Patricia asked for the cheapest car available at Acme Car Rental. She needed a car for 48
hours. Because it was the weekend,there was only one car available at the moment-an SUV.
Patricia was an environmentalist. SUVs,which are big cars consuming a lot of gasoline,offended
her greatly.
       But she needed something to get to Baker,a town that was 100 miles from the small airport.
So she went, RentMe instead. "I need a car for 48 hours," she said," and I don't want an SUV.
I want something cheap. "They told her they had just the vehicle for her,a 1998Toyota. Thirty
dollars a day,including insurance and other incidental fees. All she had to do was to pay forher
own gasoline. Patricia was very pleased. Thirty dollars a day was a good rate even for a weekday.
She signed all the paperwork,and they gave her the keys.
        The Toyota was a 4-speed,4-cylinder,2-door beauty,the paint,tires,and the interior were like
the new. It was comfortable, even though the air-conditioner was not the frostiest(結(jié)霜的) . She
got in and drove north. It was a two-lane road all the way to Baker,with only one town between
the airport and Baker. That town was Noms,40 miles from Baker.
        Patricia didn't make it to Norris. The car refused to run 30 minutes after she had been driving
it. Fortunately,her cell phone was able to connect back to the RentMe desk. "My car stopped
running. and I'm out here in the middle of nowhere in the hot sun! " she said.
       "That doesn't make any sense," said the clerk."You did put gas in the car before you left town,
didn't you? "
        "No. Of course not ! "  yelled Patricia. " Why would Iput gas in the car before I even got out
of town?" "Well,why do you think you got such a good
rate-we save money by having the customer gas up instead of us having to put gas in the car. "
       "I was in a hurry,"said Patricia.
       "Well,sometimes you pay a price for being in a hurry," said the clerk. " We'II send a man out
with some spare gas for you:if you'd like. ,,"
       Of course l'd like , " said Patria.ia. " How long willit be?"
       The clerk told her it would be within the hour. He didn't tell her that there would be a  $ 50
service charge for delivering the gas,or that the 3 gallons of fuel would cost her $ 7 a gallon. She
would get that bad news when she retumed the car to the airport.

1. Why didn't Patricia want to rent an SUV?     

A. Because it was a big car that would need a lot of gasoline.
B. Because she failed to carry enough money with her.
C. Because she was not used to driving suc, h a big car.
D. Because it was not easy to drive since it was so old.

2. How much would Patricia have to pay at least when she returned the car to the airport?  

A. $ 161.                          
B. $ 60.
C. $ 131.                          
D. $ 80.

3. Which of the following is true?    

A. Patricia did put gas in the car before she left town.
B. The air-conditioner of the Toyota was functioning perfectly.
C. The car broke down halfway there and needed repairing.
D. Patricia was quite satisfied with the price at first.

4.The underlined word "offended" in the first paragraph means "       "    

A. hurt the feelings of
B. excited
C. amused
D. suited

     It was Thanksgiving morning and m the crowded kitchen of my small home. I was
busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened
the front door and saw two small children in rags shaking inside the storm door on the
top step.
     " Anyoldpapers ,lady? " asked one of them.
     I was busy. I wanted to say " no" until I looked down at their feet. They were
wearing thin little sandals(涼鞋) , wet with heavy snow.
     "Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa. "
     They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the
floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I
went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
     The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in
her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, " Lady, are you rich?"
     " Am I rich?Mercy , no ! "
     I looked at the old furniture in the room. The girl put her cup back in its saucer
carefully and said, " Your cupsmatchyoursaucers. " Theyleftafter that, holding their
bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said" Thank you" . They didn't need
to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and the meat soup. Potatoes and brown soup, a roof over our
heads, my man with a good steady job-these matched , too.
     I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints
of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in
case I should begin to forget how rich I am.

1. Two children came to the lady's front door because_______

A. it was Thanksgiving Day
B. it was too cold outside that day
C. they wanted to collect old papers
D. they wanted to have a cup of cocoa

2. Why did the lady let the children in?______

A. Because she showed great pity on them.
B. Because she had old papers to sell to them.
C. Because she knew them and wanted to make them hot cocoa.
D. Because she wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving party.

3. The girl thought the lady was rich perhaps in that______

A. she saw that the lady's room was comfortable
B. she saw the cups matched the saucers
C. the furniture in the riving room looks new
D. the boy with her told her about that

4. From the passage , we can infer that whether you are rich or not depends on.______

A. how much money you have
B. what jobs you are doing
C. how you help others
D. how you feel about your life

     Many of the stories written by Mark Twain take place in Hannibal, Missouri. The
small wooden house where he lived as a boy still stands there. Next to the house is a
wooden fence. It is the kind described in Twain's book, "The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer, "published in1876.
     In that story, Tom has been told to paint the fence. He does not want to do it. But
he acts as if the job is great fun. He tricks other boys into believing this. His trick is so
successful that they agree to pay him money to let them finish his work. "The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer" is considered one of the best books about an American boy's life in
the 1800s.
     Tom Sawyer's good friend is Huckleberry, or "Huck" Finn. Mark Twain tells this
boy's story in" The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. "Huck is a poor child, without a
mother or home. His father drinks too much alcohol and beats him.
     Huck's situation has freed him from the restrictions of society. He explores in the
woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He smokes
tobacco.
     Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped from
slavery. They travel together on a raft made of wood down the Mississippi River. Huck
describes the trip: "It was lovely to live on the raft. Other places seem so cramped up
and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft...
Sometimes we'd have that whole river to ourselves for the longest time...We had the
sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at
them …"

1. From the second paragraph we learn Tom Sawyer is a _____ boy.

A. kind
B. smart
C. foolish
D. honest

2. The reason why Huck runs away from home is that _____.

A. his family is poor
B. he wants to find a friend live with
C. there's no warm in his home
D. he loves nature and likes to adventure

3. The underlined word "restrictions" can be replaced by _____.

A. limits
B. powers
C. forces
D. rules

4. Why did Huck feel comfortable living in a raft? Because _____.

A. Huck made the raft by himself
B. Huck could eat fresh food here
C. Huck could have the river there
D. Huck likes to be free