1 . J. K. Rowling frequently shows there is magic every day. Her Harry Potter series has helped people through times of stress and depression and she is always there to deliver wise words of encouragement.
She is one celebrity who is very active on Twitter. So when a single dad named Matt Burke sent her a message thanking her for the series, she noticed. Her series had helped strengthen his relationship with his 9yearold daughter Bailey.
He included a link to his article titled Being a Broke Parent. He explained how he hadn’t found a level of financial stability that allowed him to pay bills on time and take his daughter on more activities and events. The family also doesn’t have the Internet or TV, which means there’s no “digital babysitter” and he has to rely on his own creative ways to bond with his daughter. Since he received the series, the main thing that has occupied them these days is reading books together.
Burke admits that he thought he was “too cool” for the books when they first came out and he was in his twenties, but he’s loving reading them now. “We switch off chapter by chapter reading them out loud，“Burke explains.” This not only allows her to get more used to reading aloud in front of someone, but it gets me directly involved in something she loves, and it gives me the chance to be very dramatic when I read my chapters and bring myself into the characters in the book, which has proven to be a ton of fun.”
After hearing Burke’s story, Rowling said how honored she was when Harry Potter was a part of his family’s life and offered Burke more books. Besides, people are also offering to send Burke more books as gifts. For Burke, this experience, far more than gifts, will be what he treasures.
1. Why did Burke thank J. K. Rowling according to the text?| A．She guided him how to write a good story. |
| B．She encouraged him when he was in trouble. |
| C．Her books helped him through times of confusion. |
| D．Her books helped him improve his bond with his daughter. |
| A．He has found it interesting to read the series. | B．He was too old to understand the series better. |
| C．He has chosen a better way of reading the series. | D．He hopes to play a role in the drama in the future. |
| A．Useless. | B．Normal. | C．Valuable. | D．Boring. |
| A．J. K. Rowling chooses to help improve kids’ health. |
| B．J. K. Rowling gives a magical gift to a single father. |
| C．J. K. Rowling has a deep influence on others’ growth. |
| D．Burke comes to know J. K. Rowling through her series. |
2 . After I made it to the city center, I started to feel it might be easy for a foreigner to deal with the great size of Beijing. With growing confidence, I decided to take the subway to the hotel, not realizing that the network didn’t go that far. Impressed with the cleanliness of the station, I bought a ticket and boarded the first subway that came along.
After a few minutes I asked in English a young man seated next to me where I should get off closest to the Friendship Hotel. Wearing a smart business suit and tie, he would surely speak English, wouldn’t he? Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand me but seemed very friendly. I showed him the room card with all the information of the Friendship Hotel in Chinese characters. He looked at it, and then his eyes moved quickly to the carriage (车厢) subway map. Next, he raised three fingers of his right hand.
In Australia, raising fingers at someone is not usually nice, but this man wasn’t smiling. At the next station he showed me two fingers. Now in Australia, that’s really rude, but I got the message. When we stopped at the third station, he didn’t just point to the door, but got up, took me out of the train, and led me to the top of the stairs, and out onto the street. Then he stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take me.
All this came from a man who couldn’t speak my language, and I couldn’t speak his. I was now speechless, especially when he refused my offer of money. I felt a little embarrassed having even thought he would accept a tip.
This experience made it clear I had to learn some Chinese quickly or my adventures might start turning into misadventures.
1. Why does the author decided to take the subway?| A．Because he believed in his ability to deal with the trip |
| B．Because the network covered most of the stops |
| C．Because he lived near the city center |
| D．Because he had a good impression of its cleanliness |
| A．still remained puzzled | B．understood the author well |
| C．answered the author directly | D．pointed at the subway map |
| A．helpful. | B．impolite. | C．warm-hearted. | D．responsible. |
| A．To prove the importance of being careful |
| B．To introduce a young man who didn’t know English |
| C．To complain some cultural misunderstanding |
| D．To describe one of his adventurous experiences |
3 . I was hired for my first airline job in August 2009. I had $45, 000 of credit card debt. Most of it was from my flight training.
