1 . It was already half past seven and I was running late again for the dinner appointment with my wife, Eleanor. We had_______to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock. I felt a little uneasy, but to my_______，I had a good excuse: A business meeting had_______and I'd wasted no time getting to the dinner.
When I arrived at the_______，1 apologized and told Eleanor I didn't mean to be late. She screamed, "You never mean to." Well, I_______tell she was angry. "I'm sorry but it was not_______," I said. Then I told her about the business meeting._______, my explanation seemed to make things worse, which started to drive_______mad as well.
Several weeks later, when I_______the situation to my friend Ken Hardy, he smiled, "You________a classic mistake. You're stuck________your own way of thinking. You didn't________to be late. But that's not the point. What is________in your communication is how your lateness affected Eleanor." He pointed out that I focused on the intention________Eleanor focused on the result. Thus,________of us felt misunderstood and crazy.
Thinking more about Ken's words, I________recognized the root cause of such disagreement. It's the result of the action that really________I should have started the conversation by expressing________my actions affected Eleanor and________the discussions about my intention for later, much later and even never.
Later on, after talking to Eleanor and really________her experience of the results
of my lateness, I've managed to be on time a lot more frequently.1.

A．started

B．agreed

C．continued

D．managed

2.

A．relief

B．surprise

C．regret

D．sorrow

3.

A．broken out

B．closed down

C．faded away

D．run over

4.

A．house

B．room

C．restaurant

D．supermarket

5.

A．could

B．must

C．will

D．might

6.

A．movable

B．comfortable

C．acceptable

D．avoidable

7.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Moreover

D．Otherwise

8.

A．her

B．him

C．me

D．them

9.

A．spread

B．wrote

C．translated

D．described

10.

A．knew

B．made

C．found

D．took

11.

A．in

B．beyond

C．for

D．against

12.

A．need

B．prove

C．pretend

D．intend

13.

A．funny

B．important

C．possible

D．simple

14.

A．while

B．after

C．until

D．unless

15.

A．all

B．none

C．both

D．neither

16.

A．usually

B．merely

C．hardly

D．gradually

17.

A．inspires

B．matters

C．improves

D．challenges

18.

A．how

B．why

C．when

D．what

19.

A．compared

B．reported

C．finished

D．saved

20.

A．showing

B．satisfying

C．understanding

D．destroying

2 . Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were____, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the passage to greet her.
Seizing the____to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and____explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.” When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and____ that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In____, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the key-board, ____picking out Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
At that moment, the great piano master made his____, quickly moved to the piano, and____in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”
Then____over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato (伴奏). Together, the old master and the young novice (beginner) transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully____experience. The audience was strongly____
That’s the way it is in life. What we can accomplish (实现) on our own is hardly ____ We try our best, but the ____aren’t exactly graceful flowing music. But when we trust in the hands of a Greater Power, our life’s work ____can be beautiful.
Next time you set out to____great achievements, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”1.

A．seated

B．sat

C．dressed

D．rested

2.

A．fact

B．difficulty

C．opportunity

D．risk

3.

A．actually

B．occasionally

C．fortunately

D．eventually

4.

A．discovered

B．told

C．accepted

D．offered

5.

A．joy

B．trust

C．horror

D．pleasure

6.

A．quickly

B．personally

C．generally

D．innocently (纯洁地)

7.

A．entrance

B．disappearance

C．arrangement

D．opening

8.

A．shouted

B．repeated

C．promised

D．whispered

9.

A．turning

B．bending

C．rising

D．handing

10.

A．creative

B．effective

C．annoying

D．fearing

11.

A．addicted(入了迷的)

B．invited

C．attacked

D．attracted

12.

A．abnormal (反常的)

B．remarkable (卓越的)

C．unimportant

D．ordinary

13.

A．goals

B．intentions

C．results

D．purposes

14.

A．luckily

B．truly

C．slightly

D．fortunately

15.

