1 . 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 |
2 . Mark Smith and Jarryd Haines are good friends. The two boys from Sydney have known each other for most of their lives. Both of them enjoy playing Australian football.
A few years ago, when Mark was nine, he developed brain cancer. The disease robbed the boy of his sight, part of his hearing and his ability to play his favorite sport. However, throughout the years, Jarryd remained his closest friend. They still share their love of Australian football. And they still enjoy talking about the Sydney Swans, their favorite team.
Two weeks ago, I took my seat at Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the Swans. The old stadium was crowded with fans. Shortly into the second quarter, heard some great commentary from a boy. Play by play, Jarryd was bringing the game to life. I turned and saw him. Mark was sitting next to him.
Although he cannot see anymore, Mark still loves the Swans very much. Usually, he goes to the stadium and listens to the commentary on the radio. However, in the second quarter of that match, the radio system broke down. That was when his friend Jarryd stepped in.
I hardly looked at the Swans and Buddy, the team’s star player. Instead, I was focusing on Jarryd and Mark. “What’s happening now, mate?” Mark asked. “Don’t worry. Mark,” Jarryd replied. “Okay. Buddy’s got it. Will he go for it? He’s going for it! It’s his tenth goal! Buddy is on fire!” Mark listened carefully. He was lost in the magic of Australian football brought to life by his friend.
Sports can be competitive. However, they can also allow us to share wonderful moments with others, may they be close friends or perfect strangers. Here, Jarryd and Mark have moved me, and perhaps some other spectators, with the best commentary.
1. Why didn’t Mark play Australian football any longer?| A．He took up new hobby. |
| B．He lost his sight and hearing. |
| C．He was unable to play it because of his disease. |
| D．His favorite team-the Sydney Swans lost the game. |
| A．He helped him step into the stadium. |
| B．He made Buddy score his tenth goal. |
| C．He was lost in the magic of Australian football. |
| D．He provided commentary for him when the radio system failed. |
| A．Generous and active. | B．Considerate and patient. |
| C．Diligent and ambitious. | D．Competitive and smart |
| A．A lively commentary. |
| B．The Swans and Buddy. |
| C．An Australian football match. |
| D．The precious friendship between two boys. |
3 . I walked into my daughter's room as she was working on a science project. Normally,I would have been pleased about such a sight. But this time, her project involved much sand. While she'd put sheets of plastic under her work area, the sand was spreading all over our new floor.
My daughter felt my displeasure and began to defend herself. "I used sheets of plastic!" she responded irritably. I responded more angrily, "But the sand is gettlng all over ! "
"Where else am I supposed to do it?" she shouted.
"Why didn't she admit that she had done something wrong?” I thought to myself. I felt my fear, thinking of what her life would be like in the future if she couldn't realise her mistakes?
My fear was translated into more anger, this time about how important it was to admit mistakes. We had a quarrel. She said something disrespectful to me and raised her voice.
I wished this had never happened before. But my daughter and I were in embarrassment and felt terrible.
So I thought that I needed a good way to respond to my daughter. So I went to my wife and asked how I should have handled it.
"Sweetie, " she said, role-playing in the conversation with my daughter, "there's a lot of sand here and we need to clean it up before it destroys the floor. How can I help you?"
That's really a great way to deal with it: first identify the problem, next state what needs to be done and then offer to help. It's simple, right?
1. Why did the author feel displeased at the sight?| A．The daughter's project involved much sand. |
| B．The daughter worked too long on the science project. |
| C．The daughter put sheets of plastic under her work area. |
| D．The daughter spread the sand all over the new floor. |
| A．He was worried about his daughter' future life. |
| B．The new floor was covered with sand everywhere. |
| C．The daughter was angry with him. |
| D．The author didn't know how to handle the situation. |
| A．Indifferent and cold. | B．Understanding but worried. |
| C．Pleased and relaxed. | D．Annoyed but modest |
| A．Learn to deal with problems calmly and wisely. |
| B．Working on science projects does good to people. |
| C．Conduct Role-play in the conversation |
| D．Communicate with children patiently |
4 . A boy was dying of terminal leukemia (白血病). His mother took his hand and asked, “Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be when you grew up?”
“Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.”
Later that day she went to the fire department, where she met Fireman Bob. She explained her son’s final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do better than that. We’ll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And, we’ll get a real fire uniform made for him.”
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted (护送) him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy was in heaven. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished (慷慨给予) upon him, Bopsy lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop and the head nurse called the fire chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition. The chief replied, “We can do better than that. We’ll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens (警报器) screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that it’s just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time? And will you open the window to his room?”
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy’s third floor open window and 14 firemen and two fire-women climbed up the ladder into Bopsy’s room. They hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, “Chief, am I really a fireman now?”
With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes for the last time.
1. Why did Bopsy’s mother go to the fire department?| A．Her son wanted to get a fire uniform. |
| B．Her son wanted to ride on a fire engine. |
| C．She wanted her son to become a real fireman. |
| D．She wanted to help her son to realize his dream. |
| A．The fire engine was nine yards long. |
| B．The whole journey that day was very upsetting. |
| C．Bopsy could experience everything as a fireman. |
| D．All the sirens of the fire engines would scream that day. |
| A．Because Bopsy begged her to do so. |
| B．Because Bopsy saw the firemen as his family members. |
| C．Because she wanted Bopsy to be approved as a real fireman. |
| D．Because she wanted to do something for Bopsy before he died. |
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| B．Sometimes there are miracles because of love. |
| C．Great things may be done by painstaking efforts. |
| D．A mother understands what a child does not say. |
