Recently, one of my best friends, whom I've shared just about everything with since the first day of
kindergarten, spent the weekend with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago,we've both
always looked forward to the few times a year when we can see each other.
     Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people
she was hanging around with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he
experimented with drugs and was into other selfdestructive behaviour. I was blown away! She told me
how she had been lying to her parents about where she was going and even stealing out to see this guy
because they didn't want her around him. No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she deserved better,
she didn't believe me. Her selfrespect seemed to have disappeared.
     I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble. I felt like I was  
getting nowhere. I just couldn't believe that she really  thought it was acceptable to hang out with a bunch
of losers, especially her boyfriend.
     By the time she left, I was really worried about her and exhausted by the experience. It had been so
frustrating, I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just
grown too far apart to continue our friendship, but I didn't. I put the power of friendship to the final test.
We'd been friends for far too long. I had to hope that she valued me enough to know that I was trying to
save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer anything.
     A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our conversation, and
then she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend. I just listened on the other end of the phone
with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly rewarding moments in my life. Never had
I been so proud of a friend.

1. In the writer's opinion, her friend ________.

A. was a girl with no selfrespect
B. could find a better boyfriend
C. was brave enough to stick  to her own choice
D. didn't value the writer's suggestion

2. What did the writer worry about?

A. She would lose the friendship with her.
B. Her friend's parents would be worried about their daughter.
C. Her friend would get into great trouble with the boy.
D. Her friend's boyfriend would be in great trouble.

3. We may learn from Paragraph 3 that the writer________.

A. didn't want to go anywhere else
B. understood her friend's hanging with her boyfriend
C. couldn't  believe  that  her  friend's  choice  was acceptable
D. doubted that she could in any way help her friend

4. What can be concluded from the passage?

A. Friendship starting from childhood is not reliable.
B. Friendship is a cure for any injury in life.
C. Friendship should be everlasting once begun.
D. Friendship can have magical power in life.

     I fell in love with the minister's son the winter I turned fourteen. He was not Chinese. For Christmas  I  prayed for the boy, Robert. When I found out that my parents had invited the minister's family over
for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried in panic. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas?
What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?
     On Christmas Eve, my mother created abundant Chinese food. And then they arrived-the minister's
family and all my relatives. Robert greeted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence.
     Dinner threw me deeper into disappointment. My relatives licked (舔) the ends of their chopsticks
and reached across the table. Robert and his family waited patiently for a large plate to be passed to
them. My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish. Robert
made a face.   Then my father reached his chopsticks just below the fish eye and picked out the soft
meat. "Amy, your favorite." he said, offering me the tender fish cheek. I wanted to disappear.
     At the end of the meal, my father leaned back and burped(打嗝) loudly, thanking my mother for her
fine cooking. "It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied." explained my father to our
astonished guests. Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddish face. The minister managed to
bring up a quiet burp. I was shocked into silence for the rest of the night.
     After everyone had gone, my mother said to me ,"You want to be the same as American girls on the
outside." She handed me an early gift.It was a miniskirt ."But inside you must always be Chinese. You
must be proud that you are different. Your only shame is to have shame."
     It was not until years later that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the purpose behind her
particular menu. For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen excellent Chinese food.

1. When the writer found out the minister's family    would come for Christmas Eve dinner, she
     cried    mainly because ________.

A. she worried about their shabby Chinese Christmas
B. she worried about their Chinese relatives lacking American manners
C. she worried about meeting the minister's family
D. she worried about being laughed at

2. What does "he was not worthy of existence" probably mean? It means________.

A. the writer was not interested in his existence
B. he was worthless
C. he should not exist
D. the writer expected his coming

3. The dinner threw the writer deeper into disappointment mainly because________.

A. her relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks
B. her father reached his chopsticks to pick fish for her
C. her father leaned back and burped loudly
D. she childishly expected all of them to act in the same way as Americans at table

4. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. the writer appreciated her mother's lesson years later
B. the writer must be proud that she is different
C. the mother prepared to show Chinese different food culture
D. the minister's family really enjoyed the food

     A traveller was staying in an Egyptian village. One day, she held up her camera to take pictures of the
children. Suddenly the young ones began to shout at her. The traveller's face turned red and she
apologized to the head for what she was doing, and told him she had forgotten that people in some places believed a person would lose his soul (靈魂) if his picture was taken. She explained to him the operation
of a camera for a long time. Several times the head tried to say something, but he couldn't. When she
believed that the head didn't fear any longer, the traveller then let him speak. With a smile, he said, "The
children were trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens (鏡頭) cap!"

