Two old men lived in a room on the third floor of an old people’s home. Both men were very old and badly ill, and they spent 24 hours a day in bed in the room.
Luckily, one of the old men had his bed by the window, and every day he spent hours telling his friend far from the window what he could see through the window. He told him about the traffic going by, the children playing in the park opposite, and the birds flying in trees. The old man far from the window got a lot of pleasure from hearing about the world outside, but after a time he began to get rather unhappy. How nice it would be, he thought, if he had the bed by the window and could see everything for him, instead of just hearing about it.
One night, the man by the window called to his friend, “Quick! Pull the alarm by your bed; I don’t think I can get through the night!” But his friends, expecting an empty bed by the window, did nothing---he just closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
The next morning, the nurse found the man dead in his bed by the window.
The old man was very excited as they moved him into the empty bed by the window. He sat up in bed, pulled back the curtain, looked out --- and saw only a wall.
【小題1】Who do you think was kind in the story?

One morning, a blind boy sat beside a building with a hat by his feet. He held a sign which said, “I am blind. Please help me.”
There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognizedhis footsteps and asked, “Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way.”
What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beautiful day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.
The first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.
The first is: Treasure (珍惜) what you have. Someone else has less. Try your best to help those who need your help.
The second is: Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way.
【小題1】From the article we know that________.

I still remember the last time when two of my children and I went to the playground. It had rained during the night and the playground was very muddy (泥濘的). They had just put on clean clothes, so I was a little worried about the pools of water on the playground. It was not long before Kathy got her beautiful skirt dirty on the playground. She dug through the rocks. I was about to blame her for getting her clothes dirty when she ran towards me with a smile on her face. When she got to me, she handed me a little heart-shaped rock and said, “Here Mom! Here is a heart for you－just because I love you! Keep it!” with tears in my eyes, I thanked her.
Should I blame her for getting her clothes muddy? No way! I still have that little heart-shaped rock. It is one of the best gifts that I have ever received. I realize that many times it is not necessary for us adults to worry about the small things our children do. Let them do what they’d like to.
I will spend a lot more time on the playground with my children. I’m sure I will learn a lot from the children. It reminds me of some years ago when my grandfather told me, “You would not enter the kingdom (王國(guó)) of happiness until you pretended (假裝) to be a small child.”
【小題1】The writer was deeply moved by her daughter’s ____________.

“Do you like my dress?” She asked a lady. “My Mum made it just for me,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“Well, I think it’s very pretty, so tell me, little girl, why are you crying?”
The little girl answered in a low voice, “After Mum made me this dress, she went away. My Dad says that she’s up in heaven with grandfather.”
Finally the woman realized why she was crying. She felt very sorry for the little girl and held the child in her arms.
Just before the lady wanted to go, the girl stopping crying, walked back from the woman, and showed her a spot (點(diǎn)) on her dress, and said, “Right here is where my Mum kissed my dress, and here,” pointing to another spot, “and here is another kiss, and here, and here. Mum said that she had put all those kisses on my dress so that I would forget my sadness.”
The lady realized that she wasn’t just looking at a dress, no, she was looking at mother. The mother knew that she was going away. So she gave all her love to her lovely daughter and put it into the dress.
The lady no longer saw a little girl wearing a simple dress. She saw a child in her mother’s love.
根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，選擇最佳答案。
【小題1】The little girl was crying because her mother           .
A. died                     
B. went out with her grandfather       
C. was ill
【小題2】The girl told the woman the spots on her dress were           .
A. the strange designs      
B. her sadness                     
C. her mother’s kisses
【小題3】The little girl showed the lady           .
A. how beautiful her dress was
B. how happy she was
C. how great the mother’s love was
【小題4】According to the passage, it’s clear that the woman was           .
A. the girl’s relation     
B. a careless woman                
C. kind to the girl
【小題5】From the story, we learn that           .
A. a mother should take her child with her
B. mother’s love is the greatest in the world
C. a girl should wear a dress made by her mother

Is there someone you hate? Well, maybe you don’t really hate them. But
you get really angry every time you think of them. If you don’t let this anger go, it can turn into bitterness(痛苦)
Bitterness appears when we can’t forgive(原諒) someone who has hurt us or made us angry. Someone might say or do something that hurts us. But Instead of controlling the anger, we keep it deep inside. Before long, a bitter feeling begins to grow. We may think we’re hurting that person by criticizing him or her often, but we’re really only hurting ourselves.
Bitterness can not only lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, but also hurt our relationships with friends and family members. No one enjoys being around an anger person for very long.
If you see bitterness in your life, here are some ways to deal with it.
Accept it
Instead of trying to deny your anger, make it clear to yourself and accept it. See your anger for what it is and quickly deal with it.
Stop making excuses for it
You may feel you have a right to be anger. You may think you’re right  and the other person is wrong. You may even secretly enjoy making the other person look bad. But in the end, bitterness hurts you much more than the other person. The bitterness will hold you back, and the other person will go on with his or her life.
Forgive and forget it
You probably can’t completely put the anger out of your mind. But you can decide to forgive the other person. Forget it and move on. You’ll enjoy better health and peace of mind.
閱讀上面的短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，選出一個(gè)最佳答案
【小題1】According to the passage, we might get angry when someone ______.

