A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a bosh by his feet. He held up a sign which read, "I am
blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the box. The boy felt sad.
      A man walked by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the box. Then he took
the sign, turned it around and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by
would see the new words.
      Soon the box was full. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.
      That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized
his footsteps (聽(tīng)出他的腳步聲) and asked, "were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What
did you write?"
      That man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." What he had written
was, "today is a beautiful day and I can not see it."
       Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told
people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
       Great men say, "In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a
good conscience (良心)."
       It's a beautiful thing to see a people smiling! And it's even more beautiful to know that you are the
reason of a person's smiling!

1. When did the man pass by and change the blind boy's sign?

A. In the morning
B. At noon
C. In the afternoon
D. At night

2. Why did the second sign have a better effect?

A. It told the truth in a straight way.
B. It told the passing people a lie.
C. It told people to buy some tickets for the boy.
D. It told people to feel lucky for not being blind.

3. What do the first three paragraphs tell us?

A. No pains, no gains.
B. Different ways, different results.
C. The early bird catches the worm.
D. When the cat's away, the mice will play.

4. According to the last paragraph, the most beautiful thing is _____.

A. to know the reason of a person's smiling
B. to see a person smiling
C. to be the reason of a person's smiling
D. to be a person smiling

     I was small for my age. I was shy and sometimes it was hard for me to make friends with others.
However, learning came fairly easy for me. I was the best in most of my classes, but PE class was my
nightmare (惡夢(mèng)) and made me feel that I was not as good as the others. Miss Forsythe was our PE
teacher. She was young and energetic. Everyone liked her. She said that we all had to come to her classes.
No one could hide from Miss Forsythe!
     One day she told me that she wanted me to play a game with another girl in a PE show. I was rather
worried that I wouldn't do a good job as she explained her idea, but she was excited. With her encouragement,
I had no choice but to agree.
     It was a "boy meets girl" game. I played the boy and my classmate, Margaret Ann, played the girl. We
were dressed in evening clothes and danced around the floor. According to Miss Forsythe, I had to pick up
Margaret Ann as we finished the dance. Since I was not strong enough to pick the tallest girl up, it was she
who picked me up. I suddenly felt ten feet tall! It was a huge success and everybody applauded (鼓掌) for
our excellent performance. What a wonderful ending! Afterwards, I smiled confidently (自信地).
     Miss Forsythe's understanding and willingness to create a place for me in her show (which certainly did
not need me) gave me some much needed confidence. She was and always will be my favorite teacher.

1. What do we know about Miss Forsythe?

A. She was good at dancing.
B. She was a strict and understanding teacher.
C. She liked to play games with the students after class.
D. She was a teacher who taught students how to dance.

2. How did the author feel about the game at first?

A. She was excited.
B. She thought it would be fun.
C. She was disappointed.
D. She was nervous.

3. According to the passage, the most exciting part of the game was when the author _____.

A. was dressed in the evening clothes
B. acted as a boy
C. danced around the floor
D. was held up by her classmate

4. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. Miss Forsythe had planned the game that way on purpose (故意地)
B. Miss Forsythe helped the author pick up the tallest girl
C. the author was afraid when she felt ten feet tall
D. the author lost confidence by dancing with her Classmate

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A. Our PE Teacher -Miss Forsythe
B. My School Life
C. My Nightmare-PE Classes
D. A Game with My Classmate

     Mrs Turner's telephone number was 3463, and the number of the cinema in town was 3464. People
often made mistakes and telephoned her when they actually wanted the cinema.
     One evening the telephone rang and Mrs Turner answered it. A tired man's voice came over the phone,
"At what time does your last film begin?" "I'm sorry," said Mrs Turner,"but you have the wrong number.
This is not the cinema." "Oh, it began twenty minutes ago?" said the man. "I'm sorry about that. Well,
good-bye." Mrs Turner was very surprised, so she told her husband. He laughed and said, "No, that wasn't
a mistake. The man's wife wanted to go to the cinema, but he was feeling tired, so he telephoned the cinema.
His wife heard him, but she didn't hear you. Now they will stay at home this evening, and the husband will
be happy."