1. The children shouted when the traveller was taking pictures of them because _______.

A. they didn't want to stop playing  
B. the traveller forgot to take off the cap on her head
C. they didn't want to have their pictures taken  
D. the traveller was not doing well with her camera

2. The traveller made an apology to (向……道歉) the head because _______.

A. she thought it was not right to take people's pictures without telling them beforehand(事先)
B. the children would lose their souls    
C. she had stayed in the village too long
D. she didn't take a picture of the head first

3. The traveller explained how to use a camera to the head because _______.

A. the head was very interested in her camera  
B. the head wanted to learn to take pictures
C. she was afraid of the head    
D. she wanted the head not to worry about what she was doing

4. When the head smiled, it's clear that _______ .

A. the children wanted to play with her    
B. the traveller didn't know what the children meant
C. he wanted the traveller to tell him something else
D. the traveller didn't let him speak

5. Which of the following is NOT right?

A. The traveller knew something about people in some countries.
B. The children wouldn't mind if the traveller took pictures of them.
C. The head was afraid that the traveller's camera would hurt the children.
D. The traveller didn't understand why the children shouted.

     When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the
summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade.
Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
     It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement. As I opened
the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes.
I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more
paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
     "Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint." She
screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered
all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my
house, we painted big stripes(條紋)of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors
turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
     The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It
was my mother. I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and
from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
     My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the
world were you thinking?I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors'
trees, but this!Come inside right now!"I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she
had insulted (侮辱) my art.
     "Now go clean it up!"Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my
beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
     Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when
I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of
rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

1.What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

A. To introduce Stephanie to her.
B. To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C. To put the materials back in the yard.
D. To show his artwork to her.

2. In his mother's eyes, the writer_______.

A. was a born artist     
B. always caused trouble
C.was a problem solver  
D. worked very hard

3.The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to______.

A. the rainbow in the sky
B. the stripes on the pavement
C. something imaginative and fun
D. important lessons learned in childhood

4. It can be learned from the passage that parents should______.

A. encourage children to paint
B. value friendship among children
C. discover the hidden talent in children
D. protect rather than destroy children's dreams

Cosmo Books Ltd.,                         14, Woodman Road,
Hertford Estate,                            Two Bridges,
Rickmansworth,                            West Sussex.
Middx.
                                          25th February
Dear sir,
     Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works
of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set ( eight books of plays and
two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a 'remarkable' price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence,
including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare's plays and poems for some time, and
these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
     Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens
which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and
fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step
a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the
plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I
could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year,
instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any
other books until further notice.
     You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds , and a set of the plays
of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their
boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside.
     I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgement, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just
send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works
of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
                                  Yours faithfully,
                                   SIMON WALKER

1. Simon Walker wrote the letter to ________.

A. complain about sending him books he had not ordered.
B. urge Cosmo Books Ltd. to take away the books he had not ordered.
C. laugh at Cosmo Books Ltd..
D. advise readers not to order books from Cosmo Books Ltd..

2. The advertisement that Mr. Walker saw in the Morning Mail was for _____.

A. unlimited number of Cosmo Books.
B. a set of 10 books of the works of Shakespeare.
C. a book containing all the plays and poems of Shakespeare.
D. fifteen pounds and fifty pence.

3. Mr. walker answered the advertisement because _____.

A. he wanted a set of Shakespeare's works, and this set was cheap, and looked attractive.
B. he claimed that the books were being offered at a remarkable price.
C. he had ordered the set and had been waiting for them to come for some time.
D. the set he already had was not particularly attractive.

4. Cosmo Books have _______.

A. sent bills for books that they have not sent.
B. continued to send books that Mr. Walker did not order.
C. still not sent Mr. Walker the books that he ordered.
D. made a gift to Mr. Walker of several sets of books.

