my performance, I was  49  admitted and went to  50  with the academy’s highest honours.

“After that, I established myself as the first full-time solo percussionist. I  51  and arranged a lot of musical compositions since  52  had been written specially for solo percussionists.

“I have been a soloist for over ten years.  53  the doctor thought a was totally deaf, it didn’t  54  that my passion couldn’t be realized. I would encourage people not to allow themselves to be  55  by others. Follow your passion; follow your heart, they will lead you to to the place you want to go.”

36．A．conditions        B．opinions          C．a(chǎn)ctions             D．recommendations

37．A．enjoying          B．choosing          C．taking              D．giving

38．A．sight            B．hearing            C．touch            D．taste

39．A．evidence          B．result            C．excuse             D．cause

40．A．left              B．excited            C．a(chǎn)ccompanied    D．disappointed

41．A．purpose           B．decision           C．promise           D．goal

42．A．turned             B．learned            C．used             D．ought

43．A．tell               B．see               C．hear             D．smell

44．A．carefulness       B．movement        C．imagination      D．experience

45．A．sense            B．effort                  C．feeling             D．idea

46．A．dissatisfied       B．a(chǎn)stonished        C．determined       D．discouraged

47．A．done            B．a(chǎn)ccepted          C．a(chǎn)dvised            D．a(chǎn)dmitted

48．A．supported        B．followed          C．required           D．opposed

49．A．usually            B．finally             C．possibly           D．hopefully

50．A．study            B．research           C．graduate          D．progress

51．A．wrote              B．translated         C．copied             D．read

52．A．enough            B．some            C．many            D．few

53．A．However         B．Although         C．When              D．Since

54．A．mean            B．seem            C．conclude          D．say

55．A．directed           B．guided             C．taught              D．limited

King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once , ‘‘I love gold . I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well , tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold .”Saying this, the fairy disappeared.
The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy ,everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now.” He shouted.
  Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand . ‘‘I’m dying of hunger.” He cried.
Just then his daughter came running in . ‘‘Why are you so sad , dad ?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much .Seeing this ,he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him.  ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘ Please take it away,” begged the king, ‘‘ give me back my daughter.”  ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.” The king ran quickly to the nearby river.
【小題1】The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because_____

 In my whole childhood I focused on training to play professional soccer. Through the mid 90’s I  36 through Olympic training and on June 13,1997 I was  37 with a minor league team, when a 16-year-old boy ran a stop sign(闖紅燈).That night 38 my life. I was on my motorcycle and got 39 by a car, partly disabling me six months. I lost most of my memory, 40 coma (昏迷)symptom and had to learn to 41  all over. During the coming 24 months of physical treatment I changed my 42 of life.

    I began making 43 as if each day was my last day 44. Before the 45 , I was studying at a university. I was taught that the 46 of life was to study career skills and pursue financial 47. After returning from near death I went 48 searching. I traveled through the native reservation of the northern USA and witnessed the most extreme 49. I slowly realized there was so much more to 50 than just doing things for myself. I started listening to the people I met and 51 to help them any way possible.

   Everywhere I stayed I met 52 people telling me stories about 53 the earth and making better use of nature’s energy. In 2005 my father quickly died from cancer and I 54 the desire to do much of anything for myself. I started looking for well-off people to aid those 55. I’ve accumulated a list of people nearing life threatening situations or those trying to make a major effect on the world and now I try to help them full time.

1.A. advanced       B. fought         C. looked        D. won

2.A. playing         B. working       C. competing     D. coming

3.A. corrected       B. influenced      C. destroyed      D. changed

4.A. run            B. hit            C. knocked       D. stuck

5.A. spread          B. caught         C. showed        D. suffered

6.A. walk           B. talk            C. eat           D. drive

7.A. duty           B. view           C. course        D. dream

8.A. decisions       B. discoveries      C. promises       D. studies

9.A. possible        B. available        C. present        D. alive

10.A. event          B. experience      C. difficulty      D. disaster

11.A. reality         B. value           C. purpose       D. content

12.A. balance        B. situation        C. stability       D. expense

13.A. head          B. spirit           C. heart         D. soul

14.A. poverty        B. anxiety         C. anger         D. simplicity

15.A. nature         B. society         C. life           D. happiness

16.A. refused        B. volunteered      C. tended        D. learned

17.A. wonderful      B. famous         C. wealthy       D. cautious

18.A. developing     B. exploring        C. respecting     D. understanding

19.A. realized        B. controlled       C. gained        D. lost

20.A. in despair      B. in need          C. in touch       D. in season