Connie Lau hates smoking. “It smells awful, and it’s so bad for you. It breaks my heart to see my friends smoking. I try to get them to give up smoking.” She says.
So why does Connie walk into convenience stores and try to buy cigarettes? She is testing to see if stores will sell cigarettes to a kid who is younger than 18. “You have to be 18 to purchase cigarettes, and I’m 16, so if they sell to me, they’re breaking the law,” Connie says.
Connie isn’t a vigilante (治安隊(duì)員); She works with local police in her town of Castro Valley, California. Officers drive her to stores, and she goes in alone to try to buy cigarettes. If the person behind the counter sells her a pack, an officer comes in and writes the business a ticket for breaking the law.
Most stores obey the law and don’t sell her cigarettes. The law requires that customers show ID if store employees ask them to. “When they ask your age, you can’t lie,” Connie says. “Most stores don’t sell to me. In a year, we’ve visited almost 150 stores and had only 15 sales.”
Working undercover can be scary, even with police nearby. Connie said one cashier refused to sell her cigarettes and then got angry when he found out her age. He threatened to call the authorities. “To calm him down, the police went in to explain that I was undercover,” she says.
Most teens wouldn’t think of going undercover for the police. What’s Connie’s motivation (動(dòng)機(jī))? For starters, she can’t stand smoking. But she also believes it’s important for young people like her to try to make a real impact in their communities. In her view, teens can do more than get good grades in school, do chores at home, and do well in out-of-class activities.
Every time she stops the sale of cigarettes to children, she’s helping to uphold the law. “A single teenager can make a big difference,” Connie says. “For the most part, when stores get caught, they learn their lesson and don’t do it again.”
【小題1】According to the law what age of person can the store be allowed to sell cigarettes to?

A certain student passed all his examinations. Then he went to college to  1  his studies. There he wrote down his  2  for a course in English, but after the first 3 , he didn’t go to it any more.
The English lecturer  4  this student was always absent (缺席的) and thought he had  5  to another course, so he was  6  when he saw the boy’s name on the list of students who wanted to take the English  7 at the end of this year.
The lecturer had  8  a difficult paper, which followed his  9 closely, and he was eager (急切的) to see  10  this student would answer the questions. He  11  the boy’s answers would be very bad, but when they  12  him and he examined them  13 , he was able to find only one small mistake in them. As this surprised him greatly, he  14  the paper repeatedly but still couldn’t find more than one, so he  15  for the student to question him about it.
When he came and sat down, the lecturer asked him, “I  16  you came to my first lecture and you’ve been absent from all the others. But I’ve examined your  17  carefully and I’ve found only one small mistake in it. I’m curious (好奇的) to know your  18 .”
“I’m very  19  about that mistake,” answered the student. “After the examination, I  20  what I should have done. I would not have made that mistake if I had not been confused by your first lecture.” 

Connie Lau hates smoking. “It smells awful, and it’s so bad for you. It breaks my heart to see my friends smoking. I try to get them to give up smoking.” She says.

So why does Connie walk into convenience stores and try to buy cigarettes? She is testing to see if stores will sell cigarettes to a kid who is younger than 18. “You have to be 18 to purchase cigarettes, and I’m 16, so if they sell to me, they’re breaking the law,” Connie says.

Connie isn’t a vigilante (治安隊(duì)員); She works with local police in her town of Castro Valley, California. Officers drive her to stores, and she goes in alone to try to buy cigarettes. If the person behind the counter sells her a pack, an officer comes in and writes the business a ticket for breaking the law.

Most stores obey the law and don’t sell her cigarettes. The law requires that customers show ID if store employees ask them to. “When they ask your age, you can’t lie,” Connie says. “Most stores don’t sell to me. In a year, we’ve visited almost 150 stores and had only 15 sales.”