5. The tone of the letter is that of _______.

A. bitterness  
B. respect    
C. annoyance  
D. humor

      A few years ago I asked my children's governess, Julia Vassilyevna, to come into my study.
     " Sit down, Julia Vassilyevna," I said."Let's settle our accounts. Although you most likely need some
money, you stand on ceremony and won't ask for it yourself. Now then, we agree on thirty rubles a
month…"
    " Forty."
    " No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay the governess thirty. Now then, you've been here two
months, so…"
     " Two months and five days."
    " Exactly two months. I made a specific note of it. That means you have sixty rubles coming to you.
Subtract nine Sundays… you know you didn't work with Kolya on Sundays, you only took walks. And
three holidays…"
     Julia Vassilyevna flushed a deep red and picked at the flounce of her dress, but-not a word.
     " Three holidays, therefore take off twelve rubles. Four days Kolya was sick and there were no
 lessons, as you were occupied only with Vanya. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you
permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven-nineteen. Subtract…that leaves…h(huán)mm…forty-one
rubles. Correct?"
     Julia Vassilyena's left eye reddened and filled with moisture. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but-not a word.
     " Around New Year's you broke a teacup and saucer: take off two rubles. The cup cost more, it was
an heirloom, but-let it go. When didn't I take a loss? Then, due to your neglect, Kolya climbed a tree
and tore his jacket: take off ten. Also due to your heedlessness the maid stole Vanya's shoes. You ought
to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more rubles off. The tenth of January I gave
you ten rubles…"
     " You didn't " whispered Julia Vassilyevna.
     " But I made a note of it."
     " Well…all right."
     " Take twenty-seven from forty-one-that leaves fourteen."
      Both eyes filled with tears. Perspiration appeared on the thin, pretty little nose. Poor girl!
     " Only once was I given any money," she said in a trembling voice, " and that was by your wife. Three
rubles, nothing more."
     " Really? You see now, and I didn't make a note of it! Take three from fourteen… leaves eleven.
Here's your money, my dear. Three , three, three, one and one. Here it is!"
     I handed her eleven rubles. She took them and with trembling fingers stuffed them into her pocket.
     " Merci," she whispered.
     I jumped up and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger.
     " For what, this-'merci'?" I asked.
     " For the money."
     " But you know I've cheated you, God's sake-robbed you! I have actually stolen from you! Why
this 'merci'?"
     " In my other places they didn't give me anything at all."
     " They didn't give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach
you … I'm going to give you the entire eighty rubles! Here they are in an envelope all ready for you…Is it
really possible to be so spineless? Why don't you protest? Why be silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws-to be such a nincompoop?"
     She smiled crookedly and I read in her expression: " It is possible."
     I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and , to her great surprise, gave her the eighty rubles. She
murmured her litter "merci" several times and went out. I looked after her and thought: "How easy it is to
crush the weak in this world!"

1. When the employer called Julia Vassilyevna in to talk with him, what he really wanted
     to do was _______

A. to settle their accounts
B. to criticize her for neglecting her duties as a governess.
C. to play a joke on her so as to amuse himself.
D. to teach her not to be so spineless.

2. The employer made all those criticisms about Julia Vassiliyevna's work because __________.

A. she had neglected her duties.
B. he wanted to pay her as little money as possible.
C. he wanted to make her realize that she was being cheated and protest against it.
D. he wanted to make her feel miserable.

3. Julia Vassilyevna accepted everything her employer said because ________.

A. she had in fact neglected her duties.
B. she was a very dumb girl.
C. she thought it was of no use to protest to her employer.
D. she loved the children she taught.

4. The employer became very angry when Julia Vassilyevna said " Merci" because ________.

A. she didn't say "Merci" loudly.
B. she didn't protest to him.
C. he thought that by simply saying " Merci" she wasn't polite enough.
D. he didn't like the way in which she stuffed the money into per pocket and expressed her thanks.

5. The text is about _______.

A. how a governess was cheated by her employer.
B. how an employer tried to teach the governess a cruel lesson.
C. how a governess was fired by her employer for being a nincompoop.
D. how an employer punished the governess for not having done a good job.

     It had been a very disheartening day. The doctors had given us the worst of news. Our daughter, who
had just completed her first brain surgery to remove a tumor and was going through radiation treatment,
was now officially given a two percent chance of survival as this type of cancer had no cure.
     My wife and I decided to take our daughter to lunch before continuing our afternoon conversation.
We went to a local restaurant where we sat in silence waiting for the waitress. I noticed a very elderly
couple sitting a few booths away, who were also in silence and did not speak a word. I couldn't help but
wonder what challenges they had faced in their life and if they ever faced such terrible news about a child
of theirs.
     We eventually ordered our lunch and still sitting in silence we ate what we could. At some point I
became intrigued (好奇的) by the old couple. I thought to myself that they hadn't yet spoken to each
other and I wondered if it was the peace they were enjoying or the food or maybe both. However, at
some point I lost interest and put my focus back on my lunch.
     Molly was still talking away and enjoying her meal. Her mom and I both listened and tried to be happy
in her presence but it wasn't going very well. All of a sudden I saw a hand come out of nowhere. It was
huge and I could tell that it had been afflicted with arthritis (關(guān)節(jié)炎). I couldn't take my eyes off that
hand. It landed on my daughter's tiny six-year-old hand and as it did I looked up; it was the old woman
who had been sitting with the old man in silence eating their lunch.
     I looked into her eyes and she spoke, but not to me. She looked at my daughter and simply
whispered, "If I could do more for you I would…" and then she smiled and moved away to join her
husband, who had moved towards the door.
     "Look, a whole dollar," Molly spoke with excitement as she discovered a crumpled one dollar bill left
behind by the old lady. I looked up to thank her, but she was gone. I sat stunned, not sure what had just
happened and then I looked over at my wife. In almost unison, we broke out into a smile. The sadness of
the day had been wiped out by the crippled hand and generous touch of the old lady. The dollar, although exciting to Molly, was not what made us smile; it was the offer from the old lady, who felt our suffering.
The crippled hand symbolized a healing touch and made us realize that we did not have to fight this battle
alone.

