I was on a train the other day, in an empty compartment, and I wanted to read the last part of a
detective story. Then the door opened and a mother with two small children asked me, "may we sit here, Madam?" at first I wanted to say, "well, actually, I'm reading an exciting book and I'd like to finish it.
Could you find another compartment?"
     But of course I said, "yes, certainly," I still had not finished that book. Unfortunately, I found it very
difficult to say "No" to those magic words "May I …" or "would you mind if…Of course people usually
ask permission to do quite harmless things, like using the telephone, turning the light on, opening the
window and things like that. But then there are some funny requests. Some people even ask if they may
wash their hands or take their coats off. On the other hand, very few smokers will bother to ask
permission to smoke!
     But what about those difficult requests like, "Do you mind if I come round for a cup of coffee?" or "Is
it all right if I bring the children to the party? They are very good really." The trouble is, I just don't have
the nerve to refuse. Well, do you?

1. The writer describes those requests as "magic words" because they ___

A.  are amusing  
B.  are harmless  
C.  always work    
D.  are easily understood

2. According to the writer, asking permission to smoke is ___

A. a foolish request            
B. a difficult request  
C. an unnecessary request      
D. none of the above

3. Difficult requests are those which____

A. are never permitted        
B. are never refused
C. make other people uneasy    
D. make other people unfortunate

4. Which of the following may express the main idea of the passage?

A. I'm a polite person            
B. Requests of different kinds
C. How to make a request        
D. How to answer a request

     One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read:
     For washing the car...........................................$5.00
     For making my own bed this week...................$1.00
     Going to the provision shop..............................$0.50
     Playing with little sister ...................................$0.25
     Taking out the rubbish......................................$1.00
     Getting a good report card................................$5.00
     And for sweeping the common corridor...........$2.00
     Total .......................................................... ......$14.75
     His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment. I could see a thousand memories flashed
through her mind. So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote:
     For 9 months I carried you, growing inside me.....................................No Charge
     For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you..............No Charge
     For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose............................No Charge
     When you add it all up, the full cost of my love...................................No Charge
     Well, when he finished reading, he had great big tears in his eyes. He looked at his mother and said,
"Mummy, I love you." Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the "bill" "All paid."

1. What's the best title for this passage?

A. Part-time Job             
B. Mother's Love, No Charge  
C. Payment for House Work         
D. Greedy Mother

2. The writer wrote the passage in order to ______.

A. show that children should be paid for their housework
B. show that children should not be paid for their housework
C. show a clever way of teaching children
D. tell children how to spend their spare time

3. How do you think of the mother in the passage?

A. Clever.
B. Greedy.
C. Cold-hearted.  
D. Selfish.

4. From the last passage we know that ______.

A. the boy got all the money he wanted
B. the mother was unwilling to give the money to the boy
C. the boy realized that it was not right to ask for money for the housework
D. the mother was angry with what the boy said

                                        Doctor and Robber
     One night about nine o'clock, Dr. Eyck, a surgeon(外科醫(yī)生), had a phone call from Dr. Haydon at
the hospital in Clens Falls. The surgeon was asked to go there at once to operate on a very sick boy who
shot himself while playing with a gun.
     The doctor was soon on his way to Clens Falls. It was 60 miles away. And it was snowing heavily in
the city. The surgeon thought he could get there before 12 o'clock.
     A few minutes later, the doctor was stopped by a man in an old black coat. Gun in hand, the man
ordered the doctor to get out. Then the man drove the car down the road, leaving the doctor in the falling
snow.
     It was after two o'clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Clens Falls.
     Dr. Haydon told him that the boy had died an hour before.
     The two doctors walked by the door of the hospital waiting room. There sat the man in the old black
coat with his head in his hands.
     "MR. Cunningham," said Dr. Haydon to the man, "This is Dr. Eyck. He is the surgeon who came all the way from Albany to save your boy."

1. Dr. Haydon asked Dr. Eyck to come to Clens Falls because________. 

A. the boy wounded by a shot was Dr. Eyck' patient
B. the boy needed his help
C. Dr. Haydon was not a surgeon
D. Dr. Eyck was his assistant

2. The surgeon was late because________.  

A. he was stopped by a beggar
B. the weather was rather terrible
C. Clens Falls was far away from Albany
D. His car was taken away

3. Choose the right order of the events given in the story.
a. Dr. Eyck was asked to come to the hospital in Clens Falls.
b. Dr. Eyck arrived at the hospital.
c. The boy shot himself.
d. The boy died.
e. The man in an old coat reached the hospital.
f. Dr. Eyck was robbed (搶劫) of his car.

A. c, e, f, a, b, d        
B. a, c, f, d, b, e
C. c, a, f, e, d, b        
D. a, c, f, e, d, b

4. Who should be responsible for (對(duì)……負(fù)責(zé)) the boy's death?

A. The boy's father.  
B. The hospital.    
C. Dr. Eyck.    
D. Dr. Haydon.

     One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in
Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, they came to the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the
night.
     "Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked.
     The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town. "All of our rooms are taken", the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice couple like you
out into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night."
     When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. "Don't worry about me. I'll make out just fine,"
the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.
     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 in the United States. Maybe some day I'll build one for you." The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly
couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and
helpful isn't easy.
     Two years passed, the clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old
man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit.
     The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of the Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He
then pointed to a great new building there, a pale reddish stone one, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. "That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to manage." "You must be
joking," the young man said. "I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.
     The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and that magnificent structure was the original
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt. This young
clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of one of the world's
most glamorous hotels.

