【推荐1】A boy was dying of terminal leukemia (白血病). His mother took his hand and asked, “Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be when you grew up?”

“Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.”

Later that day she went to the fire department, where she met Fireman Bob. She explained her son’s final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do better than that. We’ll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And, we’ll get a real fire uniform made for him.”

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted (护送) him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy was in heaven. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished (慷慨给予) upon him, Bopsy lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop and the head nurse called the fire chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition. The chief replied, “We can do better than that. We’ll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens (警报器) screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that it’s just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time? And will you open the window to his room?”

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy’s third floor open window and 14 firemen and two fire-women climbed up the ladder into Bopsy’s room. They hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, “Chief, am I really a fireman now?”

With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes for the last time.

1. Why did Bopsy’s mother go to the fire department?

A．Her son wanted to get a fire uniform.

B．Her son wanted to ride on a fire engine.

C．She wanted her son to become a real fireman.

D．She wanted to help her son to realize his dream.

2. What did Fireman Bob probably mean by saying “the whole nine yards” in the third paragraph?

A．The fire engine was nine yards long.

B．The whole journey that day was very upsetting.

C．Bopsy could experience everything as a fireman.

D．All the sirens of the fire engines would scream that day.

3. Why did the head nurse want a fireman in uniform to be sent to the hospital?

A．Because Bopsy begged her to do so.

B．Because Bopsy saw the firemen as his family members.

C．Because she wanted Bopsy to be approved as a real fireman.

D．Because she wanted to do something for Bopsy before he died.

4. Which of the following statements best shows the theme of the passage?

A．Where there is a will, there is a way.

B．Sometimes there are miracles because of love.

C．Great things may be done by painstaking efforts.

D．A mother understands what a child does not say.

【推荐2】Benjamin West, one of the leaders of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made from camel’s hair. There were no such animals nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged (皮毛蓬乱的). His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.

The cat’s lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr. Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings (版画) by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen.

In 1747, when Benjamin was nine years old, Mr. Pennington returned for another visit. He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin’s parents if he might take the boy back to Philadelphia for a visit.

In the city, Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape (风景) painting. William Williams, a well-known painter, came to see him work. Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said, “Those two books were my companions by day, and under my pillow at night.” While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy made up his mind then that he would be an artist.

1. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 suggest?

A．The cat would be closely watched.

B．The cat would get some medical care.

C．Benjamin would leave his home shortly.

D．Benjamin would have real brushes soon.

2. What did Pennington do to help Benjamin develop his talent?

A．He took him to see painting exhibitions.

B．He provided him with painting materials.

C．He sent him to a school in Philadelphia.

D．He taught him how to make engravings.

3. Why were Williams’ two books helpful to Benjamin?

A．Because they helped him master the use of paints.

B．Because they helped him appreciate landscape paintings.

C．Because they helped him get to know other painters.

D．Because they helped him make up his mind to be a painter.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Benjamin’s visit to Philadelphia.

B．Williams’ influence on Benjamin.

C．The beginning of Benjamin’s life as an artist.

D．The friendship between Benjamin and Pennington.

【推荐3】Recently, as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his high school team, I started to feel sorry for myself and for him. His team was facing adversity (逆境) — it was the opponent’s home gym filled with their supporters, and Nathan’s team was left behind for three quarters of the game.

As for me, I had been fired earlier in the day. I was prepared for it as I had experienced the same thing 14 years earlier, but, just like a punch in the mouth, the blow is never softened because you were expecting it.

As I watched the adversity on the court that my son was experiencing, I recalled my earlier events, packing up everything in a box and waving goodbye to a great group of colleagues with whom I’d had the pleasure of working. During my driving home, I kept telling myself “Just like that time, I will find work again in a short time—I am confident in my experience and abilities.” It was the same belief that I tried to teach my son.

The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan’s team still trailing.   As Nathan and his teammates fought back, I saw the focus and determination on him, as well as his teammates’faces. Then, with a tie game and seconds on the clock, Nathan found himself with the ball. There was no room for self-doubt. With skill and confidence he was able to tune out all that could drive his attention away and make the throw as if he had done it a thousand times. The joy on his face, the cheering from the crowd, and the silence on the other side of the gym—it was a moment that would make any parent proud.

