I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that
my older sister Maria had.
     My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed
behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top
gymnast (體操運動員). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze
me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.
     I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a
gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners' class.
     If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear
that I didn't have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.
     During this time, drawing and painting-which had been my two favorites-all but left my mind. It must
have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just
would not give up.
     At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing
for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms.
White. "Alice, you won the contest!" she said loudly.
     "Really?" was all I could reply.
     "Yes," Ms. White said. "They're going to give you a prize. And that's not all. The winner is also accepted
into Wildale's Summer Fine Arts Institute." I couldn't believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists
were accepted each summer.
     That night I didn't go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria's gift, not
mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.

1. Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

A. she had been good at sports
B. her sister's show was perfect
C. she hated drawing and painting
D. her parents wanted her to do so

2. How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last? 

A. Satisfied.
B. Worried.
C. Hopeful.
D. Regretful.

3. From the story, we can infer that ________.

A. Alice's parents disagreed with her choice of gymnastics
B. Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at first
C. Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the town
D. Alice couldn't believe the news that she got the prize for painting

4. What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?

A. We should value our own gifts.
B. It takes time to find one's gifts.
C. We could develop different gifts.
D. It's never too late to show our gifts.

     Many people think sports are just for winning and honor, but there is a lot more you can gain from (get
out of) them. I have learned over the past years that sometimes when I lose, I get a lot more out of it than
winning. Also, I find a lot of times in sports, people are getting too caught up in the game instead of just having
fun. The real purpose of sports is to have fun and learn life lessons along the way.
     I greatly encourage you to be a part of the school sports. Even if you are not the best, you can still have
fun. Sports give people a great and healthy way of spending an afternoon, instead of lying around playing video
games or even getting into bad things. Sports also give us a sense of achievement. There isn't a better feeling
than to have done something fun and productive for my day.
     I think that we all need sports to give us courage. If we try hard in sports, we usually do well. If we did
the same in study, we would all be champions. Another reason why I encourage you to play sports is that it's
just fun. Without sports, our lives would just be boring. So as you may be able to tell, sports are amazing!
     Our coaches not only teach us to play sports, but show class and good sportsmanship while playing them.
It's never fun when you lose to have the competitor rub it in your face. That's why our coaches teach us to
show class when we lose; also, when coaches get onto you, don't get down. They only want to see you
improve and learn from what they say. When you do badly and they don't shout loudly is when you should
start worrying because they are giving up on you.
    Overall, sports are great! They bring out the best and worst of a lot of us. However, we can't let sports get
too serious to where it brings down all the fun. So to have the most fun in sports, you just need try your best
and not worry so much about the winning or losing.

1. The underlined phrase "get onto you" in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.

A. point out your mistakes
B. take up your time
C. worry about your future
D. look into your privacy

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

A. Sports bring us great fun only if we have the talent.
B. Sports give us the best way of spending free time.
C. We can get more out of winning than losing.
D. We should take pleasure in doing sports.

3. What is the best title of this passage?

A. Are we too caught up?
B. To win or to gain?
C. Are sports really great?
D. For honor or for health?

     
     On a very hot day, it is hard to know what to do to feel good. If you run around, you may feel sick in
your stomach. However, if you just sit quietly and do nothing, you may feel bored. Are there things you
can do to feel good and have fun when you're hot?
     Perhaps playing in water is a good choice to make you cool down. Taking a cool bath or shower, or
even washing toys in a pan of cool water can also make you feel good on a hot day. Besides, you can read
stories or paint in front of a fan. You don't need to move your body very much. These are just some of the
cool things to do on a hot day.
     In addition, it's important for you to drink water. On hot days, you can lose about 16 glasses of water
in one day. If you feel thirsty, you are already short of water. So don't wait for thirst before you start to
drink. You should try to drink as much water as you lose every day. Mixing a little fruit juice into your
water is a fun way to help you drink plenty of water.
     The food you eat also makes a difference in how you feel in the heat. Cold foods such as ice cream and
drinks with some ice can cool down your bodies. Fruits and vegetables are also helpful to stay cool in hot
weather. So plan a healthy menu for a hot day---one that doesn't need any cooking.