Ten years ago, I was watching TV in my bedroom one day before my flight training began and I saw the second airplane hit the World Trade Center. Then I got the call saying I no longer had a job. My career was destroyed. I had no place to go and ended up moving into my car. I read newspapers to look for a job and I was offered one, which offered me $75, 000 a year, but I decided to make a change. I wanted to receive fight training and become a pilot. It was my dream. So I refused the job and chose to work part time. It sounded unbelievable to do such a thing. It was even more so because I was over the age of thirty, but I was determined to make my dream come true. I left the state of Virginia and ended up in Las Vegas.
Though I made about $25, 000 a year at that time, I was severely in debt because the fees for training were high. I was living in my tuck and sleeping in parking garages. I didn’t plan for my life to take this direction, but I insisted on my training. Then at last my world changed and my dream came true. I finally became a pilot.
The passengers that I flew had more money in their pocket than I had in the bank. I hated myself and was worried about my situation, but I never gave up. I kept paying back the debt and I kept saving in the bank. And finally, I paid off my credit card debt.
Today, I am a skilled airline pilot based in Milwaukee. I wrote in my spare time. My autobiography (自传) has been published, which sells well. That is my first book, but it won’t be my last one.
1. Why did the writer refuse the job?| A．Because he didn’t like it. |
| B．Because the pay was low. |
| C．Because he wanted to follow his dream. |
| D．Because he was frightened to work in a building. |
| A．wanted to give up | B．lived a very hard life |
| C．didn’t make any money | D．paid off his credit card debt |
| A．regrets his decision | B．is a professional writer |
| C．is a very good airline pilot | D．makes about $75, 000 a year |
| A．tell us how to become successful |
| B．encourage us to follow our dream |
| C．tell us how to become an airplane pilot |
| D．tell us about the life of an airplane pilot |
4 . Last week the manager of an old shop received a letter. As he was very busy, the letter lay on his desk till teatime. Then he opened it and $100 fell out onto his desk. Together with it was a short letter. It reads:
Dear Sir,
In 1935 I got engaged (订婚), but unluckily I lost my job. At that time a lot of people were out of work. Six months later I got a job again, but of course I was very short of money. I came to your shop to buy a wedding ring (结婚戒指). The girl took out some rings for me to look at, but she was called away for a moment, and I put one of the rings in my pocket. When she came back, I said I did not know the size of my girlfriend’s finger. So I left the shop without paying.
My wife died a short while ago and I had felt ashamed (羞愧的) for not paying for the ring all these years. At that time the ring cost$20, so I think it may cost $100 now, and I am sending you the money.
Yours truly,
A customer
“well, well, well,” said the manager. “Life is full of surprises.”
1. The writer of the letter sent $100 ______.| A．to buy a ring for his wife | B．to thank the girl for her kindness |
| C．to pay for his wife’s ring | D．to give an order for a ring |
| A．The girl gave it to him. | B．He bought it from the shop. |
| C．He borrowed it from the shop. | D．He took it from the shop without paying. |
| A．afraid of seeing the money | B．too excited to say a word |
| C．surprised to get the money unexpectedly (出乎意料) | D．sorry for what the young man had done |
5 . When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and he wrote letters to many companies until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris began to lose his confidence, then depressed. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.
“Why don’t you start your own business?” one of his uncles told him. “The world is a money-locker. You’d better find a way of opening it. ”
“But what can I do?”
“Get out and have a look round. ” advised his uncle.
“See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it. ”
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to win his good fame. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position, too expensive or with some other problems. But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop in a new place where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair motorcycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside.