1. When the tired man telephoned Mrs Turner by mistake, she was _____.

A. angry
B. not at all surprised
C. pleased
D. surprised

2. Mrs Turner was surprised because the tired man _____.

A. wanted the cinema but called a wrong number.
B. said something that had nothing to do with her answer.
C. asked her silly questions that she didn't know how to answer.
D. was angry with himself for having made the mistake.

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The Turners lived near the cinema.
B. Both of the Turners didn't want to go to the cinema.
C. The man didn't want to go to the cinema with his wife that night.
D. The man's wife was angry for what her husband had done.

4. The husband would be happy because he _____.

A. made fun of his wife
B. could enjoy himself alone that night
C. could relax (使休息) himself at home
D. could have a good time at home with his wife

     Iris is very forgetful and so she worries a lot. She worries a lot and so she becomes even more forgetful.
She also talks to herself a lot.
     One day, she has her hat and coat on and is just about to open the front door. She stops for a moment.
     "Is the electric cooker off?"
     Iris never forgets to turn the cooker off but she goes back to the kitchen to make sure. Yes, the cooker
is off.
     "But is the TV off in the sitting room?"
      She goes to the sitting room and feels a knob (旋鈕) on the TV set.
      "Yes, I don't usually forget that. Oh dear! It's getting a bit late. I don't want to miss that train."
      So she goes back to the front door and opens it. She is going through the doorway when she stops
suddenly.
      "My key! It's somewhere in my handbag, I think. No, it's not in my purse; not in the front pocket. Ah,
I know! Yes, it's in my coat pocket. Thank goodness! I must run all the way."
      Halfway down the garden path she looks at the sky, which is covered with grey clouds.
      "I know it's going to rain. And that bedroom window is wide open. I must close it. I suppose I can
catch the next train." 
      She opens the door again, putting the key back in her handbag. She throws her handbag on the hall
table, rushes upstairs and closes the window.
      Then she runs downstairs and straight out of the house, closing the door behind her noisily.
       But she doesn't catch either the first or the second train.
       And it doesn't rain all day.
       Poor Iris!

1. Iris worries too much because _____.

A. she usually forgets to turn off the cooker
B. she usually forgets to turn off the TV set
C. she is very forgetful
D. she usually forgets her key

2. Iris goes back to the kitchen to _____.

A. make sure that the cooker is off
B. turn off the cooker
C. feel the knob on the TV set
D. talk to someone

3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in Iris' worries?

A. Her electric cooker.
B. Her baby.
C. Her key.
D. Her train.

4. What do you think of Iris?

A. Brave.
B. Kind.
C. Honest.
D. Too careful.

     Britain's oldest man made his first visit to London yesterday at the age of 110. Mr. John Evans had never
found the time or the money-to make the trip from his house near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered
him an all-expenses-paid birthday trip to the capital, he just could not refuse.
     Until yesterday he had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen. Mr. Evans, who spent
60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of
the century. "There was a trip to the White City but it was ten shillings (1 shilling =1/20 pound) return from
Swansea-too much I thought. All my money went to the family then," he said.
     During the next two days Mr. Evans will be taken on a whistle-stop tour of London to see the sights. Top
of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament (國(guó)會(huì)).
     The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheelchair provided to move him about if he gets tired.
"I don't like the chair business-people will so think I am getting old," he said.
      His secret for a long and healthy life has been well publicized-no alcohol, no cigarette and no angry. Before
setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped, "I'm glad to see they've given me a
return ticket."

1. It's reported that Mr. Evans's healthy long life was to a certain extent due to his _____.

A. wine drinking
B. proper smoking
C. mild temper
D. sense of humor

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A. A single trip from Mr. Evans's house to the White City used to be ten shillings.
B. The first place for Mr. Evans to visit is the Houses of Parliament.
C. He appreciated people's arrangement of a wheelchair during his visit
D. Mr. Evans once made the journey to London at the end of the century.

