Ryan and Lowry had been friends since high school,but it wasn't until after college that they hit on the
idea of a home-care product company. "We were shocked to learn how toxic cleaning products were",
says Ryan. Why couldn't they create green products that would be just as environmentally pure as
Aveda's skin-and-hair-care lines?
     When Ryan's mom heard about the plan,she stared at him blankly:"I've never even seen you clean your
room!"Not discouraged,Lowry experimented with nontoxic ways to clean while Ryan focused on marketing. In February 2001,they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and convinced the managers of 20 grocers
to try them. Once they had their approval,they tapped friends and family and pooled their savings to come up with $ 90,000 in seed money.
         From the start,"Go big or go home. "was their mantra(口頭禪). Their first financing-that＄1
million-was due to be signed on September 11,2001. By the time they got it,two months later,says
Ryan,"We had＄16 in the bank and personally owed＄300,000. "
       Seeking a national retailer(零售商)proved just as troublesome. The friends set their sights on Target
known for its trendy,affordable goods. "But Target didn't like the product or the brand. "recalled Ryan.
"We thought the deal was dead,but then a new buyer saw that even though we weren't selling big volumes,we were profitable,just on a smaller scale. "They won over Target
       Consumers were hooked on the natural things and wonderful fragrance. Today,the partners sell 130
products in more than 8,000 stores,and taxes are over  $ 100 million. Such rapid growth has at times
stressed the men's friendship. "Eric and I agree on 'what' but never on 'how',"says Lowry. "Although we
are willing to challenge
each other,we come up with interesting and smart solutions. There's little fire and ico between us. "

1. The underlined word "toxic" in Paragraph l most probably means _________.

A. poisonous    
B. dirty    
C. expensive        
D. troublesome

2. When Ryan told his mom his plan,________.   

A. he knew his mom was sure to support him            
B. his mom asked him to clean his room
C. his mom suspected his ability                              
D. he was discouraged by his mom

3. We can learn from the third paragraph that____________.   

A. Ryan and Lowry wanted to give up and go home at first
B. their plan didn't go smoothly at the very beginning
C. they made profit two months later after their first financing
D. $ 1 million was not enough as their seed money

4. The partners' cleaning products are sold very well because __________.    

A. the products are made of natural material and smell nice
B. their friends and family offered to use their products
C. they cooperated with a well-known national retailer
D. they convinced 20 grocer managers to try them

5. It can be inferred from the passage that _________  .    

A. Aveda's skin-and-hair-care lines are not so successful as Ryan and Lowry's
B. Target is a famous environment-friendly cleaning brand
C. the friends' cooperation with Target is very successful
D. the partners get on well with each other in their business

     Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30, and at 6:30 she was expected to be
chairing a meeting of the tennis club. At last, the traffic was moving. She swung quickly racing to her house.
As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over Sheba.
     "Hey, Sheba," she said, "I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from
tennis club." Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking. Obviously, she could hardly breathe.
Immediately, Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet (獸醫(yī)). When she got there, the vet was
just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba, Dr. Sterne brought her quickly into his office.
     "Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting-can I leave her with you, and go and get changed?
I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?"
     "Sure," said the doctor.
     Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the
hallway, the phone by the door began to ring.
     "This is Dr. Sterne," said an anxious voice. "I want you to get out of.that house immediately," said the
doctor's voice. "I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside!"
     At that moment, a police car screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out and ran into
the house. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.
     "Where's Sheba? Is she OK?" shouted Joanne.
     "She's fine, Joanne. I took out the thing which was choking her, and she's OK now."
     Just then, the two policemen reappeared ffom the house, half-carrying a white-faced man, who could
hardly walk. There was blood all over him.
     "My God," said Joanne, "how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?"
     "I think he must be a burglar," said the doctor. "I knew he was there because when I finally removed what
was stuck in Sheba's throat; it turned out to be three human fingers."

1. What was Joanne supposed to do at 6:30?

A To walk her dog.
B. To see her doctor.
C. To attend a club meeting.
D. To play tennis with her friends.

