Last Friday, a Tibetan (藏族的) postman became the first woman postal worker to give a speech at
the World Postal Meeting in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. She was Nima Lamu, a postwoman of Yunling
Post office, Yunnan Province.
     She said, "I had to cross the Lancang River along a steel wire. My younger brother nearly died in the
river before. I felt so afraid when I was asked for the first time to cross the river. But when I reached the
other side, I found that I was flying."
     Her area is locked in (封閉) two snowy mountains and three big rivers. She said,":What worries me most
is the snakes on the way. Sometimes, I throw little stones toward them and I often tell my self 'Keep going'."
     Ten years ago, it took Nima five days to finish each week's mail. She had to face snowstorms, floods,
snakes and loneliness on her 350-kilometer journey. Nima said, "The situation has developed a lot these years.
Now we have a bridge that was built across the Lancang River in 2006."
     Nima never dreamed she would become famous one day when she first look up her job, 12 years ago.
Changes have been seen in recent years as more tourists visit Nima's hometown. But one thing remains
unchanged: she is still the carrier of the villagers' hopes and dreams.

1. Nima was invited to the meeting in Bern because she was _________.

A. the only Tibetan postman in China
B. the first postwoman in the world
C. doing a hard job as a postwoman
D. making her village famous overnight

2. What happened to her brother according to Nima Lamu?

A. he once fell into the river.
B. He was killed by a snake.
C. He died when swimming in the river.
D. He got hurt when building the bridge.

3. Which picture is TRUE about Nima's crossing the river ten years ago?

4. What will Nima do if she finds a snake on the way?

A. Kill it with stones.
B. Keep it off and go on.
C. Throw it away and leave.
D. turn around and run.

5. What is RTUE about Nima?

A. She is building a bridge across the Lancang River.
B. She has realized all the villagers' dreams.
C. She got her job as a post woman before 2000.
D. She doesn't need to do her work now.

     Many years ago, a rich man found that someone was taking valuable things from his house. He locked
all the doors and all the windows. Still the things went. It must be one of the servants! How could he catch
the servant? He thought of a good plan.
     Late one evening. When it was dark, he called all the servants together,"There is a thief in the house, but
I know how to catch him." He said. "In the next room there is a square box. In that box there is a chicken
which is magic. Each of you must go into the room alone. It is quite dark in the room. You must feel your way
to the table and press the first finger of your right hand on the top of the box. If you are not the thief, nothing
will happen. If you are the thief, the chicken will make such a loud sound that everyone in the house will hear
it."Some of the servants said that they did not want to do this. They were frightened of the magic chicken. But
the man said that they must do what he said. If they had done nothing wrong. They had nothing to fear.
     So the servants went into the dark room one at a time, while the rest listened carefully. Soon everyone had
been in the room. but the chicken made no sound."Good" said the man."Now I know who the thief is! The
servants looked very surprised."Show me your right hands! The chicken did not make a sound for a very good
reason. There is no chicken in the box at all! But the top of the box was covered with paint. You all have paint
on your fingers, except for one person. That person is the thief, and he was afraid to put his finger on the
box." He pointed to one of the servants. "Your finger is clean! You are the thief!"

1. Were the rich man call all the servants together?

A. Yes, they were.
B. No, they weren't.
C. I don't know.

2. When did the rich man call all the servants together?

A. In the morning
B. In the afternoon
C. In the evening

3. Did the rich man catch the thief at last?

A. Yes, he did
B. No, he didn't
C. He gave up the plan

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. There was paint on the box.
B. All of the servants touched the box.
C. All of the servants went into the dark room.

5. What do you think of the rich man?

A. Brave.
B. Clever.
C. Friendly.

     One day, Tomas Jefferson, the president of the USA, was crossing a river with a group of travelers.
The river was overflowing its banks. So it was very dangerous to cross it on a horse. Each man was
fighting for his life! Then another traveler came and he wanted to cross it, too. But he didn't have a horse.
He watched the group and then asked Jefferson to take him. Jefferson agreed immediately. The man climbed
on. After they were both safe to the other side of the river, someone asked the man,"Why did you ask
present for help? Did you know him?" The man was shocked because he didn't know Jefferson was the
president. "All I know," he said, "on some of your faces were written the answer NO, but there was the
answer YES on his face."

1. Who was Tomas Jefferson?

A. He was a businessman.
B. He was a teacher.
C. He was a captain.
D. He was the president of the USA.

2. How did they cross the river?

A. In a boat.
B. On their horses.
C. By swimming.
D. By building a bridge.

3. When the group were crossing the river, _________.

A. water was flowing out of the river
B. it was windy and very cold
C. there were many empty boats in the river
D. everyone wrote a word on the face

4. At last, _________.

A. both Jefferson and the man were safe to cross the river
B. only Jefferson crossed the river
C. only the man crossed the river
D. Jefferson's horse died

5. From the passage, we know that _________.

A. all the travelers were kind
B. Jefferson was helpful
C. nobody knew the president
D. the man gave Jefferson some money

     Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the nine o'clock Mystery Hour. Today we'll show you
two British stories. We hope you'll enjoy them.
     About 900 years ago two green children arrived in a small village in south England. Their eyes and skin
were green and they spoke a strange language. They were very tired and weak, so the people of the village
looked after them. The boy died a year later, but the girl grew strong and lived the rest of her life there. And
her skin colour turned back to normal day by day. Scientists say that sometimes of people don't have enough
food to eat for a long time, their skin goes very pale and can even turn green.
     Loch Ness is the largest lake in Scotland. It's a very deep and cold lake. For hundreds of years, people
have talked about a monster (怪物) called Nessie which lives in the lake. About seventy years ago, two people
saw something moving in the lake. They said that the animal was playing and rolling around in the water.
Since then many people say they have seen the monster. Their descriptions are always the same. It looks like
a dinosaur, with a very long neck and a small head. It has a big bump (包,腫塊) on its back. People have tried
to photograph the animal, but the pictures have not been very clear. Scientists don't know whether there is a
monster or not. Some say it may be a whale or a very large fish. Some think it's a snake. Others say there's
nothing at all- nothing but people's imagination. Maybe we'll never know what's in Loch Ness.

1. What kind of story is talked about in this programme?

A. Romantic stories.
B. Mysteries.
C. Horror stories.
D. Comedies.

2. Which sentence is TRUE about the two green children?

A. They both enjoyed a long and happy life.
B. The girl's eyes and skin were green all her life.
C. At first they spoke the same language as people in the small village did.
D. Maybe they hadn't eaten enough for long before they reached the village.

3. What does Nessie look like according to some witnesses?

4. What can we learn from the second story?

A. Scientists are still not sure whether there is a monster or not in Loch Ness.
B. Loch Ness is very deep and warm lake in Scotland.
C. People have taken very clear pictures of Nessie.
D. In fact Nessie is a whale or a snake.

    When I was thirteen years old, a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.
    It was the early autumn of my first year at a junior high school, and my old school was far away. As a
result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely and afraid to make friends with anyone.
    Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk to anyone
about my problem, and I didn't want my parents to worry about me.
    Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual.
At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed me and then turned
back. He looked at me and smiled without a word.
    Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm.
    That smile changed my life. I started to talk with the other students and made friends. Day by Day, I
became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
    One day, I asked him why he smiled, but he couldn't remember smiling at me! It doesn't matter because
all the dark days have gone. Now I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think you are
lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.

     I love it at night. It's peaceful. And when it cools down I sometimes do some ironing. I don't really care
for it. I work full-time and I am too busy for most housework. I remember the old woman who taught me
to iron. I was about 15 and I had to get a job taking care of a woman to make a living. She had been an
able-bodied, healthy woman until the accident that caused her to be paralyzed.
     The woman sat in an electric wheelchair all day. She could only move her head and arms. She would tell
me how to do things. She would teach me in great detail on the correct ways to do things. Her home was
perfect and beautiful. She would follow me around in her electric wheelchair to make sure I did everything
exactly right. I'm sure she had been a perfect homemaker. She would have me fold (折疊) everything,
including socks. I would complain silently and wish terrible things on her. She taught me the right way to
make the bed. I know sometimes she'd get frustrated (沮喪) and impatient with me. I knew she wanted to
do it herself. But she never shouted or scolded. She only insisted I do it right. I didn't like it much, but I did
it.
     Today I can iron pretty well. I know where to start on a shirt and the right way to do the trousers. Now
when I think about it, I don't think she is an old lady. I think she might have been about my age now. Anyway,
when I iron, I think of her and silently thank her for all the things I learned.

1. The writer used to take care of the lady because ________.

A. she wanted to learn to do housework
B. she was a friend of the lady's
C. she had to earn some money
D. she couldn't find a room to live in

2. The underlined word 'paralyzed' in the first paragraph may mean '________ '.

A. destroyed
B. deaf
C. seriously ill
D. unable to walk

3. The little girl was ________  when the lady taught her how to do housework.

A. encouraged to learn
B. unwilling to learn
C. delighted to learn
D. recommended to learn

4. Now the writer ________.

A. is still afraid of the lady
B. hates the strict lady
C. admires the disabled lady
D. is very grateful to the lady