3. The word "quip" in the last sentence most probably means _____.

A. to make a witty remark
B. to express a happy message
C. to make a wish
D. to tell a joke

4. What might be the best title for this passage?

A. 110-year-old Tourist
B. Secret for Long and Healthy Life
C. Free Return Ticket
D. Sightseeing in London

     Getting paid to talk about the World Cup is a great job. I' m not a football commentator (評(píng)論員), though-
just an English teacher in Japan.
     I came to Japan two years ago, and didn' t think I would stay, but Japan has that effect on you. People
often end up living here longer than they planned. I think it' s best to teach, in a bigger city where there are
other foreigners to mix with, rather than a small town where English teachers often complain of feeling like
a goldfish in a bowl. Many people choose to live in Tokyo, of course, which is good for tile nightlife factor.
But I' d say that for general quality of living, cities of neither too large nor too small, like Sapporo where I live,
are better choices.
     I teach English privately, which means I' m my own boss. If you want to devote yourself to private
teaching, it's well worth doing a TEFL course first, because your lessons will be much better for it. The
problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule (日程表) of
private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time.
     Most of my foreign friends here work full-time for big English conversation schools. The salary is fine
to live on, but whether you can save money depends on how much going out and traveling you do here.
     The schools are reluctant to take time off-even teachers with tickets for the England-Argentina game had
trouble getting the day off.

1. From the passage we know in Japan the writer likes to live in _____.

A. Tokyo
B. a small town
C. a city of middle size
D. a big city

2. According to the writer, one had better _____ first to do private teaching better.

A. take a TEFL course
B. decide his or her own lessons
C. find students
D. build up a full schedule

3. The underlined sentence in the second paragraph implies that _____.

A. there are many foreigners in Japan
B. Japan is good for nightlife
C. they can teach English privately in Japan
D. Japan has something more attractive than expected

4. The underlined word "reluctant" in the passage may probably mean _____.

A. kind
B. unwilling
C. free
D. careless

     It was the perfect weather for leaf watching, and my housemate Julie and I meant to spend the weekend
with our friends in the north Georgia mountains. "Don't you want to come along?" Julie asked her 15-year-old
son, Mark. "Enjoy the leaves by yourselves," he told her. "I'll be fine staying home by myself." Julie and I drove
there in my car after work on Friday. On Saturday morning we hiked along the mountainside and enjoyed the
beautiful colors. All of a sudden, I had a terrible feeling. "Go home," a voice seemed to urge me. I couldn't
explain it, but I didn't want to be here any more. I just wanted to go home. "Carol, calm down. You're being
silly," Julie said. But the urge just got stronger. "I've got to leave," I said. "If you want to stay, you can get a
ride back with everyone else tomorrow." Julie stood up. "No, I'll go with you," she said. We almost didn't talk
during the two-hour trip back. I felt very guilty. Finally, we pulled in. The lights were on in the house, but
something was strange. The windows seemed to be fogged up. Julie opened the door and smoke poured out.
"Mark!" she shouted. "Mark!" We rushed inside and found him asleep on the sofa. Shaking him awake, Julie
grabbed him. I grabbed the source of the smoke -a pillow too close to the fireplace. I then took it outside and
threw water on it. Mark had built a fire to keep warm, and some embers (灰燼) had flown out. The whole
house could have gone up if we hadn't gotten there just then!

1. What do we know from the text?

A. Leaf watching was Mark's hobby.
B. Mark stayed home with his friends.
C. Carol went to work on Friday.
D. Mark was Carol's cousin.

2. The underlined phrase "pulled in" in the last paragraph probably means "_____".

A. started the car
B. arrived home and stopped the car
C. moved away from the station
D. came home late

3. While driving home Carol _____.

A. was very terrified
B. drove at a great speed
C. knew she had made a mistake
D. hardly said anything

4. Why did Carol want to go home?

A. She didn't enjoy the leaves.
B. She received her son's telephone call.
C. She felt something urged her to go home.
D. She followed Julie's advice.