A woman repeated a bit of gossip (流言) about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole neighbourhood knew the story. The neighbour was deeply hurt. Later the woman responsible (負(fù)責(zé)) for spreading the gossip learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm.
“Go to the marketplace,” he said. “and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pluck (拔) its feathers and drop them one by one along the road. ” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “ Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me. ”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“ You see, ” said the old man, “it’s easy to drop them, but it’s impossible to get them back . So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong.”
【小題1】The woman was very _________ the harm she had done to her neighbour.

A．happy about

B．a(chǎn)ngry about

C．sorry for

D．excited about

【小題2】Which of the following statements is TURE?

A．The gossip didn’t hurt anyone at all.

B．The wise man was not kind enough.

C．The woman found all the feathers at last.

D．The woman was given a lesson.

【小題3】What the wise man said has nearly the same meaning as the Chinese phrase “_________”

A．覆水難收

B．無中生有

C．欲速不達(dá)

D．得道多助

On my eighth birthday, Dad bought me an accordion(手風(fēng)琴） and said excitedly, "Once you learn to play, it'll stay with you for life." But I didn't want to play it. I just wanted to play games, But Dad asked me to take accordion lessons.
One day, I found a box in a corner. When I opened it, I saw a beautiful violin. "It was your father's," Mum said. "His parents bought it for him. I guess he got too busy on the farm to learn to play it."
I had to practice half an hour every day, and every day I tried to get out of it. But Dad didn't allow. I asked why. He answered, "Because you can bring people joy. You can touch their hearts." He added softly, "Someday you'll have the chance I never had: you'll play beautiful music for your family. And you'll understand why you've worked so hard." I was speechless.
The lessons stopped after I finished high school. When I grew up, I got married and moved into a new house. I put the accordion in the attic（閣樓）.
One afternoon, my two children found the accordion by accident (偶然). They got very excited. "Play it. Play it," they laughed and said. I started to play some simple songs. I was surprised I could still remember them. Soon the kids were dancing. Even my wife was laughing and clapping to the beat.
At that moment, my father's words came back to me, "Someday you'll have the chance I never had. And you'll understand." I finally knew why Dad had asked me to practice hard. Dad never learnt to play his violin. But I told my family, "This is my father's music."
【小題1】My father didn't learn to play his violin when he was young because _______.

A．he didn't like to play the violin

B．he had to support his family

C．he wanted to play games

D．he didn't keep on practicing

【小題2】How might the writer feel when he had to practice playing the accordion?

A．Delighted.

B．Excited.

C．Bored.

D．Relaxed.

【小題3】"Dad didn't allow" means "_______".

A．Dad didn't agree with me.

B．Dad didn’t keep me doing it.

C．Dad didn't help me do it.

D．Dad didn't see me do it.

【小題4】What were the writer’s children doing when he started to play simple songs?

A．Singing

B．Dancing

C．Clapping to the beat

D．Screaming

【小題5】Dad asked me to learn to play the accordion so that _______.

A．I could go to a better school

B．I could give myself much joy

C．I could be a useful man

D．I could make people happy

On my eighth birthday, Dad bought me an accordion(手風(fēng)琴） and said excitedly, "Once you learn to play, it'll stay with you for life." But I didn't want to play it. Ijust wanted to play games, But Dad asked me to take accordion lessons.
One day, I found a box in a corner. When I opened it, I saw a beautiful violin. "You’re your father's," Mum said. "His parents bought it for him. I guess he got too busy on the farm to learn to play it."
I had to practice half an hour every day, and every day I tried to get out of it. But Dad didn't allow. I asked why. He answered, "Because you can bring people joy. You can touch their hearts." He added softly, "Someday you'll have the chance I never had: you'll play beautiful music for your family. And you'll understand why you've worked so hard." I was speechless.
The lessons stopped after I finished high school. When I grew up, I got married and moved into a new house. I put the accordion in the attic（閣樓）.
One afternoon, my two children found the accordion by accident (偶然). They got very excited. "Play it. Play it," they laughed and said. I started to play some simple songs. I was surprised I could still remember them. Soon the kids were dancing. Even my wife was laughing and clapping to the beat.
At that moment, my father's words came back to me, "Someday you'll have the chance I never had. And you'll understand." I finally knew why Dad had asked me to practice hard. Dad never learnt to play his violin. But I told my family, "This is my father's music."
【小題1】My father didn't learn to play his violin when he was young because _______.

A．he didn't like to play the violin	B．he had to support his family
C．he wanted to play games	D．he didn't keep on practicing

【小題2】How might the writer feel when he had to practice playing the accordion?

A．Delighted.

B．Excited.

C．Bored.

D．Relaxed.

【小題3】"Dad didn't allow" means "_______".

A．Dad didn't let me do it.	B．Dad didn't stop me doing it.
C．Dad didn't help me do it.	D．Dad didn't see me do it.

【小題4】Dad asked me to learn to play the accordion so that _______.

A．I could go to a better school	B．I could give myself much joy
C．I could be a useful man	D．I could make people happy

A passenger told an air hostess that he needed a cup of water to take his medicine when the plane just took off. She told him that she would bring him the water in ten minutes.
The air hostess was kept so busy that she forgot to give him the water. As a result, the passenger was held up(延誤) to take his medicine. Thirty minutes later, when the passenger’s ring for service sounded, she hurried over to him with a cup of water, but he refused.
In the following hours on the plane, each time the air hostess passed by the passenger, she would ask him with a smile whether he needed help or not. But the passenger never answered a word..
When he was going to get off the plane, the passenger asked the air hostess to hand him the passenger’s booklet. She was very sad. She knew that he would write down sharp words, but with a smile she handed it to him.
Off the plane, she opened the booklet, and smiled, for the passenger put it, “On the flight, you asked me whether I needed help or not for twelve times in all. How can I refuse you twelve sincere smiles?”
That’s right! Who can refuse twelve sincere smiles from a person?
【小題1】Ten minutes later, the passenger didn’t get the water, because _______.

A．the plane didn’t take off.

B．the air hostess was kept busy and forgot it.

C．it’s not allowed to take medicine during the flight.

D．there aren’t enough water on the plane.

【小題2】The underlined word “it” in Paragrouph 4 refers to the _______.

A．medicine

B．water

C．cup

D．booklet

【小題3】At the end of the story, we knew the passenger was _______ with the air hostess.

A．satisfied

B．unhappy

C．a(chǎn)ngry

D．bored

A. There will probably be no school on Mars.
B. It might take us two or three days to get to Mars.
C. There is a problem for us to live on Mars.
D. Food will not be the same.
E. First, people will have more space.
Many people believe that, by the year 2100, we will live on the planet Mars(火星). Here is what life could be like.
First of all, transport should be much better. By 2100, spaceship can travel at half the speed of light.  【小題1】 
Secondly, humans need food, water and air to live. Scientists should be able to find plants that can grow on Mars. These plants will provide us with food and air.
 【小題2】  We could easily jump too high and fly slowly away into space. To prevent this, humans on Mars have to wear special shoes to make themselves heavier.
Life on Mars will be better in many ways.  【小題3】  It is possible to live in a large building with many bedrooms. Then, robot will do most of the work, so we have more time for hobbies.
 【小題4】 Every student can study, do their homework on the computer and take exams in online schools. Each student will also have their own online teacher called “e-teacher”.
However, in some ways, life on Mars may not be better than that on the earth today.  【小題5】Meals will probably be in the shape of pills(藥片) and will not be as delicious as they are today. Also, space travel will make many people feel ill.