There was once a blind man, who did a lot of traveling alone. He was making his first trip to Texas and happened to be seated next to a Texan on the flight.
The Texan spent a lot of time telling him how everything was bigger and better in Texas. After the blind man reached his destination, a large resort (度假) hotel, he was very excited about being in Texas.
The long trip had worn him out a little so he decided to stop at the bar for a small soda and a light snack before going up to his room to sleep.
When the waitress set down his drink, it was in a huge cup. “Wow, I had heard everything in Texas is bigger,” he told her.
“That’s right,” she replied. The blind man ate his snack and finished his drink. After drinking such a large amount, it was natural that his next stop was to be the restroom. He asked the waitress for directions. She told him to turn left at the corner, and then take the second door on the right.
He reached the first door and continued. A few steps later he stumbled (絆倒) slightly and missed the second door and ended up going through the third door instead. Not realizing he had entered the swimming area he walked forward and immediately fell into the swimming pool.
Remembering that everything was bigger in Texas, he had his head above water and started shouting “Don’t flush(沖洗)! Don’t flush!”
小題1:Why was the blind man excited about being in Texas?

A．It was the first time that he had travelled abroad.

B．People from Texas were very friendly than he expected.

C．He heard that everything was bigger and better in Texas.

D．The service staff in the large resort hotel was very humorous.

小題2: Why did the blind man enter the swimming area?

A．He wanted to go swimming.

B．He wanted to have a bath.

C．He stumbled and missed the restroom door.

D．The waitress gave him wrong directions.

小題3: Why did the blind man go to the bar?

A．To go through it on his way to his room.

B．To have a short rest after a long walk.

C．To have something to eat there.

D．To ask a waitress for directions.

小題4: Why did the blind man shout out “Don’t flush! Don’t flush!”?

A．He thought he was caught in a big toilet and someone was cleaning it.

B．He didn’t want anyone to clean the toilet at that time.

C．He didn’t want anyone to clean the swimming pool at that time.

D．He thought it was such a big swimming pool that making it clean was no use.

小題5:If the passage is taken from a website, which part of the website does it belong to?

A．Travel services.

B．Hotel services.

C．Funny stories.

D．Health problems.

It was a cold winter day that Sunday. The parking lot to the  36  was filling up quickly. I noticed, as I got out of my car, fellow church members were  37  among themselves as they walked in the church. As I got  38 , I saw a man leaning up against the wall outside the church. He was almost lying down  39  he was asleep. His hat was  40  down so you could not see his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too  41  for his feet, with holes all over them and his toes  42 out. I guessed this man was  43 and asleep, so I walked on  44  through the doors of the church. We all talked for a few minutes, and someone  45  the man lying outside. People whispered but no one took  46  to ask him to come in,  47  me. A few moments later church began. We were all waiting for the Preacher(牧師) to take his  48  and to give us the Word,  49  the doors to the church opened. In  50  the man walking down the church with his head down. People gasped and whispered and made  51  . He made his way down the church and up onto the pulpit(講壇) where he took off his hat and coat. My heart  52  .
There stood our preacher……h(huán)e was the “homeless man”. The preacher took his Bible and 53  it on his stand.
“ 54 , I don’t think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today. If you  55  people by their appearance, you have no time to love them.”

小題1:	A．school B．lecture C．park D．church

小題2:	A．a(chǎn)rguing B．whispering C．stating D．speaking

小題3:	A．closer B．clearer C．lower D．farther

小題4:	A．even though B．so that C．a(chǎn)s if D．even if

小題5:	A．dragged B．pulled C．dropped D．pushed

小題6:	A．big B．bad C．ugly D．small

小題7:	A．reached B．went C．stuck D．ran

小題8:	A．homeless B．hopeless C．helpless D．careless

小題9:	A．out B．by C．a(chǎn)cross D．from

小題10:

A．invited B．mentioned C．took D．called

小題11:

A．pleasure B．measure C．courage D．trouble

小題12:

A．except B．besides C．without D．including

小題13:

A．turn B．place C．time D．seat

小題14:

A．when B．before C．a(chǎn)s D．a(chǎn)fter

小題15:

A．rushed B．hurried C．came D．entered

小題16:

A．decision B．choices C．faces D．jokes

小題17:

A．sank B．fell C．broke D．failed

小題18:

A．threw B．set C．laid D．folded

小題19:

A．Brothers B．Folks C．Supporters D．Members

小題20:

A．judge B．hate C．treat D．test

Children, especially boys, tend to idealise their fathers when they are young.Every little boy wants to grow up to be just like his father, and every little girl thinks her father is the smartest man on the earth. It’s not very easy to be a good father, but it’s not that difficult either. Children will truly enjoy spending time with their fathers, not just when they are kids, but even when they are adults.
Not all children communicate well with their fathers. Communication is often left to mothers, while fathers dispense advice as and when necessary. Don’t expect all conversations to centre around the dinner table. Go to your children’s bedrooms and talk to them about school, their teachers or their friends. Remember that the conversation cannot be one-sided. When your children open up to you, you also need to open up to them.
If your children come home from school feeling upset, go up to them and ask them what is the matter. And if it is something which seems to you to be a silly reason to be upset, don’t voice your opinion. It may be silly to you, but to your children it is important enough. So don’t wave the topic away by telling them not to bother about such stupid things. Simply discussing their problems with them will help them feel better.
Don’t shy away from having discussions about your teenage children’s love lives. Generally speaking, your children are definitely not going to discuss intimate details with you. Try to let them know that you are relaxed about topics on love. Tell your children how you met your wife. It is perfectly normal for children to go through feelings for the opposite sex as they grow up, and by keeping the topic closed for discussion, you are only shutting them off from discussing their feelings with you. All they will do is turn to their friends.
小題1:To children their fathers are usually very ______.

A．important

B．great

C．serious

D．strong

小題2:From the second paragraph we can know that ______.

A．some children don’t like their fathers at all

B．talking with children around the dinner table is bad

C．it is better for mothers to communicate with their children

D．mothers usually communicate better with their children.

小題3: Suppose your children are worried about something you should _____.

A．have a talk with them	B．express your option
C．keep silent	D．let them alone

小題4:Your children would not like to discuss their love lives with you probably
because they think__________.

A．you are relaxed about topics on love

B．they should ask for help from their friends

C．they have already grown up

D．it is not normal to experience feelings of love

I met the old man at a cafe. “Did you hear the radio news yesterday?” he asked me. “No,” I replied. “Anything exciting?”“Exciting? NO! Something very sad. A group of hungry dogs killed and ate my best friend.”?
“Oh, dear!” I cried. “How did it happen?”“He was working on the hillside when the dogs attacked him. When he didn't return, I went to the hillside and found…”“His body?” I asked. The old fellow drank half of his coffee. “No. I told you they were hungry dogs, didn't I? The big bones were lying every where. But they found this.” He pushed open a match box he was holding in his hand. In it was a man's thumb, lying on some white bloody material.?
“This is my friend's right thumb. The dogs ate the rest of him”. The old man began to cry. He finished his coffee quickly and left the cafe. I drank mine and called the waiter. “I'll pay the gentleman's bill. His poor friend—how terrible!”“You've heard the news?” The waiter laughed. “Sure. There's a hole in the bottom of the match box. He put his own thumb through the hole. The blood is red ink, I believe. Is the story worth a cup of coffee, sir?”“But he held the box in his right hand.”“Yes, but listeners look into the box. They just can't take their sight off that terrible thing.”“And when he tells the story, he gets free cup of coffee!” I said, laughing. “Yes, sir, but only from strangers who come to this town, and, of course, he does us no harm!”?
小題1: We can learn from this passage ________.?

A．the writer came to the cafe for the first time?

B．the old man made a living by telling jokes in the cafe?

C．the writer had known about the old man before?

D．what had happened to his best friend made the old man mad?

小題2: Having heard the old man's story, the writer _______ .?

A．couldn't help laughing immediately?	B．showed great mercy upon him?
C．didn't believe him at all?	D．bought the old man another cup of coffee?

小題3: It turned out that the thumb in the match box was actually __________.?

A．the right thumb of his best friend?

B．the thumb he stole from the dead body of an unknown person?

C．something made of bloody white materials?

D．his own right thumb?

小題4:The waiter hadn't let out the truth of the old man's story earlier because _______ .

A．he was nobody but the best friend of the old man?

B．the old man wouldn't pay for his coffee if he did ?

C．the waiter hadn't seen through the old man's trick?

