My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.

  It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay, it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.

  I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person could have.

  When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dream of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.

  The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb (番石榴樹(shù)枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field--- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick.

1.The writer’s first job was ___________.

A. to stand down the fairway at the golf course

B. to watch over the sugar-cane plantation

C. to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields

D. to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them

2.The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ___________.

A. difficult        B. boring        C. interesting        D. unusual

3.The writer learned that ________ from his first job.

A. he should work for those who he liked most

B. he should work longer than what he was expected

C. he should never fail to say hello to his owner

D. he should show respect and faith to the people he worked for

4.________ gave the writer self-esteem.

A. Having a family of eight people

B. Owning his own golf course

C. Bringing money back home to help the family

D. Helping his father with the work on the plantation

5.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. He wanted to be a successful golfer.

B. He wanted to run a golf course near his house.

C. He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation.

D. He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick.

Many of us learn valuable lessons from our patients. I was  36  to learn one early in my career as a nurse. I have  37  her name, but she has influenced the way I treat many other patients.

I was working the 3-11 pm shift at a small hospital at that time. The patient was a 42-year-old woman who had  38  a heart attack. She was expected to stay in  39  for about two weeks before being sent home. She was  40  that she could not see her three young children. We did not  41  children into a hospital in those days.

Every evening, we would  42  our children. I had one daughter and I loved her so much that I could not  43  not seeing her every day. The patient was getting  44  and we both knew it wouldn’t be long before she would be home  45  her little ones again.

About a week later, she  46  me to sit with her for a while. I held her hand and she told me she was  47  and thought she might not see her kids again. I tried to let her know that her  48  so far had been great. It was 10:30 pm, almost time for the  49  of my work. I told her I had to hand in my 50  and that I would come back to her room.

Then I  51  with my friends. It wasn’t until I had got home that I realized I had forgotten to keep my promise. “That’s OK,” I thought, “I will spend  52  time with her tomorrow.”

The next day I was told that she had  53  at midnight. She wanted company and I let her down. She left the world quietly. If I had stayed in her room, would she be home surrounded by her  54  right now? I would never know. What I do know is this: I have  55  every patient’s request since that night.

