Once I spoke at a high school. After the speech, the principal asked me to see a special student. An     1   had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
He was Matthew.   2  he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told    3  would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. He spoke about   4  and succeeding and seeking（追尋）his dreams.
When we finished talking, I went to my    5 and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about    6   and overcoming obstacles（克服障礙）than I ever would. He looked at it for a while, then took it off and handed it   7  to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I got the news that Matthew had   8   and a letter Matthew had written to me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter. The doctors are   9  to tell me that I don't have long to live any more. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you that in the future I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I'll      10   . I know I'm a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you.
Thank you for loving me.
Your friend
Matthew

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses (吻). So, I really doubt (懷疑) whether (是否) there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to make money to pay the schooling for me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV, and sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even impossible.
One day, my mother was sewing a quilt (被子). I asked her if there was love between them. She stopped her work and looked up with surprise. Then she bowed (彎下) her head and continued sewing the quilt. I was very worried because I thought I hurt her. But after a few minutes she said, “Look at this thread (線). Sometimes it appears, but most of the time it disappears in the quilt. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly (幾乎不) be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there, and makes the quilt long-lasting.” I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring.
My mother suddenly got sick seriously and had to stay in the hospital for a one-month treatment. Every morning and dusk (黃昏) after she returned from the hospital, my father helped my mother walk slowly on the country road. There were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees, and the sun gently shone them through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world. Reading their eyes, I knew they loved each other deeply. From this experience, I realized that love was just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.
【小題1】The writer thought his parents’ life was not          .

Last Sunday afternoon, I was having dinner in a restaurant when my friend Poor came in. Poor is working in a bank and is quite rich, but he is always borrowing money from his friends and never pays it back. Poor saw me and came to sit at my table. He had never borrowed any money from me. When he was eating, I asked him to lend me two dollars. To my surprise, he gave me the money at once.“I have never borrowed any money from you,”Poor said,“So you can pay for my dinner.”
Read the passage and choose the best answers.(閱讀短文,選擇最佳答案。)
【小題1】The story happened     .

閱讀理解

Henry was a carpenter（木匠）of our village. Once I asked him to make a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two windows. When I arrived home that evening, Henry was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for his work.。

My wife said to me，quietly , “ That’s his ninth cup of tea today . ” But she said loudly, “It’s a beautiful table，dear，isn’t it?”

“I won’t decide about that until I see that bill.” I said.

Henry laughed and gave me his bill for the work. It said：

BILL One dining table June 10 , 1995Cost of wood 17.00Paint（油漆）1.50Work，8 hours（1 an hour） 8.00Total（總計(jì)）36.50

When I was looking at the bill , Henry said , “it’s been a fine day，hasn’t it? Quite sunny.”

“Yes , ” I said. “I’m glad it is only the 10th of June.”

“Me too，” , said Henry. “You wait一it’ll be a bit hotter by the end of the month.”

“Yes. Hotter一and more expensive. Dining tables will be 20 more expensive on June 30^th , won’t they , Henry?”

Henry looked hard at me for half a minute. There was a little smile in his two blue eyes. I gave his bill back to him.

“If it isn’t too much trouble , Henry , ” I said , “ Please add it up again. You can forget the date.”

I paid him 26. 50 and he was happy to get it.

1.Why did Henry talk about weather when the writer was looking at the bill?

2. Why did the writer say that dining tables would be 20 more expensive by the end of June?

3. The writer thought Henry would ask for ______ if he made a dining table on the last day of June.

4. When the writer gave him the money，Henry was happy because_______ .

5. From the story we know that_______ .