My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons
in values that helped me grow into an adult.
     For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a
Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my
baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt's basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged
me to confess to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path
between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window
from my pocket money if she would return my ball.
     I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my
fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in
spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I'd hate to lose to someone else the small
dog my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still
remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on the shoulder.
     Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was
twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to
Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and
stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, "Did it hurt you first, Mark?" I didn't
know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, "The only time you should ever think of hurting a
living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time." I really felt terrible then, but that
moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.

1. What is the main subject of the passage?

A. The relationship between Mark and Steve.
B. The important lesson Mark learned in school.
C. Steve's important role in Mark's growing process.
D. Mark and Steve's respect for living things.

2. In the story about the pen, which of the following lessons did Steve teach his brother?

A. Respect for personal property.
B. Respect for life.
C. Sympathy for people with problems.
D. The value of honesty.

3. According to the writer, which was the most important lesson Steve taught his young brother?

A. Respect for living things.
B. Responsibility for one's actions.
C. The value of honesty.
D. Care for the property of others.

4. The underlined word "knocked" in the second paragraph means _____.

A. tapped
B. beat
C. struck
D. trembled

     It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind
brought a pale sky and a muzzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o'clock in
the afternoon the gray of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, surrounding them in mist.
It would be dark by four. The air was cold, and for all the tightly closed windows it influenced the inside
of the coach. The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and there must have been a small crack in the roof,
because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, polluting the leather and leaving a dark-blue
stain like a spot of ink. The wind came in, at times shaking the coach as it traveled round the bend of the
road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the
coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.
     The driver, muffled (裹住) in a great coat to his ears, bent almost double in his seat in a faint endeavor
to gain shelter from his own shoulders. The few passengers pressed together for warmth, exclaiming all
together when the coach sank into a heavier rut (車轍) than usual, and one old fellow, who had kept up
a constant complaint ever since he had joined the coach at Truro, rose from his seat in anger; and, feeling
with the window-frame, let the window down with a crash, bringing a shower of rain upon himself and
his fellow-passengers. He thrust his head out and shouted up to the driver, scolding him in a angry voice
for a rogue and a murderer; that they would all be dead before they reached Bodmin if he persisted in
driving at dangerous speed; they had no breath left in their bodies as it was, and he would never travel by
coach again.

1. What is the main image the author gives in this description?

A. In terrible weather, a coach was running fast in mud with complaining passengers on it.
B. On a cold and rainy day the coach broke and the driver was repairing it on the road.
C. On a cold night the driver and the passengers felt very cold and struggled in the rain.
D. The bad condition of the road resulted in the bad mood of the passengers.

2. Which of the following is correct according to the text?

A. The windows were tightly closed, so the cold air was kept outside the coach.
B. The spot of ink stained leather, so the seats felt damp to the hands.
C. Most probably the roof of the coach was broken.
D. There was a drunken man swaying constantly on the coach.

3. The expression "muffled in a great coat to... his own shoulders" implies _____.

A. the driver felt very cold and tried to change his seat
B. the driver felt comfortable by doing in that way
C. The driver felt very cold and tried to gain warmth
D. The driver tried to protect his ears and shoulders

4. We can learn from the text that _____.

A. the coach was running slowly due to the bad weather
B. an old passenger who got on the coach at Truro was angry about the windows
C. one of the passengers on the coach was a murderer
D. the few passengers let out exclamations as the coach moved violently

     Tess, eight, always heard her parents talking about her brother, Andrew. He was very sick and they were
completely out of money. Only a very costly surgery could save him but no one would lend them money. She
heard Daddy said with desperation, "Only a miracle can save him."
     Counting all her coins in her bedroom and carefully bringing the coins, Tess slipped out the door and made
her way six blocks to Drug Store. She waited patiently for the pharmacist (藥劑師) to give her some attention
but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat
with the most disgusting sound she could produce. No good. Finally she took a coin and banged (發(fā)出砰聲)
it on the counter. That did it! "And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked. "I'm talking to my brother from
Chicago whom I haven't seen for ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question. "Well, let's talk
about my brother," Tess answered. "He's really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle." 
     ''Pardon?" said the pharmacist, "Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says
only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?" "No miracle here." the pharmacist said.
"Please, just tell me how much it costs." Tess pleaded. The pharmacist's brother bent down and asked, "What
kind of a miracle does your brother need?". "I don't know," Tess replied. "Ijust know he's really'sick and
Mommy says he needs an operation." "How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago. "One dollar and
eleven cents." Tess answered shyly. "Well, what a coincidence (巧合)!" smiled the man, "That's the exact price.
Take me to where you live. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."
     That man was Mr. Carlton. The operation was completed without charge and soon Andrew was home again 
     "That surgery," her Mom whispered, "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?" Tess
smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost.

1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

[     ]

A. A miracle costs one point eleven dollars plus the faith of a little child.
B. Tess tried once to get the attention from the pharmacist but failed.
C. Tess's brother, Andrew, didn't survive the operation.
D. Tess is very brave to walk 5 blocks to the drug store to get help.

2. From the passage, you may see Mr. Carlton is _____.

[     ]

A. a pharmacist
B. a policeman
C. a teacher
D. a surgeon

3. What was the pharmacist's attitude towards the girl when she tried to get his attention?

[     ]

A. delighted
B. impatient
C. nervous
D. anxious

4. Which of the following proverbs best describes what happened in the story?

[     ]

A. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
B. Two heads are better than one.
C. The early bird catches the worm.
D. Behind bad luck comes good luck.

     In l921, Lewis Lawes became the warden (監(jiān)獄長) at Sing Sing Prison of New York State. No prison
was tougher than Sing Singg during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that
prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change
belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here's what he said, "I owe it all to
my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls."
     Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden.
Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should neVer set foot inside the prison walls, but that
didn't stop Catherine!
     When the first prison basketball game was held, she went into the gym with her three beautiful kids and
she sat in the stands with the inmates. Her attitude was:"My husband and I are going to take care of these
men and I believe they will take care of me! I don't have to worry!" She insisted on getting acquainted with
them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding
his hand in hers she Said, "Do you read Braille?" "What's Braille?" he asked. Then she taught him how to
read. Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language.
     Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from l921 to
1937. Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn't come to work, so the
acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The
following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As
the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was shocked to see a large cmwd of the toughest,
hardes-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears
of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men.
     "All right, men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!" Then he opened the gate and a parade
of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarter of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects
to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in Every one!

1. Catherine was not afraid of getting inside the prison walls because she believed _____. 

A. one good turn deserves another
B. no pains, no gains
C. a new broom sweeps clean
D. virtue never grows old

2. The underlined word in paragraph three most probably refers to _____.

A. basketball players
B. prison guards
C. prisoners
D. family of the prisoners

3. What made every one of the criminals check back in?

A. The acting warden's requirement
B. The strict rules of the prison
C. Their respect for Catherine
D. The force of the guards

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A Tough Prison
B. A Woman Bringing Changes
C. A warden Caring for Prisoners
D. A Great Wife