Paul was dealing with a crisis. The new girl Linda in class really liked him a lot. Paul was not happy
about it.
     Paul's good friend, Sam, tried to comfort him. "What's the big deal? I think Linda is kind of cute and
nice enough."
     Paul glared at Sam. "Then why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend? There she is, sitting all by
herself at the other end of the cafeteria. Go there and ask her to be your honey!"
     "She's crazy about you, not me," Sam replied.
     "Well, I don't want any girlfriend, especially not a girl like her! "Paul growled.
     Sam wouldn't give up. "The only thing pesky (討厭的) about her is that she keeps writing you those
notes ."
     "I don't like notes at all!" Paul interrupted. He took another sip of milk.
     "Did you notice those strange brown eyes? Why aren't they normal red or pink?"
     Sam took another look at Linda. "I think her face is a lovely shade of green. And her dark green curly
hair is quite pretty. Besides, she's very gentle and that's what really matters."
     Paul stuck out his tongue. "I think I'm going to be sick! I'd better save my dessert for later." He
crammed a small bag of Maggot Munchies into his even smaller shirt pocket. "The fact is, I have a
problem. That girl is getting on my nerves! "
     Sam followed Paul's example and decided to save his dessert for later. However, he carefully placed
the bag into his lunch box. "Do you have any ideas about how to solve your problem?" Sam asked.
     "I'm going to be mean and rude to her," Paul announced. "I'll call her names and make ugly faces at
her."
     "That's how you treat everyone," Sam reminded his friend.
     Paul nodded. "It's time that Linda got to know the real Paul!"

1. What does the underlined part "a crisis" in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A. how to get away from Linda        
B. how to win Linda over
C. how to get Sam's help              
D. how to save money

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

A. Paul pretended to be rude in order to make Linda stop liking him.
B. Sam thought that looks were more important than personality.
C. Sam thought that Linda was cute.
D. Paul offered his dessert to Linda to make her sick.

3. Sam appreciate Linda in the following aspects EXCEPT_____.

A. her eyes                
B. her hair            
C. her face        
D. her character

4. What's the meaning of the underlined phrase "getting on my nerves" according to the passage? 

A. faling in love with me    
B. making me happy    
C. making me sad  
D. annoying me

5. What is implied from this passage?

A. Linda will be Sam's girlfriend.      
B. Paul has fallen in love with another girl.
C. Paul and Linda are classmates.      
D. Paul and Linda are colleges students.

     I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that
my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was
in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours
passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work,
and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me
wait, will you? Who do you think you are?"
     At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized
the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone!
Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket.
     I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?
     She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room-
if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!"
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With
that, she left the room.
     After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something
in my mood (情緒) had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics
helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able
to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

1. Why did the author shout at the telephone?

A. He was mad at the telephone.
B. He was angry with his agent.
C. He was anxious about his wife.
D. He was impatient with the secretary.

2. What did the author's wife do after she heard his shouting?

A. She threw the phone away.
B. She shouted at him.
C. She called the agent.
D. She said nothing.

3. What made the author laugh?

A. His changeable feelings.
B. His wife's suggestion.
C. His own behavior.
D. His wife's sweet kiss.

4. What does the underlined word "antics" refer to?

A. Smart words.                                
B. Anxious feelings.
C. Surprising looks.  
D. Unusual actions.     

     An old woman had two large pots (罐), one on each end of a pole (扁擔). She carried the pole with
the pots across her neck.
     One of the pots had a crack (裂縫) in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered (遞
送) a full pot of water. At the end of the long walk from the well to the house, the crackedpot arrived
only half-full.
     For two years this happened daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection.
     One day, the cracked pot spoke to the woman by the well: "I am ashamed of myself because this
crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."
     The old woman smiled: "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the
other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your crack, so I planted flower seeds on
your side of the path. And every day while we walk back, you water them."
     "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate (裝飾) the table. Without
you being just the way you are, I would not have this beauty."
     Each of us has our own cracks. But it's these cracks that make our lives together so interesting and
meaningful.

1. How did the cracked pot feel about itself at first?

A. Proud.        
B. Happy.      
C. Excited.        
D. Ashamed.

2. Where were the flowers growing? 

A. On both sides of the path.        
B. In the woman's house.
C. On the perfect pot's side.
D. On the cracked pot's side.

3. Which is the correct order of the following events?
   ① The woman picked the flowers and decorated the table.
   ② The woman told the truth to the cracked pot.
   ③ The cracked pot talked to the woman about its crack.
   ④ The woman found a crack on one pot.
   ⑤ The woman planted some flower seeds.

A. ④⑤①③②                  
B. ⑤④③②①
C. ④③①②⑤     
D. ④⑤③①②

4. What does the passage mainly want to tell us?

A. Never laugh at old women.        
B. Try your best to be perfect in life.
C. Imperfection makes life meaningful.
D. Don't use a cracked pot to carry water.

     On a Friday night, a poor young artist stood at the gate of the New York railway station,
playing his violin. The music was so great that many people stopped to put some money into
the hat of the young man.
     The next day, the young artist came to the same place, and put his hat on the ground
gracefully. Different from the day before, he took out a large piece of paper and laid it under
his hat. Then he began to play the violin. It sounded more pleasant than ever.
     Soon he was surrounded with people who were attracted by the words on that paper.
It said, " Last night, a gentleman named George Sang put an important thing into my hat by
mistake. Please come to claim it soon."
     After about half an hour, a middle-aged man rushed through the crowd to the violinist and
said, "Yes, it's you. I knew that you were an honest man and would certainly come here."
The young violinist asked calmly, " Are you Mr George Sang?" The man nodded. The violinist
asked, " Did you lose something?" "It's a lottery ticket," said the man. The violinist took out
a lottery ticket on which George Sang's name was seen. "Is it?" he asked. George nodded
and took the lottery ticket and kissed it, then danced with the violinist.
     The violinist was a student at an arts college and had planned to attend advanced studies
in Vienna. Later his classmate asked the violinist, "At that time you needed money to pay
the tuition and you had to play the violin in the railway station every day to make money.
Why didn't you keep the lottery ticket for yourself?"
     The violinist said, "Although I don't have much money, I live happily. But if I lose honesty
I won't be happy forever." Though our lives, we can gain a lot and lose so much. But being
honest always be with us.

1. What did the young viloin to make some money?______.

A. He played the violin to make some money.
B. He waited for the train to Vienna.
C. He came to buy a train ticket to Vienna.
D. He walked around the New York railway station.

2. Which sentence below best explains the underlined sentence in paragraph two?______.

A. Because the violinist loved to play the violin at the station.
B. Because the violinist felt happy when people surrounded him.
C. Because the artist felt happier when he did a good thing.
D. Because he felt happy to attend advanced studies.

3. According to the words on the paper, which sentence below is TRUE?______.

A. It asked a gentleman named George Sang to claim his hat.
B. It asked a gentleman nmaed George Sang to claim his important thing.
C. It was a lottery ticket and he needed to find the owner.
D. IT was a lottery ticket and the owner is unknown.

4. The artist didn't take the lottery ticket for himself because he _______.

A. chose to be honest
B. didn't need the money.
C. thought the lottery was worth nothing.
D. was afraid of blame if he kept it for himself.

5. From this article, we can learn that ________.

A. we should share with others if we find something valuable.
B. we should know the importance of honesty and lead a happy life.
C. keep the lottery if you find one.
D. playing the violin could make you feel happy.

     Some people were eating and drinking in a coffee house. A young woman was sitting alone at a table. She
was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace. There was an ugly man at a table not far from her. He was looking
at her necklace all the time.
     Suddenly the lights went out. The coffee house was in darkness. The woman started to shout. She was
very frightened. A few minutes later the lights came on again. The woman was crying. Her necklace was
missing.
     The manager quickly closed all the doors. He telephoned the police. No one could get out of the coffee
house. The policemen soon came. The police inspector told his men to search everyone. The necklace was not
on anyone. They then searched the whole coffee house. The necklace couldn't be found.
     The police inspector then looked at the faces of all the people in the coffee house. He saw the ugly man and
looked at the man carefully. He went up to the man and picked up the bowl of soup that was on his table. He
then poured the soup into a glass. The necklace fell out. The policemen caught hold of the man and took him
away. The young woman was happy to get back her necklace.

1. A young woman lost her necklace in _____ .

A. a hospital
B. a shop
C. a coffee house
D. a restaurant

2. The manager closed all the doors and _____ .

A. searched everyone in the coffee house
B. searched the whole coffee house
C. telephoned the police
D. looked at all the people in the coffee house

3. The police inspector found the necklace in _____ .

A. a cup of coffee
B. a bowl of rice
C. a glass of milk
D. a bowl of soup

4. The necklace was stolen by _____ .

A. a beautiful girl
B. an old woman
C. a young student
D. an ugly man

     Tom arrived at the bus station quite early for a Paris bus. The bus for Paris would not leave until five
to twelve. He saw a lot of people waiting in the station. Some were standing in line, and others were
walking around. There was a group of schoolgirls. Their teacher was trying to keep them in line. Tom
looked around, but there was no place for him to sit.
     He walked into the station cafe. He looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. He
found a seat and sat down before a large mirror on the wall. Just then, Mike, one of Tom's workmates
came in and sat with Tom.
     "What time is your bus?" asked Mike.
     "There's plenty of time yet," answered Tom.
     "Well, I'll get you some more tea then," said Mike.
     They talked while drinking. Then Tom looked at the clock again. "Oh! It's going backward!" he cried. "A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve and now it's half past eleven."
     "You're looking at the clock in the mirror." said Mike. Tom was so sad. The next bus was not to leave
for another hour. Since then Tom has never liked mirrors. 

1. Tom went into the station cafe because_____.

A. Mike asked him to have a cup of tea
B. it was quite early and he could find a seat there
C. he didn't like to stay with the schoolgirls
D. he wanted to have a drink with his workmate there

2. What time was it in fact when Tom looked at the clock in the mirror?

A. Half past twelve.
B. Twenty to twelve.
C. Half past eleven.
D. Half past one.

3. From the story we know that when we look at a clock in a mirror, we will find _____.

A. the time is right
B. it's going slower
C. it's going backward
D. it's going faster

4. Which of the following is true?

A. Tom arrived in Paris on time.
B. The next bus would leave in half an hour.
C. After that Tom didn't like clocks any longer.
D. Tom looked at the clock in the mirror only once

1. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?

A. He was silent most of the time        
B. He was too proud of himself
C. He did not love his children          
D. He expected too much of  her

2. When the author went out with her father on weekends, she would feel_______.

A. nervous        
B. sorry          
C. tired              
D. safe

3. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?

A. More critical  
B. More talkative  
C. Gentle and friendly
D. Strict and hard-working

4. The underlined words "my new friend" in the last paragraph refer to ________.

A. the author's son
B. the author's father
C. the friend of the author's father
D. the cafe owner