1. Is it easy to know what to do to feel good on a hot day?
    _________________________________________________ 
2. Is playing in water a good choice or a bad one? 
    _________________________________________________ 
3. How much water do we lose one day in hot weather? 
    _________________________________________________ 
4. What is a healthy menu for a hot day?
    _________________________________________________ 
5. What is the writer's purpose of writing this passage? 
    _________________________________________________ 

     There are thousands of things to be sold that are of all colors and shapes in a supermarket, making you
believe that they are good enough for you to have a try. How? Packaging (包裝) is the quiet but persuading
(有說服力的) salesman.
     There on the shelves, each bottle, can and box has been carefully designed to speak to the inner self of
the consumer (消費者), so that he is buying not only a product (產(chǎn)品) but also his belief in life. Scientists
have studied on this and found that the look of the package has a great influence (影響) on the "quality" of
the product and on how well it sells, became "Consumers generally cannot tell between a product and its
package. Many products are packages and many packages are products," as Louis Cheskin, the first social
scientist studying consumers' feeling for packaging, noticed.
     Colors are one of the best tools in packaging. Studies of eye movement have shown that colors draw
human attention quickly. Take V8 for example. For many years,the bright red color of tomatoes and carrots
on the thin bottle makes you feel that it's very good for your body. And the word "green" today can keep
food prices going up.
     Shapes are another attraction．Circles often mean happiness, because they are pleasing to both the eye
and the heart. That's why the round yellow M sings of McDonald's are inviting to both young and old.
     This new consumer response (反應(yīng)) to the colors and shapes of packages reminds (提醒) producers and
sellers that people buy to meet the needs of both body and heart.

1. According to the passage, ______ seems to be able to persuade a consumer to buy the product.

A. the pleasing color of the package
B. the special taste of the product
C. the strange shape of the package
D. the belief in the product

2. It can be inferred (推測) from the passage that V8 is a kind of ______.

A. vegetable dish
B. healthy juice
C. hard drink
D. red vegetable

3. And the word 'green' today can keep food prices going up
    This sentence suggests that consumers today are ______.

A. starting to notice the importance of new food
B. enjoying the beauty of nature more than before
C. beginning to like green vegetables
D. paying more attention to their health

4. What's the best title of the passage?

A. Colors and Shapes
B. Packaging Can Talk
C. The response to the packages
D. Colors and Shapes Can Draw People Attention

     Liz Murray was only three years old when she realized her parents were hooked (吸毒成癮的) on drugs.
In 1996, just before Christmas, Liz's mother died and her father moved to a homeless shelter (收容所). Her
mother's death inspired Liz to change her life. She decided go to high school, even though she was still
homeless.
     At the age of 15, Liz was beginning high school at a time most teenagers were graduating, but she
promised herself to become a "straight-A student". As she neared the end of her high school education,
and with her straight-A grades, Murray graduated in only two years. She was awarded (被授予) a New
York Times scholarship (獎學(xué)金) - $12,000 every year for four years for needy students and was accepted
into Harvard (哈佛) University in the fall in 2000.
     With the scholarship money coming her way, Liz started her studies. While she was there, she began
public speaking-helping people who, like herself, had an almost impossible mountain to climb to succeed in
life.
     She left Harvard in 2001 to care for her sick father and to start motivational (勵志的) speaking, she
resumed (重新開始) her education at Columbia University to be closer to him. In late 2006, her father died
of AIDS. And then she returned to Harvard in 2006 and graduated in June 2009.
      Liz says she took some comfort in knowing that her father had died a sober (清醒的) man. "When
someone gets sober, it's almost like meeting them for the first time. Just before he passed away, he wrote
me this card. He wrote in the card, 'Liz, I left my dreams behind a long time ago. But I know now they're
safe with you. Now we're a family again."

