The other day in school, we were discussing jobs. Our teacher, Mrs Bolt said that career was very
important and that it was never too early to think about your life's work. Most of the young boys really
were not too sure about what they wanted to be. But I knew exactly what I wanted to be, and when Mrs
Bolt asked me, I replied "A truck driver."
     "A truck driver?" repeated Mrs Bolt. "Why do you want to be one,Tom?"
     "Because truck drivers are always on the move. They do not have to sit at desks all day. They are out
on the road and they see a lot of the countries. The pay is good, too. And they never have any homework."
     The class laughed.
     "Well, Tom," answered Mrs Bolt. "You certainly sound quite enthusiastic (熱情的). I guess that you
don't like sitting at a desk or doing homework.Is that correct, Tom?"
     "Yes, I guess so," I said.
     "Well, since you are so interested in becoming a truck driver, I think you should look into the field a
little further. I want you to go to the library and take out a book on truck driving. And I want you to write
a paper on it and hand it in at the end of the month."
     That's the last time. I'll never tell anybody my secret ambition (雄心).

1. Mrs Bolt suggested Tom write a book report because _____.

A. she was angry with him
B. she wanted him to learn about the other side of truck driving
C. she was making fun of him
D. she wanted the whole class to follow him

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The writer thinks that truck drivers are well paid.
B. What Tom said made his classmates laugh.
C. It seemed as if Tom did not enjoy doing his homework.
D. Mrs Bolt didn't want Tom to become a truck driver.

3. Tom wouldn't tell about his ambition any more because _____.

A. he didn't think his ambition could come true
B. he just got more homework to do
C. he was laughed at by the whole class
D. he would not be able to become a truck driver

4. What can we infer about Mrs Bolt?

A. She was unkind to her students.
B. She was unfit for her position.
C. She was a teacher with ripe experience.
D. She always did something strange.

     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

     As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. "The woods" was our part-time address,
destination, purpose and excuse. If I went to a friend's house and found him not at home, his mother might
say, "Oh, he's out in the woods," with a tone (語氣) of airy acceptance. It's similar to the tone people
sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I'm looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even
"away from his desk." For us ten-year-olds, "being out in the woods" was just an excuse to do whatever we
feel like for a while.
     We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring (探索). Exploring was
a more popular idea back then than it is today. History seemed to be mostly about explorers. Our explorations,
though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way. Say we
stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly
persuaded was an Italian burial mound.
     Often we got "lost" and had to climb a tree to find out where we were. If you read a story in which
someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and
we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees. There were four or five trees that we
visited regularly-tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.
     It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us has
reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence (青春期). In March, the month when we
usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and
all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that were really rather big to be up in a tree. Soon
there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria.

1. The author and his friends were often out in the woods to _____.

A. spend their free time
B. play golf and other sports
C. avoid doing their schoolwork
D. keep away from their parents

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?

A. The activities in the woods were well planned.
B. Human history is not the result of exploration.
C. Exploration should be a systematic activity.
D. The author explored in the woods aimlessly.

3. The underlined word "skeptical" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.

A. calm
B. doubtful
C. serious
D. optimistic

4. How does the author feel about his childhood?

A. Happy but short.
B. Lonely but memorable.
C. Boring and meaningless.
D. Long and unforgettable.

     An old sea captain was often seen opening a small locked box, and looking inside. The crew's curiosity
grew and, on the day he retired, they rushed to cut the lock. There they found a sheet of paper that read,
"Left-port (左舷). Right-starboard (右舷)."
     Are you afraid to make a mistake? If you made mistakes recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy
Riegels.
     The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech
and the university of California. Shortly before halftime, Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for
California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his teammates
tackled (搶斷) him after he had run 656 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of
course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct (明顯的) advantage through the error.
     After the first half was over, Riegels sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.
     Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply,
"Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second."
     All the players except Roy went to the field. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he
remained seated in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said, "Roy, didn't you hear me?"
     "Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've ruined you; I've ruined the school; I've ruined myself."
      But the coach Price put his hand on Riegels' shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and go on back; the game is
only half over."
      Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as
well as Roy Riegels played that second half.
     The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC method.
     A-Acknowledge (admit) your error and accept responsibility for it. Don't try to fix the blame on other
people or circumstances (客觀環(huán)境). When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.
     B-Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor
will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the mistake, so try to
lighten up a bit now.
     C-Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to amends (彌補過錯), if necessary.
     Now, go make your mistakes. And if you practice the ABC method, you'll live to laugh about many of
them.

1. The old captain kept a sheet of paper to _____.

A. give his men a lesson
B. arouse his crew's curiosity
C. prove he was a good captain
D. tell "port" and"starboard" apart

2. From the passage we learn Coach Price _____.

A. insisted on replacing Roy
B. decided to punish Roy after the match
C. criticized Roy for his serious mistake
D. encouraged Roy to finish the match

3. How was Riegels' performance in the second half?

A. Very disappointing
B. Rather excellent
C. Fairly ordinary
D. Quite bad

4. The ABC method _____.

A. advised you to try to forget mistakes
B. helps you deal with mistakes
C. helps find out the causes of mistakes
D. advised you to be strict with yourself