D．the old man helped the cafe in some way?

小題5: As suggested by the passage, what might happen in the end?      ??

A．The writer refused to pay the old man's bill.?

B．The writer decided to make the trick known to the public.?

C．More strangers would hear the old man's story.?

D．The old man wouldn't visit the cafe any more.

It’s a small gas station that has snacks,drinks,cigarettes,and candies.The young man behind the counter(柜臺(tái)) knows his    16   by name and what they normally want to buy.He treats children and adults with equal   17   .He reads science fiction behind the counter when business is   18 .
One day , three people rushed in and grabbed food off the shelves as fast as they could ,   19  not intending to pay for it . He hit the “panic button”, then went over the counter and    20  the front door . It was obvious that they were homeless, and equally obvious that they were’t going    21  with their ill-gotten gains (不義之財(cái)).They   22  the food and simply crowded together in panic-knowing the police were   23  the way.
Imagine what they must have felt like when they were told they didn’t have to steal if they were that   24 . “We have food in the back expired(到期) but still   25  to eat . If you need food , you   26  have some .”
They were told to   27  what they had dropped and put it back , and then asked to straighten out the mess. They were doing just that   28  the police arrived. The officers were told the situation was under control and the police were no longer   29  .
This wasn’t what they had   30  . They were being treated as human beings who could right the wrong they’d done. Shocked , they quickly followed orders to take turns and use the restroom to clean up.
Soon three   31  people walked out with all the   32  their arms could hold. They were   33  that , if they needed to come back again , they were to ask and not just grab. 
And then the young man went back to read until the next customer came in . He would be the 34  person in the world to claim he was a hero . But he gave three people something they were in desperate need of –a   35  amount of self-respect and a little bit of hope.
小題1:A  frends B  neighbors    C  customers    D  passengers
小題2:A  respect     B  pride        C  wisdom   D  right
小題3: A  slow   B  busy         C  heavy        D  swift
小題4:A  bravely     B  reasonably   C  hardly       D  obviously
小題5:A  opened B  locked       C  closed       D  broke
小題6:A  nowhere     B  somewhere    C  anywhere     D  everywhere
小題7:A  hid         B  lifted       C  swallowed    D  dropped
小題8: A  in         B  on           C  off          D  by
小題9:A  anxious     B  cautious     C  courageous   D  hungry
小題10: A  safe       B  easy         C  sweet        D  unique
小題11:A  must    B  can          C  should       D  need
小題12:A  hold up B  hand out     C  pick up      D  hand in
小題13:A  when    B  after            C  before       D  since
小題14:A  popular     B  necessary    C  reliable         D  admired
小題15:A  wanted  B  desired      C  expected     D  admired
小題16: A  dirtier    B  cleaner      C  cleverer     D  quicker
小題17: A  money B  cigarettes   C  drinks       D  food
小題18:A  reminded B  warned      C  ordered      D  persuaded
小題19:A  first       B  last         C  best         D  worst
小題20:A  large   B  fair         C  small        D  full

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the   36 _, the couple went to the front desk hoping to  37 for the night.
“Could you   38  give us a room here?” the husband asked.
The clerk, a   39  man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and   40  that there were three conventions(大會(huì)) in town.
“All of our   41  are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a   42  couple like you 43  into the rain at 1 o’clock in the morning. Would you please be   44  to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite（套房）, but it will be good enough to make you  45  for the night.”
The couple said no politely.
“Don’t   46  me. It is just fine with me,” the clerk told them.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe someday I’ll build   47  for you.” The three of them had a good   48 .
Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten it   49  he received a letter from the old man. It recalled(使回憶) that stormy night and contained a round-trip（雙程的）   50  to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and   51 him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34^th Street.
He then pointed to a great new   52  there,  a palace of reddish stone. “That,” said the old man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to   53_ .”
“You must be   54 ,” the young man said.
“I am sure I am not,” said the old man, the name of   55  was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk, George C. Boldt became its first manager.

小題1:	A．rain B．a(chǎn)nger C．snow D．hunger

小題2:	A．leave B．go C．stay D．look

小題3:	A．surely B．possibly C．really D．freely

20080507

小題4:	A．lazy B．bored C．nervous D．friendly

小題5:	A．shouted B．explained C．believed D．a(chǎn)greed

小題6:	A．hotels B．desks C．streets D．rooms

小題7:	A．nice B．famous C．rich D．common

小題8:	A．beyond B．off C．out D．under

小題9:	A．kind B．glad C．good D．generous

小題10:

A．enjoyable B．helpful C．grateful D．comfortable

小題11:

A．worry about B．take care of C．make use of D．come up with

小題12:

A．one B．it C．them D．those

小題13:

A．sleep B．meal C．laugh D．walk

小題14:

A．a(chǎn)fter B．before C．while D．when

小題15:

A．ticket B．bill C．check D．questionnaire

小題16:

A．made B．told C．treated D．led

小題17:

A．building B．car C．bedroom D．place

小題18:

A．live B．sell C．manage D．rent

小題19:

A．lying B．joking C．dreaming D．cheating

小題20:

A．whose B．which C．whom D．who

Once a man named Grand found a box of old papers in a room at the top of his house. He burned most of them, because he didn’t like old things very much, But one of these papers was an old letter. At the bottom(底部) of the letter was the name of a well-known writer. “When this letter was written,” said Grant, “no one knew about the writer. But now everyone knows him. Some people like to buy letters like this. I may be able to get much money for the letter if I sell it to the right man.”
But there were a lot of dirty marks all over the letter.
“It doesn’t look nice,” he thought. “No one wants to buy a letter if it’s dirty. I’ll have to clean it.”
So he took a piece of cloth and some water and cleaned the letter. He worked hard and gave a lot of care. At last the letter looked better. And he was very pleased with his work.
“Now it looks nice,” he said to himself. “I’ll be able to sell it for a lot of money.”
He took the letter to a shop in London where old papers of this kind were bought and sold.
“I want to sell this letter,” Grant said to the man in the shop. “It was written by a well-known writer. You know about these things. How much will you give me for it?”
The man looked at him for a long time.
“I will give you two pounds for it,” he said at last.
“Only two pounds!” said Grant. “But people pay ten pounds for a letter like this. And just look! I’ve even cleaned it to make it look nice.”
“I can see that,” said the man. “That’s the trouble. People who buy old papers like them to be dirty.”
小題1:Which of the following is not right?

A．Grant found a box of old letters.	B．Grant didn’t like old things very much.
C．Grant didn’t burn the old letter.	D．The letter was written by a famous writer.

小題2:Grant didn’t burn the letter because______.

A．it was written by his father	B．he thought he could get much money by selling it
C．he wanted to keep it forever	D．he wanted to give it to the government

小題3:In order to sell it, Grant decided to _____ first.

A．make advertisement(廣告)in the newspapers	B．show it to others around him
C．clean it to make it look nice	D．take it to an archeologist(考古學(xué)家)

小題4:Grant didn’t sell the letter at a good price because_______.

A．it was not an old letter	B．few people knew about the writer
C．it had been cleaned	D．the man didn’t like it

The great   46  scientist, Charles Darwin, was born on February 12, 1809. His father was a well-known doctor, and   47  that his son also would become a doctor.
As a boy, Charles liked to go for walks in the fields and   48  ,   49  nature and comparing what he saw with everything he had read in natural science books. He was fond    50   collecting animal and plant specimens   51   insects, birds, flowers and leaves.
At sixteen, Charles   52   Edinburgh University   53 . But he was interested in 54    . Then he was sent to Cambridge University,    55   he graduated in1831.
56    he heard that the ship Beagle(貝格爾號(hào)) was   57  to South America and wanted a naturalist. His biology professor advised him to go. He said the journey would be just the thing for Charles. So the Beagle left England in December 1831, Charles Darwin was   58  .
The expedition   59  almost five years. The Beagle   60   the waters near the east and west   61   of South America, and many other places. He    62  all kinds of plants and animals, which he sent home from the    63   he visited.
After returning from the expedition, Darwin continued his studies of changes in nature. Darwin understood that plants and animals do not    64   the same, that they always change.
By 1859 Darwin had finished his famous book “The Origin of Species”. It made a great noise in the word of science. Darwin was attacked by the    65   and even by some scientists. But later, more and more scientists agreed with him.
Darwin tirelessly continued his scientific studies until he died on April 19,1882.