1.                A．fortunate       B．a(chǎn)fraid          C．smart    D．brave

2.                A．replaced        B．spread          C．a(chǎn)sked    D．forgotten

3.                A．treated         B．suffered        C．checked D．damaged

4.                A．town           B．school          C．room     D．hospital

5.                A．delighted       B．calm           C．upset    D．hopeful

6.                A．need          B．a(chǎn)llow           C．pull D．force

7.                A．talk about       B．look after       C．play with D．deal with

8.                A．imagine         B．a(chǎn)void           C．enjoy    D．practice

9.                A．fatter          B．better          C．warmer   D．older

10.               A．between       B．a(chǎn)gainst         C．with D．on

11.               A．a(chǎn)sked          B．paid           C．permitted D．ordered

12.               A．relaxed        B．scared         C．confident D．honest

13.               A．a(chǎn)ttitude        B．method        C．progress   D．idea

14.               A．development    B．period         C．change    D．end

15.               A．homework      B．report          C．design    D．drawing

16.               A．a(chǎn)rgued         B．a(chǎn)rrived         C．boarded   D．left

17.               A．extra          B．useful          C．valuable   D．little

18.               A．died           B．disappeared     C．escaped   D．a(chǎn)greed

19.               A．kids           B．patients        C．nurses    D．doctors

20.               A．learned from    B．looked for       C．cared about    D．made up

第二部分：閱讀理解（共20小題; 每小題2分,滿分40分）
Around six weeks ago, Kaileen came running into the house, just getting off the bus from school. She was all excited about a story about homeless pets because of Hurricane (颶風(fēng)) Katrina and all that was going on to help them. She said that this information came from her animal newspaper (your KIND News). Kaileen has a great love and compassion (同情心) for animals, so her excitement did not surprise me. Her next ideas, however, did. She said that we should go around right then to our neighbors and collect all their change to send to the animal shelters (保護(hù)所).
I thought this was a school project, but in fact, it was not. This was what Kaileen wanted to do on her own! Well, it warmed me all over. To see your child so willing to help others just lets you feel that maybe you had done something right in raising (養(yǎng)育) her.
Anyway, I told her to make a card and send it out to our neighbors first. With the help of her older brother, Kaileen soon made a lovely card that asked our neighbors to help these pets by giving their spare change. She gave them a few days and a date she would come by to pick up any donations (捐贈(zèng)). 
Well, I had to go out and buy a donation box. Kaileen collected $279.50!!! I just thought you would like to know how KIND News had touched a little one’s heart and given her the idea to show her compassion for animals. Thank you — we really enjoy your paper.
36. The passage is probably taken from ______. 
A. a report about a warm-hearted girl
B. an advertisement for an animal shelter 
C. a thank-you letter to a newspaper
D. a donation program for homeless pets 
37. What was the author’s feeling about Kaileen’s idea? 
A. Pleased and excited. 
B. Surprised and moved.
C. Tired and sad.                         
D. Worried and angry.
38. From the passage we learn that KIND News ______.
A. collects donations for homeless people 
B. sets up many shelters for homeless animals 
C. tells children how to keep pets healthy 
D. encourages children to help homeless pets 
39. We can infer that the passage is written by Kaileen’s ______.
A. parent          B. teacher         C. brother      D. neighbor

I wanted to be just like those big kids I saw wearing their medals and carrying their ribbons(綬帶). So I__ __the cross?country team at my school.

? However, I was very slow in the team. In races, I would finish almost____. I'd always have to____in the longer races.The__? __races and at least 100 people competing in it made me really____. Every time I stopped, 10 people would__? __me. But I still couldn't push myself to keep going, even though I____watching them go by me. After every race, I'd go home and burst into tears.

? Then one of my friends joined the cross?country team, too. She never got tired and didn't get cramp(抽筋) in her legs. I just didn't understand how that was____! I'd been running much longer than she had, but she could run__? __while I had to suffer. She even came 8th in a big race with over 200 people in it! My____was lower than ever and I wanted to quit badly.

? I didn't, ____. Even a whole month before a race, I'd get so nervous that I felt like I might give up. Still, I____to quit. I still had that____appearing in my mind and I hung on to it.

? Finally, I realized the reason why the bigger races made me so nervous was that I was always worried that I wasn't____for them. I started to practice at home almost every day. I____a plan that had me running almost three kilometers every day, which helped me build up a steady____.

? When the time came for the big race, all the practice really____. I stopped only once and my pace was much better.

? I was____of myself for sticking with it even though it was really hard and I'd even wanted to quit. I showed myself that I was____enough to keep going. That was what made me feel good about myself and gave me confidence.

? The next time I'm faced with a tough____, I will know that I can take it up. None of this would ever have happened if I had quitted!

1.A.liked??? ????????????? ????????????? B. admired? ????????????? ?? ??? C. supported ????????????? ?? D. joined

2.A.best??? ????????????? ????????????? B. first? ????????????? ????????????? ?? C. last? ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. least

3.A.stop???? ????????????? ??? B. rest ????????????? ????????????? ?? ??? C. breathe ????????????? ?? D. suffer

4.A.exciting? ????????????? ??? B. tiring ????????????? ????????????? ?? C. interesting ????????????? ?? D. disturbing

5.A.nervous ????????????? ????????????? B. frightened ????????????? ?? C. sad? ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. angry

6.A.help ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. encourage ????????????? ?? C. leave ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. pass

7.A.missed? ????????????? ????????????? B. hated? ????????????? ?? ??? C. avoided ????????????? ?? D. escaped

8.A.equal ????????????? ????????????? B. reasonable ????????????? ?? C. fair ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. tolerable

