1 . It was a dark and cold night. The taxi driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “ Where do you want to go, sir?”
“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the taxi driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy any more. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.
After a long time, the car arrived at the hotel at last. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What? Fifteen dollars! Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week, I took a taxi from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other driver last week.
1. When did this story happen?| A．In the morning | B．In the afternoon |
| C．At noon | D．At night |
| A．sad | B．sorry |
| C．happy | D．worried |
| A．make the young man happy |
| B．let the young man have a good look at the city |
| C．show the young man around |
| D．get more money from the young man |
| A．knew the way from the station to the hotel | B．had never been to the hotel before |
| C．didn’t want to stay in the city | D．didn’t know the city very well |
2 . I came to work in New York about three years ago. Not long after I came to the city I learnt a good lesson.
I'm good at making friends. Soon after I came to New York, I made some very good friends. Loving parties, I often invited my colleagues and friends over. We often had fun together till late night. But people in the building disliked it. I was considered as a black sheep in the building.
One night, when I was throwing a big party for some Chinese students in New York, a neighbor could no longer stand the noise and he called the police. The police came, and many of my neighbors came, too. It was an unhappy night.
However, some days later, I found something very unbelievable. My neighbor Sam threw a big birthday party in his apartment. They sang and danced till midnight. But nobody went to ask them to stop the party. Feeling confused (疑惑的), I went to Sam the next morning and asked him why he could throw a party for his friends while I couldn't. He didn't say anything. Instead, he took me to a notice board in the hall of the building. It said, “My dear neighbors, Sam living on the sixth floor will throw a party tonight. About twenty people will come. We’ll sing and dance. The party will be over around midnight. We may make some noise tonight. Please accept my apology.”
He apologized even before the party began. People felt respected in this way. And that was why nobody bothered them that night.
1. From Paragraph 2, what can we know about the author?| A．He didn't get along well with his neighbors. |
| B．He never had parties late into the night. |
| C．He didn't love parties at all. |
| D．He often invited his neighbors to his parties. |
| A．happy | B．worried |
| C．surprised | D．excited |
| A．By taking him to the neighbors. | B．By telling him an unbelievable story. |
| C．By giving reasons to him carefully. | D．By taking him to a notice board. |
| A．Americans treat foreign people differently |
| B．we should learn to respect others in a proper way |
| C．there is no reason to hold parties at late night |
| D．there is a secret to every success |
3 . 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 |
4 . The Decision That Changed My Life
We make decisions every day. Whether it is a small decision like what to wear that day or a big decision like where to go to college, these decisions have at least some influence on the rest of our lives. I wanted to talk about a decision I made that has changed my life forever.
I gave up soda about a month and a half before my trip to the Bahamas as a healthy step towards “getting in shape” for my trip. At first I thought it was going to be really hard giving it up, but after that first two weeks I wasn’t thinking about soda at all. One tiling led to another and I started eating better, working out more and just generally living a healthier life. I had already seen a difference in my life following this healthier life style.
That was because I wanted to show those who maybe thought I wouldn’t be able to do it that they were wrong. Soon the urge to drink soda somewhat disappeared and I really did not even become tempted by it by the end of the trip. I got home to the States and when I got back home I decided to weigh myself. I had lost 20 pounds on my trip!
I also wanted to give some advice for those who were in the same situation as I was, where you wanted/needed to give up something that you think you can’t live without.
| A．You need a support system. |
| B．I almost gave up a couple of times but stayed strong. |
| C．I felt happier, more energized and just all around better. |
| D．Weeks and weeks went by and I still was not missing drinking soda. |
| E．I hope you are inspired by my story to give up something that is bad for you. |
5 . One day, Jack’s parents told him that his grandpa would retire(退休) after working for forty years. Jack said in surprise，“I’m only seven, so it means grandpa has been…er... a really long time!”
His parents said，“Yes. That’s why we are going to have a surprise party for him. ”
Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something special for him. He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before. He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position(职位) on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa.
When the big day came, Jack was ready. But he didn’t want to put his gift together with others’. He carried it around with him the whole evening.
When all the other people left，he took his grandpa’s hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift. His grandpa smiled, “Well，it must be a beautiful gift. May I open it now?” “Sure! ”Jack said excitedly.
As his grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes. Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with his new position FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time(全职的) job is my grandpa!”
“Well，how much do I get paid?”his grandpa asked，smiling. “As many hugs(拥抱) as you want!” With these words，Jack gave his grandpa a hug. “Well, I guess that means I’m the richest man in the world! ” said his grandpa.
1. Who was going to retire?| A．Jack’s grandma. | B．Jack’s grandpa. |
| C．Jack’s mother. | D．Jack’s father. |
| A．明信片 | B．纸牌 | C．名片 | D．信用卡 |
| A．To build a new position for him on the card. |
| B．To draw a picture for him. |
| C．To sing a song to him. |
| D．To buy a gift for him. |
| A．Because he would lose his position. |
| B．Because he was not loved. |
| C．Because he was moved by Jack’s gift. |
| D．Because he was unhappy. |
6 . When I was in primary school, I was actually a little shy. One thing that really frightened me was speaking in front of many people, whether strangers or acquaintances (熟人). It was my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Bamick, who helped me get past that. That year we had to make four oral (口头的) book reports in front of the class. Some of the kids were even glad to do it, but I was scared to death. Mr. Bamick recognized my fear, so be told me to do a report on a book that was about something that really interested me. So I did the first report on baseball.
When it came time for me to present it to the class, Mr. Bamick cut me some slack and let me read the report rather than give it from memory. Some of my classmates laughed at me, but Mr. Bamick defended (为……辩解) me. By the end of the year I had completed all four of the oral book reports. It wasn’t easy or comfortable for me, but I did it.
Years later I realized that Mr. Bamick did me a great favor in sixth grade. One of the chances I got when I won a tennis tournament (锦标赛) was to make comments to the fans who attended the match. Some of those were carried live on television and all of them were before thousands of people. It was still not one of my favorite things to do, but, with Mr. Bamick’s help, I got through it from time to time. Before long, I was asked to bring my favorite childhood teacher to a national event in Dallas. 1 was excited when Mr. Bamick joined me for the event. It meant a lot to me that he was there.
Mr. Bamick believed in me and helped me to believe in myself. It was he who helped me build the person I became.
1. In what aspect (方面) did Mr. Bamick help the writer?| A．Improving her learning skills. |
| B．Encouraging her to read more books. |
| C．Winning her classmates’ recognition. |
| D．Overcoming her fear of public speaking. |
| A．Played a funny joke on the writer. |
| B．Gave the writer a feeling of pride. |
| C．Made the task a little easier for the writer. |
| D．Asked the writer to take part in a competition. |
| A．She was a tennis player. |
| B．She wanted to be a teacher. |
| C．She liked public speaking best. |
| D．She enjoyed commenting on books. |
| A．Strict. | B．Curious. |
| C．Encouraging. | D．Frightening. |
7 . When I turned 10, I made up my mind to take up swimming. There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A. offering exactly the opportunity. Mother continually warned against it and kept fresh in my mind the details of drowning in the river. But the Y.M.C A. pool was safe.
I had a childhood fear of water. This started when I was three years old and father took me to the beach. The huge waves knocked me down and swept over me.
The pool was quiet. I was afraid of going in all alone, so I sat on the side of the pool to wait for others. Then came a big boy. He shouted, “Hi, skinny! How’d you like to be ducked?” With that he picked me up and threw me into the deep end. I landed in a sitting position, and swallowed water. But I was not frightened out of my wits（机智）—when my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big jump, coming out of the surface. It seemed a long way down. I gathered all my strength when I landed and made what I thought was a great spring upwards. Then I opened my eyes and saw nothing but water. I tried to shout but no sound came out. I went down, down, endlessly.
When I came to consciousness（意识）, I found myself lying on the bed in the hospital.
I never went back to the pool. I avoided water whenever I could. This misfortune stayed with me as the years rolled by. It deprived（剥夺）me of the joy of boating and swimming. Finally, I decided to get an instructor. Piece by piece, he built a swimmer. Several months later, the instructor was finished, but I was not. Sometimes the terror（恐惧）would return.
This went on until July. I swam across the Lake Went Worth. Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. I laughed and said, “Well, Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to me?”
I had defeated my fear of water.
1. What caused the author’s original（最初的）fear of water?| A．His lack of swimming skills. |
| B．His mother’s continual warning of drowning. |
| C．His misfortune to the beach with his father. |
| D．A terrible dream of getting drowned. |
| A．he didn’t finish swimming training |
| B．he was not satisfied with the swimming training |
| C．he was not afraid of drowning any more |
| D．he had not got rid of the fear of water yet |
| A．The author’s father was against taking up swimming. |
| B．The author showed little interest in boating and swimming. |
| C．The author was a man of great courage and determination. |
| D．The author defeated his fear of water before July. |
| A．Hello, Childhood Fear | B．Goodbye, Mr. Terror |
| C．A Swimming Adventure | D．My Passion for Swimming |
8 . When I was 19 years old, I was at a dance club. As we were walking to my car one cold night, a man walked up to us. Behind him was a woman carrying a small child. The child had a jacket on but it wasn’t buttoned up(扣上). The man began to tell us he wanted to borrow some money for the night to get his wife and kid into a hotel. He had a job but no place to live in and was waiting for the first paycheck. He said he could get our mailing address and mail the money back.
The guy I was with reached into his pocket to give this man a $20 bill. As the other man was extending(伸出) his hand out to take the money, I put my hand on my new friends’ hand and said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I told him that every day people asked my mother for money on her way to work. She said they made more money than she did, simply begging for money. These people were scamming those with soft hearts. And if they were truly worried about their child suffering from the cold, they would have at least buttoned his jacket or covered him with his blanket.
My new friend looked at me with disappointment and said, “Michelle, I know there are people out there that make use of others. I also know there are people out there that are one paycheck away from being homeless. If I give $ 20 to 10 people and only one of them really needs it and uses it for the right thing, it is worth it.”