小題1:	A．American B．British C．German D．Italian
小題2:	A．hoped B．wanted C．wished D．required
小題3:	A．woods B．forests C．mountains D．countryside
小題4:	A．noticing B．watching C．looking over D．seeing
小題5:	A．a(chǎn)t B．of C．with D．in
小題6:	A．for example B．like as C．such as D．like
小題7:	A．had been sent to B．was sent to C．was sent for D．had been sent for
小題8:	A．to find machine B．to study medicine C．to make medicine D．to study machine
小題9:	A．nature scene B．social history C．natural history D．biological lives
小題10:	A．from where B．in which C．from which D．a(chǎn)t which
小題11:	A．Late B．Later C．After that D．From then on
小題12:	A．going on a trip B．traveling about C．a(chǎn)bout to a journey D．making a journey
小題13:	A．a(chǎn)t board B．in ship C．on board D．on trip
小題14:	A．was lasted B．had lasted C．lasted D．had kept
小題15:	A. watched	B, studied	C. explored	D. researched
小題16:	A．parts B．land C．coasts D．beaches
小題17:	A．got B．collected C．caught D．fed
小題18:	A．ports B．cities C．places D．towns
小題19:	A．remain B．show C．mean D．make
小題20:	A．government B．relatives C．Church D．professors

 

Benjamin Franklin only studied in school for two years. But he liked to read and write very much. Once he discussed a question with his friend in letters. His father found the letters and read them. He felt Ben did not express himself well. Nor did Ben make his meaning clear. He agreed that his father was right, From then on, he paid more attention to the style of his writing so that he could write better.
About that time he bought a copy of the British periodical(周刊) called The Spectator (《觀察家》). He read it over and over. He thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to write in the same style.
With this in mind, he studied some of the stories and made a note of the thought in each sentence. Then, a few days later, without looking at the magazine, he tried to write the stories. He tried to express each thought as fully as it had been expressed before. Then he compared his writing with the magazine. He found some of his faults in the compositions.
In this way he discovered he needed to know many more words. He felt that writing poetry would help him since that needed to use many different words which had the same meaning. So he turned some of the stories into poems; and after a time, he wrote them as stories again. He insisted on doing this for a long time.
He learned much from his efforts and went on to practise his writing. Then he became the first famous writer in American history.
小題1:Benjamin liked ______ very much when he was ______ .

A．languages; young

B．writing; young

C．writing; old enough

D．languages; old enough

小題2:What did his father do to him?

A．He found his son’s letters written very well

B．He felt his son expressed himself very well

C．He told his son what he wrote wasn’t so good

D．He bought a copy of The Spectator for him

小題3:How did Benjamin practise writing?
(1) He studied the stories in the magazine and made notes.
(2) He rewrote some of the stories and tried to express their thought fully.
(3) He turned some stories into poems, and then turned them back again.
(4) He tried hard to publish his poems in the periodical The Spectator.

A．(1)(2)(3)

B．(2)(3)(4)

C．(1)(3)(4)

D．(1)(2)(4)

It’s great fun to explore new places—it feels like an adventure, even when you know you’re not the first to have been there. But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles.
·Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere. It’ll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you’re traveling in. Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn, or you’ll have to move to the back seat.
·Get a group of friends together and go exploring. You’ll need a good map, a compass(指南針), a raincoat, a cellphone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies. Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back. The test is not in getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together, waiting for slower friends to catch up.
See if your school or a club organizes orienteering(越野識(shí)途比賽) activities, in which you need a map and a compass to find your way. This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B (and B to C, etc) in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity. Either way, it’s not only good fun, but a great way to keep fit.
小題1: Sitting beside the driver, you should _______.

A．direct the driver when necessary

B．look ahead to see where there’s a turn

C．move to the back seat if feeling uncomfortable

D．Keep looking at the map to find a place to go to

小題2: Why do you need to tell someone your exploration plan before setting out?

A．To get information when in danger.

B．To be saved in case of an accident.

C．To share the fun with him/her in exploration.

D．To tell him/her what’s going on with the group members.

小題3: Orienteering activities can _______.

A．make people work fast	B．help people stay healthy
C．help people organize other activities	D．make people get prepared for sports.

小題4: The text mainly talks about _____.

A．the fun of exploration	B．what to bring for exploration
C．the way to use a map in exploration	D．how to prevent getting lost in exploration.