People say teenagers are no good. They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive recklessly
up and down America's main streets; they carry chips on their shoulders as big as the Sears Tower. And
at least some of the time those things are true. But we shouldn't forget that there are hard moments in the
life of a teenager too.
     I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman's funeral. I didn't expect the event to affect me.
Through much of the ceremony, in fact, I remained unmoved.
     The teenage grandson stepped forward. With his very first deep breath, every heart in that church was achingly reminded of something we had all forgotten. Softly he began: "I want to share a few values that
Nana taught me. She never failed to see light in any situation. When our family dog would truly attack her, what would Nana say? 'oh, what beautiful barking that dog has!' That was Nana. "
     "She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful
businessman in this city. But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support
for my grandpa's career," he said, with a voice now trembling, "That was Nana's way."
     Through a low sob, he continued, "Whenever she did anything worth recognition, you'd have to hear
about it from a different source, because she was never one to show off."
     Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, "Nana taught me courage. She put
up an incredible fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life. That was
Nana's way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner."
     There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the
first time. The trouble with teenagers is that they haven't learned to be controlled.
When that boy rose to speak about the woman who surely had been his truest and best friend, his honest
voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide in the calm ceremony. He
exposed us to the truth about this very real woman who believed in a boy who probably tried the
patience of many adults. He reminded us that his grandmother was more than another dot on the chart of
life and death.
     All over again we felt those powerful losses crossing our own hearts, and we knew that when you say
good-bye to something happy, something young in yourself. And that something never really returns, and
the pain never really goes away.

1. In the first paragraph, the writer gave some examples to________ .

A. support his idea that young people are no good
B. introduce his point of view about young people
C. tell people every coin has its two sides
D. show young people often make mistakes

2. From the boy's speech, we know _______ .

A. his grandmother had great influence on him
B. they had a dog which often attacked people
C. people had forgotten her until the boy appeared
D. his grandmother was so weak that she is always living in the shadow of his grandpa

3. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The boy 's speech moved no one present at the funeral except the writer
B. The boy's being good at expressing himself enabled him to draw everyone's attention
C. The boy was too grieved to accept the fact that his grandmother had passed away
D. The writer didn't expect the event would affect him

4. What words can best describe grandmother's quality?

A. Weak, mild and modest
B. Easygoing, cautious and considerate
C. Sensitive and hard on others
D. Patient, optimistic, strong and helpful.

5. The passage tells the readers_______ .

A. facing certain bitter facts help young people to grow
B. young people have to control themselves
C. the adults should learn from the young
D. the adults should teach the young how to be brave    

                                                        Thanks a Million, Dad
     I was born disabled. A difficult birth, feet first, my head stuck.By my first birthday, I couldn't stand or
walk.
     When I was three, the doctor told dad I had cerebral palsy (腦癱).A loss of oxygen to my brain had
destroyed brain signals to the right side of my body.
     But no son of my dad' s was going to be disabled. Every morning before breakfast and every evening
before bed, my dad placed me on the bedroom floor to exercise my right leg. The muscles were shrunk
and twisted together. Back and forth up and down, my dad pushed and pulled the muscles into shape.
     But my dad' s exercise of passion didn't stop there. For my 13th birthday, he threw me a special party. When everybody was gone, he brought me to open a large box, it was a-set of boxing gloves. We put
them on. My dad kept on beating me mercilessly. Each time I tried to get up, leather kissed my nose,
eyes and jaw. I "begged him to stop. He said he beat me to get me ready for the tough world.
     That same year, I was the only kid in my neighborhood that wasn't picked for Little League. Two
weeks later. Dad started the Shedd Park Minor League, and every kid played. Dad coached us and
made me a pitcher (棒球投手).
     The power of my dad' s love guaranteed I walked and more. In high school, I became a football star.
In 1997, a brain surgeon in San Jose told me I didn't t have cerebral palsy after all. He explained how and where the doctor' s forceps (鑷子) at birth had damaged my brain.
      My dad never knew the whole truth since he passed away years ago. But all that counts is the bottom
line. After all his madness, on this Father' s Day, like every Father' s Day, I' m no longer disabled.

1.What caused the author' s disability?

A. A failed operation.
B. The doctor's forceps.
C. An accident in a game.
D. Shrunken and twisted muscles.

2. What do we learn from the passage?

A. The author has a talent for boxing.
B. The author achieved a lot thanks to his father' s love.
C. The author became a baseball star with the help of his father.
D. The author doesn't think his father should be so strict with him.