A．overcome

B．enjoy

C．accomplish

D．become

3 . Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children．In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream．They both wanted to pursue their talent for art．After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement．They would toss a coin．The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy．Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy．
Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg．Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation（轰动）．By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works．
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant（胜利的）homecoming．Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream．“And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn．Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you．”
Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, “No．．．no．．．It is too late for me．Look．．．look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands！The bones in every finger have been broken at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis（关节炎）so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush．”
To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward．He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands”, but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it “The Praying Hands”．The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, let it be your reminder—no one ever makes any success alone！
1. Why did the two brothers work out the agreement？

A．They were so curious as to make a joke．

B．Their family couldn’t afford the academy．

C．One of the brothers was supposed to go into mines．

D．They wanted to support the other sisters and brothers．

2. The underlined word “whose” in Para．2 refers to _____ ．

A．the Durer family’s	B．the miners
C．Albert’s	D．Albrecht’s

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Albrecht Durer？

A．He began to earn his living after graduation

B．He did perfectly well at the academy

C．He wanted his brother to go to the academy

D．He created great masterpieces

4. Which of the following is the correct order of the story？
a．Albrecht went to Nuremberg
b．Albert supported his brother
c．The Durer family held a festive dinner
d．Albrecht drew his brother’s injured hands
e．The brothers tossed a coin．

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

5. What can we learn from the story？

A．One can achieve success simply on his own

B．Any success requires the help of others．

C．It’s other people who contribute to one’s success

D．Nobody could succeed without good guidance

4 . I wasn’t surprised when I read that actress Helen Hunt recently stated that she would never allow her young daughter to become a child star. Ms Hunt is the daughter of a Hollywood technical director, and grew up in Hollywood. Now in her late 40s, she started acting and modeling when she was eight and has probably seen a lot over those years in show business.
She has had a successful career. She earned four Golden Globes and four Emmys. She also attained the top honor of her profession when she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 1992 movie, As Good As It Gets. Given those accolades, Ms Hunt is successful. There is no doubt that her early experiences as a child star prepared her for what has been an outstanding adult career. Given those achievements, why would this star declare she’ll never allow her daughter, now at the age of six, to follow in her footsteps?
Everyone familiar with the entertainment scene is aware of the reasons for her attitude. Recent tabloid (小报) news headlines featuring the troubles of former child stars, among them Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the late Gary Coleman, may answer the question. Although Ms Hunt managed to become a successful grown-up star, she apparently believes she’s an exception.
What Ms Hunt may be suggesting is that many very young stars go through unnatural childhoods on movie and TV sets. While they’re earning big incomes, they’re so pampered (纵容) by directors and praised by fans; they may get false impressions that their lives will always be that way. Then, within a few years, when faced with reality, they’re hurt and confused. After all the overwhelming affection, they find they can’t deal with the problems. That’s often when drugs and alcohol take over their lives.
Helen Hunt has some other reasons why she doesn’t want her daughter to be in the entertainment business. Many child stars can never make a successful transition to meaningful adulthood. However, as with many Hollywood movies, I believe there are both good and bad scenes about how it can be played out in real life.
1. According to the passage, Ms Hunt _________.

A．started acting and modeling when she was a little girl

B．has been acting for about 30 years

C．is the daughter of a famous actor

D．started singing when she was eight

2. The underlined word “accolades” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_________”.

A．difficulties	B．awards
C．salaries	D．opinions

3. The author thinks Helen Hunt’s success is mainly due to _________.

A．her hard work

B．the help of a technicaldirector

C．her experiences as a child star

D．her talent and good luck

4. Helen Hunt wouldn’t allow her daughter to become a child star because she thinks _________.

A．child stars often take drugs and alcohol

B．being a child star may ruin her future

C．child stars aren’t able to solve their problems

D．it is difficult to succeed as a child actor

5. From the passage we can conclude that _________.

A．few child stars will succeed in the future

B．there is no way to save the entertainment business

C．the author has a different opinion about child stars

D．meaningful adulthood only belongs to non-child stars

5 . Until a few months ago, he was a butler(管家) in one of the more expensive residential buildings in Manhattan. But now, Nepal-born Indra Tamang is the owner of two multi-million dollar apartments in the same building.
The former owner - his former employer, Ruth Ford - died last year and left the apartments   to Mr Tamang in her will.
Mr Tamang is happy but quickly points out that his good fortune did not come easily. "I am happy and have been touched by the generosity of the Ford family," he says. "I never expected that I will be given the ownership of these apartments. But I have been working for the family for the last 36 years, devotedly, with honesty and dedication(奉献). So my hard work has been rewarded."
Mr Tamang was 21 when he was brought from Nepal by Charles Ford, a writer and a photographer. Mr Ford died in 2002; his sister, actress Ruth Ford, then took charge and told Mr Tamang that he was like a brother to her after Charles's death.
Mrs Ford died aged 98. During the last five years of her life, she lost her eyesight and also developed speech problems. Mr Tamang looked after her most of the time and took care of her medicines and food.
He also worked with Charles Ford on various photography projects, which he now wants to keep as the photographer's legacy(遗产). He hopes to organize exhibitions of Mr Ford's photographs and edit a book of his works.
Mr Tamang plans to sell the bigger, three-bedroom apartment to pay the taxes he owes to the government on his legacy. He says: "The rules of the building might be a problem, as they require a minimum monthly income to qualify to live as owner of apartments. I have my small house here but I am happy with it,"
Mr Tamang has learnt his lesson from the life of his employers and plans to use his money with great caution. "I think one should save money for old age. That's when you need it the most to get care," he says.
1. Mr Tamang treated the legacy as __________.

