1 . Pennsylvania-When Connie Beck and her husband awoke to strange noises last weekend, they thought high winds were rattling their home. What they found was even more unexpected: A deer was taking a bubble bath in their bathtub. “I wasn’t exactly dressed for company,” Mrs. Beck said. “We were just waking up.” The deer burst through the front door early on Saturday, ran past the couple’s bedroom and into the bathroom. Somehow he managed to turn on the water in the bathtub and knock over a bottle of bubble bath into the bathtub. He then got himself into the bubbly water. “You could hear the water running over the kicking,” Beck said. The Becks called State Game Commission officials, who arrived with tranquilizers and a lot of laughter. “A guy said, ‘There’s nothing wrong… he’s just in there taking a bubble bath,’” Mrs. Beck said. The animal was soon brought under control, removed from the house and released. “He was unharmed except for a little cut above the eye,” said Mrs. Beck. “We were also fortunate. There wasn’t much damage, except for the front door, some marks on the tub, and a few hoof prints on the floor.”
1. When did the story take place?| A．On the night of Friday. | B．On the late night of Saturday. |
| C．On the early morning of Saturday. | D．On Sunday evening. |
| A．was joking about the incident | B．meant she never liked people to visit |
| C．explained she was about to go to work | D．wished she could have new clothes |
| A．managed to cover himself with bubbles | B．kicked over the tub |
| C．began to swim in the tub | D．happened to turn on the bath taps |
| A．the deer was set free |
| B．the deer destroyed the tub and the floor |
| C．the officials made fun of the couple |
| D．the officials discovered the deer was badly injured in the eye |
2 . A HALF-EMPTY BASKET
Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting."I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said."But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked."I met your children outside, and they stole some of the apples."
1. What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?| A．They jumped and jumped. | B．They played. |
| C．They ran away. | D．They ate some of the apples. |
| A．they had thrown apples on the ground |
| B．the farmer had politely asked them to get off |
| C．they were afraid of the hat |
| D．the farmer was angry with them |
| A．pleased | B．unhappy | C．excited | D．moved |
3 . Stuart Bee prayed that rescue would come before his ship slipped completely under water. The 62-year-old sailor had been washed out of his boat by a wave while he was sleeping at about midnight on Saturday, leaving him fighting for survival in the Atlantic, 86 miles off Florida.
Mr. Bee set out at 4 pm on Friday and was reported missing on Saturday by friends. On Sunday morning, 11 hours later, he was found by a container ship. “What day is it?” he asked Lacruiser Relativo, the container ship’s second officer who threw him a lifebuoy and helped him aboard.
“My ship suffered engine failure. There were long and sharp noises and I was asleep when the water gushed in the back and forced me up the front,” Mr. Bee told the US coast guard after his rescue. He said he swam in jeans and heavy work boots through the boat’s forward hatch (船口) and surfaced, with no life jacket or any flotation. Mr. Relativo said later, “He stuck to the only part of his boat that was not sunk. He told me that he thought maybe that it was to be his last night and that if it was, had he lived his life well enough? He said he realized he had a beautiful life, out there watching the moon on the open water. It was dark but he found an inner peace as he looked at the sky.”
Leisa Bee, his niece, said, “Another half hour and his boat would have completely sunk and no one would have found it or him. I keep looking at the pictures of his rescue and I can’t stop crying. My uncle lived on that boat, so his home is gone now and all his possessions, though he did manage to keep his wallet. When he called my family, he said, ‘Hey, you’ll never guess what happened to me!’ I had no clue of the thousands of people who’d been praying for me.”
1. Who first found Stuart Bee missing?| A．His niece. | B．His friends. | C．Mr. Relativo. | D．Coast guards. |
| A．Peaceful in mind. | B．Satisfied with his career. |
| C．Depressed in heart. | D．Hopeful to his future. |
| A．He would have saved his wallet. |
| B．He wouldn’t have been rescued. |
| C．He would have been found by his niece. |
| D．He wouldn’t have reached his family. |
| A．The Old Man and the Sea |
| B．A Hardworking Sailor Survived |
| C．A Narrow Escape from the Wave |
| D．A Lone Sailor Hung in Atlantic for Hours |
4 . Last week, 84-year-old Janet Fein received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. Fein has had a full life. She has raised five children and then had a career as a secretary until she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest. She said she decided to major in sociology because she felt it was very important.
Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. She just wanted to get a job in high school. After graduating at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary. After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including 20 years as a secretary at a hospital. She also worked for 20 years on earning an associate degree. But Fein also wanted to earn a bachelor's degree “with all of my heart”. Even with all of her life experiences, she still enjoyed reading, writing papers and learning new things.
Health experts say continuing with education later in life is one way to keep fit. Carmel Dyer, director of the UT Health Consortium on Aging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, says keeping active and giving yourself something to look forward to “is just a really positive move”.
Fein kept going to class even as her health conditions worsened. During her studies, it became necessary for her to use a walker to get around and she required oxygen. She also developed knee problems. Therefore, Fein took online classes to finish the last part of her degree requirements. Her college advisor Sheila Rollerson said Fein never showed signs of giving up even with all of her difficulties. “She just kept plugging along,” Rollerson said.
1. What was Janet Fein’s last work before she retired?| A．A teacher. | B．A secretary. | C．A nurse. | D．A doctor. |
| A．Get a bachelor’s degree. | B．Keep fit by exercises. |
| C．Read all kinds of books. | D．Find a job at the hospital. |
| A．Life should be full of adventures. | B．People should have their own views. |
| C．Further study benefits the old’s health. | D．Healthy lifestyle is just to keep active. |
| A．Honest. | B．Determination. | C．Generosity. | D．Kindness. |