I am now 37 years old and have never forgotten what he said to me. I don’t even remember his name. But I do remember that that experience changed the way I look at different situations.
1. Where did this story happen?| A．Near a hotel | B．Outside a dance club |
| C．Behind a mailbox | D．In the dance club |
| A．He had been begging for a long time near the dance club. |
| B．He would spend the cold night at an expensive hotel. |
| C．He was careless and didn’t take good care of his child. |
| D．He might be just lying in order to get some money. |
| A．She wanted to tell him to give some more money to the stranger. |
| B．She believed her mother had already given the stranger some money. |
| C．She wanted to warn(提醒，警告) him not to be cheated by the stranger. |
| D．She asked her friend to pay more attention to the baby instead. |
| A．cheating | B．caring |
| C．loving | D．understanding |
9 . A Massachusetts man has got his wedding ring back thanks to some hikers who decided to try their luck at finding it.
It all started after Bill Giguere lost his gold wedding ring. Looking for the lost golden wedding ring was like searching for a needle in a haystack (干草堆). He had lost it during a daytime hike on Mount Hancock. Giguere was not sure about the location of the missing ring. He only remembered that he had briefly pulled off his gloves at the top of the mountain. And he guessed that the ring might fall off at that time. By the time he returned to his car after the hike and noticed that his ring was missing, it was completely dark.
He then decided to take his chances by posting information about his missing ring in a Facebook group for hikers. Luckily, the post was seen by Tom Gately. “As I read the post, my heart went out to him because I had lost my wedding ring before and luckily a man picked it up and returned it to me. So I decided to help him and I was going to be on the mountain to look for it,” Gately said.
Gately didn’t believe there was any chance of finding the ring on a snowy 10-mile trail if he only depended on his eyes and hands. So he decided to improve his chances by bringing along his metal detector (探测器). Within minutes of Gately and his friends reaching the top for the ring, his metal detector started ringing. He then brushed away some snow only to find the missing wedding ring. “Everybody just started laughing,” Brendan, Gately’s friend, said, “You couldn’t believe it.”
After Giguere received a Facebook message about how they had found the ring, he drove 60 miles to Gately’s house so he could pick up his wedding ring. And he thanked the hikers for their efforts again and again.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．Giguere accidentally fell during the hike. |
| B．Giguere realized he lost the ring while hiking. |
| C．It seemed impossible to find the lost wedding ring. |
| D．It was difficult for Giguere to finish a long hike alone. |
| A．Gately felt pity for Giguere. |
| B．Gately shared his story with Giguere. |
| C．Gately wished to be friends with Giguere. |
| D．Gately wanted to repay Giguere for his kindness. |
| A．He made use of a tool with friends. |
| B．He got help from an experienced ring finder. |
| C．He searched the snowy trail several times alone. |
| D．He posted information about the missing ring online. |
| A．Brave and lucky. |
| B．Helpful and wise. |
| C．Honest and thoughtful. |
| D．Humorous and positive. |
10 . Age has never been a problem for 16-year-old Thessalonika Arzu-Embry. After all, she’s already got her master’s degree.
The North Chicago-area teen started homeschooling at the age of 4. She began having an influence on others soon after. When she was 6 years old, she was an inspirational speaker at an organization called Tabitha House Community Service, which is for people who were forced to leave their homes because of earthquake, flood and other natural disasters.
At the age of 11, she graduated from high school and then earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2013. She completed those classes online as she was traveling for church events and leadership meetings.
She doesn’t stop there, though. The teen plans to focus on aviation psychology (航空心理学) for her further study, a decision inspired by her father who is a pilot. She grew up around airplanes and took flights all the time. Her goal is to use it to help pilots deal with problems that could have deadly results once the plane takes off — a topic that has been in the news lately. For her, it’s a mix of two of her interests.
In her free time, Thessalonika enjoys playing tennis, swimming and being active in her youth group at church. She also has three self-published books, which are on her site. Jump the Education Barrier is written to help students finish college, and In the Future aims to help business owners with trends. Her third book The Genius Race is designed to help people to be talents in various areas of life.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about Thessalonika?| A．She majored in science and technology. |
| B．She gained her master’s degree at the age of 11. |
| C．When she was 6 years old, she started homeschooling. |
| D．In 2013 she got her bachelor’s degree through completing courses online. |
| A．Major in aviation psychology. |
| B．Be active in her youth group at church. |
| C．Write another book to help people to be talents. |
| D．Deliver inspiring speeches for church events and leadership meetings. |
| A．It aims to help people to be geniuses. |
| B．It is designed to arouse people’s awareness of psychology. |
| C．It is aimed to give students a hand to complete college. |
| D．The author hope to share her own experience with others. |
| A．The secret to become a talent is to start schooling at an early age. |
| B．Thessalonika led a rather successful and meaningful life. |
| C．Homeschooling is a good way to educate children. |
| D．Three published books help people become masters in their fields. |