Could you be a genius like Einstein? A genius needs to learn and think. Reading is a good idea, but it is not enough. Einstein’s advice is to use your brain more. Here are some tips:
l Ask. When you look at new things, ask why they are new or different. Ask more questions. Ask yourself and others. Keep thinking until you find the answers.
l Draw. Einstein thought in pictures. Sometimes, it helps to draw problems and ideas.
l Read. Try to read new things. Read books from different parts of the library. After you read, think about the ideas you have learned. Are they different from what you thought?
l Relax. Many ideas come when you are relaxed. Take some time to relax yourself in the ways like taking a walk in a park, going to a concert or a museum.
l Write. Keep a diary. Write down your questions and ideas. Write down new ideas after you read.
l Share. Einstein used to talk to his friends and explain his ideas. Sometimes, a friend can help you find the answer to a problem.
l Be brave. Do not let other people say your ideas are silly. Explain yourself. Let other people explain why they think you are wrong. Then decide.
【小題1】What can we do to relax ourselves according to the passage?

Mom and Dad are two of the most important people in your life. Over your lifetime, they may influence you more than anyone else you will meet. So if your mom loves to read, you just might grow up carrying a book wherever you go, just as she does.　But parents do a lot more than just pass on their hobbies. Moms and Dads need to care for their kids the minute their kids are born. Most parents will do this as long as they live.
Here are some ways you can stay close, get along well, and build a strong relationship( 關(guān)系)with your parents.
Spend time together. Instead of playing computer games or watching TV, ask your mom and dad to play with you. Go outside together, or do some reading.
Be kind.Little things might mean a lot to your mom or dad. You can brighten a parent’s day with a hug（擁抱）, a card , or a joke. It’s also lovely when a kid cleans up his or her room without being asked. And if you try not to fight with your brothers or sisters, your parents will be so happy!
Do your best at whatever you do. You don’t have to be perfect, but when you do your best, you make your parents proud. It makes them happy to see how you’re turning into a great kid. Why? Because it lets them know they’re doing a good job.
【小題1】Who may influence you more than anyone else you will meet according to the passage?

Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories, destroying fourteen homes. Seven others were so badly damaged (破壞) that their owners had to leave them, and fifteen others had broken windows or broken roofs. One person was killed, several were badly hurt and taken to hospital, and a number of other people received smaller hurt. Altogether (總共) over two hundred people were homeless after the storm.
A farmer, Mr. Tan, said that the storm began early in the morning and lasted for over an hour.
“I was eating with my wife and children,” he said, “when we heard a loud noise. A few minutes later our house fell down on top of us. We tried our best to climb out but then I saw that one of my children was missing. I went back inside and found him, safe but very frightened.”
Mrs. Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she felt that her house was moving. She ran outside at once with her children.
“There was no time to take anything,” she said, “A few minutes later, the roof came down.”
Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded (水淹的) area and the welfare department (福利機(jī)構(gòu)) brought them food, clothes and shelter.
【小題1】How many homes altogether were damaged in the storm?

Sunny Language School
We are a language school for children of 12—18. We want an assistant in the library, an English teacher, a gate- keeper, and a sports coach.

Job	Age	Language	Skill（能力）	Other term（其他條件）
lab assistant	20—35	Chinese, English	enough experience (經(jīng)驗(yàn), 經(jīng)歷)for the job	careful（細(xì)心）
teacher	20—45	English, French, Japanese	have the TQC(教師資格)	responsible（負(fù)責(zé)）
sports coach	20—40	Chinese, English	major（專業(yè)）in P.E.	healthy and strong（強(qiáng)壯）
gate-keeper		Chinese	have a good memory（記憶力）	healthy

“The only thing holding you back is yourself. Never say never”, said a rising 17-year-old singer, Justin Bieber, who was just an ordinary boy in Canada a few years ago.
After the accident of falling from the 18^th floor and lying in the snow for three hours, my hands were frozen and my spinal cord (脊髓)was seriously injured. All the doctors and professors in the famous hospitals in Beijing told me that there was little chance for my hands and my body to recover (康復(fù)).
After half a year of medical treatments and recovering exercises, I could not make any more progress for over a year. What was worse , I suffered a lot from depression (絕望). On top of this, I suffered from insomnia, making every minute of the night seem to last forever. Hopelessly, mom and I came back to my hometown, which is small town in Guangdong.
At that time, I thought that I would never be able to walk again. I would never love and be loved. I would never be able to earn even a penny. I would never be able to repay the kindness I got from my parents and many nice people. Life was meaningless.
Now two years has passed. My hands are 80% recovered. I can even type faster than a healthy person! Up to now, I have worked for a law firm as an interpreter for half a year already. Although I don’t earn as much as before, I am able to pay for the food and clothes I need. What’s more, I even have extra money to buy thanksgiving presents for my parents and my boyfriend. Through my blogs (博客) , many people get to know me and like me. I can bring happiness to them. I can help those who are still suffering from depression and the pain of illnesses by chatting with them….You see, I am living a meaningful life and I am happier than ever I could have dreamed.
So, my friends, never say never. As long as you are alive, there is always hope and possibilities. It is never too late to take action to realize your dreams.     (382 words)
【小題1】What’s the writer’s present job?