4 . Last July, my 12-year-old car died on California’s Santa Ana Freeway. It was an hour before sunset, and I was 25 miles from home. I couldn’t reach anyone to pick me up, so I decided to take a bus. Not knowing the routes, I figured I’d just head east. A bus pulled up, and I asked the driver how far she was going. “Four more lights,” she said. There was another bus I could take from there. This clearly was going to be a long night. She dropped me off at the end of her route and told me which bus to look for.

After waiting 30 minutes, I began to think about a very expensive taxi ride home. Then a bus pulled up. There was no lighted number above its windshield (挡风玻璃). It was out of service. But the door opened, and I was surprised to find that it was the same driver. “ I just can’t leave you here,” she said. “ This isn’t the nicest place. I’ll give you a ride home.” “You’ll drive me in the bus?” I asked, perplexed(困惑的). “No, I’ll take you in my car,” she said. “ It’s a long way,” I protested. “Come on,” she said. “I have nothing else to do.” As we drove from the station in her car, she began telling me a story. A few days earlier, her brother had run out of gas. A good Samaritan picked him up, took him to a service station and then back to his car.

“I’m just passing the favor along,” she said. When I offered her money as a thank-you, she wouldn’t hear of it. “That wouldn’t make it a favor,” she said. “Just do something nice for somebody. Pass it along.”

1. Judging from its context, the place where the writer waited for the second bus was ________.

A．very quiet and peaceful	B．dark without street lights
C．neither clean nor beautiful	D．a little unsafe

2. Why did the writer change his mind after waiting for 30 minutes at the end of the     route?

A．No bus would come at the time.

B．A taxi ride would be more comfortable.

C．He became impatient and a bit worried.

D．He knew the driver would never return.

3. The bus driver drove the writer home later because ________.

A．she happened to go in the same direction

B．she wanted to do something good for other people

C．her brother told her to do so

D．she wanted to earn more money

4. The bus driver hoped that the writer ________.

A．would do as she did	B．would keep her in memory
C．would give the money to others	D．would do her a favor

5 . One day, Amanda was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer of an early stage. During this time, she was admitted to a college. She planned to save money to meet the college expense and then seek medical treatment for the cancer.

Her father, Clint and her friends didn’t want her to put off her treatment due to the expense. They took matters into their own hands and started a GoFundMe campaign. A longtime friend of the family was cofounder of a group named Praynksters, known for random acts of kindness. The friend decided to use their own group to help the family. The group came up with the creative idea to spread the word and invite families, friends, and strangers who wanted to help to take part in a donation activity. The event induced the enormous assistance from the local community.

Clint and Amanda were moved as the crowd passed by and the donations poured in. The event brought the family over $13, 000 in donations to go towards her medical treatments. The generous act of kindness gave the family a comforting, and optimistic feeling during a time when all hope seemed lost. Clint said that Amanda struggled with the idea of asking for help. She felt guilty and undeserving compared to others who are also struggling. She is still humbled by it all.

After several months of treatment, life for the family has started getting back to their normal routine. Once Amanda got her strength back, she returned to school and completed her bachelor's degree. The family is now inspired to volunteer in their local neighborhood and contribute to crowdfunding (众筹) efforts. They are grateful for the opportunity to give back and help others as many have helped them.

1. Why did Amanda postpone her treatment of cancer?

A．She didn't care about her disease.

B．She had to take care of her family.

C．She was in a bad economic situation.

D．She couldn’t find an effective treatment.

2. What does the underlined word “induced” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Brought about.	B．Made up.
C．Gave away.	D．Set about.

3. Which of the following best describes Amanda?

A．Shameful but caring.

B．Kind-hearted and grateful.

C．Curious and warm-hearted.

D．Hard- working and humorous.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．It's quite easy to cure Amanda’s cancer.

B．Praynksters is a nonprofit organization funded by Clint.

C．Volunteering is very popular in Amanda's community.

D．A GoFundMe campaign is actually a crowdfunding activity.

6 . When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Doctor Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard, but was always very kind.