A．a reward

B．a punishment

C．business

D．a gift

2. What DIDN’T Mr Tamang do in the Ford family?

A．Show Mr Ford's works in the exhibition.

B．Look after Ruth Ford when she was ill.

C．Work on kinds of photography projects

D．Experience deaths of Charles Ford and Ruth Ford

3. Mr Tamang wants to sell one apartment to _______.

A．buy the small house

B．pay the government the tax of the apartments

C．edit a book of Charles Ford's photographs

D．move into the expensive apartments as soon as possible

4. What lesson does Mr Tamang learn from the Ford family?

A．To find a good butler.

B．To spend money thoughtfully.

C．To save money for children.

D．To get good care when people get old.

5. What can we know from the passage?

A．Charles Ford gave the apartments to Mr Tamang.

B．Charles Ford couldn't see or speak before his death.

C．Mr Tamang treated Ruth Ford much better than her brother.

D．Mr Tamang will still live in his small house in the near future.

6 . Once there was a man who lied to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.
So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.
Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived - a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.
He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.
Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout: What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?”   The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry: “If I could just come down, I would show you!”
That’s what everybody wanted - that he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge.（复仇）
He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.
However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really sed him because he induced（引诱）him to try his best and save himself.
“I should be thankful and not angry.”
1. From the story we know that the sweetest mango must be the one        .

A．on the very top of the a tree

B．hidden in the middle of a tree

C．on the tree for the longest time

D．exposed to sunlight less often

2. What happened after he had picked a few sweet reddish mangoes?

A．He slipped and fell to the ground suddenly.

B．He was climbing down quickly but carefully.

C．He remained hanging helplessly on the tree.

D．He shouted loudly for help but no one helped.

3. How did the man feel when the sage hit him with a stone?

A．He was nervous.	B．He kept silent.
C．He felt surprised.	D．He was angry.

4. What do you think motivated the man to climb down?

A．Courage.

B．Revenge.

C．Carefulness.

D．Assistance.

5. What does the story imply?

A．Anger saves one’s life.	B．Wisdom does count.
C．Skill and strength count.	D．Anger is the biggest enemy.

7 . Philip was a nine-year-old boy in a Sunday school class of 8-year-old girls and boys. Sometimes the third graders didn’t welcome Philip into their group and usually tricked him. This was not because he was older, but because he was “different”. You see, Philip suffered from a condition called Downs’s Syndrome. This made him “different”, with his facial characteristics, slow responses and mental problems.
One Sunday after Easter, the Sunday school teacher gathered some plastic eggs that pulled apart in the middle. The teacher gave one to each child. On that beautiful spring day, the children were to go out and discover for themselves some symbol of “new life” and place it inside the plastic eggs.
After the children returned to the classroom, the teacher opened their eggs one by one, asking each child to explain that symbol of “new life”. The first opened egg contained a flower. Everyone cheered. In another was a butterfly…. When the teacher opened the last egg, it was empty. “That’s stupid,” said someone. The teacher felt a pull at his shirt. It was Philip. Looking up, Philip said, “It’s mine. I did it. It’s empty. I have new life, because the tomb is empty.” Not a sound was heard in class at all. From that day on, Philip became a real part of the group. They welcomed him, and whatever made him different was never mentioned again.
Philip’s family knew he wouldn’t live a long life, for there were too many things wrong with him.
1. The underlined word “condition” in the first paragraph probably means ________.

A．grade

B．status

C．health

D．disease

2. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ________.

A．The 8-year-olds were sometimes cruel

B．The 8-year-olds were friendly to Philip

C．Philip was really different in school

D．Philip was older and more sensitive

3. The teacher gave each child one plastic egg to let them ________.

A．play around on that beautiful spring day

B．put some symbol of “new life” into it

C．try to pull it apart in the middle

D．go out and discover themselves

4. After Philip explained his new life, ________.

A．The class thought he was clever.	B．The class fell silent.
C．He began to study in the class.	D．He felt dying.

