1 . There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn’t want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song.

The man said, “I don’t sing.”

But the customer was persistent. He told the bar manager, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing!”

The manager shouted across the room, “If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing!”

So he did. He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song Mona Lisa. He got lots of applause that night.

He had such a talent for singing, but he just had been sitting on his talent for the past years! If without such an opportunity, he might have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. However, now he has become one of the best known singers in America.

You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your “talent” is not as great as the singer’s above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have!

1. Which would be the best title for the text?

A．How to Have Great Ability	B．A Nice Song — Mona Lisa
C．A Singer in a No-name Bar	D．Find Out Your Real Talent

2. Why did the man start to sing?

A．Because he wanted to make more money.

B．Because the bar manager said he liked his song.

C．Because he wanted to show everyone that he had a talent for singing.

D．Because the manager asked him to sing at the request of a customer.

3. What do you think of the bar manager?

A．strict

B．kind

C．patient

D．rude

4. Which of the following is TRUE about the piano player?

A．He hated singing in a no-name bar.

B．He didn’t discover his talent before a customer asked him to sing.

C．He became very famous as a pianist and singer in America.

D．He lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player.

4 . The key to happiness is how quickly you can get back your focus on what’s important.

—Anonymous

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened. I jumped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”

Many people are like garbage (rubbish) trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of anger and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to throw it away. And if you let them, they’ll throw it away on you. When someone wants to throw their garbage away on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy with what you did.

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do any more.”

Successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? If you let more garbage trucks pass you by, you’ll be happier. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t.

1. What happened one day when the author was taking a taxi?

A．The taxi driver was injured.

B．The taxi almost hit another car.

C．The author scolded the driver of the other car.

D．The author learned a lesson from the driver of the garbage truck.

2. How did the taxi driver respond to the behaviour of the driver of the black car?

A．He yelled back at the driver.

B．He sent the driver to the hospital.

C．He dumped some garbage in front of his car.

D．He was friendly towards the driver.

3. What does the taxi driver think of people according to Paragraph 3?

A．Many people like to drive garbage trucks.

B．Many people throw garbage away wherever they like.

C．Many people tend to be very much depressed.

D．Many people are warm-hearted to make others happy.

4. According to the passage, what should you do if people “throw garbage away” on you?

A．Ignore them and go on with our own work.

B．Try our best to persuade them not to do that again.

C．Tell them to throw garbage away in the right place.

D．Take over their work and carry the garbage to somewhere else.

5 . A long time ago, there lived a girl called Lily. When she started going to school, she was       ________. All her classmates bullied(霸凌) her for her shy behaviour. If the teacher asked any questions she would not answer because of her shyness. But she was a________student and she knew all the answers.

Out of all the subjects, her favorite subject was sports.She always________to be a football player on her school team. But the students always made fun of her. ________, she did not care what her________would say as she wanted to tell them that she could be a football player.

So during the day, Lily________her school, and at night she would practice football at her home. Her mother installed(安装)some more lights in their garden so that her daughter could     ________properly.

After practicing for long, finally, the selections for the inter-school for football competition came. Lily, without a thought________to go for it. Her classmates________her, and said, “Boo! You will not make it. Back off!”But Lily decided not to________their words.

As she began to play, everybody was________her excellent skills.The judges(裁判)were so amazed by her confident________that they not only selected Lily but also made her the team leader. Now, everybody wanted to become Lily’s friend and soon she became the________girl in the school. Lily’s story is one of the________stories for kids that help them to do their work with the right________.

1.

A．friendly

B．bored

C．shy

D．patient

2.

A．young

B．bad

C．new

D．bright

3.

A．wanted

B．walked

C．needed

D．agreed

4.

A．Therefore

B．However

C．As

D．Because

5.

A．classmates

B．parents

C．teachers

D．teammates

6.

A．visited

B．attended

C．closed

D．supported

7.

A．research

B．rest

C．study

D．practice

8.

A．decided

B．learned

C．refused

D．forgot

9.

A．focused on

B．applied for

C．laughed at

D．cared about

10.

A．introduce

B．consider

C．say

D．copy

11.

A．thankful for

B．satisfied with

C．proud of

D．surprised by

12.

A．voice

B．behaviour

C．smile

D．sex

13.

A．most interesting

B．most exciting

C．most popular

D．most beautiful

14.

A．famous

B．dangerous

C．encouraging

D．confusing

15.

A．team

B．community

C．group

D．attitude

8 . When I became a junior, I decided to take Latin (拉丁语) at school. I felt much ____ about taking that class, and I was fully expecting to be able to understand every word I’d ever ______once I learned Latin.

But Latin classes were so ____. Each day, the teacher Mr. Keady would ask us to open our books and recite aloud the various Latin forms of words. Thus it became the daily ____. That went on until I ____ my hand one afternoon when we were asked yet again to open our books.

When Mr. Keady asked what was wrong, I ____ why I thought that his class was boring how I had expected more, and that his method of teaching was out of date. When I finished speaking, I ____ Mr. Keady would angrily send me to the head teacher.