As I sat there, my heart bursting with pride, it dawned on me that I had taught him determination in the face of adversity, and he had just taught me the same lesson. That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court. He will play in the finals, but it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses, at this moment.

1. What did the author intend to show by mentioning his experience 14 years ago?

A．He quit a job again.	B．He disliked working with the colleagues.
C．He made a right career choice.	D．He had confidence in his abilities.

2. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Nathan’s teammates couldn’t focus on the play.

B．The author was never worried about his son’s team.

C．Nathan’s team lost the game at last.

D．The game was in a tie at one time.

3. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．A blow from losing a job.	B．A lesson on the court.
C．The importance of teamwork.	D．The rise and fall of a game.

【推荐2】Mark Twain, a great writer and speaker, was famous for his humor. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.   

One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes (蚊子) in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Waving his hand, Mark Twain said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will visit me.”

After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr. Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.

Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.

But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.

1. Why did Mark Twain’s friend warn him not to go to the town?

A．Because it was not a safe place.

B．Because there were no relatives of Mark Twain.

C．Because there were a lot of mosquitoes there.

D．Because he wanted to do something there for his writing.

2. What did the waiters feel sorry for?

A．Many mosquitoes in Mark’s room.

B．Their small hotel.

C．The room not being very clean.

D．The lock of the door going wrong.

3. All the people present laughed heartily because __________.

A．the mosquitoes were very clever without coming into the wrong room

B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number

C．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents

D．Mark Twain made a joke

4. What can we learn from the story?

A．Mark was well looked after in the hotel.

B．No mosquitoes troubled Mark in the night.

C．Mark didn’t have a good sleep that night.

D．There were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer.

【推荐3】Car Talk

When I got the driving license last summer, Mom and I took our first trip around an empty parking lot. Then I found that my mother was not the best teacher for me. It wasn’t that she shouted, or told me that I was doing poorly. As you can imagine, my mother’s “helpful instructions” only managed to make me more nervous.

Since I could no longer practice with her, the job was placed in the hands of my father. The idea of learning from Dad was not one that thrilled me. I loved him dearly, but I just did not see Dad as someone I could be comfortable learning from. He almost never talked. We shared a typical father-daughter relationship. He’d ask how school was, and I’d say it was fine. Unfortunately, that was the most of our conversations. Spending hours alone with someone who might as well have been a stranger really scared me.

As we got into the car that first time, I was not surprised at what happened. Dad and I drove around, saying almost nothing, aside from a few instructions on how to turn. As my lessons went on, however, things began to change. Dad would turn the radio up so I could fully appreciate his favorite Stones music. And he actually began talking. I was soon hearing about past failed dates, “basic body” gym class, and other tales from his past, including some of his first meeting with Mom.

Dad’s sudden chattiness was shocking until I thought about why he was telling me so much in the car. In all the years that I had wondered why my father never spoke that much, I had never stopped to consider that it was because I had never bothered to listen. Homework, friends, and even TV had all called me away from him, and, consequently, I never thought my quiet father had anything to say.

Since I began driving with him, my driving skill has greatly increased. More important, though, is that my knowledge of who my father is has also increased. Just living with him wasn’t enough—it took driving with him for me to get to know someone who was a mystery.

1. The author couldn’t practice driving with her mother because ________.

A．she couldn’t talk with her mother

B．her father wanted to teach her

C．her mother made her nervous

D．she didn’t trust her mother

2. At first, the idea of learning driving from her father made her ________.

A．happy

B．uneasy

C．satisfied

D．disappointed

3. What surprised the author when the driving lessons went on?

A．Her Dad liked modern music.	B．Her Dad was the best teacher.
C．Her Dad was a chatty person.	D．Her Dad told her his sad stories.

4. With her story “Car Talk”, the author indicates that ________.

A．fathers love their daughters dearly

B．mothers are less patient than fathers

C．family members need real communication

D．it takes time to improve the father-daughter relationship