1 . One day when I was 5, my mother criticized me for not finishing my rice and I got angry. I wanted to play outside and not to be made to finish eating my old rice. In my angry motion to open the screen door (纱门) with my foot, I kicked back about a 12-inch part of the lower left hand corner of the new screen door. But I had no regret, for I was happy to be playing in the backyard with my toys.

Today, I know if my child had done what I did, I would have criticized my child, and told him about how expensive this new screen door was, and I would have delivered a spanking (打屁股) for it. But my parents never said a word. They left the corner of the screen door pushed out, creating an opening, a crack in the defense against unwanted insects.

For years, every time I saw that corner of the screen, it would remind me of my mistake from time to time. For years, I knew that everyone in my family would see that hole and remember who did it. For years, every time I saw a fly buzzing in the kitchen, I would wonder if it came in through the hole that I had created with my angry foot. I would wonder if my family members were thinking the same thing, silently blaming me every time a flying insect entered our home, making life more terrible for us all. My parents taught me a valuable lesson, one that a spanking or stern (严厉的) words perhaps could not deliver. Their silent punishment for what I had done delivered a hundred stern messages to me. Above all, it has helped me become a more patient person and not burst out so easily.

1. When the author damaged the door, his parents _______.

A．scolded him for what he had done	B．left the door unrepaired
C．told him how expensive it was	D．gave him a spanking

2. How did the author feel every time he saw the damaged door?

A．He felt ashamed of his uncontrolled anger at that time.

B．He found that his family members no longer liked him.

C．He found it destroyed the happy atmosphere at his home.

D．He felt he had to work hard to make up for (弥补) the damage.

3. The experience may cause the author _______.

A．to hide his anger away from others

B．not to go against his parents’ will

C．to have a better control of himself

D．not to make mistakes in the future

4. What of the following is the main idea of this passage?

A．Adults should ignore their children’s bad behavior.

B．Parents shouldn’t educate their children.

C．What is the best way to become a more patient person?

D．Silent punishment may have a better effect on educating people.

2 . A drunken burglar (盗贼) in the Orrell Park area of Liverpool, ended up leaping out of a window after a 10-year-old girl asked him to prove he was a superhero.

The drunken thief who pretended he was Superman to stop a child raising the alarm has been caught after he leapt from the apartment building in his pants to make the girl convinced.

Thief Ethan Adamson, 25, told police that he had broken into a fifth-floor flat after a drinking session, believing it was empty.

But he was horrified when the owner’s 10-year-old daughter woke up while he was there.

From his hospital bed, the thief told reporters, “To keep her quiet, I told her I was really Superman and I’d soon be flying off back to my secret headquarters.”

“She called my bluff (吓唬) and told me, ‘If you’re Superman, show me you can fly or I’ll scream’.”

“I had no choice so I stripped to my pants to look more like a superhero and went to the window. I saw another roof below and I thought I could make it but it turned out to be a lot further down than thought. I know it doesn’t make sense but it did to me when I was drunk.”

Police later found him on the roof in just his yellow pants, covered in cuts and bruises after a baffled neighbor heard his cries of pain.

He now faces seven years behind bars for burglary.

Police spokesman Frank Amado said, “He was in quite a serious state and couldn’t move until we got up there using ladders. He was treated for his injuries and we got him some fresh clothes, before taking him to hospital where he is being kept under guard until he is well enough to be arrested.”

1. What does the underlined part in the passage mean?

A．I could land safely on the roof.

B．I could make the girl trust me.

C．I could prove I was a superhero.

D．I could make a successful escape.

2. What’s the right order of the event?
a. Ethan Adamson told reporters of the burglary.
b. The 10-year-old girl called Ethan Adamson’s bluff.
c. Ethan Adamson attended a drinking session.
d. Ethan Adamson leapt out of a window.

A．cabd

B．dbca

C．cbda

D．dcab

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Adamson was set free a few days after staying in hospital.

B．Adamson was badly treated before he was rushed to hospital.

C．Adamson was being watched while he was in hospital.

