We have two dogs and offer them good food and a comfortable bed. However, they always try to
run away. One day as I was walking them along the river, Cady broke away from me. I called for her to
return, but she didn't. I got unhappy and didn't run after her.
     That afternoon I picked my daughter up from school and I told her that Cady might be missing. "If she
has done something wrong, I will not be paying her fines this time," I said. My daughter asked for the
reason. I insisted that I would not keep a disobedient (不聽話的) dog.
     I took a glance over my daughter. It seemed that the thought of losing the dog was very painful to her.
I think I have given Cady a good living environment. If she is silly enough to leave all that behind, then
"bye-bye" is my attitude.
     In a warm and tender moment that brings tears to my eyes, my daughter said, "Dad, you don't
understand.  Cady is not pretty and not even well trained. If she is missing, no one will adopt her. That
means she will die."
     Then I remembered that the reason why I kept the stray (流浪的) dog in the first place was that we
could not find a home for her and did not want her to be destroyed. My heart softened.
     As we pulled into the driveway, there stood Cady in the backyard with a lovely expression. My
neighbor told me that she was clever enough to find her way back. My daughter jumped with joy.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the second paragraph?
A. The author wanted to get rid of the dog on purpose.
B. The author had difficulty getting along with the dog.
C. The owner will be fined if his dog does something wrong.
D. The author was quite worried after the dog lost.

2. What the author's daughter said in the fourth paragraph suggested that       .
A. she was angry with the stupid dog
B. she was quite worried about the dog
C. she was sure the dog would return
D. she wanted to train the dog well

3. What was the author reminded of after hearing his daughter's words?
A. How his daughter loved Cady.
B. When Cady became his friend.
C. Where Cady was trained.
D. Why they adopted Cady.

4. We can infer from the text that       .
A. the author was happy about the dog's return
B. it's the author's job to collect stray dogs
C. the author has no experience in keeping dogs
D. the author didn't want the dog to come back

1. What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?

A. To tell us a few interesting stories.
B. To present three people with distinctive characters.
C. To make fun of some distinctive people.
D. To show us how to become attractive.

2. In the section of Star Wars Forever, it is suggested that         .

A. Kaye has performed in Star Wars
B. Kaye has a habit of studying and designing tattoos
C. Kaye will continue with his habit of getting tattoos
D. Kaye's face looks frightening because of the tattoos

3. The underlined word "outrageous" in the passage probably means "        ".

A. shocking
B. pretty  
C. serious
D. happy  

4. Unlike other stars, Lady Gaga         .

A. is good at playing music
B. doesn’t avoid being focused on
C. often performs in public
D. does much to improve the world

     My father quit driving in 1927, when he was 25 years old. So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. In 1951,when my brother turned 16, my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend. Since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my brother's car.
     Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my father, but it didn't make sense to my mother. So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she learned to drive. For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family.
     After my father retired when he was 70, he almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. One day my father said to me, "Do you want to know the secret of a long life?"
     "I guess so," I said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre (稀奇古怪的).
     "No left turns. " he said.
     "What?" I asked.  
     "No left turns," he repeated. "Think about it. Three rights are the same as a left and that's a lot safer. Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic. As you get older, your eyesight worsens. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left turn. "
     "You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to my mother for support. "No." she said. "Your father is right. We make three rights. It works. " But then she added: "Except when your father loses count."
     "Loses count?" I asked.
     "Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But it's not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you're okay again. "
     I couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11 ?" I asked.
     "No," he said "If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day.
     Besides, nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day or another week. "
     My mother was never in an accident all through her life.

1. When did the parents have their first son according to the passage?

A. In 1952.      
B. In 1951.        
C. In 1935.      
D. In 1927.

2. The mother decided to learn to drive because ____.

A. she didn't believe in her sons
B. she wanted to drive her own car
C. her sons refused to drive for her
D. she had to drive her husband to work

3. What's the message the father wanted to leave to his son?

A. Owning a car was too expensive for a family.
B. One could never be too careful when driving.
C. One is never too old to learn a new skill.
D. Old people should never be allowed to drive alone.

4. What does the underlined part "loses count" probably mean?

A. Failing to count correctly.        
B. Losing their sense of direction.
C. Making less turns than they should.
D. Forgetting to count turns.

     When Meggy finished her double master's degrees, I can remember watching her get her diploma.
As her line moved forward to the side of the platform, she seemed to have more energy than she could
handle.
     Meggy was in the Shriner's Hospital for months when she was three, and went back for another
series of operations when she was four. When the doctors told her parents that she would never walk,
nobody told baby Meggy. She willingly did the foot exercises each day. Her face reflected much
concentration as she moved across the room, but when she reached her destination, she smiled.
     Her mother, with the same strong determination, would read The Little Engine That Could to
Meggy. I can still hear them repeat the words of the children's story, "I think I can! I think I can! I think
I can!" When the engine made it over the enormous hill with the toys for the children, Meggy would laugh
as she and her mother sang, "I thought I could! I thought I could! I thought I could!" With that same faith
and hope, Meggy learned to run, skip, play games, and ride a bike.
     The social and academic requirements of colleges and graduate schools were difficult for Meggy. As
she studied far into the night, she kept her eye on her goals, on the people she would help. She graduated
first in her class and continued her preparation for teaching in graduate school.
     As I heard her name being called to receive her master's diploma, I watched her walk
with grace and purpose toward the Dean. As she went down the stairs of the platform,
a bright smile broke forth, and I could just hear her thinking, "I thought I could!"

1. Meggy can be best described as a girl with       .
A. courage
B. humor
C. patience
D. determination

2. Her mother read The Little Engine That Could to Meggy to        .
A. inspire her
B. make her laugh
C. kill time with her
D. teach her to sing

3. The biggest challenge for Meggy was probably to       .
A. teach others
B. speak before many people
C. learn how to walk
D. find her goals in life

4. What can be the best title for the text?
A. Hope in life        
B. I thought I could
C. Learn to develop yourself
D. Follow what you desire

      At the age of sixteen,   I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project
in West Virginia. On the night we arrived,   we discovered that "our family" was living in a trailer(拖車)
that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks,   but every time they finished
one problem,   another surfaced.
     We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house-something unusual but necessary
under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet
with three bedrooms,   a bath and a kitchen.
    On Tuesday of that week,   while we were eating lunch together,   I asked the family's three boys,  
Josh,   Eric and Ryan,   "What do you want for your new room?"Expecting toys and other gadgets that
children usually ask for,   we were astonished when Josh responded,   "I just want a bed."
      The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a
meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night,   a few adults in our group
drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
    When we saw the delivery truck coming,   we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly
contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
     That afternoon,   as we fitted the frames of the beds together,   Eric ran into the house to watch us.
Too dirty to enter his room,   he observed with wideeyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
     As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows,   Eric asked,   "What is that?"
     "A pillow,   " he replied.
     "What do you do with it?" Eric continued to ask.
     "When you go to sleep,   you put your head on it,   " I answered softly. Tears came to my eyes as my
father handed Eric the pillow.
     "Oh…that's soft,   " he said,   hugging it tightly.
     Now,   when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent,   my dad gently asks,  
"Doyouhaveapillow?"
     We know exactly what he means.

1. The writer's first volunteer project was________.
A. working on a poor trailer
B. helping a poor family
C. donating beds and bedding
D. dealing with a housing problem

2. On hearing Josh's answer,   the writer was shocked because________.
A. the family lived in a trailer
B. he expected to get some toys
C. he didn't know what a bed was
D. the boys had no bed to sleep in

3. From the passage,   we can learn that Eric had never seen________ before.
A. a trailer  
B. a truck
C. a pillow  
D. a house

4. By saying "Doyouhaveapillow?",   the writer's father means that________.
A. what they want to get may be unnecessary
B. they should not waste money on small things
C. they should do more volunteer work for the poor
D. what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow