Scientist Florence Wambugu works with farmers in Kenya, a country in East Africa. She helps them grow bigger and better crops. Wambugu is especially interested in finding simple ways to produce more food.
In the past ten years, Wambugu has spent much of her time studying sweet potatoes, which are an important food in her part of Kenya. A virus (病毒) kept attacking the plants. It stopped the sweet potatoes from growing well. Because of the virus, some farmers lost three quarters of their crops.
Wambugu went to war against the virus. Her research for a way to save the sweet potatoes led to a lab in St. Louis, Missouri.
The lab mainly works on genes (基因), the chemical “computer programs” found in the cells of living things. Genes tell a plant to produce pink flowers or an animal to grow black hair. Now scientists have found ways to move genes from one living thing to another. That process is called genetic engineering.
Wambugu spent three years in the lab. As a result, she created a sweet potato plant that could fight off the virus. Wambugu tested her research in Kenya, and her plants produced wonderful sweet potatoes.
That’s just the beginning, Wambugu believes. Genetically modified (轉(zhuǎn)基因的) foods, she thinks, could help farmers in poor countries grow badly needed crops, thus, fewer people will go hungry.
小題1:The text is written mainly to _______.

A．tell us sweet potatoes are in danger of being attacked by a virus

B．introduce Wambugu’s contribution to genetic engineering

C．introduce a new way of killing plant viruses

D．tell how hard Wambugu worked in her lab for three years

小題2:What caused Wambugu to set up a lab in St. Louis, Missouri?

A．Her wish to save sweet potatoes in Kenya.

B．Her great interest in genetic engineering.

C．Her love for sweet potatoes.

D．Her interest in plant life.

小題3:The fourth paragraph mainly explains what ________ is.

A．a(chǎn) crop virus	B．chemical technology
C．a(chǎn) computer program	D．genetic engineering

小題4: What is Wambugu’s attitude toward “genetic engineering”?

A．It will help more hungry people.

B．It should be carefully used.

C．It has more disadvantages than disadvantages.

D．It is a too expensive technology at present.

One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O.Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破壞) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.
William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.
Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museum has a special proof of Porter’s love of language --- his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.
Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (審判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio.
William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O.Henry.
Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life.
小題1:O.Henry’s house in Austin has been well kept up till now so that ____.
A. Americans can explore their history
B more visitors will be attracted to Austin
C. visitors can learn about O.Henry’s life
D. it can show the way of life in the 1860s
小題2:What do we know about the piano in the house?

A．It was hated by Porter’s daughter.

B．It has a long history of about 150 years.

C．Porter’s wife gave music lessons on it.

D．Porter usually created music on it.

小題3:How does the museum prove (證明) Porter was fond of language?

A．With a dictionary he used.	B．With the records they keep.
C．Using the books they wrote.	D．Using the photograph they keep.

小題4:Why did Porter escape from Austin?

A．He didn’t want to lose his job.	B．He didn’t want to make trouble.
C．He meant to save his wife’s life.	D．He was charged with a crime.

小題5:From the last two paragraphs we know that _______.

A．Porter became famous suddenly

B．Porter spent his time in prison writing

C．Porter suffered a lot from his time in prison

D．life in prison provided what he could write for Porter

Nearly two decades has passed, I still remember my favourite professor, James Sehwartz. Whenever he smiles, it’s as if you’d just been told the funniest joke on earth. Almost all his students are his friends, and almost all his students know his life story.
When James was a teenager, his father   36  him to a fur factory where he worked . This was during the Great Depression. The   37  was to get James a job.
James entered the factory, and immediately felt as if the   38  had closed in around him. The room was dark and hot, the windows covered with dust, and the   39  were packed tightly together, running like trains. The fur hairs were flying,   40  a thickened air, and the workers,   41  the pieces of fur together, were bent over their needles   42  the boss marched up and down the rows, searching for them to go faster .James could hardly   43 . He stood next to his father, frozen with fear, hoping the boss wouldn’t   44  at him, too.
During lunch break, his father took James to the boss and pushed him in front of him,   45 if there was any work for his son. But   46  there was hardly enough   47  for the adult labours, for no one would give it up once he took a job.
Thus, for James, it was a   48 . He hated the place. He made a   49  that he kept to the end of his life: he would never do any work that brought   50  to someone else, and he would never allow himself to   51  money off the seat of others.
“What will you do?” his mother, Eva, would ask him.
“I don’t know,” he   52  say. He ruled out law, because he didn’t like   53 , and he ruled out medicine, because he couldn’t take the   54  of blood.
“What will you do?”
  55 , my best professor I ever had became—he thought it was the job not to hurt anybody.

小題1:	A．sent B．carried C．took D．a(chǎn)dmitted

小題2:	A．idea B．condition C．situation D．way

小題3:	A．lights B．walls C．chances D．doors

小題4:	A．goods B．workers C．vehicles D．machines

小題5:	A．sending B．creating C．taking D．disturbing

小題6:	A．collecting B．pulling C．sewing D．drawing

小題7:	A．a(chǎn)s B．a(chǎn)fter C．if D．though

小題8:	A．see B．breathe C．walk D．hear

小題9:	A．scream B．scold C．rush D．a(chǎn)ttack

小題10:

A．doubting B．a(chǎn)sking C．questioning D．demanding

小題11:

A．even B．still C．yet D．a(chǎn)lso

小題12:

A．time B．office C．work D．occupation

小題13:

A．comforting B．blessing C．regretting D．forgiving

小題14:

A．request B．a(chǎn)rrangement C．plan D．promise

小題15:

A．injury B．harm C．damage D．inconvenience

小題16:

A．make B．save C．pay D．let

小題17:

A．should B．might C．could D．would

小題18:

A．police B．lawyers C．judges D．government

小題19:

A．sense B．feel C．sight D．scenery

小題20:

A．Eventually B．Luckily C．Generally D．Basically

A few months ago, I was picking up the children at school. Emily, another mother that I knew well, rushed up to me. She was full of __41__.
“Do you know __42__ you and I are?” she asked. __43__ I could answer, she gave out the reason for her question. She had just returned from renewing her driver’s license at a government office. The woman __44__ desk asked her what her “occupation” was. Emily hesitated, __45__ how to answer it. “What I mean is,” explained the woman, “do you have a job, or are you just a ...?”“Of course I have a job,” answered Emily. “I’m a (an) __46__.”“We don’t __47__ ‘mother’ as an occupation ... ‘housewife’ covers it,” she said.
I forgot all about her story __48__ one day I found myself in the same situation. This time it was at our own Town Hall. The clerk was a woman.
“And what is your occupation?” she asked. What __49__ me say it, I do not know. The words simply jumped out. “I’m ... a (an) ___50___ in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk stopped, her ball-point pen ___51__ in mid-air. She looked up __52__ she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with new interest, “just what you do in your ___53__?” Coolly, I heard myself ___54__, “I have a continuing program of research in the
laboratory and in the field. I’m working for my masters (the whole family) and already have __55__ credits (令人增光的人或事物) (all daughters). I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). The job is more challenging than most jobs and the __56__ are in satisfaction rather than just money.”
There was an increasing note of __57__ in the clerk’s voice as she __58__ in the form. As I drove into our driveway(私家車道), I was __59__ by my lab assistants — ages 13, 7, and 3. Inside the house I could hear our new experimental model (six months) in the child-development program.
I felt successful. Motherhood...what a great __60__.

小題1:	A．surprise B．a(chǎn)nxiety C．a(chǎn)nger D．excitement

小題2:	A．who B．what C．how D．why

小題3:	A．When B．As C．Before D．Since

小題4:	A．a(chǎn)t B．a(chǎn)fter C．by D．a(chǎn)round

小題5:	A．nervous B．sure C．a(chǎn)nxious D．uncertain

小題6:	A．mother B．worker C．teacher D．doctor

小題7:	A．think B．list C．expect D．give

小題8:	A．since B．unless C．until D．when

小題9: 

A．got

B．caused

C．permit

D．made

小題10:

A．researcher B．manager C．expert D．scholar

小題11:

A．dropped B．floated C．frozen D．broke

小題12:

A．so that B．even though C．a(chǎn)s though D．because of

小題13:

A．family B．subject C．study D．field

小題14:

A．words B．reply C．shout D．whisper

小題15:

A．two B．three C．four D．five

小題16:

A．rewards B．a(chǎn)wards C．profits D．benefits

小題17: A. interest           B. respect              C. doubt            D fear

小題18:

A．explained B．passed C．completed D．filled

小題19:

A．a(chǎn)ccepted B．greeted C．recognized D．refused

小題20:

A．person B．a(chǎn)ward C．career D．business

Last Tuesday I took my two daughters, aged five and seven, to town by car. It began to rain__26__ so I decided I would leave the children in the car__27__ I rushed into a shop. I warned the girls not to__28_ anything and told them I would be __29__ within a few minutes. Then I locked all the doors and left __30__happily looking out of the window.
I returned to the car in less than five minutes but the girls had __31__! I could hardly believe my __32__. The car doors were __33__ locked, the windows tightly shut and on the back seat __34__only two coats. Being____ __35__, I ran to the corner of the street __36__ there was no sign of them. I __37__up to an old lady nearby and asked __38__ she had seen two small girls but she said “No”.
Feeling quite sick with fear, I sat on the driver’s seat, and __39__ to stop trembling(發(fā)抖). Suddenly, I __40__ a merry laugh __41__ me. I got out of the car, ran round to open the boot(車尾行李箱) and __42__ were two very
red-face and _43__ children. They had obviously pulled out the back seat,  __44__ behind it and then been unable to push the seat forward again. __45__ tears in my eyes, I leaned forward and pulled their ears.

小題1:	A．heavy B．hard C．big D．hardly

小題2:	A．before B．since C．a(chǎn)fter D．which

小題3:	A．talk B．reach C．hear D．touch

小題4:	A．a(chǎn)way B．out C．back D．a(chǎn)long

小題5:	A．them B．her C．herself D．themselves

小題6:	A．discovered B．disappeared C．described D．delivered

小題7:	A．ears B．words C．eyes D．heads

小題8:	A．even B．a(chǎn)gain C．a(chǎn)lready D．still

小題9:	A．have B．were C．had D．a(chǎn)re

小題10:

A．foolish B．proud C．frightened D．pleased

小題11:

A．where B．which C．that D．when

小題12:

A．a(chǎn)rrived B．looked C．rushed D．left

小題13:

A．what B．when C．whether D．how

小題14:

A．tried B．had C．tired D．ought

小題15:

A．felt B．listened C．smelt D．heard

小題16:

A．behind B．over C．before D．with

小題17:

A．outside B．a(chǎn)mong C．inside D．between

小題18:

A．worried B．excited C．surprised D．interested

小題19:

A．climbed B．flew C．threw D．jumped

小題20:

A．For B．About C．With D．Down

When Omega was born in Uganda, she did two things: Smile and then sing. When Omega was 4 years old, her talent(天賦) for music was recognized, so she became one of the youngest members of the first African Children’s Choir(合唱團). She traveled the world with the choir, and it was from this experience that she grew into a singer today.
Although having a beautiful voice, she had to find other ways besides music to earn a living at first. When she was 16, her parents sent her to the USA to study. Like her mother, Omega wanted to become a doctor and do something meaningful in her country of Uganda.  
However, like many artists, music was so much a part of her that she had to choose. With encouragement from her family and friends, she opened her own production company(制作公司) after graduation. Since then, she has been working as an artist. Her songs make people feel good about life. Apart from that, she is also interested in health care and education. Omega is one of those Ugandan females who are showing the world their valuable talents.
小題1:Her experiences in the Choir helped Omega to ____.

A．burst into song	B．recognize her music talent
C．travel the world	D．become a singer

小題2: What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in paragraph three?

A．music was very important to her

B．music took her a lot of time

C．music cost her so much money

D．music was the last thing she would choose

小題3: We can learn from the passage that Omega is ____.

A．a(chǎn) good teacher	B．a(chǎn) famous African artist
C．a(chǎn) kind politician	D．a(chǎn) warm-hearted doctor

It was midnight in Paris and we were rolling toward Avenue Bosguet. As we came to the Pont Alexandra Ⅲ, the taxi slowed down, for the traffic light was red against us, and then, without stopping, we sailed through the red in a sudden burst of speed. The same performance was repeated at the Alma Bridge. As I paid the driver, I asked him why he had driven through two red lights.
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself, breaking the law and endangering your life that way.” I protested.
He looked at me, astonished, “Ashamed of myself? I am a law abiding(守法的) citizen and have no desire to get killed either.” He cut me off before I could protest.
“No, just listen to me before you complain. What did I do? Went through a red light. Well, did you ever stop to consider what a red light is? What it means?”
“Certainly,”I replied. “It’s a stop signal and means the traffic is rolling in the opposite direction.”
“Half-right,”said the driver, “But incomplete. It’s only an automatic(自動的) stop signal. And it does not mean that there is cross traffic. Did you see any cross traffic during our trip? Of course not. I slowed down at the light, looked carefully to the right and to the left. Not another car on the street at this hour. Well, then! What would you have me do? Should I stop like a stupid animal because an automatic, brainless machine turns red every forty seconds? No, sir,”he shouted, “I am a man, not a machine. I have eyes and a brain and judgment, given me by God. Ashamed of myself, you say? I would only be ashamed of myself if I let those blinking lamps do my thinking for me. Good night,sir.”
小題1:At the Alma Bridge,__________.

A．the writer stopped the taxi and aid the driver

B．the taxi went through a red light again

C．there was a performance the writer had already watched

D．the writer began to criticize the driver

小題2:To the taxi driver, a red light__________.

A．was not a stop signal

B．should not work at midnight

C．sometimes made mistakes in judgment

D．didn’t always mean that there was cross traffic

小題3:The main reason the driver dared to drive through the red light was that________________.

A．he found there was no cross traffic there at that time

B．he thought it a shame to be controlled by a machine

C．he knew no other driver would see him at this hour

D．he didn’t trust any brainless machine

小題4:According to the passage, the driver thought of what he had done was____________.

A．law abiding	B．law breaking
C．something to be proud of	D．something to be ashamed of

There was a man who had a little boy that he loved very much．Every day after work the man would come home and  36 with the little boy．He would always  37 all of his extra time with the little boy.
One night．while the man was at work, he _38  that he had extra work to do for the evening, and that he wouldn’t be able to play with his little boy．  39   he wanted to be able to give the boy something to keep him  40 ．So, looking around his office, he saw a magazine with a large  41 of the world on the cover．He got a(n)  42 ．He removed the map, and then patientely tore it up into small pieces．Then he put all the  43 in his coat pocket.
When he got home, the little boy came  __44 to him and was ready to play．The man  _45that he had extra work to do and couldn’t play just now．He  46 the little boy into the dinning room, and 47 all the pieces of the map．He spread them on the table．He explained that it was a map of the world, and that by the time he could  48 together, his extra work would be  49 , and they could both play．Surely this would keep the child busy for hours, he thought.
About half an hour later the boy came to the man and said, “Okay, it’s finished．Can we play now?”
The man was  50 , saying, “That’s impossible．Let’s have a look.” And  51  __enough, there was the picture of the world, all put together, every piece in its  52 .
The man said, “That’s amazing! How did you do that?” The boy said, “It’s  53 ．On the  54 of the page is a(n)  55 of a man．When I put the man together the whole world fell into place.”

小題1:	A．play B．watch C．share D．enjoy

小題2:	A．take B．spend C．cost D．have

小題3:	A．recongnized B．realized C．knew D．expected

小題4:	A．However B．Or C．For D．But

小題5:	A．happy B．excited C．busy D．silent

小題6:	A．map B．picture C．figure D．image

小題7:	A．information B．chance C．a(chǎn)dvice D．idea

小題8:	A．world B．pieces C．paper D．magazine

小題9:	A．shouting B．expecting C．running D．meeting

小題10:

A．explained B．persuaded C．shouted D．discussed

小題11:

A．a(chǎn)sked B．led C．ordered D．showed

小題12:

A．did up B．dealt with C．put out D．took out

小題13:

A．looked it up B．got it around C．put it back D．turned it over

小題14:

A．finished B．wasted C．delivered D．filled

小題15:

A．shocked B．surprised C．satisfied D．tired

小題16:

A．beautiful B．sure C．right D．quite

小題17:

A．way B．page C．side D．place

小題18:

A．funny B．difficult C．simple D．interesting

小題19:

A．cover B．back C．top D．front

小題20:

A．picture B．impression C．sculpture D．shade

During one of the toughest weeks of my life, I had the chance to experience surprising grace(善舉).
I was in my office, when a young man came by. He was obviously very    36  and close to tears. He was an older student and always appeared like a tough guy,    37  showing emotion.
He had told me   38  that he was dealing with some difficult  39  problems. He was a caregiver for his sister who was ill. This day he came in, sat down and just sobbed(抽泣). I   40  while he told me how he had been up all night in the hospital with his sister and that was why he couldn’t take my exam that morning. I told him not to   41  it at all. He was clearly in no shape for an exam. I told him to go home and    42  . I reassured(使放心) him that I would do everything I could to help him get through the class.
I just sat there while he sobbed. “I think she might die,” he gasped(喘著氣說). “What am I going to do?” It was clear to me that he had never   43  this fear out loud to anyone. I just sat there, fully focused on him and his  44 , and tried to offer some soft words of   45  .
After quite some time, he   46  himself. I reassured him again that it didn’t matter to me when he took his exam and that I would help him through. Then he left.
Afterwards, I felt like his    47  was a blessing(為人帶來幸福的事). Being able to help him while I was in pain myself was the most valuable gift.
Life never gives more than we can handle.

小題1:	A．lazy B．a(chǎn)ngry C．sad D．nervous

小題2:	A．still B．even C．a(chǎn)lso D．never

小題3:	A．earlier B．later C．harder D．faster

小題4:	A．study B．family C．health D．money

小題5:	A．cried B．imagined C．listened D．laughed

小題6:	A．work on B．worry about C．prepare for D．look after

小題7:	A．practice B．wait C．sleep D．play

小題8:	A．expressed B．conquered C．figured D．a(chǎn)dmitted

小題9:	A．choice B．pain C．danger D．secret

小題10:

A．regret B．doubt C．explanation D．encouragement

小題11:

A．calmed B．showed C．found D．defeated

小題12:

A．effort B．visit C．illness D．challenge

Crazy is our new normal. With two teenage boys and three little boys, our family is restless—to the baseball field, track field(田徑場)and piano lessons. Even though we’ve limited each boy’s activities and try our best to defend our family time, it seems that we’re in a constant state of flight.
“Embrace it. Roll with it,” my husband, Lonny, says, “It’s going to be like this for a while.”
He is right. It’s likely that life will continue to go forward before it slows down. But I remembered the still, quiet days that our family used to enjoy. I missed long walks through the park when we held the boys’ little hands. I longed for(渴望) lazy Saturday afternoons under the tree in our backyard. I wanted to slip back a few years, when busyness was the exception and not the rule.
One night, after a particularly full day and evening games, our family gathered on the porch(門廊)for ice cream. Two parents, two teens, and three small boys piled on one old swing and a couple of rocking chairs. We were together, in one place, for a small slice of time.
The moon was full. The Mississippi River, flowing past our home, was smooth as glass. I wrapped my own arms around the son who sat on my lap and breathed deeply to inhale his little-boy scent(氣味)—dirt and sweat. My heart was still and content(滿足的).
I realized that while crazy is our new normal happiness is as usual. They may look different from before, but they are still there—even if they’re in the form of a single moment on the porch. Maybe I just need the eyes to see.
小題1:What does the author mainly talk about?

A．Her anger at her busy life.

B．Her family’s struggle for a better life.

C．Her new feelings about the present life.

D．The pleasure of staying with her children.

小題2:How did the author feel about life before the night sitting on the porch with the family?

A．Confused.

B．Satisfied.

C．Bored.

D．Terrified.

小題3:The underlined word “inhale” in the fifth paragraph probably means ______.

A．describe

B．breathe out

C．remove

D．breathe in

小題4:Which of the following could describe the author’s present life?

A．Busy and boring.	B．Busy but happy.
C．Crazy and unbearable.	D．Normal but exciting.

小題5:Which of the following statements might the author agree to?

A．Life is nothing but bitterness, busyness and horror.

B．Happiness is everywhere, but we have to discover it.

C．Parents should earn much money for their kids’ better life.

D．Life in the countryside is charming, wonderful, and sweet.