1. Which of the following best describes Boris’s job hunting experience?| A．Boring. | B．Surprising. | C．Encouraging. | D．Disappointing. |
| A．repairing cycles |
| B．buying empty shops |
| C．cycling around the town |
| D．developing a waste ground |
| A．it was not so expensive |
| B．he had a lot of old customers there |
| C．there were good opportunities there |
| D．he could make good use of his skills there |
6 . “BANG!” the door was shut loudly. It was just standing there, with my father standing on one side, and I on the other side.
We were both in great anger. “Never set foot in this house again!” my father said angrily. With tears in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.
I didn’t know whether it was because I had grown up or because my dad was getting old. He always put his opinions on me. We were just like two people in two different worlds. It felt like there was an iron door between us that could never be opened.
My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets. When I finally reached my house, I saw that the light was still on.
“Perhaps my dad is throwing away some of his old stamps,” I thought. “Perhaps he thinks they are useless.” I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.
All the lights were off except my father’s.
Dad was always like this. Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any moments of regret. This was how he always was. He had been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do had become his second nature.
The light was still on. With the key in hand, I opened the door nervously. When I opened the door, tears ran down my face. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist.Love always exists.
1. Why did the writer run out and walk lonely on the street?| A．He wanted to make his father feel worried. |
| B．He wanted to think about his career carefully |
| C．Something unpleasant happened in his family. |
| D．Something interesting happened on the street. |
| A．Cold. | B．Sad. | C．Frightened. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．The stamps. | B．The opinions. | C．The streets. | D．The lights. |
| A．The son had already grown up. | B．They never agreed with each other. |
| C．The father was getting older and older. | D．The father had got used to doing that. |
| A．Love — it’s second to none. | B．Trust — it creates a better life. |
| C．The importance of communication. | D．The relationship among family members. |
7 . I was feeling splendid this morning! When approaching the bakery I saw a man asking for coins. I’ve often seen him and usually don’t react well to his whiney (嘀咕不停的) tone of his voice. This time I decided I’d give him something. After I’d paid for my tea-to-go, I got a 5 Euro bill ready. Leaving the store really slowly so he’d have a good chance to approach me, I nearly ran into him.
“Would you maybe have some coins for me?” He asked.
I said, “No, sorry, I don’t,” and watched his face fall already at what he thought was a refusal, one of many thousands he probably gets each day.
“I only have this for you”, I said and held the bill in front of his eyes. The way his jaw nearly fell and his eyes widened were priceless.
“Err… wow!” he said, doing a double-take. “That’s really… Thanks.”
“No problem,” I said. “I’m doing well at the moment, and I wanted to share it—have a good day!”
And I walked away. Actually, I walked away leisurely (悠闲地), and I did giggle and laugh out loud for the next 200 meters. Really, you should have seen his face. He totally had not seen that coming! The joy, I think, did not just come from the fact that I love being generous. It also came from breaking up his expectations of what would happen, to allow for that tiny moment of amazement.
1. How did the beggar feel when the writer said “No”?| A．Worried. | B．Surprised. | C．Disappointed. | D．Grateful. |
| A．wasn’t used to being refused | B．hesitated before reaction |
| C．accepted my offer immediately | D．understood me without difficulty |
| A．the beggar didn’t expect so much money | B．he was attracted by the beggar’s face |
| C．he found the beggar was blind | D．the beggar wished him a good day |
| A．He’s always generous to people in need. | B．He enjoys making fun of poor people. |
| C．He lacks sympathy for the poor. | D．He can find happiness from little things. |
8 . Rain beat against the window, matching my mood. I should have known that my new job at the hospital was too good to be true. Throughout the day, rumors (传言) warned that the newest employee from each department would be laid off. I was the newest one in the training department.
My boss appeared. “You probably know we’re cutting back,” he said. “Administration wants us to offer outplacement classes to help those employees find other jobs, showing them how to act in an interview, for example.” “Fine,” I answered unwillingly, not knowing what else to say.
