My Best Enemy
     Once again, I was in a new school.So was a girl in my class named Lisa.That's where the similarity
ended.
     I was tall and she was small.My thick black hair had been recently cut short into an untidy style.Her
natural blonde hair flowed to her waist and looked great.I was 12 and one of the oldest in the class while
she was 11 and the youngest.I was awkward and shy.She wasn't.I couldn't stand  her, considering her my enemy.But she liked me and wanted to be friends with me.
      One day, she invited me over and I said yes-I was too shocked to answer any other way.My family
had moved six times in six years, and I had never managed to develop any friendships.But this girl who
wore the latest fashions wanted me to go home with her after school.
     She lived in a fun part of town that had two pizza places, an all night bookstore, a movie theater and a
park.As we walked from the school bus stop through her neighborhood, I tried to guess which house
might be hers.Was it the white one with the perfect lawn or the threestory house with a front porch?I got
very surprised when she led me into an old apartment building.She lived on the fourth floor in a tworoom
place with her mother, her stepfather, her two brothers and her sister.
     When we got into the room she shared with her sister, she took out a big case of Barbies, which was
my next surprise.I had never played with them.We sat on the floor, laughing as we made up crazy stories
about the Barbies.We found out that we both wanted to be writers when we were older and both had
wild imaginations.We had a great time that afternoon.
     Lisa was loved by the whole neighborhood.The bookstore owners lent her fashion magazines; the
movie theater gave her free tickets...Soon I was included in her magic world.We slept over at each
other's house and spent every free moment together.
      Lisa, my first real friend since childhood, helped me get through the rough years of early adolescence (青春期) and taught me an amazing and very surprising thing about making friends:your worst enemy can
turn out to be your best friend.

1. The writer and Lisa were similar in the way that________.

A. they were both new students
B. they had the same hairstyle
C. they were both tall
D. they were of the same age

2. One day Lisa invited the writer________.

A. to go to the movie  
B. to go to her home
C. to go to walk in a park  
D. to go to a pizza place

3. In the passage the writer described Lisa as a girl who was________.

A. awkward and shy  
B. rich and happy
C. quiet and lonely  
D. friendly and lovely

4. Which of the following did the writer learn from Lisa?

A. How to make up stories.  
B. How to deal with enemies.
C. How to make friends.  
D. How to live a better life.

     My mother through her fine example instilled (慢慢灌輸)within me the desire to help others.She
taught me to notice those whom others ignore.
     The railroad tracks (軌道) were within a mile of our house.Beggars frequently would knock at the
doors in our neighbourhood in summer asking for food.They were often turned away.Others simply
ignored the knocks.
     My mum always went to the door smiling.She would invite them to stay and have something to eat.
She would have me open up the card table and carry a chair out onto the covered side porch (走廊).
There was a nice view into the flower gardens, and it was cool even on the hottest days.
     She would bring a red and white tablecloth and set the table as carefully as she did for any company.
She would pour their coffee and pile their plates with food and dessert.Usually she sent a packed lunch
with them when they were ready to go, too.Sometimes she would take the newspapers to those who
asked about work.
     She listened to those who wanted to talk.She never asked what would lead them to be in this difficult
situation.It did not matter.She saw only the need.Some thought she should not extend this courtesy (禮
貌). She would say, "In the depression (蕭條時期) when my father was searching around for any work
to feed us, thoughtful people fed him.I am just repaying their kindness.I cannot offer them money, but I
can see they do not leave hungry and discouraged." My mum was quite a lady.

1. The writer's house was frequently visited by beggars because________.

A. they seemed to be very rich
B. his mother was known to be generous
C. they lived near a railway station
D. there was a railway near their house

2. How did the writer's mother treat beggars?

A. She was on guard against them.
B. She looked down upon them.
C. She respected them equally.
D. She took pride in them.

3. The writer's mother sometimes took out newspapers________.

A. for the beggars to kill time
B. to teach the beggars how to read
C. to help the beggars who asked about work
D. to help the beggars to find their families

4. Which of the following can make an explanation for the mother's attitude to beggars?

A. Her father was once helped by others.
B. Her father liked to help beggars.
C. She was once a beggar herself.
D. Her mother taught her to help beggars.

     The over55s who grew up watching blackandwhite programs and films are more likely to dream in
grey, research suggests.
     And the under25s who have watched color TV all their lives tend to have colorful adventures in_the
_land_of_nod.
     Research from the first half of the 20th century, especially in the 1930s and 1950s, suggested that
most dreams are in black and white.
     But results from tests in the 1960s and later suggested that up to 80 per cent of dreams contain some
colors.
     Since this period marked the transition  (過渡) from blackandwhite films and TV to widespread
Technicolor (彩色印片法), an obvious explanation was that television was influencing dreams, but
differences  between  the  studies  prevented  the researchers from drawing any firm conclusions.
     Later studies asked subjects  (實驗對象)  to complete dream diaries immediately they woke up, but  
the  earlier  research  used  questionnaires completed in the middle of the day, so the subjects might have
simply forgotten color elements in their dreams and assumed they were grey.
     To solve the problem, psychologist Eva Murzyn asked 60 subjects, half of whom were under 25 and
half over 55, to answer a questionnaire on the color of their dreams and their childhood exposure (暴露)
to films and TV.
     The subjects then recorded different aspects of their dreams in a diary every morning.
     She found there was no significant difference between results drawn from the questionnaires and the
dream diaries.
     She then analyzed data to find out whether an early exposure to blackandwhite TV or films could still
have a lasting effect on her subjects'dreams,40 years later.
     Less than five per cent of the under25s'dreams were black and white.But the over55s who had access
to blackandwhite media in their younger days reported dreaming in black and white roughly a quarter of
the time.
     Murzyn said, "There could be a critical period in our childhood when watching films has a big
influence on the way dreams are formed." People's attention might be heightened during the time they are
watching TV or films.

1. "this period" in  the fifth paragraph refers to________.

A. the 20th century  
B. the 1930s
C. the 1950s  
D. the 1960s and later

2. The underlined words "in the land of nod" in Paragraph 2 means________.

A. in the evening  
B. during travelling
C. in a dream world  
D. when they are thinking

3. Murzyn's study was different from other studies because  ________.

A. more people of different ages were involved
B. both diaries and questionnaires were used
C. more advanced technology was used
D. subjects were given more time to record their dreams

4. From the passage, we can learn that________.

A. studies on the color of dreams have been going on for many years
B. the results of the previous studies on dreams couldn't be trusted
C. older people are more likely to be influenced by TV viewing
D. the colors of TV sets are more likely to appear in viewers'dreams

5. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The color of people's dreams changes along with their ages.
B. TV  viewing has  different  influences  on different people.
C. Childhood TV viewing may determine the color of dreams.
D. Childhood TV  viewing  may  influence  a person's later life.