I received pictures of my daughter floating (漂浮) on a lake in California. Right there under the sun
during the hottest time of the day, she has only her swimsuit to cover her.
    When I showed it to my students, it was as if I had shown them scenes from a horror (恐怖) movie.
    "But she will get dark," they said.
    "That's what she wants," I told them. "We think darker skin (膚色) is beautiful."
     They looked at me in disbelief. It was as if I came from the moon.
      For years, American girls spend their summer trying to get as tanned (曬黑) as possible. In China,
on the other hand, girls use umbrellas all year round.
     What in the world is going on?
     The pale skin we think looks unattractive (不漂亮) is what Asian women want. Both groups want
to meet their culture's standard (標(biāo)準(zhǔn)) of beauty.
     In the US, if you can afford to go on vacation in the summer, you head for a river, a lake or a beach,
where you try to get as much sun as possible. If you are rich you take a winter vacation in some sunny
spot. Your winter tan shows your wealth.
     In China, once upon a time, the few wealthy were the ones who didn't have to work out in the hot
sun. So the whiter the skin, the richer the woman. The folk opera performers who play these ladies wore
lots of white makeup (妝容). The tradition survives to this day.
    So it comes naturally that none of my students wishes to follow the Western ways in this regard.
    But now I am noticing that a new business - the tanning booth (美黑店) - started up in China. I
admire those brave enough to define(給…下定義)their own idea of beauty, but I do wonder what their
grandmothers would have to say to them about it!

1. The students were shocked at the picture the writer showed them because ______. 

A. they thought it shameful for a girl only to wear a swimsuit  
B. the writer's daughter was wearing very little while out in the sun
C. it is dangerous for a girl to be out on a lake alone
D. with the powerful sunlight the writer's daughter would have got a suntan

2. According to the article, which kind of woman meets the American standard of beauty?

A. Women with blond hair.        
B. Women with a slim figure.
C. Women with tanned skin.        
D. Women with pale skin.

3. In the US a winter tan usually means the person _____.

A. is hard-working                    
B. doesn't have to work
C. has a lot of money and spare time          

     Monty Roberts was the son of a poor family. He liked horses. He had a dream to own a horse ranch
ever since he was a little child.
    One day when he was at high school, he was asked to write a paper. It was about what he wanted to
be and do when he grew up. He worked hard on it, and wrote a seven-page paper. In the paper he
described his dream of owning a big horse ranch someday.
    The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front
page was a large red F(fail)with a note that read, "See me after class. "
    He went to see the teacher after class and asked, "Why did I receive an F?"
    The teacher answered. "This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You come from a poor
family. You have no money. Owning a horse ranch needs a lot of money. You have to buy the land.
There's no way you could ever do it. "Then he added, "Write this paper again. If you write it with a
realistic plan, you may receive a better grade. "
    After sitting with it for a week, he turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He said to the
teacher, "You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream. "
    Monty kept his dream and worked very hard. Today he owns a large horse ranch with a big house on
it, and he keeps that school paper he wrote on the wall of his sitting room.
    Last summer the same school teacher came to visit him. When the teacher was leaving, he said, "Look, Monty, when I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of
children's dreams. It was lucky that you hadn't given up yours. "
    Don't let anyone steal(偷) your dream. Follow your dream, no matter what.

1. What was Monty Roberts' dream when he was very young?

A. To write a seven-page paper. 
B. To learn to ride a horse. 
C. To own a horse ranch. 
D. To receive a better grade.

2. The underlined sentence"There's no way you could ever do it. "means"______"

A. Your dream can never come true. 
B. You should find a way to let your dream come true. 
C. You have to work hard or you'll lose your dream. 
D. I'll show you a way to help your dream come true.

3. After Monty heard his teacher's advice, he __________. 

A. changed his dream    
B. received a better grade
C. turned in a different paper
D. turned in the same paper

     The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not
very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing
classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts
Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles (風(fēng)格). It was
almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be
with your friends at the swimming pool?
     First we had to read about ancient Egyptians (古埃及人) and their strange way of painting faces and then
go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested.
Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We
had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around
the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.
     On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it,
a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother's expression
how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every
painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could
interest me so much.