5. We learn from the passage that ________.

A．The teacher used to have classes outdoors

B．The Philip’s new life wish was empty

C．Philip was healthy as a whole

D．Philip was accepted by his classmates in the end

8 . I receive many letters from children and can’t answer them all – there wouldn’t be enough time in a day. I’ll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.
Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte’s Web? Well, many years ago, I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That’s how the story of Stuart Little got started.
As for Charlotte’s Web, I like animals and my farm is very pleasant place to be – at all hours. One day, when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was going to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save his life. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)
Sometimes I’m asked when I started to write, and what made me want to write. I started early – as soon as I could spell. Children often find pleasure through trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures. I was not good at drawing, so I used words instead. As I grew older, I found that writing could be a way of earning a living.
Well, here is the answer to the last question. No, they are imaginary (虚构的) tales. In real life, a family doesn’t have a child who looks like a mouse and a spider doesn’t write words in her web. Although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too – truth about the way people and animals feel, think and act.
1. E.B. White wrote this passage to ______.

A．introduce his new books

B．introduce two funny stories

C．explain why he enjoys writing

D．answer some readers’ questions

2. We can know from the passage that E.B. White is a writer who ______.

A．writes very fast

B．works on a friends’ farm

C．mainly writes stories for adults

D．writes imaginary tales for children

3. What inspired E.B. White to writeCharlotte’s Web?

A．That he wanted children to love animals.

B．That he was deeply impressed by a clever pig.

C．That he wanted to use his own way to save a pig.

D．That he wanted to save the animals on a farm.

4. E.B. White started to write because he wanted to ______.

A．improve his spelling

B．express his thoughts

C．show his sadness

D．make a good living

5. What is probably the last question?

A．Are your stories true?

B．What is the truth in your stories?

C．Will you write more imaginary tales?

D．Do you know a child looking like a mouse?

9 . Susan Sontag (1933—2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything—to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s, publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review, she appeared as the symbol of American culture life, trying hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art. With great effort and serious judgment, Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.

Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong mottos, but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poorly-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In Notes Camp, the 1964 essay that first made her name, she explained what was then a little-known set of difficult understandings, through which she could not have been more famous. Notes on Camp, she wrote, represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’”.

By conviction(信念) she was a sensualist(感觉论者), but by nature she was a moralist, and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the latter side of her that came forward. In Illness as Metaphor—published in 1978, after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed (被压抑的) personalities, a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact, re-examining old concepts was her lifelong habit.

In America, her story of a 19^th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California, won the National Book Award in 2000. But what made her achieve lasting fame was a tireless, all-purpose cultural view.

“Sometimes,” she once said, “I feel that, in the end, all I am really defending… is the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.” And in the end, she made us take it seriously too.

1. It is implied but not stated in the first paragraph that Sontag        .

A．was a symbol of American cultural life

B．developed world literature, film and arts

C．published many essays about world culture

D．kept pace with the newest development of world culture

2. She first won her name through        .

A．publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review

B．her story of a Polish actress

C．her explanation of a set of difficult understandings

D．her book Illness as Metaphor

3. From the works Susan published in the 1970s and 1980s, we can learn that        .

A．she was more of a moralist than a sensualist

B．she was more of a sensualist than a moralist

C．she believed repressed personalities mainly led to illness

D．She would like to re-examine old positions

4. According to the passage, Susan Sontag would agree to the ideas except        .

A．We should try hard to follow every new development in literature, film and art.

B．Cancer can be defeated because it is a special problem of repressed personalities.

C．‘Form’ should be over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ should be over ‘morals’.

D．We should defend the idea of seriousness, of true seriousness.

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A lifelong motto: seriousness.

B．Susan Sontag is the symbol of American culture.

C．How Susan Sontag became famous.

D．An introduction to Susan Sontag and her motto.

10 . Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1897, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgrum. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.   In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（辐射能）.   Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.
1. Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?

A．Because she received a degree in mathematics.

B．Because she contributed to saving the wounded.

C．Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic.

D．Because she worked as a helper to her mother.

2. Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederio joliot?

A．At the Curie Institute.

B．At the university of Paris

C．At a military hospital.

D．At the College of Sevigne.

3. In which of the following aspects was Irene Cuire different from her mother?

A．Irene worked with radioactivity.

B．Irene combined family and career.

C．Irene won the Nobel Prize once.

D．Irene died from leukemia.