Mrs. Allen's husband died ten years ago when her son and daughter were still in high school. Mr. Allen
had left some money, and since Mrs. Allen had managed a bookstore before she was married, she took the
money and bought a shop in town. Later she moved the shop out to the shopping center.
     She was a pleasant woman; she worked hard and was well-informed about books, and so the bookstore
prospered (生意興隆) and she was able to hire a friend to help her.
     Laura Barnes, Mrs. Allen's friend and assistant, was also a widow. She had some free time and the need
for a little extra-money, and so she took the job in the bookstore. She was too clever and friendly, and the
two women were well-known in the neighbourhood as "Mrs. A" and "Mrs. B".

1. How many people in all were there in the two women's families? _____.

A. At least 8
B. At least 7
C. At least 6
D. At least 4

2. The bookstore prospered _____.

A. after Mrs. Allen lost control of it
B. before Mrs. A got to know Mrs.
B C. because the two women had little housework to do
D. because Mrs. A became expert at management and threw herself into it

3. Why did Mrs. A hire Mrs. B? _____.

A. Mrs. B asked for very little pay
B. She believed that Mrs.
B was the very person to help her to improve management
C. Mrs. B was a friend of hers D. she was also that kind of woman like her

4. Which of the following is true? _____.

A. Mrs. A set up her bookshop in the shopping center
B. Mr. Allen was dead but Mr. Barnes alive
C. Mrs. A managed to set another bookstore with Mrs. B
D. The two children of Mrs. A were of the same age

     Mrs. White lived in a town of England. Her husband died three years ago and one of her children worked
in the capital and the other three lived in another town. Her husband didn't leave her much money and she had
to live a simple (簡樸) life. Sometimes her children went to see her during their holidays, ubt they stayed with
her for only two or three days.
     One winter morning the old woman got up early. She was going to buy some food in a shop. And when
she came out, she found there was much snow in the street. She had to sweep it away. And suddenly she
found a dying dog at the corner of the house. She picked it up and took it into to house quickly. She put it near
the fire and gave it some milk and bread. At first the poor dog ate nothing and that afternoon it drank some milk
and three days later it was all right. Now the old woman found it was a beautiful dog. And she liked it very much
and took it everywhere she went. A week later she went shopping with her dog. At a bus stop a young man
was eating fish and chips. The little dog became very excited (興奮) at the smell of the man's lunch and began
jumping up at him.
     "Do you mind if I throw it a bit (一點)?" asked the young man.
     "Not at all," answered Mrs. White.
     Having heard this, he picked up the dog and threw it over the wall.

1. One of the old woman's children worked in ______.

A. Moscow
B. Paris
C. London
D. New York

2. Mrs. White lived a simple life because _____.

A. she wasn't rich enough
B. she hoped to save money for her children
C. she had four children
D. her children hated her

3. It was _____ that morning when Mrs. White went to buy something.

A. it was beautiful
B. it was little
C. she spent money on it
D. she felt lonely

4. The old woman liked the dog very much because _____.

A. it was beautiful
B. it was little
C. she spent money on it
D. she felt lonely

5. The dog hoped _____, so it became excited.

A. to be given some food
B. to leave the bus stop soon
C. to bite (咬) the young man
D. to go as soon as possible

6. The meaning of the word "smell" in the story means ______.

A. 聞
B. 口味
C. 氣味
D. 嗅覺

     Cyril was a small town. The houses there were all made of wood; almost everything in the houses such
as cupboards, tables and chairs were made of wood, too. And all the houses faced south. The town was
never peaceful. Fire broke out once a week on summer afternoons. People there were puzzled who the real
firebug was.
     One day a big fire broke out. It was said that a black had jumped out of the house on fire, so the police
arrested all the blacks in the street. However, fire never stopped to breaking out when the blacks were in
prison. Watson, a physics teacher didn't believe that the blacks were the firebugs, for he really knew about
those blacks. He made up his mind to find out who the real firebug was.
      One day he was invited to drink in a pub and happened to notice that many bottles and plastic plates
were baked by the hot sunrays. Suddenly he realized what the actual fact was. He jumped with joy, saying,
"I've got the answer!"
      Watson dashed out of the pub to his friend's house nearby, which also faced south. He made an
experiment there to prove his idea.
      The next Saturday afternoon, Watson asked some policemen and newsmen to come to the house. They
were told that the real firebug would be shown there. At that time the sun was shining full into the house and
it became hotter and hotter inside the room.
     Someone wanted to draw the curtains together, while another was going to use a bottle to drink water,
but neither got permission from Watson, who wanted to let the firebug in.
     "Now," said Watson,"this house will soon catch fire." People looked at each other in surprise. Watson
asked them to look at the bottles and focus on the table cloth. After a while the cloth gave off a burning
smell and began to catch fire!
     The mystery of fire was discovered, but the police wouldn't believe him and insisted that blacks had
been the firebugs. Instead they arrested Watson and put him into prison. But Watson said he would never
turn against science.