Instead, he sat at his desk ____, looking beaten and tired. After several moments of ______Mr. Keady spoke. He quietly and strongly said that he would think carefully about what I’d said. And that was it.

In the following weeks, Latin class didn’t become the exciting leaning environment I hoped it would, but Mr. Keady did try harder. He brought in some new worksheets and ____ to make us students take part more in his classes.

Maybe some people would ____ what I did but even so many years later, I feel bad about it. If I saw him now, I’d tell him how I ____ what I’d done that day in class, and that I was disrespectful. And at the same time, I’d also tell him that he taught me a wonderful ____ that day. Following my ____ words, he showed me that being hurt doesn’t mean you have to give away your dignity (尊严).

_____, Mr. Keady’s response proved that no matter how hurt you feel, no one can take away your dignity.

1.

A．fear

B．loneliness

C．sadness

D．excitement

2.

A．come across

B．go over

C．come along

D．pick out

3.

A．inspiring

B．boring

C．interesting

D．enjoyable

4.

A．practice

B．sight

C．support

D．movement

5.

A．set up

B．build up

C．put up

D．pack up

6.

A．admitted

B．explained

C．doubted

D．wondered

7.

A．guessed

B．print

C．preferred

D．allowed

8.

A．quietly

B．happily

C．angrily

D．wildly

9.

A．excitement

B．silence

C．agreement

D．disappointment

10.

A．failed

B．hated

C．tried

D．refused

11.

A．expressed

B．cheated

C．hid

D．clapped

12.

A．regretted

B．avoided

C．checked

D．believed

13.

A．experience

B．lesson

C．solution

D．approach

14.

A．unkind

B．thankful

C．comfortable

D．positive

15.

A．However

B．Unluckily

C．Surprisingly

D．Indeed

9 . It was two days before we would leave our house. I thought back to the old days in the house. However, we were saying _________.

My husband said some things like the rocking chair and the kitchen table wouldn’t _________ in the truck. I said, “But we have to take them!”

“But there is not enough room,” he said.

We lived on the east side of Mississippi and our parents were in the west, so we always _________ to move out there to be with the people we missed. When a chance came for my husband to work in the west, we decided to _________.

“Could we get a bigger truck?” I asked, still trying to bring everything along with us.

“Amy, this is the biggest truck,” my husband said. I stood in the garage. _________ that we had to leave behind some furniture, I felt upset. So I called my mom.

“Hi, honey. How’s the _________ going?” my mom asked.

“Some furniture is not gong to fit,” I said, trying to keep my voice _________ and not to burst into tears. “It’s hard to leave them behind. I sat in that rocking chair and read stories to Azure. I sat at that kitchen table with my _________.”

“Honey, these things are not the _________. You don’t need the rocking chair to remember ________________ to Azure. You don’t need your kitchen table to remember family dinners. You’ll always ________________ those memories whether the things come with you to your new ________________ or not. And you don’t have to ________________ about losing the memories.” my mom said.

My mom was ________________. We’ve been very happy in our new home. Though we have half as many things we did before, we have not ________________ the memories of our old home.

1.

A．yes

B．no

C．goodbye

D．hello

2.

A．fit

B．crash

C．survive

D．crack

3.

A．afforded

B．offered

C．chose

D．intended

4.

A．battle

B．update

C．move

D．chat

5.

A．Explaining

B．Believing

C．Thinking

D．Expecting

6.

A．comparison

B．packing

C．design

D．living

7.

A．professional

B．familiar

C．specific

D．normal

8.

A．friend

B．family

C．neighbor

D．ancestor

9.

A．memories

B．customs

C．transitions

D．emotions

10.

A．announcing

B．posting

C．writing

D．reading

11.

A．remove

B．reduce

C．have

D．identify

12.

A．house

B．company

C．country

D．account

13.

A．hear

B．talk

C．learn

D．worry

14.

A．eager

B．right

C．generous

D．confident

15.

A．stirred

B．promoted

C．lost

D．suffered

10 . It was a cold and cloudy afternoon. I was on the bus with my children, aged four and two, heading home when it started to rain. I realized this would mean     1    wet walk home from the bus stop.
Home was only two blocks away     2    it was not a pleasant walk with one small boy fast asleep in the pram (手推婴儿车), the other one in a raincoat and no umbrella for myself. A pick-up truck passed us on the road and, a few minutes later, I saw it     3    (pull) back and the driver looking directly at us.
A young man put the window down. “Hey, here’s an umbrella for you --- please take it.” He called out.
I stood there     4    (surprise), hardly believing that the man,     5    I didn’t know at all, could be so     6    (thought). “Come on, give this to your mummy,” he said to my older son. I gratefully accepted the offer,     7    (thank) him and watched the truck disappear down the road.
This man might have needed the umbrella for     8    later during the day but preferred to give it to me. It was a lesson to me     9    it’s possible to give without expecting anything     10    return.