For years I wanted a flower garden, but with five children I was too busy to have one. Money was limited,
and so was time. Often one of the children would want something that cost too much, and I would say, "Do
you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know. "Finally, when all five had gotten
through high school and college, and had started having their own families, I started thinking again about having a garden. However, I knew gardens cost money.
     Then, one spring morning on Mother's Day, as I was working in my kitchen, I heard cars drive by and
looked out of the window to see a new tree planted in my yard. I couldn't believe my eyes: it was a money
tree! Dollar bills were stuck all over that tree, and there was a note which read: "I owe you eight hours of
digging time. Love, Marvin."
     Marvin, my first son, kept his promise. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen-foot bed (花壇,花圃) for me. My
other children bought me tools, a sunflower stepping stone (踏腳石) and gardening books. We built a garden
together.
     That was three years ago. My garden is now very pretty, and just what I'd always wanted. When I go out
to weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels as if they were
right there with me. When I think about what my children have done for me, I get tears in my eyes every time. I'm still not sure whether money grows on trees. But I know love does!

1. Why had the author never had a flower garden before?

A. Because she had five children to take care of.
B. Because she didn't have enough time and money.
C. Because her children wanted expensive things.
D. Because her children were going to high school and college.

2. Who helped the author build the garden at last?

A. Her neighbor.
B. Her first son.
C. Her husband.
D. Her five children.

3. Why doesn't she miss her children as much as she once did?

A. Because she has a big money tree.
B. Because she has a very pretty garden.
C. Because she feels the love of her children in the garden.
D. Because she is busy weeding or tending her flowers.

4. Which of the flowing statements is correct, based on the passage?

A. Money grows on trees only if you plant them with love.
B. The author built a pretty garden after her children had graduated from school.
C. The author actually wanted to have money grow on trees.
D.The children loved their mother so much that they helped her realize her dream.

5. The purpose of this passage is to tell us_________.

A. how to grow you own money tree
B. the story of pretty garden
C. the story of a money tree
D. a story of the love between a mother and her children

     Most young architects-particularly those in big cities-can only dream about working in a building of their
own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is
exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile
electrical-parts film in Atlanta. Form the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door
and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生銹的) walls.
     In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city's West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been
abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum
bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (排除), pulling rubbish out through the roof,
because it was too dangerous to go inside the building. The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to
think about what he wanted to do, and "to treasure what was there- the walls, the rust, and the light." Yocum
said. "Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It's like an art installation (裝置) in
there-a slow-motion show."
     Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building
to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working
area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (緩沖) zone between the front and the back
contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings
that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
     Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the
decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has
also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.

1. According to the passage, it is _____ for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their
   own.

A. easy
B. unnecessary
C. unrealistic
D. common

2. Yocum bought the old building because _____.

A. it was a bargain to him
B. it was still in good condition
C. it was located in the city center
D. it looked attractive from the outside

3. Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell _____.

A. pulled rubbish out through the roof
B. removed the skylights from the bathroom
C. presentd a slow-motion show in an art gallery
D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell _____.

A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof
B. turned more old buildings into art galleries
C. got inspiration from decorating their old building
D. paid more attention to the outside of the art gallery

5. The main idea of the passage is that _____.

A. people can learn a lot from their failures
B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building
C. people should not judge things by their appearance
D. creative people can make the best of what they have

     I asked Jackie a lot of questions. I asked if she became close to her patients. She said, "Some I do,
especially if I have become their close friends and they tell me things they wouldn't tell anyone else. I've
found it harder for the patient's family to accept what's happening. In most cases, the dying person has
accepted the truth."
     I asked her how she could do this work for so long. She said,"I have taken care of 3,000people over
37years. I consider dying to be a very important part of life. I feel good because I can make these people's
journey easier."
      Jackie was the mother I have never had. My own mother, Helen, was taken away from me right after
I was born. I never knew her. And I had a strange relationship with my father. He was a Sunday father.
Since my sister and I lived in foster homes, he came to visit only on Sundays.
     But at the hospice (臨終安養(yǎng)院), nurse Jackie gave me hope, love and encouragement. She listened to
all my stories, and I listened to hers. It was a comfort. The nurses had told my family that death was
coming near. As time went on, I became the star patient at the hospice, because I didn't go according to
plans. My kidneys started working again and could function without dialysis (透析). It was a mystery to
my doctors. My friends said It was a miracle. But I knew what actually cured me.
     The employees showed me off to other patients and being the ham I was, I enjoyed.

