I found a website that has changed my life. The website is wishuponahero.com and it is all about people
helping others, not expecting anything in return.
     I am a single mom with a son. My son's 12th birthday was on October 29th, 2007. Knowing that I didn't
have money to buy him a birthday gift had broken my heart. So, I decided to post a wish on wishuponahero.
com for people to send my son birthday cards.
     Many cards just started coming in and my little son was very excited and this went on for about three
weeks. The smile on his face and the sparkle (閃光) in his eyes brought me to tears.
     Then, at the end of November, he started thinking about Christmas and he already knew that there would
not be a tree for him because we didn't have enough money. However it didn't matter to him. All he talked
about was how much he wanted to make other children smile. So he decided to earn money to buy Christmas
cards and send them to other children from poor families. My son went out daily and raked leaves and walked
some dogs to make money. Not only did he buy cards, but he also made enough money to buy all the stamps
and lollipops to send with the cards. He sent out about 100 cards. Doing this brought him the same smile and
sparkle in his eyes as the birthday cards that he received did.

1. The single mother posted a wish on wishuponahero.com because _____.

A. she wanted to send her son a card on the website
B. she liked the website very much
C. she was too poor to buy her son a birthday present
D. she thought her son would like the website very much

2. What did the son do for other poor children on Christmas?

A. He sent them his own Christmas tree.
B. He earned money to send them cards with candy.
C. He raked leaves and walked dogs for them.
D. He made some lollipops to make them smile.

3. Why was there sparkle in the son's eyes at the end of the story?

A. He thought of his birthday cards and other good people.
B. He earned a lot of money by himself.
C. He thought of what his mother had done for him.
D. He was glad and excited to help other poor children.

4. What can we conclude from the story?

A. Surfing the Internet is of great use.
B. One should take care of his or her children.
C. People can ask for help from wishuponahero.com.
D. Learning to give makes one's life more meaningful.

     A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach,
looking up at the fiery (火紅的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into
yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
     The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. "It's getting late,"
she thought, "I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am."
     She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing.
She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She
walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.
     It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She
wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought
disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside
garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and
tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn't understand what was going on.
     She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said:"
Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking." Ellen was her mother but－where was she? On the
right side of the hallway was her parents' room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed,
was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have
wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke
up, something was different－she wasn't in her mother's room and she wasn't wearing the old clothes she ran
away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas.
     It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, "Are you feeling better now, dear? You know
you got us very, very scared."

1. Three days later Jennifer came back home _____.

A. at sunrise
B. at sunset
C. at night
D. at midday

2. What does the underlined phrase "This thought" most probably mean?

A. The idea of going back home.
B. Her anxiety about her parents.
C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.
D. The feeling of getting back home safely.

3. Her father didn't take care of the garden because _____.

A. he was busy looking for her
B. he had to look after his wife
C. he was not strict with his job
D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden

4. What can we infer from this passage?

A. In fact Jennifer's mother had been sick for days.
B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.
C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.
D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.

     At two o'clock a bank robber stole in. "This is a holdup," the man said rudely. He took a gun from under
his jacket, pointing to George. "Hand it over!" George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from
the top part-close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
     Then while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills
from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.
     The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted (暈倒).
     As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand
dollars. He was very happy.
     The next morning, while the others were examining the bank's records, George was called into Mr. Burrow's
office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
     "Good morning, George, I was sorry, to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being
robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed, too. I have
retired (退休), but I’m always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to
keep everyone on his toes (保持警覺). Now, I have put the money back in your money-box— all six
thousand."

1. This passage tells us _____.

A. a serious case
B. one part of a play
C. a humorous story
D. a meaningful story

2. Which of the following do you think is true?

A. George wanted to protect the money for the bank.
B. George had been thinking of taking money away.
C. This bank had been robbed several times.
D. Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day.

3. Why was George called into Mr. Burrow's office?

A. His stealing money was disclosed.
B. Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him.
C. Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him.
D. Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back.

4. In this article "to keep everyone on his toes" means "_____".

A. to make everyone work hard
B. to keep everyone standing straight
C. to make everyone do a kind of exercise
D. to keep everyone paying attention to the coming danger

5. Which sentence can be used to end the story?

A. George turned cold with fear.
B. George turned red with anger.
C. George was pleased with the end.
D. George was disappointed with the end.

     Ben and his wife Susan were on their way to have dinner with their friends. It was a dark,windy night, and
they did not know the way very well. They drove through a town until they found what they thought was the
road to Dorling, where their friends lived. But it soon became clear that they were not on the road to Dorling at
all. The road that they were on was getting narrower, and there were no other cars on it. The wind was blowing
harder with every minute that passed.?
     They came to a small village. They drove past a church and then two houses without lights on. There was
nobody about to tell them where they were, or where the road went. Just then, Ben saw a telephone box twenty
meters or so further on. While he walked back along the road to see if there was a name outside the church,
Susan telephoned their friends and told them that they were still on their way.?
     Their friends were just saying that the dinner was already getting rather cold, when Ben came back to the
telephone box, his head down against the wind. He said that there was a tree lying across the road, and that the
telephone lines were down. Susan heard nothing more from their friends about the dinner.?

1. Some time later Ben and Susan found they took a wrong road because _____. ?

A. their friends lived nearer than they drove?
B. the road was getting narrower and their car alone was on it?
C. the hard wind made them get lost?
D. the road was not the same as before?