D．Adamson was sent to the police station before he’s taken to hospital.

4. What is the author’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To report on a joking burglary.

B．To call our attention to the burglary.

C．To explain how the burglar was caught.

D．To look back on an adventure story.

3 . I wandered into the small store where I usually buy milk, when the store owner received a call from a customer. The customer and his wife had shopped there several months earlier. He noticed that his wife really liked one thing in the store, so he wanted to buy it as a surprise.
But the customer was in Tennessee, far away from the store which was in Maine. What was more, he had been to the store several months earlier, and it was difficult to believe that the store owner would remember him, or what he was looking for.
The store owner took a few close-up photos with her camera, and e-mailed them to the customer on the computer. The customer looked at the photos, and decided which one he wanted. They talked and discussed a price over the phone. She took care of the credit card transaction (交易) online, and promised the gift would be shipped out that afternoon.
The store owner was really smart. She was willing to push herself to find new ways to make the transaction actually happen. And it did work. However, it was the first time she had ever done it.
I was amazed that the store owner discovered a creative solution that could lead to a new way of doing business. I was impressed by what she did---so easily, but how difficult it is for many of us to make that leap(飞跃). I’m not just talking about technology, but about learning how to adapt to change. Most people hate or fear change unless they get to know exactly what change needs to be made. However, we should realize that challenge and opportunity go hand in hand.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The owner often did business by using her camera.

B．The customer had ever been to the store before.

C．The owner and the customer discussed the price on the computer.

D．The gift was sent out by train that afternoon.

2. The author was impressed by the store owner because _________.

A．she was always ready to help others

B．she told the writer how to run a store

C．she was a successful businesswoman

D．she managed to find a new way when facing change

3. What’s the correct order of the store owner’s solution?
a. e-mailing the photos to the customer on the computer
b. taking care of the credit card transaction online
c. taking a few close-up photos with her camera
d. talking about the price of the gift with the customer

A．bcda

B．abcd

C．cadb

D．cabd

4. Which of the following words can best describe the store owner?

A．Creative

B．Humorous

C．Confident

D．Honest

4 . I clearly remember the day when my little brother was born: January 1, 1994. One of my favorite family photos shows me lying with my mother in the hospital bed, happy but unaware of the small, sleeping baby in the background.
I stayed with my grandparents for the weekend of my brother’s birth, excited about my new brother but not yet aware of what having a little brother would mean. I didn’t truly realize what was going on until we were in the hospital room at Duke University----coincidentally (碰巧地), the same room in which I had been born two years earlier.
When I looked at my brother for the first time, I felt a mixture of fear and interest. Little did know that small, pink creature would grow up to be one of my favorite people in the world.
In reality, though I am two years older than my brother, I am more often than not the real baby in the family. I am very lacking when it comes to common sense. Instructions constantly confuse me and I frequently find myself totally puzzled by things like knowing how to start the washing machine or manage the storage settings on my iPhone.
That’s where Gibson comes in. The poor kid has had to guide me through more tasks than I would care to admit, but he never complains. Though I should probably be told to figure it out myself, he always comes through.
I’m envious of his ability to readily answer the ever-present, “What do you want to do with your life?” question at family gatherings. “Be a doctor,” he says----a solid answer, completely opposite to my shaky one, “Well, I’m an English major, so...”
My brother truly is my best friend. No one understands me better, and there isn’t anyone else I would want to be stuck with in our family. I may not have a clear idea of where I’m headed, but he is stuck with me.
1. How did the author feel when he saw his brother for the first time?

A．Angry and sad.

B．Excited and moved.

C．Curious and scared.

D．Happy and interested.

2. What does the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph mean?

A．My brother is the real baby in the family.

B．In fact, I seem to be less mature than my little brother.

C．My brother gets more love from the family than I do.

D．I am growing more slowly than my brother.

3. What does the brother often help the author do?

A．Help him deal with many daily tasks.

B．Help him with his studies.

C．Give him advice on how to choose a major.