When Doctor Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He had some interesting theories about planting trees. He hardly watered his new trees, an attitude which flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

Once I asked why and he told me that watering plants spoiled them because it made them grow weaker. He said he had to make things tough for the trees so that only the strongest could survive. He talked about how watering trees made them develop shallow roots and how, if they were not watered, trees would grow deep roots in search of water.

So, instead of watering his trees every morning, he’d beat them with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the trees’ attention.

Doctor Gibbs died a couple of years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some 25 years ago. They were tall and strong.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. I often pray that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to encounter hardship. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere. What we need to do is to pray for deep roots, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won’t be torn apart.

1. What did the author think of Doctor Gibbs’s planting trees at first?

A．Perfect .	B．Puzzled.
C．Amused.	D．Impractical .

2. What did Doctor Gibbs do to the trees he planted?

A．He let them grow quickly.

B．He beat them to get their attention.

C．He helped them search for water.

D．He read a newspaper near them.

3. Which of the following can best describe Doctor Gibbs?

A．Kind and wise.	B．Calm and brave.
C．Careful and ambitious	D．Strict and devoted.

4. What does the author learn from Doctor Gibbs?

A．Elders are treasures.

B．Two heads are better than one.

C．A man without distant care must have near sorrow.

D．Only those who bear the most become the highest.

7 . Mr. White is quite different to me. I had a lot of anger inside of me, when I first met him. I’ ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time, which is terrible. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have some friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. White wouldn’t let that happen.

Mr. White worked long time, making sure I did my work. With him company my grades rose. In fact, the scores of our whole class rose. One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down.

Mr. White was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names, Mr. White said, “You’re all going.”

On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn’t want his class to end. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in contact. He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55. In 2003, Mr. White took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages. It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.

1. Without Mr. White, the writer _________.

A．might have joined a women’s club	B．might not have won the prize
C．might have put into prison	D．might not have moved to Atlanta

2. How many students’ names were finally drawn out of a hat by Mr. White?

A．None.

B．Three.

C．Fifty-five.

D．All.

3. In the passage, the writer intends to tell us that ___________.

A．Mr. White went to South Africa because he liked traveling

B．Mr. White helped to set up a group of women’s clubs

C．a good teacher can raise his or her students’ score

D．a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students

4. What is the writer’s attitude towards Mr. White?

A．He speaks highly of Mr. White.

B．He looks down upon Mr. White.

C．He doesn’t show his attitude towards Mr. White.

D．He takes a neutral attitude towards Mr. White.

8 . A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症) made his leg lame and his teeth uneven. He seldom played with his classmates; and when the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always lowered his head without a word.

One spring, the boy’s father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He told his children to plant a sapling each person. The father said, “Whose seedling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift.” The boy also wanted to get his father’s gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees happily, anyhow, he hit upon an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it.

A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn’t wilt, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his promise, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him: from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding botanist when he grew up.

Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. One day, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn't sleep. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly recalled what the biology teacher once said, plants generally grow at night. Why not go to see the tree? When he came to the courtyard on tiptoe, he found his father was splashing something under his tree with a ladle (勺子). He returned to his room, tears running down his face.

Decades passed. The little boy didn’t become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

1. Why didn’t the boy answer the teacher’s question?

A．He couldn’t concentrate on the class.

B．All the students looked down on him.

C．He lacked confidence because of his illness.

D．He was an unfortunate boy with learning disability.

2. Why did the father ask the children to plant trees?

A．The neighbor required him to do it.

B．He expected them to be botanists.

C．He wanted to encourage the disabled boy.

D．The children asked for their favorite gifts.

3. What does the underlined word “wilt” mean?

A．Become weak.	B．Become strong.
C．Become beautiful.	D．Become green.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．An Unfortunate Boy

B．Nutrition of Growth

C．A Loving Father

D．The Unselfish Love

9 . At first, Michael Surrell didn't see the black smoke or flames shooting from the windows of his neighbor's home. He had just parked around the comer from his own house when he got a call from his daughter: "The house next door is on fire!" He went to look. That's when he saw an old woman crying outside.

"The baby's in there!" she cried. Though the fire department had been called, Surrell, then 64, ran inside without hesitation. Entering the burning house was like "running into a bucket of black paint," Surrell says. The thick smoke burned his eyes and made it impossible to breathe. The conditions would have been dangerous for anyone, but for Surrell, who had lung disease, they were life-threatening.