1. Which of the statements about the story is NOT true?

A. The story took place at about one a.m.
B. The old couple was too poor to afford a luxurious room.
C. The clerk was willing to help those in need.
D. The clerk received an unexpected invitation from the old man.

2. The underlined word "conventions" in Para. 3 can be replaced by ___________?

A. rooms        
B. buildings          
C. meetings        
D. hotels

3. Which of the following proverbs suits the story the best?

A. Every little thing helps.  
B. Make hay while the sun shines.
C. Man proposes, God disposes.  
D. One good turn deserves another

                                                     Rising above the names
     I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice.
     "Mom, come here! There's this lady here my size!"
     The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize.
     I smiled and told her, "It's okay." Then I talked to the boy, "Hi, I'm Darryl Kramer. How are you ?"
    He studied me from head to toe, and asked, "Are you a little mommy?"      
    "Yes, I have a son," I answered.
   "Why are you so little?" he asked.
   "It's the way I was born," I said. "Some people are little. Some are tall. I'm just not going to grow any
bigger. " After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy's hand and left.
     My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I
1ook different from their parents.
     It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an a
chondroplasia dwarf (侏儒). Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I  was growing up.
     I didn't realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names.
Then   I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me
as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
     But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life.I decided to
make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in
personality.
     I'm 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I've grown older. People are amazed when they
see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, "Look what else I
have -- a great family, nice friends. "
     It's the children's questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions.  My hope is
that I will encourage them to accept their peers ( a person of the same age, class, position, etc. ),
whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.

1. Why did the mother apologize to the author?

A. Because the boy ran into the author.
B. Because the boy laughed at the author.
C. Because the boy said the author was fatter than him.
D. Because the mother thought the boy's words had hurt the author.

2. When did the author realize that she was too short?

A. When she grew up.
B. When she was 47 years old.
C. When she began to go to school.
D. When she met the boy in the supermarket.

3.Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word"diminished" ?

A. dismissed    
B. increased      
C. decreased      
D. discriminated

4. How does the author feel about people's stares? 

A. Angry.      
B. Calm.          
C. Painful.        
D. Discouraged.

     The crowd cheered as the young man walked across the stage to receive his award as the company's
top producer. He looked over the audience and trembled, and there was a clear pause that brought a
silence to the room. It took him a moment to control himself.
     "The last three months hit me pretty hard," he began. "And I feel the need to share a piece of my story
though I'm not sure why. A friend called me about his new marketing system, an outbound  (發(fā)往外國(guó)
的) fax(傳真)service that could reach thousands of potential customers at very little cost. I checked it
out, got excited and accepted it. After thousands of faxes, it seemed that what I did was illegal . I was
punished a dollar for every one sent out.
     The crowd was surprised.
     "I failed to do proper research, and didn't pay attention to the details. Now I am heavily in debt. As
some of you know, I recently move up here from down south. I stored my stuff (資料)in my old office,
which I closed down. When I drove back to pick it all up, I found that everything except my computer
and the clothes I brought with me was gone."
     He continued, "I drive a sports car. I love that car. One day while driving it, I stepped on the
accelerator (油門), lost control at 85 miles an hour, and hit the guard rail. I damaged my car very
badly."
     "In three months, I got charged, lost everything I owned, and damaged my car. We all face
challenges," he smiled. "I guess I wanted to share mine with you. Thanks for listening. " He left to a
standing ovation (鼓掌).
     Standing in the back of the room, I realized how much respect that young man earned. He faced his
fear, publicly admitted his mistakes and never gave up, in spite of the difficulties. That day, he won much
more than a trophy (獎(jiǎng)杯).

1. According to the first paragraph, which word can describe the young man?

A. Calm.        
B. Brave.          
C. Shy.            
D. Nervous.

2. Why was the young man punished?

A. He made a serious mistake in his research.
B. He illegally sent faxes to customers.
C. He stole a computer from an office.
D. He drove his car at a high speed.

3. The young man told his experiences perhaps to _________.        
A. encourage others to face challenges bravely 

B. let the audience forgive him
C. show his misunderstanding of the law
D. complain about being treated unfairly

     It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the
doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the
top step.
     "Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
     I was busy. I wanted to say "no" until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little
sandals(涼鞋), wet with heavy snow.
    "Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
     They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served
them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started
cooking.
     The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands,
looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
     "Am I rich? Pity, no!"
     I looked at my wornout slipcovers(椅套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer(茶碟)carefully
and said, "Your cups match your saucers." They left after that, holding their papers against the wind.
They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
    Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
     I tasted the potatoes and stirred(攪動(dòng))the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over
our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too.
     I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little
sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to
forget how rich I am.

1. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Lady, are you rich?
B. A story of Thanksgiving Day
C. Don't forget how rich you are
D. Does cups and saucers match well?

2. The writer let the two children come in and served them well because________.
A. she wanted to sell old papers to them
B. she wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving party
C. she showed great pity and care on them
D. she had the same experience as them in the past

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The girl thought the writer was rich just because she wanted to make the writer happy.
B. The writer had thought she wasn't rich because her supplies were not expensive.
C. If cups and saucers match well, they are a best pair even though cheap.
D. After hearing what they said, the writer seemed to understand what a rich life was.

4. The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to________.
A. show that she was a kindhearted lady
B. remind her that she shouldn't forget how rich she was
C. leave room for readers to think about what being rich is
D. prove that she had understood what meant being rich

5. It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on________.
A. how much money you have made
B. what attitude you have had towards life
C. the way you help others
D. your social relationship