3. Paragraph 3 suggests that the author' s father____.

A. wouldn't give up hope easily
B. believed his son was a normal child
C. blamed the doctors for his son' s disability
D. couldn't accept the truth that his son was disabled

4. The author wrote the passage to ____.

A. remember his father
B. encourage disabled children
C. show the difficulty the disabled face
D. give advice to the parents of disabled children

     "Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?"
     The usual laughter followed, and people stirred to go. Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the
room and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes
that I was.
     "I will answer your question."
     Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small
round mirror, about the size of a quarter. And what he said went like this:
     "When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One
day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that
place.
     I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest
piece. This one, and, by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and
became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never
shine-in deep holes and crevices (裂縫) and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the
most inaccessible places I could find.
     I kept the little mirror, and, as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and
continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a
child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the
light or the source of light. But light-truth, understanding, knowledge-is there, and it will shine in many
dark places only if I reflect it.
     I am a fragment (碎片) of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless,
with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world-into the black places in the hearts
of men-and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what
I am about. This is the meaning of my life."

1. On hearing the author's question, Dr. Papaderos _____ at first.

A. laughed at his foolishness     
B. wasn't sure of the answer
C. doubted his seriousness        
D. wasn't interested at all

2. Why did Dr. Papaderos like the small round mirror so much as a child?

A. Because he was too poor to afford other toys. 
B. Because it could shine the places where the sun couldn't reach. 
C. Because he believed it would bring good luck to him. 
D. Because it told him a lot about what life really meant to him.

3.  The underlined "metaphor" in the 7th paragraph most probably means _____.  

A. symbol      
B. source         
C. light    
D. purpose

4. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. A Special Game in the Childhood    
B. A Broken Piece of Mirror
C. Dr. Papaderos' Experience    
D. The Meaning of Life

     Anthony was sad. He was, as he put it, "not very bright" and couldn't win the attention of his very
wealthy parents, who preferred his "clever" older brother. At  age 8, Anthony was sent away to a
boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded with (懇求) his parents
year after year not to send  him. "The thought was ,it would be good for me," he recalled.
     It was not. Anthony did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied for five years. "My
teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me," he said. "I wasn't even smart enough to rebel. The
one thing I remember from the very earliest age was the desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I
remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer."
     Now, at 55, Anthony is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider
series has sold more than 5 million copies,and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears,
has come out.
    The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British
intelligence agency M16.
     Anthony says he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way." I have a feeling that it has
something to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the
room, the character in the room, and get on with the action," he said.
     The style has also made Anthony a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because,
he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about
entertaining people with a good story.
     Now, Anthony couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success:"…you can be anything you
want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely."

1. Which of the following is true of Anthony?

A. He was the beloved child of his family.
B. Although he is successful, he isn't very happy.
C. He places more emphasis on the characters' behavior in his stories.
D. Studying in a boarding school proved a good choice for him.

2. At boarding school , Anthony's teachers ________.

A. often criticized him.
B. showed great concern for him.
C. encouraged him to be a writer.
D. thought little of his ability.

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Anthony's popular books-Alex Rider series
B. Alex Rider, a popular character
C. Anthony, a successful children's book author
D. Special writing style

4. What advice does Anthony give to readers?

A. Confidence is the key to success.
B. Hardship teaches valuable lessons.
C. Internet is the best teacher.
D. Failure is the mother of success.

    The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches
of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already
known the bitterness of life. "Bananas 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira." He said in a low voice. I bargained
him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn't
have change, so I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
     When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it's
not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the
burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the
responsibility it brought to us.
     I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready.
I waved them away. "What's up?" I asked him.
     "I…don't have money to buy books for school." I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh
500 naira bills. "Will this help?" I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One
thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less
each year. "Thank you, sir." he said. "Thank you very much!"
     When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for schoolbooks. What if
he's a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him?
Later, I realized that I didn't know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.
     Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I
returned, I went out for a drive. When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my
window with a big smile ready on his face.
     "Oh, gosh! Long time."
     "Are you in school now?" I asked.
     He nodded.
     "That's good," I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted.
"Here," I held out a 500 naira bill. "Take this." He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. "What's
wrong?" I asked. "It's a gift."
      He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back. His face shone with sweat. He
dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, "I've been waiting to
give these to you."

1. What was the author's first impression of the boy?

A. He seemed to be poor and greedy.
B. He seemed to have suffered a lot.
C. He seemed younger than his age.
D. He seemed good at bargaining.

2. The second time the author met the boy, the boy ______.

A. told him his purpose of selling fruit and nuts
B. wanted to express his thanks
C. asked him for money for his schoolbooks
D. tried to take advantage of him

3. Why did the author give his money to the boy?

A. Because he had enough money to do that.
B. Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.
C. Because he held a higher position in the society.
D. Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.

4. Which of the following best describes the boy?

A. Brave and polite.          
B. Kind and smart.
C. Honest and thankful.        
D. Shy and nervous.