1. According to the second paragraph, the reason why Jackie feels happy is that _____.

A. she can have a trip with the patient
B. She knows dying is very important
C. She can reduce patients' pain during their last days
D. she can arrange a journey for the patients before they die

2. They author mentioned his parents in the third paragraph in order to tell us _____.

A. he wants parents to love their own children
B. Jackie cares for him more than his parents do
C. he loves Jackie more than he loves his patients
D. he had a very unhappy childhood 

3. The underlined word "miracle" in the fourth paragraph means something that is _____.

A. very exciting
B. hard to believe
C. very risky
D. very important

4. we can learn from the passage that _____.

A. Jackie worked in the hospice as a volunteer.
B. the author's mother left him when he was two
C. the author was the youngest child in his family
D. the author didn't like being the hospice poster boy

5. According to the author, _____ actually cured him.

A. Jackie's love and encouragement
B. other patients' moving stories
C. the help of a well-known doctor
D. his strong desire to live

     An unemployed man is desperate to support his family. His wife watches TV all day and his three teenage
kids have dropped out of high school to hang around with the local toughs. He applies for a cleaner's job at a
large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him,"You will be hired at
minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can contact you easily. Our
system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your
first day." Greatly surprised, the man said that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this, the
manager replies,"You must understand that to a company like ours that means you virtually do not exist.
Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high tech firm. Good day."
      Unable to believe what he hears, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet,
he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling beautiful tomatoes. He buys a crate (柳條箱), carries
it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than two hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100%
profit. From that day on, he repeats the tomato business and becomes increasingly successful as time goes on.
By the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse. The tomato company has put
hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work and the business grossed a million dollars.
     Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance. The insurance adviser asks him for his
e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have
time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance salesman is surprised," No computer?
No Internet? Just think where you would be if you'd had all of that five years ago!" "Ha! If I'd had all of that
five years ago, I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour!" the man replies.

1. The man's kids drop out of school because ____.

A. they want to hang around with the local toughs
B. their mother watches TV all day
C. their father is only a cleaner
D. their family is very poor

2. The man applies for a cleaner's job ____.

A. but he can't accept it because the pay is too low
B. and he gets it though the pay is only $5.15 an hour
C. but he is turned down because he doesn't have an e-mail address
D. but he misses the chance because they fail to contact him

3. The man's tomatoes sell well because ____.

A. the tomatoes look very beautiful
B. he has chosen the right place to sell them
C. many jobless people help him
D. the tomatoes are contained in beautiful crates

4. From the conversation between the man and the insurance salesman in the last paragraph we
    can infer that ____.

A. the man will buy a computer soon
B. it's very easy to do tomato business
C. one does not necessarily have an e-mail address to be successful
D. the man is not able to buy any life insurance without an e-mail address

     Have you ever thought, "I wish I could take a year off and just travel around the world"? Well, three lucky
American teenagers were able to do just that. The teens-two males and one female-got an all-expenses paid,
yearlong hike to five continents.
     This trip didn't include any five-star hotels or shopping funs. Eighteen-year-old Jamie Fiel from Keller,
Texas, 17-year-old Arsen Ewing from Canyon, California, and 16-year-old Tyler Robinson from Lincoln,
Massachusetts, didn't expect fancy treatment. They signed up for the experience of a lifetime, which included
hard work, often uncomfortable accommodations, and encounters (遇到) with some of nature's most
dangerous animals and environments.
     Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler were among hundreds of high school kids nominated (提名) by their science
teachers to take this trip. Earthwatch Institute sponsored (贊助) this adventure. Each year, Earthwatch
employs thousands of volunteers worldwide to help with scientific research projects. The group went all
around the world to get a close look at the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Their assignments
were as varied as their locations, and included measuring and attending pink flamingos in Kenya's Great Rift
alley, and tracking giant sea turtles in Costa Rica.
     As they worked with the Earthwatch scientists, Jamie, Arsen, and Tyler began to understand that we are
at a critical moment in the life of our planet. Time for change is running out. As the teens went from country
to country and witnessed different environmental dangers and challenges, they understood that solutions to
important environmental issues start with the power of one person's actions. They realized that each of them
can make a difference.

1. These teenagers went on the journey around the world _____.

A. to experience the most serious environmental problems on the earth
B. to bring the kindness of America to the other parts of the world
C. to go on sightseeing around the world
D. to call on more teenagers to join Earthwatch Institute

2. What's true about their journey?

A. They had to pay for their journey on their own expense.
B. They often had to move from one hotel to another.
C. They had to take great pains to collect environmental information.
D. They received a warm welcome every time they arrived at a new place.

3. It can be inferred that Earthwatch Institute could be ____.

A. an international university that takes in students from all over the world
B. a TV station that makes programmes on the beautiful scenery of the earth
C. a travel agency that organizes adventure trips specially for school children
D. an organization that brings science to life for people concerned about earth's environment

4. What did they these teenagers learn from the journey?

A. It was high time that people protected the environment.
B. Long journey was not suitable for school children.
C. It should take the whole world to help the children.
D. Environmental problems can be solved if school children take part.