Working undercover can be scary, even with police nearby. Connie said one cashier refused to sell her cigarettes and then got angry when he found out her age. He threatened to call the authorities. “To calm him down, the police went in to explain that I was undercover,” she says.

Most teens wouldn’t think of going undercover for the police. What’s Connie’s motivation (動(dòng)機(jī))? For starters, she can’t stand smoking. But she also believes it’s important for young people like her to try to make a real impact in their communities. In her view, teens can do more than get good grades in school, do chores at home, and do well in out-of-class activities.

Every time she stops the sale of cigarettes to children, she’s helping to uphold the law. “A single teenager can make a big difference,” Connie says. “For the most part, when stores get caught, they learn their lesson and don’t do it again.”

1.According to the law what age of person can the store be allowed to sell cigarettes to?

A．Under 18.         B．More than 18.      C．16.              D．More than 16.

2.Connie goes to convenience stores to ________.

A．discover whether stores can sell cigarettes to kids

B．see which stores can sell cigarettes to her friends

C．look for her friends

D．a(chǎn)rrest the smokers

3.What would happen if an owner sells cigarettes to kids?

A．The owner would be arrested.             B．The owner would be fined.

C．The kids would be punished.               D．The kids would be removed from school.

4.One reason that Connie works undercover is that ________.

A．she wants more smokers to quit smoking

B．she wants to get good grades in school

C．she hopes to make a difference in the area

D．she hopes to be excellent in out-of-class activities

5.Which of the following might be the main idea of the text?

A．Smoking can be forbidden with the help of a girl.

B．A good way to stop a store from selling cigarettes to kids.

C．Connie Lau — a brave girl who goes undercover for the policeman.

D．Connie Lau goes undercover to stop stores from selling cigarettes to kids.

Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, exhausted. Pushing the key into the lock, she quietly opened the door so as not to wake her younger brothers. She stepped into the front room and froze. The apartment was a mess: plates of half-eaten food were scattered in front of the TV; toys littered the floor; clothes, shoes and homework were strewn everywhere. Amy’s eyes welled with tears. This is just way too much for me, she thought. Her worst fears began to race through her mind. Would the court（法院）tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the bitterness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through
Amy had been born dead. Doctors fought and saved this smaller twin of a drug-taking mother, and she’d had to fight for everything in life ever since. From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.
One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We know your mother has been staying with you,” the social worker said. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster （收養(yǎng))）care.” “No! Don’t split us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lioness protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.
One month later, Amy was named guardian（監(jiān)護(hù)人）of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker came over. “We’d like to get the boys out of foster care and adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.
That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.” 
On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist.
【小題1】Which of the following best describes Amy?

完形填空

　　There was a rich foreign merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and 1 her with best clothes and 2 her to delicious food.

　　He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to 3 her to his friends.

　　He, too, loved his 2nd wife. 4 the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she 5 always help him out.

　　Now, the merchant's 1st wife had made great contributions to his business. However, the merchant did not love her and 6 she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

　　One day, the merchant fell ill. He knew that he was going to die 7 . He told himself,“Now I have 4 wives with me. 8 when I die, I'll be alone. How 9 I'll be!”

　　Thus, he asked the 4th wife,“I 10 you most. Now that I'm dying, will you 11 me and keep me company?” “No way!” replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

　　The 12 merchant then asked the 3rd wife,“I have loved you so much for all my life. Will you follow me and keep me company?” “ 13 !”replied the 3rd wife.“Life is so good over here! I'm going to 14 when you die!”

　　He then asked the 2nd wife,“I 15 turned to you for help. Now I need you help again. Will you follow me and keep me company?” “I'm sorry, I can't 16 you out this time!”replied the 2nd wife.

　　Then a voice 17 out,“I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter 18 you go.”Brokenhearted, the merchant said,“I 19 have taken much better care of you while I could have !”

　　　　20 ,we all have 4 wives in our lives: our body, our possessions, our friends, and our soul. We should take good care of our soul all our life.