1. Did Liz's parents take drugs? 
    _______________________________________________________
2. What made Liz change her life? 
    _______________________________________________________
3. How old was Liz Murray when she graduated from high school? 
    _______________________________________________________
4. Why did Liz Murray leave Harvard in 2001? 
    _______________________________________________________
5. What's the best title about the passage? 
   _______________________________________________________

     Mario lives in Chicago, and he comes from Italy. He's married with two children, Sal and Made. His wife,
Connie, is also Italian, but she was born in the United States. Mario and Connie are big soccer (football) fans.
But when Mario came to the United States eight years ago, he didn't know that soccer was a popular sport
here. The only American sports that he heard a lot about were basketball, baseball and football. He was amazed
to learn that there were many soccer teams in the USA.
     One Sunday afternoon, he was taking a walk and discovered two teams playing soccer in a park. He
watched the game. Both teams had excellent players, and the game was exciting. When it was over, he talked
to some of the players. They were from Italy, Spain, and Latin America. One of the teams needed another
player, and they asked Mario to join them. He was happy to do so. Seven years later he's still playing in the
team, and he's one of their best players.
      His son Sal is also learning how to play soccer, and he goes to all of his dad's games. Mario practises
with him and shows him how to kick (踢) and pass the ball. He's only six years old, but he's fast and can
kick and pass well. His ability to play soccer is amazing (surprising). "Like father, like son," their friends said.
And Sal said, "I can't wait until I'm old enough to play in the team at my school."
     Last week Mario, Connie and their two kids drove all the way from Chicago to New Jersey to visit
Connie's cousins. She hadn't seen her cousins for five years, but the biggest reason for the trip was that her
youngest cousin was getting married. She didn't want to miss the big wedding (婚禮) and the family reunion.
Her cousins are also crazy about soccer. One night her cousin Lou was playing. It was the game of the season,
and the whole family went to the game. Mario and Connie cheered when Lou's team played well. The score
was 2 to 2 at half time. It was exciting. No one scored in the third quarter, and then with only 60 seconds left,
Lou scored, and his team won 3 to 2. After the game they went to have pizza and celebrate.

1. When did Mario start to play football for an American team?

A. When he was a little boy.
B. Eight years ago.
C. Seven years ago.
D. After his two kids were born.

2. What do their friends mean by saying"Like father, like son"?

A. They like both Mario and his son Sal.
B. Sal looks very like his father Mario.
C. Mario likes his son and his son likes him.
D. Both Mario and Sal are good at playing football.

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Lou scored three goals for his team in the game.
B. Lou's team didn't win at the end of the first half.
C. Lou kicked a ball close to the end of the whole game.
D. Lou's team did well in the game.

     In Canada and United States, people enjoy entertaining (請客) at home. They often invite friends over for
a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.
     Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their home:
     "Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?"
     "Hey, we're having a party on Friday. Can you come?"
     To reply to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give an excuse: "Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" or "Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie,"
     Sometimes, however, people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations.
For example:
     "Please come over for a drink sometime."
     "Let's get together for lunch soon."
     "Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"
     They are really just polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't
mention a specific (具體的) time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To reply to
expressions like these, people just say: "Sure, that would be great!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."
     So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the
person just being friendly?

1. Why do people often invite friends to their homes in Canada and the United States?

A. Because they have modern and beautiful houses.
B. Because they don't like going out for entertainment.
C. Because they enjoy entertainment at home.
D. Because they can spend less money.

2. Which of the following is NOT a real invitation?

A. "Would you like to have a cup of tea with us this evening?"
B. "Please go to the concert with me some day."
C. "I've two tickets here. Can you go to the concert with me?"
D. "If you're free, let's go to Wang's for a drink."

3. People use "an unreal invitation" in order to show that ______.

A. they're trying to be friendly
B. they're trying to be honest
C. they're trying to make friends with others
D. they have already prepared for a party