An 11-year-old schoolboy is ageing (變老) five times faster than his friends because of a strange
illness, which is often seen in old men. Now he is fighting against it.
     Harry Crowther's bones (骨頭) have started to break into small pieces, and he has poor body
condition (狀況). However, he does not let it stop him from being an energetic teenager.
     His parents know there's no cure (治愈方法) and that his fast ageing cannot be halted. His mother
Sharon Crowther told Sky News, "It's been hard, but we just take each day as it comes and let Harry
live his life to the full."        
     The boy told Sky News, "Sometimes my friends look at me for a long time. It's just annoying and
makes me feel very sad."
     Harry, who lives with his mother and IT director father John, 41, sister Emma, 16, and 14-year-old
brother Jack, is trying not to let the illness hold him back.
     "I want to be a marine biologist (海洋生物學(xué)家) when I grow up," he said. "I will never give up
and will just keep trying."

1. The underlined word "halted" in the passage means "_______".

A. stopped
B. broken      
C. developed
D. started

2. When does Harry Crowther feel annoyed according to the passage?

A. When he becomes older year by year.    
B. When his parents try to cure his illness.
C. When he can't achieve his dream.    
D. When his friends look at him for a long time.

3. How many people are there in Harry Crowther's family?

A. Three.      
B. Four.          
C. Five.        
D. Six.

4. Which of the following is NOT true about Harry Crowther?

A. He doesn't give up in his life.
B. He has no friends at all.
C. His father works as an IT director.  
D. He is the youngest of the three kids.

5. What do you think of Harry Crowther?

A. Clever and healthy.  
B. Brave but rude.
C. Active and brave.              
D. Strange but energetic.

     It was a cold night. The taxi driver didn’t take even one passenger all day. When he went by the
railway station , he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he drove to him and
asked ,“Where are you going，sir?”
     “To the Red Hotel ,”the young man answered. When the taxi driver heard this , he didn ’t feel happy any more. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was near the railway station. But suddenly，he had an idea. He took the young man through many streets of the big city.
     After a long time，they arrived at the hotel.“Here we are ! You should pay me fifteen dollars,please ,”
the taxi driver said to the young man. “What? Fifteen dollars! Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week ，
I took a taxi from the railway station to this hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how
much I have to pay for the trip.”

判斷正誤,正確的寫T,錯誤的寫F.
(     )1. The driver was not happy before he saw the young man.
(     )2. It is very far from the railway station to the Red Hotel.
(     )3. The young man was cheated（騙）.
(     )4. The two taxi drivers were both honest.
(     )5. Maybe the taxi driver got thirteen dollars at last.?

　　Last summer, 15-year-old Bob had a problem. Like a lot of children. Bob
was interested in doing many things. He liked dancing most and wanted to join a
dancing group. But Bob's high school didn’t have a boys' dancing group but a
girls' group. He tried to join the girls' group. And he made it.
　　Bob thought his problem was over after he had been one of the dancers in
the dancing group. But a bigger problem was just beginning. The school didn't
allow Bob to stay in the girls’' group. "If we let Bob stay in the group," the
school said, "other boys will want to join. Soon, there won't be any girls in the
group." They took Bob off the group.
　　Bob was very angry about it, so he went to a judge(法官). The judge said it
was not a right decision and told the school to let Bob go back to the dancing
group.

1. Bob’s favorite was _____.

A. singing    
B. dancing    
C. drawing      
D. driving

2. It was difficult for Bob to join the school dancing group because _____.

A. the school only had a girls' dancing group  
B. the school didn’t allow boys to dance
C. the group had enough dancers already      
D. he was not a good dancer

3. The school worried that _____ if Bob stayed in the group.

A. nobody would watch their dance  
B. other boys would join and the girls might leave
C. other schools might laugh at them  
D. the parents would be angry about it

4. The judge thought the school's decision was _____.

A. useful    
B. necessary    
C. right    
D. wrong

5. We can infer(推斷)that Bob felt _____ when he went back to the group.

A. hungry    
B. sad    
C. happy      
D. sure

     One afternoon Mrs. Green's husband wanted to catch the 3:30 flight to London to have an important
meeting. She was very surprised when he telephoned her at 5 o'clock and said that he was still at the
airport.
     "What happened to you?" asked Mrs. Green.
     "Well," said Mr. Green, "Everything was going fine. I got my ticket, checked my luggage and waited in
line at the gate. I walked across the runway to the airplane and I saw my friend Jack Scott, who was an
airplane engineer. I shouted to him and a policeman caught me."
     "Why did he catch you?"
     "I don't know," said Mr. Green, "As soon as he heard my shout, he ran towards me and caught me."
     "What did you shout to your friend?"
     "All I said was 'Hi, Jack' . You know that's the usual way we say hello to our friends."
     "But you don't know the sentence 'Hi, Jack ' also means to take control of a plane by force (武力)."
1. . How did Mr. Green want to go to London?_____.
A. By train
B. By bus
C. By airplane
2. Why was Mrs. Green surprised? _____.
A. Because her husband didn't arrived the airport in time
B. Because her husband was still at the airport at 5 o'clock
C. Because her husband didn't want to go to London
3. When did Mr. Green get to the airport that afternoon? _____.
A. Before 3:30
B. After 3:30
C. At about 5:00
4. What was Jack Scott in the passage? _____.
A. He was a pilot
B. He was a policeman at the airport    
C. He was an engineer
5. According to the passage we know _____.
A. Jack Scott asked Mr. Green not to fly to London
B. Mr. Green would take control of a plane by force
C. The policemen mistook what Mr. Green said

     Do you know what couch-potato means? Well, in America, the word is now often used. You see, in
America, many people often spend their free time sitting on a sofa watching TV. As there are many
channels (頻道) to choose, the TV can be quite interesting and very addictive (使人上癮的). One
may sit and watch TV for hours and hours without stop! Well, these people who do nothing all day
except watch TV are called couch-potatoes.
     In America, while watching TV, most often sitting still with eyes looking right into the TV set. Also
because these people are addictive to TV, they don't take exercise and usually get very fat. So in many
ways, these people look like real potatoes! Well, because they look fat, and watch TV on a couch, they
are all called couch-potatoes. Now you know what a couch-potato means. The next time if you see
someone watching TV too long, just say, "What a couch-potato!"

1. The word "couch-potato" is often used in ______.