D．Comfort him when he is in a bad mood.

4. What is the best title for this text?

A．My Strange Family Gatherings

B．The Real Baby in the Family

C．Stuck with Me----My Not-So-Little Little Brother

D．The Feeling of Having a Brother

5 . A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ￡100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, "Who would like to have this ￡100 bill?" The students began to put up their hands at once.

Then he said, "I am going to give this bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He then made this bill into a ball. Then he said, "Who wants it?" Hands went into the air.

"Well," he said, "What if I do this?" and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, "Who still wants it?" Hands went back into the air.

"My friends," he said, "You've learned a valuable lesson today. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it didn't go down in value. It was still worth ￡100.”

“Many times in our lives, we're dropped, crumpled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value: you are always valuable to those who love you. Your value doesn't come from what you drop or whom you know, but WHO YOU ARE.”

You are special and valuable. Don't ever forget it!

1. Even though the money was dirty, it _______.

A．went up in value	B．was worth much
C．didn't reduce in value	D．was still ours

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph means_______.

A．the students put up their hands again.

B．the students put down their hands.

C．the students agreed to what the teacher said

D．the students put their hands in front of them

3. Why did the famous teacher use a ￡100 at his lesson?

A．Because he wanted to give a lecture about money.

B．Because he was used to dropping a bill on the floor and stepping on it.

C．Because he was going to give the bill to one of the students.

D．Because he wanted to make the students know what the value was.

4. What lesson can you learn from the passage?

A．￡100 bill is worth the same no matter what you do with it .

B．All people love money most.

C．Your value doesn't change no matter what happens to you.

D．The value of money changes when it is made dirty.

6 . Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven．His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes．Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly             during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties（地方特色菜）in Germany, Spain and France．At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens             of friends．Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking．Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like make drinks out of dining-hall fruit．That helped the show             become very popular among the students．They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking．Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network．
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television．He says Lieberman’s charisma is key．“Food TV isn’t about food anymore,” says Flay．“It’s about your personality（个性）and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show．”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket．After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches．An airline company（航空公司）was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive             and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job．
1. We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family ____．

A．have relatives in Europe	B．love cooking at home
C．often hold parties	D．own a restaurant

2. The Food Network got to know Lieberman ____．

A．at one of his parties	B．from his teachers
C．Through his taped show	D．on a television program

3. What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to?

A．A natural ability to attract others．

B．A way to show one’s achievement．

C．Lieberman’s after-class interest．

D．Lieberman’s fine cooking skill．

4. Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?

A．He could prepare meals in a small kitchen．

B．He was famous for his shows on Food TV．

C．He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches．

D．He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals．

7 . One summer night Ludwig Beethoven took a walk in the suburb (市郊) of Bonn. Suddenly a gentle wind came. He heard some music. He listened carefully and found it was his F sonata. He followed the music and came to a small house. There through the window, he saw a girl playing a very old piano and a young man was making shoes beside her, he pushed the door open and went in. The host received him very warmly and told him that the girl was his sister, who was blind but very fond of music. They couldn’t afford to send her to a master.   So she was only trying to play some music she heard the neighbors play. She knew it was the work of a great composer. Beethoven was very much moved. Suddenly the candle was blown out. Moonlight struck on the girl’s slender figure. Then Beethoven played music for them. He played so wonderful that the brother and sister were amazed. That was his famous Clair de lune.
1. Beethoven heard the music because ______.

A．it was played loudly	B．there was a slight wind
C．the piano was old	D．he stopped walking

2. The young man and the girl were _____.

A．brother and sister	B．husband and wife
C．lovers	D．good friends

3. The girl couldn’t go to the teacher most probably because_____.

A．she was blind

B．her brother didn’t want her to go

C．they were too poor

D．good friends

4. Beethoven played some music____.

A．before he was moved

B．as soon as he came in

C．when he saw the piano

D．after he heard the moving story

8 . An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.

Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) perched on the tree near their window.

The father asked his son, "What is this?"

The son replied, "It is a crow."