1. According to the doctor, the author's daughter _______.  

A. suffered from serious heart disease.
B. didn't need any more operations. 
C. was likely to die soon.
D. had been treated by radiation.

2. The author was ____, when he first caught sight of the old couple in the restaurant.   

A. curious      
B. confused      
C. upset      
D. indifferent

3. By saying "If I could do more for you I would…", the old woman means_______.  

A. she had the ability to cure the disease of Molly.
B. she had the responsibility for the safety of Molly.
C. she was an old friend of the author and can lend some money to them.
D. she would like to help Molly as much as possible.

4. What can we inferred from the passage?   

A. The author and his wife were not satisfied with the food in the restaurant.
B. The old couple had once gone through the same trouble as the author did.
C. The one dollar bill made the author feel touched by the warmth from others.
D. The old woman sympathized with Molly because she suffered from serious arthritis herself.

5. What would be the best title of the text?   

A. A girl with cancer                    
B. A touch of heaven
C. A crumpled dollar bill                
D. A kind-hearted couple

     Oleksander Pylyshenko is either very fearless,very foolish… or both. The 40-year-old zookeeper
from the Ukraine recently spent five weeks in a cage with Katya, a 200-kilo African lioness. Why? Well
for a start, he wanted to raise awareness of the treatment of animals in captivity. Secondly, he hoped to
break the Guinness World Record for time spent living in a cage with a lion. And thirdly? "I wanted to
show my children what kind of man I am," said Oleksander.
     For 36 days, Oleksander and Katya shared the cage together. They ate hunks of meat thrown into
the cage by Oleksander's wife, and slept side by side on a bed of hay. Oleksander did have a few more
creature comforts than his feline flatmate - he built himself a shower and toilet inside the enclosure. But he
didn't use any soap as the sharp scent is upsetting to lions.
     And as if living with the king of the jungle wasn't dangerous enough, Katya was also pregnant at the
time. She gave birth during Oleksander's stay. Wild animals are very protective of their young but the
zookeeper said Katya trusted him completely. Oleksander' wife, Olena, was also very trusting. "when he
first told me about the plan I was very scared. But I decided to support my husband."
     Once the five weeks was up, Oleksander stepped out of the cage and declared the experiment a
success. He told a Russian news agency, "Katya taught me a lot about honesty and kindness." Also, a
representative from Guinness World Records confirmed that Oleksander ahd beaten the previous record
by three weeks.
     But the parting was also bittersweet. "Katya was very sad to see me go," Oleksander noted. Oleksander's wife, on the other hand, was very happy to have her husband back.

1. Which is not the purpose of spending 5 weeks in cage with a lion according to Oleksander?

A. He wanted to raise awareness of the treatment of animals in cage.
B. He hoped to break the Guinness World Record for time spent living in a cage with a lion.
C. He wanted to show his children his kindness as a man.
D. He wanted to earn money by taking the risk of living with a lion.

2. What did Oleksander do in order to live more comfortably in the cage with a lion?

A. He made a bed with soft pillow and warm quilt.
B. He equipped the enclosure with modern facilities, for example, a computer.
C. He put up a tent to protect himself from sun and rain.
D. He himself built a shower and toilet inside the enclosure.

3. Why didn't he use any soap when he took the shower?

A. He didn't use any soap for fear of annoying the lion.
B. He didn't have any access to soap.
C. He didn't like the smell of soap.
D. Soap was forbidden in the zoo.

4. What's Oleksander's wife's attitude toward his stay with a lion in a cage?

A. indifferent    
B. objective      
C. opposed      
D. supportive

5. Oleksander spent ________ more weeks than the previous record.

A. one    
B. two      
C. three      
D. four