1. The aim of the mother's plan was to _____.

A. take them to visit the museum
B. introduce them to the world of art
C. ask them to read about artists
D. show them different painting styles

2. What was the writer's experience in the museum before the last visit?

A. She came to feel her mother's love.
B. She liked many paintings.
C. She hardly enjoyed herself.
D. She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

4.  What was the writer's experience in the museum before the last visit?

A. She came to feel her mother's love.
B. She liked many paintings.
C. She hardly enjoyed herself.
D. She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

5. From the text, we can see _____.

A. the importance of curiosity
B. the effect of art
C. the value of learning
D. the power of family education

    It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble. That's more or less what
happened the night that Nashville Police Officer Floyd Hyde was on duty.
    "I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville. As I got onto Highway 40,
blue lights and siren (警笛) going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed
to take off quickly down the highway. The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me. He was
going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder."
    But Hyde couldn't go after him. Taking care of injured people is always more important than
worrying about speeders, so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident. But he did try to
keep the Firebird in sight as he drove, hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and
stop the speeding car. As it turned out, keeping the Firebird in sightwas not that difficult. Every
turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene.
    Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination (目的地). At that point he found another
unit had already arrived at the accident scene. His help wasn't needed. Now he was free to try to
stop the driver of the firebird, who by this time had developed something new to panick about.
    "Just about that time," Hyde says, "I saw fire coming out from under that car, with blue smoke
and oil going everywhere. He's blown his engine. Now he had to stop."
    "After I arrested him, I asked him why he was running. He told me he didn't have a driver's license.
    That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty-a thousand dollars for the new engine-not to
mention the charges for driving without a license, attempting to run away, and dangerous driving.

1. The meaning of "panicked" in paragraph 2 is related to _____.

A. happy
B. fear
C. anger
D. hate

2. Why did the driver of the Firebird suddenly speed down the highway?

A. Because he was racing with another driver on the road.
B. Because he realized he had to hurry to the accident scene.
C. Because he thought the police officer wanted to stop him.
D. Because he wanted to overtake other cars on the shoulder.

3. The driver of the Firebird _____.

A. took a wrong turn on the way
B. had some trouble with his car
C. was stopped by the police officer
D. paid for the expenses of the accident

4. What is probably the best title for the article?

A. Losing His Way?
B. Going My Way?
C. Fun All the Way?
D. Help on the Way?

     It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night.The morning after the storm,though,was
beautiful:blue skies,warm air and a calm,inviting sea touching the shore gently.
     My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him.I was
only 14 and fishing had never been my thing,but I decided to go all the same.I'm_so_glad_I_did.
     On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast,but the harbour itself
was in fairly good shape.After all,it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel
to the sea.As we got on board,we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
     On approaching them,we saw it was a mother whale with her baby.We couldn't believe it-there aren't
any whales along the coast here.The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay,in which
the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
     The little baby whale-actually as big as our boat-was obviously stuck and could not move.The mother
dived under the water and came up suddenly,making big whirlpools(漩渦) and waves."She's trying to
help her baby,but on the wrong side,"my father said.At this point,my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and,heading the boat towards the baby whale,pushed it gently.With our several gentle
pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water.Then it swam up right beside its mum.
They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong
direction.We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel.Slowly,they let us
lead them,sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe-and to give us a trusting look with
those huge eyes.Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea,the mum gave
us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
     In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes,but we had been with those wonderful animals for
almost an hour and a half.That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day.Nearly four decades later,I
still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.

1. The author says "I'm so glad I did."(in Para. 2)because_____  .
A. he witnessed the whole process of fishing
B. he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea
C. he experienced the rescue of the whales
D. he spent the weekend with his family

2. The harbour survived the storm owing to ________.
A. the shape of the harbour
B. the arms of the bay
C. the still water in the channel
D. the long coast line

3. The mother whale failed to help her baby because ________.
A. she had stayed in the polluted water for too long
B. the whirlpools she had made were not big enough
C. she had no other whales around to turn to for help
D. the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

4. What is the theme of the story?
A. Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.
B. Fishing provides excitement for children.
C. It's necessary to live in harmony with animals.
D. It's vital to protect the environment.