After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2^nd time, "What is this?"

The son said, "Father, I have just now told you it's a crow."

After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3^rd time, "What is this?"

"It's a crow, a crow, a crow. "said the son loudly.

A little after, the father again asked his son the 4^th time, "What is this?"

This time the son shouted at his father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again. ‘IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"

A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:

"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23times what it was, and I replied to him all 23times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23times. I did not at all feel annoyed. I rather felt affection for my innocent child."

1. In what tone did the son say to his Father "It's a crow, a crow,a crow."?

A．Impatient	B．Excited
C．Hurried	D．Surprised

2. Why did the Father ask the same question again and again?

A．Because he wanted to make his son angry.

B．Because he was too old to remember anything.

C．Because he couldn't understand what his son said.

D．Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be.

3. How old was the old man when his son asked him 23times"What is this"?

A．35years old.	B．38years old.
C．45years old.	D．80years old.

4. What is the most suitable title for the passage?

A．A crow	B．Father's love
C．An old dairy	D．An old man

9 . Once upon a time, there was a beautiful bird, which was very curious about hell. When she was little, her mother always told her that if she didn’t master the flying skills, she would go to hell. She was so curious about hell that she always asked others what hell looked like, but no one was sure, because none of them had ever been there. Some said hell was a place full of water, and others told her that hell was full of burning fire. However, the bird knew they were lying. She wanted to find out what hell was.
When other birds were learning flying skills, she always hid herself and watched them. She thought in this way she could go to hell and see what hell looked like. However, she spent so little time learning flying skills that one day she was caught by a little boy. The little boy gave her to his grandpa in the countryside as a gift. The old man liked her very much. He made a delicate cage and put her in it. The bird was very worried because she thought she couldn’t find out what hell was like staying in this small cage. However, she couldn’t escape. Day after day, she just stayed in the cage, watching other birds flying. She lost her freedom and she became sadder and sadder. At last, she became ill. The old man finally opened the cage, but she was too weak to fly. Lying no the ground, she thought of the question that she ever asked all the time.
“What does hell look like?”
“Hell is a small well-decorated cage.” Before she closed her eyes forever, she finally answered that question herself.
1. What does the underlined word “master” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Miss.

B．Finish.

C．Follow.

D．Learn well.

2. Why did the bird hide herself when other birds were learning flying skills?

A．Because she was lazy.

B．Because she didn’t like learning flying skills.

C．Because she thought she could go to hell by doing this.

D．Because she thought she didn’t have to learn flying skills.

3. According to the passage, the bird at last found that     .

A．hell was a place full of water.	B．hell was a place full of burning fire
C．there was no hell	D．hell was a small well-decorated cage

10 . Once there was a very poor villager. He found it difficult even to support his family.        1     He walked about in the streets, but he did not get a job. One day, he met a rich businessman, who gave him the job of cleaning the office. The villager began his work and he even started reading and writing in his spare time.

One day, the businessman saw that the villager was writing something. He said, “You can also read and write! Your handwriting is very good.”      2       The villager began to do this job as best as he could.

Later, the businessman learnt that the villager was good at accounting（记账）, and he made him his shop accountant（会计）. The other accountants were very jealous （嫉妒）of the villager’s abilities. They told the businessman that the villager had a small room where he hid the money stolen from him.          3    

One day, they had their chance. They saw the villager going into ‘that’ room.       4          When they came back and opened the door, there was nothing in that room except an ordinary box.

The villager was ordered to open the box with his own hands. And there was only a pair of dirty shoes and some old clothes.    5     At the same time, he was so angry with the jealous accountants that he fired them at once. The villager was made the only accountant for his office.

A．He came to a big city hoping to find a job.

B．They closed the door behind him and ran to the businessman.

C．So the businessman decided to give the villager a good lesson.

D．Seeing this, the businessman was moved by what he had seen.

E．So the villager was given the work of writing business letters for him.

F．The villager wished that some kind people might give him a good job.

G．But the businessman refused to believe them unless he had seen it with his own eyes.