9.A.quickly? ????????????? ????????????? B. easily????????????? ????????????? ?? ??? C. happily? ????????????? ?? D. hopefully

10.A.strength ????????????? ????????????? B. demand ????????????? ?? ??? C. goal? ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. confidence

11.A.yet ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B. either?? ????????????? ?? ??? C. though? ????????????? ?? D. still

12.A.refused? ????????????? B. decided? ????????????? ?? ??? C. failed? ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. wanted

13.A.lesson ????????????? ????????????? B. faith?? ????????????? ?? ??? C. future ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. picture

14.A.suitable ????????????? ????????????? B. active????????????? ????????????? ?? C. ready? ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. well

15.A.took out ????????????? B. mapped out?? ?? C. figured out? ????????????? ?? D. let out

16.A.pace ????????????? ????????????? B. race?? ????????????? ?? ??? C. will? ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. level

17.A.set off ????????????? ????????????? B. paid off ????????????? ?? ??? C. got off? ????????????? ?? D. took off

18.A.sure ????????????? ????????????? B. aware? ????????????? ?? ??? C. proud? ????????????? ?? D. afraid

19.A.strong? ????????????? ????????????? B. patient? ????????????? ?? ??? C. steady ????????????? ????????????? ?? D. devoted

20.A.job? ????????????? ????????????? B. sport ????????????? ????????????? ?? C. competition??? D. challenge

SYDNEY 2005-01-01 08:33—Mother of two, Jillian Searle, had to choose between her children when she made a life-or-death decision.

Swept up by mountainous tsunami (海嘯) waves at a Thai resort ( 旅游勝地), she could not hold on to both her young sons and survive . Fighting to stay above the waters , she had to choose which one would have to take his chances in the swirling torrent (漩流).

“I knew I had to let go of one of them and I just thought I’d better let go of the one that’s the older,” she told Sky News television in a report broadcast on Thursday. She said she was accompanied by the two boys, Lachie, 5, and two-year-old Blake, and their father, Brad, who had watched the drama helplessly from their first-floor hotel room, when the waves struck. “And I was screaming, trying to find him, and we thought he was dead,” she told reporters on arrival back in Australia. Lachie was found alive about 2 hours later clinging to a door and, looked uninjured as his mother spoke to reporters.

British surfer (沖浪運(yùn)動(dòng)員) Martin Markwell is also a lucky man. He had always dreamed of catching that perfect wave –but when it finally came along, it was a nightmare. He was on his surfboard when he was swept up by a tsunami wave.

“It was really terrible because I was surfing, I was really surfing on a wave I wasn’t supposed to be on,” he said. “As an experienced surfer, when I saw the wave come I realized something was wrong, but I couldn’t escape because my surfboard was tied to my ankle.”

His wife Vicki and son Jake looked on in horror from a hotel balcony as he crashed towards the shore. Luckily , he stayed on top of his board until he reached the hotel , jumped off and got to safety as the ocean rolled back to feed a much larger tsunami wave on its way . The family regrouped and ran to safety just minutes before a giant tsunami wave 10 meters high.

1.When the waves struck, the father Brad        .

A. reported the disaster to Sky News television

B. was watching a drama play on TV in the hotel

C. tried to find his son lost in the waters

D. watched things going on , unable to do anything

2.The underlined word “him” refers to        .

A. an old man    B. Lachie   C. Brad     D. Blake

3.Which of the following is wrong ?

A. Lachie and Martin were both with their family members when the disaster happened.

B. Lachie and Martin both survived from the high waves when tsunami struck.

C. Lachie and Martin were both travelers from Europe on holiday in Thailand.

D. Lachie and Martin were both alive owing to their good luck.

4.The best title of this news story would be         .

A. Narrow Escape     B. Disaster Caused by Tsunami

C. Exciting Surfing Experience   D. Struggle Against Tsunami