1 . Peter, 60, loved his job as a bus driver. He had been one almost all his life, loving the little children who rode his bus daily. It made him feel much younger. His record was clean, without one accident, which made him a trustworthy driver.

However, Mr. Clark, Peter’s boss, was worried and thought that it was time for him to retire (退休). “You don’t have a choice here, Peter.” he said seriously. “We don’t want to invite any risk to the children.”

“But I have a perfect record,” reasoned Peter. “You know, for an elderly man like me, my job is the only thing that keeps me alive. I want to keep my job.”

“Would you take responsibility if something bad happened to those children?” Mr. Clark said.

Peter thought it over, and very reluctantly, he gave in to Mr. Clark’s request. Peter decided to retire a week later.

The day before his last day, Peter was dropping of the kids at his first stop when he looked out of the window and saw a lady who had passed out. He asked the kids not to leave the bus and got down to help the woman.

Just when he finished, he heard cries behind him. The children were looking out of the window and shouting. “Fire! Fire! Help!” “How could that have happened?” Peter was shaking in fear. With shaking hands, Peter dialed 911 and rushed to help the children. Covering himself with his jacket, Peter rushed into the burning car and took the children out one by one. Thankfully, the firefighters arrived soon and helped Peter, saving all students.

The next day, Peter found the whole school standing in front of his home. When Peter got close to them, Mr. Clark started clapping and everyone joined him. “You are a hero, Peter! You saved the lives of those young children.” he said. “You are the best driver. We hope you can keep the job!”

1. What made Mr. Clark worried?

A．He couldn’t talk Peter into retiring.

B．Taking school bus was unsafe for children.

C．Peter was too old to be a school bus driver.

D．The school bus driver must be changed actually.

2. What does the underlined “reluctantly” mean in Paragraph 5?

A．Angrily.

B．Unwillingly.

C．Doubtfully.

D．Cheerfully.

3. Why were the children shouting?

A．They were caught in the burning bus.

B．They couldn’t find Peter on the bus.

C．They were frightened by the woman.

D．They didn’t want a new school bus driver.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Putting Out the Fire	B．A Dangerous Bus Journey
C．Working After Retirement	D．An Old Hero Driver

2 . After their business trip, John and Mary returned, eager to see their lovely children. As they drove into their hometown feeling glad to be back, they noticed ________, and they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a ________ in flames. Mary said, “Oh, well, it isn’t our fire, let’s go home.”

But John ________ closer and screamed, “That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn’t be ________ work yet, maybe there is something we could do.” “It has nothing to do with us,” Mary ________.

But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror-stricken to see the whole house in ________. A woman on the lawn was screaming, “The children! Get the children!” John ________ her by the shoulder saying, “Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are!” “In the ________,” cried the woman. “Down the hall and to the left.”

In spite of Mary’s disagreement, John ________ for the basement which was full of smoke and ________ hot. He found the door and two children. ________ he left he could hear some more sobbing. He ________ the two badly frightened children into ________ arms and started back asking how many more children were down there. They told him ________ more and Mary grasped his arm and screamed, “John! Don’t go back! It’s ________! That house will fall down any second.”

________ he ran into the smoke-filled hallway and at last he found both children. As he climbed up the ________ stairs, the thought went through his mind that there was something strangely ________ about the little bodies next to him, and at last when they came out into the ________ and fresh air, he found that he had just ________ his own children.

The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.

1.

A．direction

B．mistake

C．danger

D．smoke

2.

A．home

B．plant

C．store

D．kitchen

3.

A．ran

B．walked

C．drove

D．rode

4.

A．at

B．off

C．to

D．on

5.

A．whispered

B．nodded

C．disagreed

D．required

6.

A．ruins

B．pieces

C．flames

D．silence

7.

A．pushed

B．seized

C．greeted

D．stopped

8.

A．basement

B．department

C．house

D．hall

9.

A．went

B．reached

C．asked

D．rushed

10.

A．heavily

B．slightly

C．partly

D．terribly

11.

A．If

B．As

C．Since

D．Unless

12.

A．comforted

B．delivered

C．recognized

D．protected

13.

A．cheering

B．freezing

C．waiting

D．suffering

14.

A．many

B．several

C．three

D．two

15.

A．dangerous

B．foolish

C．practical

D．painful

16.

A．Therefore

B．So

C．Instead

D．But

17.

A．wide

B．endless

C．narrow

D．dirty

18.

A．particular

B．interesting

C．familiar

D．fortunate

19.

A．car

B．sunlight

C．crowd

D．arms

20.

A．rescued

B．found

C．lost

D．missed

3 . Oil is essential for modern life. About 64 percent of the world’s oil is located in the Middle East, but the heaviest consumers of oil are Europe, America, and Japan. The problem lies in getting the oil from the countries that produce it to the countries that consume it. This is mainly done using oil tankers. Usually the oil is shipped safely and with no problems, but occasionally there is a disaster.

Every year millions of tons of oil are spilled into the ocean. Although this is only a small percentage of the total amount shipped around the world each year, this spilled oil can have terrible effects on ocean life, including the coastlines where the oil washes up onto shore.

One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989, when the Exxon Valdez tanker got stuck off the coast of Alaska, spilling 42 million liters of oil. Although it wasn’t the largest oil spill, the disaster was terrible because it occurred in such a sensitive natural area. In this spill, the tanker’s captain, who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol, had gone to take a rest. He gave control of the ship to another sailor, who was unfamiliar with the route. The ship ran onto Bligh Reef. Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean. More than 1,600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill. Many birds and otters died as a result of the oil covering their skin, and many other sea creatures and the animals that fed on them were also severely affected.

1. Which country is NOT among the largest consumers of oil?

A．Japan	B．Iraq
C．America	D．Germany

2. What does the underlined “them” refer to?

A．The birds.	B．The otters.
C．The sea creatures.	D．The birds and the otters.

3. Which of the following statement is true?

A．The oil leak of Alaska is because the captain was unfamiliar with the route.

B．Many birds and otters died from eating the spilled oil.

C．Alaska spill was the most serious spill of all time.

D．Although some oil leak is not serious, it will affect ocean life.