2. Joanne wanted to get back to her home again _____.

A. to dress up for the meeting
B. to phone the police station
C. to catch the badly hurt burglar
D. to wait for her dog to be cured

3. From the passage, we can infer that _____.

A. Sheba fought against the burglar
B. the police found the burglar had broken in
C. Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting
D. the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog

4. In this passage, the writer intends to tell us that the dog is _____.

A. clever
B. friendly
C. frightening
D. devoted

     It was Saturday. As always, it was a busy one, for "Six days shall you labor and do all your work"
was taken seriously back then. Outside, Father and Mr Patrick next door were busy chopping firewood.
Inside their own houses, Mother and Mrs. Patrick were engaged in spring cleaning.
Somehow the boys had slipped away to the back lot with their kites.Now, even at the risk of having
Brother caught to beat carpets, they had sent him to the kitchen for more string(線). It seemed there
was no limit to the heights to which kites would fly today.
     My mother looked at the sitting room, its furniture disordered for a thorough sweeping. Again she
cast a look toward the window. "Come on, girls! Let's take string to the boys and watch them fly the
kites a minute."
     On the way we met Mrs. Patrick, laughing guiltily as if she were doing something wrong, together
with her girls.
     There never was such a day for flying kites! We played all our fresh string into the boys' kites and
they went up higher and higher. We could hardly distinguish the orangecolored spots of the kites. Now
and then we slowly pulled one kite back, watching it dancing up and down in the wind, and finally
bringing it down to earth, just for the joy of sending it up again.
     Even our fathers dropped their tools and joined us. Our mothers took their turn, laughing like
schoolgirls. I think we were all beside ourselves. Parents forgot their duty and their dignity; children
forgot their everyday fights and little jealousies. "Perhaps it's like this in the kingdom of heaven," I
thought confusedly.
     It was growing dark before we all walked sleepily back to the houses. I suppose we had some sort
of supper. I suppose there must have been a surface tidyingup, for the house on Sunday looked clean
and orderly enough. The strange thing was, we didn't mention that day afterward. I felt a little
embarrassed. Surely none of the others had been as excited as I. I locked the memory up in that
deepest part of me where we keep "the things that cannot be and yet they are".
     The years went on, then one day I was hurrying about my kitchen in a city apartment, trying to get
some work out of the way while my threeyearold insistently cried her desire to "go park, see duck."
     "I can't go!" I said. "I have this and this to do, and when I'm through I'll be too tired to walk that far."
     My mother, who was visiting us, looked up from the peas she was shelling."It's a wonderful day,"she
offered, "really warm, yet there's a fine breeze. Do you remember that day we flew kites?"
     I stopped in my dash between stove and sink. The locked door flew open and with it a rush of
memories. "Come on," I told my little girl. "You're right, it's too good a day to miss."
     Another decade passed. We were in the aftermath (余波)of a great war. All evening we had been
asking our returned soldier, the youngest Patrick Boy, about his experiences as a prisoner of war. He
had talked freely, but now for a long time he had been silent. What was he thinking of-what dark and
horrible things?
      "Say!" A smile slipped out from his lips."Do you remember -no, of course you wouldn't. It probably
didn't make the impression on you as it did on me."
     I hardly dared speak."Remember what?"
     "I used to think of that day a lot in POW camp (戰(zhàn)俘營(yíng)), when things weren't too good. Do you
remember the day we flew the kites?"

1. Mrs.Patrick was laughing guiltily because she thought ________.

A. she was too old to fly kites
B. her husband would make fun of her
C. she should have been doing her housework then
D. her girls weren't supposed to play the boy's game

2. By "we were all beside ourselves",  the writer means that they all ________.

A. felt confused  
B. went wild with joy
C. looked on  
D. forgot their fights

3. What did the writer think after the kiteflying?

A. The boys must have had more fun than the girls.
B. They should have finished their work before playing.
C. Her parents should spend more time with them.
D. All the others must have forgotten that day.

4. Why did the writer finally agree to take her little girl for an outing?

A. She suddenly remembered her duty as a mother.
B. She was reminded of the day they flew kites.
C. She had finished her work in the kitchen.
D. She thought it was a great day to play outside.

     We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn't even lift her eyes from the book. Mum
pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. While I watched mouth
open in surprise,  Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to
the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse
looked up, Mum nodded and said, "Very dirty floors. "
      "Yes, I'm glad they've finally decided to clean them, "the nurse answered. She looked at Mum
strangely and said, "But aren't you working late?"
    Mum just pushed harder, each swipe(拖一下)of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall.
I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book.
    After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining. She quickly put the mop back and took my
hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, "Thank you."
    Outside, Mum told me, "Dagmar is fine. No fever. "
    "You saw her, Mum?"
     "Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It's a fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is no good. You need a brush."

1. When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was____.

A. to clean the floor  
B. to please the nurse
C. to see a patient  
D. to surprise the story-teller

2. When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a________

A. nurse  
B. visitor
C. patient  
D. cleaner

3. After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital?

A. It is a children's hospital. 
B. It has strict rules about visiting hours. 
C. The conditions there aren't very good.
D. The nurses and doctors there don't work hard.

4. From the text we know that Dagmar is most likely____________

A. the story-teller's sister   
B. Mum's friend
C. the story-teller's classmate
D. Dad's boss

5. Which of the following words best describes Mum?

A. strange
B. warm-hearted
C. clever  
D. hard-working