1. The town was never peaceful, for fire broke out _____.

A. in the afternoon
B. in prison
C. at any time
D. at night

2. Why did the police arrest all the blacks?

A. One of them had jumped out of the home on fire.
B. They were thought to be the firebugs.
C. The police hated all the black people.
D. The blacks knew something about the fires.

3. Drinking in a pub, Watson realized what the actual fact was _____.

A. by experiment
B. by backing the bottles
C. through the hot sunrays
D. by accident

4. By making an experiment, they knew the real firebug was _____.

A. the blacks
B. bottles
C. sunrays
D. plastic plates

5. Watson was put into prison, because _____.

A. he had told a lie though a teacher
B. he had fund out the real firebug
C. he had turned against science
D. he had made friends with the blacks

     Neighbors rescued a woman from her burning home early Monday morning, and three firefighters were
hurt putting out the flames in Green Bay.
     The fire was discovered around 4 o'clock at a three-story home in the South Quincy Street on the city's
east side. Investigators say 68-year-old Mary Taylor lives there with her two dogs.
     "I got out of bed and went to the front window and could hear somebody was yelling (叫喊),'Fire!'" Curt
Dworak said. When he realized what was happening. he threw on some clothes and ran to help. "I was just
hoping Mary wasn't in there, but her car was in the driveway,so I just reacted,"he said."I just broke the glass
and then went in through the window."
      Dworak yelled for Mary but got no response. As he searched, the fire grew and debris (碎片) started
falling around him."I didn't know what to do. I yelled for her a couple more times,and then I heard her."
Disoriented (分不清方向的) and unable to move, Mary was sprawling (趴) on the floor in the back of her
house,so Dworak picked her up and carried her to safety.
     Dworak,who has been hailed as a hero by Green Bay Fire Department but shrugged of the praise,said,
"They would have done the same thing. Mary is a nice lady,and how could you live with yourself if you
didn't do something like that?" Mary was up and talking before she was taken to the hospital to be checked
out. Dworak escaped without a thin cut.

1. As soon as Dworak realized there was a big fire, he  _____. 

A. went to his front window and stood watching
B. put on his clothes quickly and rushed there
C. searched for Mary's crying in her room
D. put away his clothes and jumped off his house

2. The sentence " but her car was in the driveway" in Paragraph 3 implies (暗指) that _____.

A. Mary was just in the house
B. Mary's car was in Dworak's way
C. Mary's car was broken
D. Mary's car was in good condition

3. The underlined Word " hailed" in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by "_____ ".

A. named
B. checked
C. praised
D. trained

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A. It was Dworak who found the fire first.
B. Dworak was badly injured by the fire.
C. Mary lost consciousness in the flames.
D. Mary is friendly to her neighborhood

     A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor hurried to give her a warm
welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child. On
seeing this, people began to talk. "You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has
changed his bad behavior," said a middle-aged man. 
     "Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger. "That's
right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this
conductor."
     Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said, "Excuse me, but can
I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised..." 
     Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted,
"I know his name. I call him Dad."

1. One passenger suggested writing a letter to the company to _____.

A. make a demand for more buses
B. thank the conductor for his good service
C. criticize the conductor for his rude behavior
D. invite a newspaper reporter to write about the conductor

2. What was the gentleman?

A. A teacher.
B. A newspaper reporter.
C. Not known from the story.
D. The conductor's friend from his company.

3. The word "him" in the last paragraph refers to _____.

A. the gentleman
B. the conductor
C. the middle-aged man
D. the three-year-old child

4. It is clear from the story that the conductor _____.

A. has changed his attitude towards his work
B. has now been kind and polite to all passengers
C. has not changed his rude behavior to passengers
D. has now been kind and polite to women with children

     A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On
Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office. a street urchin (頑童) was walking around the shining
car. "Is this your car,Paul?" he asked.
     Paul answered,"Yes,my brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was surprised."You mean your
brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything. Boy,I wish…" he hesitated.
     Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that.
But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
     "I wish," the boy went on."that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in surprise,then
he said again, "Would you like to take a ride in my car?"
     "Oh yes, I'd love that."
      After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining,said. "Paul,would you mind driving in
front of my house?"
     Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that
he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?"
the boy asked.
     He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back,but he was not coming fast.
He was carrying his little. crippled (殘疾) brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
     "There he is,Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't
cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all
the nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about."
     Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his cat. The shining-eyed elder brother climbed in
beside him and three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.

1. The street urchin was very surprised when _______.

A. Paul received an expensive car
B. Paul told him about the car
C. he saw the shining car
D. he was walking around the car

2. From the story we can see the urchin ______.

A. wished to give his brother a car
B. wanted Paul's brother to give him a car
C. wished he could have a brother like Paul's brother
D. wished Paul could be a brother like that

3. The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______.

A. to show his neighbors the big car
B. to show he had a rich friend
C. to let his brother ride in the car
D. to tell his brother about his wish

4.We can infer from the story that ________

A. Paul couldn't understand the urchin
B. the urchin had a deep love for his brother
C. the urchin wished to have a rich brother
D. the urchin's wish came true in the end

5. The best title of the story is _______.

A. A Christmas Present
B. A Street Urchin
C. A Brother like That
D. A Unforgettable Holiday Ride