I decided to go home early that day. In the hall, I met the lady who brought us cookies every Friday. She was a little woman with gray hair. Only her head and the top of her green apron (围裙) were visible over the cart (小车) loaded with cleaning supplies. At least she had a job!
At the final meeting, laid-off workers formed a line at the door. A colleague whispered, “I can’t believe our Cookie Lady is being laid off. We’ll miss her as much as we’ll miss her cookies.” When the colleague spoke to her in Spanish, I knew my classes would be useless for her and I realized how much better off I was than this poor woman.
I decided to do something for her. I wrote to a newspaper expressing how I felt about the unselfishness of the Cookie Lady who needed a job. A few days later, my article appeared in the newspaper and the Cookie Lady was allowed to stay in her position. On the same day, I received a letter, which seemed so unlikely that I read it twice. “An editor of a local magazine likes your piece and wants you to call her next time you’re looking for work…”
1. How did the author feel on that rainy day?| A．Nervous. | B．Excited. | C．Embarrassed. | D．Proud. |
| A．Take care of patients. | B．Leave earlier that day. |
| C．Help the laid-off workers. | D．Give up the job in the hospital. |
| A．He offered her a high-paid job. | B．He gave her advice on job hunting. |
| C．He made her story known to others. | D．He taught her how to pass an interview. |
| A．Good deeds have their rewards. |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．Little people can make a big difference. |
| D．Love brings more joy to people than work does. |
9 . There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have lots of friends at school. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not his classmates were his true friends, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered, “I have just exactly what you need; it’s in the attic (阁楼). Wait here for a minute.”
Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there. “Take it. It’s a very special chair. Because it’s invisible (无形的) it’s rather difficult to sit on, but if you take it to school and you manage to sit on it, you’ll be able to tell who your true friends are.”
Mario took the strange invisible chair and went to school. At break time he asked everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. “Nobody move. You’re about to see something amazing,” Mario said.
Then Mario tried sitting on the chair. He missed and fell straight onto his backside. Everyone had a pretty good laugh. Mario wouldn’t be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and kept falling to the ground... until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, hovering (悬停) in mid-air.
Looking around, Mario saw George, Lucas, and Diana — three of his best friends — holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall. At the same time, many others he had thought of as friends were doing nothing but make fun of him, enjoying each and every fall.
Leaving with his three friends, Mario explained to them how his grandpa had so cleverly thought of such a good idea. Now he knows that those who take joy in our misfortunes (不幸) when we are in difficulty are not our true friends.
1. What did Mario’s grandpa take from the attic?| A．An invisible chair. | B．An old chair. |
| C．A real chair. | D．Nothing. |
| A．To see whether Mario could sit on it. |
| B．To test who were Mario’s true friends. |
| C．To let Mario have fun with his classmates. |
| D．To test whether Mario was popular at school. |
| A．He saw the invisible chair suddenly. |
| B．He managed to sit on the chair finally. |
| C．His friends held him up with their hands. |
| D．His classmates gave him a chair to sit on. |
| A．Never laugh at our friends. |
| B．True friends can help us do magic. |
| C．True friends are those who care for us. |
| D．Having too many good friends isn’t a good thing. |
10 . Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie’s feet, when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England.”
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”
“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you,” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will come to see him and laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would!” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father’s rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come. “Be wild now,” he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you, I promise I will.” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie clambered down off the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. Tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.
1. Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she________.| A．had lied about her good health condition | B．had decided to send Bertie to a new school |
| C．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie | D．knew Bertie would hate to go to England |
| A．some audience | B．other animals | C．Bertie’s friends | D．circus’s owners |
| A．kill the lion out of helplessness | B．protect himself from being chased |
| C．threaten the lion back to the wild | D．show his anger towards his father |
| A．circuses are the last places for animals to live |
| B．animals belonging to the wild should be set free |
| C．parents are sometimes cruel to their children |
| D．people and animals can be faithful to each other |
