Why! I have nothing to confess._____ you want me to say?

My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.

For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess（承認(rèn)）to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog that my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.

Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.

1. What is the main subject of the passage?

A．The relationship between Mark and Steve.

B．The important lesson Mark learned in school

C．Steve’s important role in mark’s growing process.

D．Mark and Steve’s respect for living things.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that when Mark confessed to Mrs. Holt, __________.

A．he felt surprised                        B．he was light-hearted

C．he felt frightened                       D．he knelt before her

3.In the story about the pen, which of the following lessons did Steve teach his brother?

A．Respect for personal property.

B．Respect for life.

C．Sympathy for people with problems.

D．The value of honesty.

4. According to the writer, which was the most important lesson Steve taught his young brother?

A．Respect for living things.

B．Responsibility for one’s actions.

C．The value of the honesty.

D．Care for the property of others.

5.Which of the follow is true according to the passage?

A．Mark was still a boy when he wrote this passage.

B．Mark lost the small dog his father carved somewhere.

C．When a living thing hurts you, you should kill it.

D．Even if a living thing hurts you, you should not kill it without hesitation.

11. According to the message board, Orion Books        .

A. opposes the reading of original classics           

B. is embarrassed for cutting down classics

C. thinks cut-down classics have a bright future       

D. is cautions in its decision to cut down classics

12. In Mr. Edwards’ opinion, Orion Group is shortening classics to        .

  A. make them easier to read            B. meet a large demand in the market

  C. increase the sales of literary books   D. compete with their original versions

13. By describing the shortened classics as “a breath of fresh air”, Ms. Weir        .

  A. speaks highly of the cut-down classics     

B. shows her love for original classics

  C. feels guilty of not reading the classics     

D. disapprove of shortening the classics

14. Mr. Crockatt seems to imply that        .

  A. reading the classic works is a confusing attempt

  B. shortening the classics does harm to the original

  C. publishing the cut-down classics is a difficult job

  D. editing the classic works satisfies children’s needs

15. How many classics are involved in the massage board?

A. Two.          B. Three.               C. Four.         D. Five.

A number of times Rosemary edged closer to Gordon , meaning to take his arm, but he edged away from her. She thought that she had offended him deeply, and that he was disappointed because she had pushed him away. She would have apologized if he had given her half a chance. But as a matter of fact, he was scarcely thinking of this any longer. It was the money business that was troubling him now. And the fact was that he would soon have to confess it. What nonsense it made of all he had said! Presently she stopped him, and swung him round to face her. “Gordon, why won’t you speak to me?” she said. “Are you still angry with me for what happened just now?”
“No, I was never angry with you. You’re not to blame. Something else has been worrying me all the way along, I’ve only eight pence left. I had just enough money for today when we started out, but that dinner bill upset everything. Can you lend me some money?’
Rosemary was amazed. “What does it matter if you’ve only eight pence left? How can you let yourself be worried by a thing like that? As though I objected to lending you money, aren’t I always telling you that I want to pay for myself when we go out together?’
“Yes, and you know how I hate you paying.”
“Oh, how silly you are.” She said. “Do you think there’s anything to be ashamed of in having no money?”
Gordon’s face went bright pink. “Of course there is ! It’s the only thing in the world there is to be ashamed of. I can’t be a complete human being—I don’t feel a human being –unless I’ve got money in my pocket.”
【小題1】What gave Rosemary the idea that she had hurt Gordon’s feelings deeply?