After a few minutes in the smoke - filled house, he retreated outside to catch his breath. "Where is Tiara?" he asked desperately.

“The second floor," the old woman shouted back.

Taking a deep breath, Surrell went in a second time. Because the house had a similar layout to his, he found the stairs and made it to the second floor.

“Baby girl, where are you?”

His throat and lungs burned as if he'd breathed fire instead of the smoke in the air. He couldn't open his eyes. All he could hear was the crackling （破裂声）of burning wood. Then a soft sound came out. Still unable to see, Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor and climbed toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the girl.

Finally, he touched something. A shoe, then an ankle. He pulled the baby toward him. Her body was weak and she wasn't breathing. He carried her into his arms and ran blindly into the blackness. The next thing he knew, he was at the front door, then outside.

1. Why was the old woman crying outside?

A．She lost the baby in the fire.

B．The baby was hurt in the fire.

C．The baby was in the burning house.

D．She couldn't call the fire department.

2. What can be learned from the first two paragraphs?

A．Surrell's daughter worked in a fire department.

B．Surrell would probably have been killed by the fire.

C．The smoke blanketed Surrell' s house from next door.

D．A bucket of black paint blocked Surrell's way to the house.

3. How did Surrell find the baby on the second floor?

A．By searching on his knees.

B．By opening the back door.

C．By shouting repeatedly'

D．By turning on the light.

4. Which of the following best describes Surrell?

A．Determined and patient.

B．Independent and devoted.

C．Generous and reliable.

D．Courageous and caring.

10 . Every man wants his son to be somewhat of a clone, not in features but in footsteps. As he grows you also age, and your ambitions become more unachievable. You begin to realize that your boy, in your footsteps, could probably accomplish what you hoped for. But footsteps can be muddied and they can go off in different directions.

My son Jody has hated school since day one in kindergarten. Science projects waited until the last moment. Book reports weren’t written until the final threat.

I’ve been a newspaperman all my adult life. My daughter is a university graduate working towards her master’s degree in English. But Jody? When he entered the tenth grade he became a “vo-tech” student (技校学生). They’re called “motorheads” by the rest of the student body.

When a secretary in my office first called him “motorhead”, I was shocked. “Hey, he’s a good kid, ” I wanted to say. “And smart, really.”

I learned later that motorheads are, indeed, different. They usually have dirty hands and wear dirty work clothes. And they don’t often make school honor rolls (光荣榜).

But being the parent of a motorhead is itself an experience in education. We who labor in clean shirts in offices don’t have the abilities that motorheads have. I began to learn this when I had my car crashed. The cost to repair it was estimated at $800. “Hey, I can fix it,” said Jody. I doubted it, but let him go ahead, for I had nothing to lose.

My son, with other motorheads, fixed the car. They got parts from a junkyard, and ability from vo-tech classes. The cost was $25 instead of $800.

Since that first repair job, a broken air-conditioner, a non-functioning washer and a non-toasting toaster have been fixed. Neighbours and co-workers trust their car repairs to him.

These kids are happiest when doing repairs. They joke and laugh and are living in their own relaxed world. And their minds are bright despite their dirty hands and clothes.

I have learned a lot from my motorhead: publishers need printers, engineers need mechanics, and architects need builders. Most important, I have learned that fathers don’t need clones in footsteps or anywhere else.

My son may never make the school honor roll. But he made mine.

1. What used to be the author’s hope for his son?

A．To avoid becoming his clone.	B．To resemble him in appearance.
C．To develop in a different direction.	D．To reach the author’s unachieved goals.

2. What can we learn about the author’s children?

A．His daughter does better in school.

B．His daughter has got a master’s degree.

C．His son tried hard to finish homework.

D．His son couldn’t write his book reports.

3. The author let his son repair the car because he believed that       .

A．his son had the ability to fix it	B．it would save him much time
C．it wouldn’t cause him any more loss	D．other motorheads would come to help

4. What did the author realize in the end?

A．It is unwise to expect your child to follow your path.

B．It is important for one to make the honor roll.

C．Architects play a more important role than builders.

D．Motorheads have greater ability than office workers.