Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a "boy". Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males send them off to bed at night.
Boys are found everywhere--on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to. Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face, BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.
When you are busy, a boy is a trouble-maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature destroying the world and himself with it.
A boy is a mixture--he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker (鞭炮), but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.
He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday schools, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.
Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half-eaten apple, a three-foot rope, six cents and some unknown things.
A boy is a magical creature--he is your headache but when you come home at night with only destroyed pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, "Hi, Dad!"
1. The whole passage is in a tone of ________.| A．humor and affection | B．anger and disappointment |
| C．hope and expectation | D．confidence and imagination |
| A．He has altogether five fingers. | B．He is slow, foolish and clumsy. |
| C．He becomes clever and smart. | D．He cuts his hand with a knife. |
| A．ice cream | B．comic books |
| C．Saturday mornings | D．Sunday schools |
| A．He feels curious about their noise. |
| B．He is tired of these creatures. |
| C．He is amazed by their naughtiness. |
| D．He feels unsafe staying with them. |
One day while walking through the woods, the old man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He took it home. A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then came out easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, or they would be smaller. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled （枯萎）wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any difficulties, it would cripple (无能) us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.
1. The old man cut the cocoon in order to ____.
| A．kill the butterfly |
| B．play with the butterfly |
| C．make the butterfly come out easily |
| D．have the butterfly |
| A．the old man broke its wings |
| B．it was too small |
| C．newly born butterflies can’t fly |
| D．it came out of its cocoon without enough struggle |
| A．That old man was fond of everything except the butterfly. |
| B．It was the old man that stopped the butterfly flying. |
| C．The old man realized his mistake. |
| D．It’s not hard for the butterfly to come out of the cocoon. |
| A．We should help others. |
| B．Without others' help we can still succeed. |
| C．Struggles in our life can make us stronger. |
| D．Butterflies can fly without people’s help. |
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.”
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is on that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.
1. When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to ________.
| A．go home alone first | B．keep walking in the snow |
| C．draw pictures in the snow | D．light a fire on the ice |
| A．forgettable | B．warm-hearted | C．crazy | D．cruel |
| A．Tough. | B．Smart. | C．Brave. | D．Foolish. |
| A．remember her tough and smart father |
| B．show how her father cared about her |
| C．describe memories of her childhood |
| D．explain why her father loved her so much |
The professor began to ask. The student was required to describe a certain illness, his description of which turned out to be OK.
Then the professor asked about the cure (药剂) for illness, and the student, too, answered just as right.
“Good,” said the professor, “and how much will you give the patient?”
“A full spoon”, answered the student.
“Now you may go out and wait for what you can get.” said the professor. At the same time, the committee discussed carefully the answers the student had given. Suddenly the student noticed that there was something wrong with his last answer. “A full spoon is too much,” he thought to himself. Anxiously he opened the door of the room and cried, “Mr Professor, I’ve made a mistake! A full spoon is too much for a patient. He can take only five drops.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” said the professor coldly, “But it’s too late. Your patient has died.”
1. The students were afraid of the professor because_________.
| A．they often angered and disappointed him |
| B．he often misunderstood them and give them bad markers |
| C．their answers often astonished him |
| D．their answers seldom satisfied him |
| A．his last answer was satisfying |
| B．he had passed the exam, and the only thing was to wait for the mark |
| C．he had made a mistake |
| D．he had not done well in the exam |
| A．The patient will be in danger if he’s taken as much as a full spoon. |
| B．The doctor will be in trouble if he’s given the patient a full spoon. |
| C．Since one spoon is less than five drops, the patient will be all right soon if he takes only one full spoon at a time. |
| D．If the patient wants to remain safe, he should take no more than five drops at a time. |
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” With these words, Howard Kelly left that house.
Years later the woman became badly ill and was finally sent to the hospital in a big city. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Dressed in his doctor’s clothes, Dr. Kelly went into her room and recognized her at once. From that day on, he gave special attention to her, and decided to do his best to save her life.
At last the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to the woman’s room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words:
“Paid in full with a glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly.”
Tear of joy flooded her eyes.
1. The boy sent newspapers door to door in order to ________.
| A．continue his schooling |
| B．become a famous doctor |
| C．thank the woman for her kindness |
| D．support his poor family |
| A．He was too shy to ask her for some water. |
| B．She thought he was not hungry but thirsty. |
| C．She wanted him to pay for the glass of milk. |
| D．She never thought he would save her life later. |
| A．began to take good care of her himself |
| B．told her she once gave him a glass of milk |
| C．decided to try his best to save her |
| D．asked for her bill and paid it off at once |
| A．A Warm-hearted Woman | B．A Glass of Milk |
| C．The Final Bill | D．A Famous Doctor |
In almost all of his poems, Frost wrote in the first person. The first widely-read poem that he published was called My Butterfly. At first his audience was very small, but with his Collected Poems he became famous. Robert Frost received almost all the awards that there were for poetry. His poetry describes the forces of nature, and the violence and deep emotional(情感的) needs of human beings, which reflect the experiences of his childhood.
Robert Frost will always be known as one of the best poets in history. His way of putting emotion and violence into words is remarkable(非同寻常的). His talent for poetry is natural-born and he had discovered this when he started to farm. Even though he treated his wife and children terribly, he still became one of the best-known poets of his and our day.
1. We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．Robert Frost had been a famous writer before he started teaching |
| B．Robert Frost wrote his poems mostly in the first person |
| C．Robert Frost was very famous at the beginning of his writing career |
| D．Robert Frost began to write poems when he was a teacher |
| A．his teaching career | B．his life experiences |
| C．showing strong feeling in his poems | D．his interest in poems |
| A．why Robert Frost stopped farming |
| B．why Robert Frost was so famous |
| C．about his masterpieces(杰作) |
| D．about the way he treated his wife and children |
| A．Robert Frost’s most famous poem is My Butterfly |
| B．Robert Frost began to write when he was in college |
| C．Robert Frost gave up studying at Dartmouth University |
| D．his poetry showed the violence of war and his childhood |
7 . After successfully serving their term for 4 years, military service men and women are given the choice to stay in the military or return to civilian(平民)life.
For some, having to readjust to civilian life is one of the most challenging assignments our returning soldiers and marines(水兵)will ever have to undertake. While people may think readjusting should be simple, they must take into consideration all the physical and mental stress our servicemen went through.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder(创伤后应急障碍), or PTSD, is a mental disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat(打仗).
Most survivors of trauma return to normal given a little time. In the military, the marines are given a two-week course on how to return to civilian life.
Unfortunately, some will have stress reactions that do not go away on their own, or may even get worse over time. These individuals may develop PTSD.
People who suffer from PTSD have difficulty sleeping because they are often reliving the experience through nightmares(梦魇)and flashbacks, and feel deserted or often stand off, and these symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly damage the person’s daily life.
Fullerton College, like most colleges, has its own Veteran’s(老兵)Office. Ray Bustos has been running the office for 3 years. Bustos acts as a liaison(联络) for the school and the veteran students. He makes sure the veterans returning to school get the right benefits. There are various types of financial aid for soldiers and marines. He strongly encourages the use of the Veterans Affairs website.
The website is very informative and extremely helpful for veterans as well as for friends and relatives of veterans who want to learn more.
1. One purpose of the writer in writing the passage is ________________.| A．to introduce some methods to cure PTSD |
| B．to instruct PTSD patients to return to civilian life |
| C．to recommend a website for veterans and people concerned |
| D．to give military service men and women advice on civilian life |
| A．How to readjust to civilian life. | B．How to get rid of mental diseases |
| C．How to get along with PTSD patients | D．How to return to school for benefits. |
| A．He’s a veteran who has just come back from a military combat. |
| B．He runs Fullerton College with a veteran office. |
| C．He’s in charge of an office dealing with veteran affairs. |
| D．He provides a lot of financial aid for soldiers and marines. |
| A．PTSD: Killer of A Civilian Life. | B．The Last Assignment For All Military Persons |
| C．How to Overcome PTSD. | D．Ready for a Civilian Life? |
8 . Prince Charles yesterday pledged to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule. The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services.
The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities.
He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked.”
He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy.” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”.
Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’s Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet.
Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gas are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products. The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences. Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate, as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff. Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission.
1. One of the moves Prince Charles will take to reduce the royal impact on the environment is ______.| A．taking private jets that are not carbon-heavy |
| B．taking helicopters instead of private jets |
| C．taking trains instead of scheduled flights |
| D．taking scheduled flights instead of helicopters |
| A．Dissatisfied. | B．Disappointed. | C．Doubtful. | D．Impatient. |
| A．make as much green food as possible | B．cut down its cost. |
| C．figure out its greenhouse gas emission | D．continue its greenhouse gas emission. |
| A．the great amount of waste produced by industry |
| B．the great damage caused to the environment |
| C．the great amount of debts of the royal family |
| D．the high cost of industry in their producing process |
| A．Prince Charles Pledges Greener Royal Lifestyle |
| B．Better Late than Never |
| C．Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment |
| D．The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection |
