Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own.
My mom was one of those people.
     My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen.
While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of
love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, "Kemmons, you
are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it."
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother
spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk
again if I wanted to. She drove that message so deep onto my heart that I finally believed her. A year
later, I returned to school-walking on my own!
     When the Great Depression (大蕭條) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the
both of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on
a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels
available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2for each child. That was too expensive
for the average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽車旅館) for families
that would never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
     Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even
designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother's
words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the
largest hotel system in the world-Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty
countries with an income of $ 1billion a year.
     You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working
for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1.  What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A. His terrible experience in the hotel.
B. His previous business success.
C. His mother's objection.
D. The doctor's words.

1. Which of the following best describes Kemmons' mother?

A. Modest, helpful, and hard-working.
B. Careful, helpful and beautiful.
C. Strict, sensitive and supportive.
D. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.

3. Which of the following led to Kemmons' success according to the passage?

A. A poor family, higher education, self-confidence and hard work.
B. Mom's encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.
C. Mom's encouragement, a poor family, higher education, and clear goals.
D. Mom's encouragement, a poor family, higher education, and opportunities.

     A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it
clear getting back her pet was more important than her car.
   "Whoever did this can keep my car. Please let Benjerman come home," the notice said.
    It is not known whether the thief showed any pity, but almost 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday,
Kimberly Atkins of Dover and Benjerman,a 12-year-old black retriever,were reunited after police
located them in Barrington.
    "He's hungry, he's dirty, but he's very happy to be home,"Atkins said.
    The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by
off-the-road cars and dirt bikes. However, the police couldn't control Benjerman,and they had to call
Atkins to come and get him.
    Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food.She
believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy water in the area.She said they have been together
for nearly 11 years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas, Texas.
    Before Benjelman was found,Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in
Somersworth.They also contacted animal shelters,throughout southern New Hampshire and
Massachusetts
    The notice stated there was a reward,and also that the dog needed medication. Any caller could
remain anonymous(匿名的).
     Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet
cleaner. ?It was l0 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjerman in broad
daylight," Atkins said. The car thief threw Atkins' wallet and other personal items out of the car before
escaping from the scene.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. A car with a dog was stolen
B. Lucky dog was returned to his owner
C. Stealing cars:a most important social problem
D. Woman wants dog back more than stolen car

2.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?
a. Notices were put up saying there was a reward.
b. Atkins saw Benjerman again.
c. Police found Atkins'car.
d. Atkins took Benjerman back from a society shelter.  
e. Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store.

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

3. We can infer from the passage ____.

A. the dog was treated extremely badly by the thief
B. car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays
C. the dog was found because of the reward
D. the thief stole the car easily

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Benjerman was sent back immediately after Atkins put up the notices.
B. Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for Benierman.
C. The thief gave the dog back but kept the sports car.  
D. The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday.

                                                            
      A farmer and his son were taking their ass(驢) to a market. They wanted to sell it. They passed a
group of girls,   1   laughed at how foolish the farmer was to have an ass and   2  (walk), so the farmer
put his son   3  the ass.
     Further down the road, they passed some old people who scolded the farmer for allowing his young
son to ride   4  said that he should be riding himself .
Further along the road, they passed some travelers who said that if he wanted to sell the ass the two of
them should carry him   5  the ass would be exhausted and worthless. So the farmer and his son bound
the ass's legs to a pole and carried him.
     When they approached the town, people there laughed at the sight of them. The noise was so loud 
  6   the ass was frightened to   7 (die). He kicked out and 23 (fall) off a bridge into the river and
drowned.
     The   9  (embarrass) farmer and son went home with nothing, except the lesson that you will achieve
nothing by trying to please   10  .

     It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked
DeLuca about his plans for the future. "I'm going to college, but I need a way to pay for it," DeLuca
recalls saying. "Buck said, 'You should open a sandwich shop.'"
    That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After
doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1000. DeLuca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut,
and when they couldn't cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1000.
    But business didn't go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, "After six months, we were doing
poorly, but we didn't know how badly, because we didn't have any financial controls." All he and Buck
knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
    DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was
working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They'd meet Monday evenings and brainstorm
ideas for keeping the business running. "We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we
could tell the public, 'We are so successful, we are opening a second store." And they did-in the spring
of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
    But the partners' learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday,
DeLuca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers. "It probably took me
two and a half hours and it wasn't necessary, but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and
the personal relationships established really helped out," DeLuca says.
    And having a goal was also important. "There are so many problems that can get you down. You just
have to keep working toward your goal," DeLuca adds.
    DeLuca ended up founding Subway Sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.

1. DeLuca opened the first sandwich shop in order to ____.

A. support his family
B. pay for his college education
C. help his partner expand business
D. do some research

2. Which of the following is true of Buck?

A. He put money into the sandwich business.
B. He was a professor of business administration.
C. He was studying at the University of Bridgeport.
D. He rented a storefront for DeLuca.

3. What can we learn about their first shop?

A. It stood at an unfavorable place.
B. It lowered the prices to promote sales.
C. It made no profits due to poor management
D. It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches

4. They decided to open a second store because they ___.

A. had enough money to do it.
B. had succeeded in their business
C. wished to meet the increasing demand of customers
D. wanted to make people believe that they were successful

5. What contribute most to their success according to the author?

A. Learning by trial and error.
B. Making friends with suppliers.
C. Finding a good partner.
D. Opening chain stores.

     A newly-wedded couple on a four-month honeymoon were hit by six natural disasters, including the
Australian floods, Christchurch earthquake and Japanese tsunami (海嘯).
     Stefan and Erika Svanstrom left Stockholm, Sweden, on December 6 and were immediately stranded (擱淺) in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe's worst snowstorms.
     Travelling with their baby daughter, they flew on to Cairns in Australia which was then struck by one
of the most violent cyclones in the nation's history.
     From there, the couple, in their 20s, were forced to shelter for 24 hours on the cement (水泥) floor
of a shopping centre with 2,500 others.
     "Trees were being knocked over and big branches were put down across the streets," Mr. Svanstrom
told Sweden's Expressen newspaper. "We escaped by the skin of our teeth."
     Mr. Svanstrom said they then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing massive flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they narrowly escaped burning bush fires.
     The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just after a massive magnitude (震級)
6.3 earthquake attacked the city on February 22.
     Mrs. Svanstrom said, "When we got there the whole town was a war zone. We could not visit the city
since it was completely blocked off, so instead we travelled around before going to Japan."
     But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan's largest earthquake since records began.
     "The trembling was horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings," Mr. Svanstrom said. "It was
like the buildings were swaying back and forth."
     The family returned to Stockholm on March 29 after a much calmer visit to their last destination China.
     But Mr. Svanstrom -who also survived the devastating (毀滅性的) Boxing Day tsunami that hit
southeast Asia in 2004 -said the marriage was still going strong.
     He added, "I know marriages have to experience some difficulties, but I think we have been through
most of them. We've certainly experienced more than our fair share of disasters, but the most important
thing is that we're together and happy."

1.The best title for this passage is _________.

A. Meeting Disasters During Honeymoon              
B. Six Natural Disasters
C. Newly-wed Couple Met Australian Floods          
D. Japanese Tsunami

2. Why were Stefan and Erika Svanstrom stopped in Munich?

A. Christchurch earthquake stopped them.
B. Because of Europe's worst snowstorm.
C. The plane was damaged.
D. The Svanstroms didn't experience any disaster in China.

4. The Svanstroms thought that Christchurch of New Zealand was ________.

A. disordered      
B. interesting        
C. beautiful            
D. shaking

5. In Svanstrom's opinion, a marriage _______.

A. has to go peacefully and happily for all time
B. has to experience many disasters at the beginning
C. must always allow the couple be together and happy
D. should experience difficulties to make it steady

     My friend Vernon Davies kept birds. One day he phoned and told me he was going away for a week. He asked me to feed   1   birds for him and said that he would leave the key   2   his front door in my
mailbox.
       3   (fortunate), I forgot all about the birds until the night before Vernon was going to return. What
was worse,    4  was already dark when I arrived at his house. I soon found that the key Vernon gave
me could not unlock either the front door    5   the back door. I was getting desperate. I kept thinking
of   6  Vernon would say when he came back.
     I was just going to give up    7   I noticed that one bedroom window was slightly open. I found a
barrel and pushed in under the window. As the barrel was very heavy, I made a lot of noise. But in the
end, I managed to climb   8  and open the window.
     I actually had one leg inside the bedroom when I suddenly realized that someone   9  
(shine) a torch up at me. I looked down and saw a policeman and an old lady, one of Vernon's
neighbours. "What are you doing up there?" said the policeman.    10  (feel) like a complete fool, I
replied, "I was just going to feed Mr Davies' birds."

     Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. In
spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream. They both
wanted to pursue their talent for art.After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement.They would toss a coin.The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings,
support his brother who attended the academy.Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his
studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy.
     Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg.Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an
immediate sensation (轟動). By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works.
     When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate
Albrecht's triumphant (勝利的)homecoming.Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years
of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream."And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now
it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you."
     Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, "No...no...It is too late for me.Look...look at
what four years in the mines have done to my hands!The bones in every finger have been broken at least
once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis(關(guān)節(jié)炎)so badly in my right hand that I cannot even
hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush."
     To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his
brother's injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward.He called his powerful
drawing simply "Hands", but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great
masterpiece and renamed it "The Praying Hands".The next time you see a copy of that touching creation,
let it be your reminder-no one ever makes any success alone!

1.Why did the two brothers work out the agreement?

A. They were so curious as to make a joke.
B. Their family couldn't afford the academy.
C. One of the brothers was supposed to go into mines.
D. They wanted to support the other sisters and brothers.

2.The underlined word "whose" in Para.2 refers to     __ .

A. the Durer family's  
B. the miners?  
C. Albert's    
D. Albrecht's

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true about Albrecht Durer?

A. He began to earn his living after graduation.
B. He did perfectly well at the academy.
C. He wanted his brother to go to the academy.
D. He created great masterpieces.

4.Which of the following is the correct order of the story?
a. Albrecht went to Nuremberg.
b. Albert supported his brother.
c. The Durer family held a festive dinner.
d. Albrecht drew his brother's injured hands.
e. The brothers tossed a coin.

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

5. What can we learn from the story?

A. One can achieve success simply on his own.
B. Any success requires the help of others.
C. It's other people who contribute to one's success.
D. Nobody could succeed without good guidance.