My father was a keen baseball fan Whenever he could, Dad took me out to the park and pitched balls for
me to hit.
     One day at the park, a woman pushing a young boy in a wheelchair stopped to watch us play. My dad was
over to them in a flash to ask if the child could join our game. The woman explained that her son had polio (小
兒麻痹癥) and wouldn't be able to get out of the chair. That didn't stop my dad. He placed the bat in the
youngster's hand, pushed him out to home plate and assisted him in holding the bat. Then he yelled out to me,
"Anne, pitch one in to us."
     I saw the delight in the boy's eyes, so I aimed at the bat and let the ball fly. The ball made contact with the
bat with an assist from my dad and the child screamed with joy. As I turned, I heard my dad singing Take Me
Out to the Ball Game.
     An hour later we all left the field, very tired but very happy. Dad told the mother to bring the boy back next
Saturday and we would play another game.
     Dad and I were at the field the next Saturday but the mother and son never came Twenty years passed, with
my dad gone, I had very mixed emotions about leaving the neighborhood. Before moving I decided to take one
last walk around the park where Dad and I had spent so many happy moments. Two Little League teams were
on the field just about to start a game I felt the sting of tears in my eyes as I watched the children play the game.
     "Jeff, protect your base," one coach yelled I cheered the runner on when the ball was hit far into the outfield.
The coach turned and smiled, "I never thought I'd ever be a coach playing on this field You see, I had polio as
a child and was restricted to a wheelchair. Thanks to a man's assistance, I was able to hit the ball and hear him
singing the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game. I believe that experience gave me the desire to walk again I hope
that some day I'll look up in the stands and see that man and his daughter again I sure would like to thank him."

1. The author was tearful when watching the children playing the game because _____.

A. she hadn't recovered from the loss of her father
B. she was reminded of her father playing with her in the park
C. she realized that her father hadn't received thanks from others
D. she was moved by the son who became a coach twenty years later

2. Which is the right order of the following events?
a. The author's father died.
b. The author played with the boy.
c. The author left the neighborhood.
d. The author waited for the boy to turn up.
e. The author saw the boy coaching a team.

A. d-b-e-a-c
B. d-b-e-c-a
C. b-d-a-c-e
D. b-d-a-e-c

3. The passage conveys the message that _____.

A. the boy is a miracle
B. the author's father is a hero
C. a simple act of kindness can change a life
D. ball games have a great effect on people's life

     One girl decided to study judo (柔道) although she had lost her left arm in a car accident.
     The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor. The girl was doing well. So she couldn't
understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move.
     "Instructor," the girl finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" "This is the only move you know,
but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the instructor replied.
     Not quite understanding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training.
     Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament. Surprising herself, the girl easily
won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, her opponent
became impatient and charged. The girl skillfully used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her
success, the girl was now in the finals.
     This time, her opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be
overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. She was about to stop the
match when the instructor intervened (干預).
     "No," the instructor insisted, "Let her continue."
     Soon after the match restarted, her opponent made a serious mistake: she dropped her guard. Instantly, the
girl used her move to pin her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion. 
     On the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the girl
gathered the courage to ask what was really on her mind.
     "Instructor, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
     "You won for two reasons," the teacher answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult
throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left
arm." 
     The girl's biggest weakness had become her biggest strength.

1. What can we learn about the girl?

A. She was disabled in an accident.
B. She disliked judo training.
C. She learnt several moves.
D. She won the first two matches hard.

2. The underlined word "overmatched" probably means _____.

A. impatient
B. depressed
C. defeated
D. trapped

3. The girl won the championship because of _____.

A. her bravery
B. her skills
C. her tricks
D. her strength

4. Which of the following is probably the best title of the story?

A. The Story of a Girl
B. A Disabled Girl
C. Defense Matters
D. Weakness Becomes Strength

     When Josephine Cooper was growing up, she learned the importance of charity from her parents. Although
they made a modest living for their family of 10, they insisted on sharing with those less fortunate.
     Half a century later, Mrs. Cooper became a beloved volunteer at the San Diego Food Bank, where she
devoted herself to helping others. She organized and ran a distribution center from a church, helping it become
the organization's largest emergency food distribution center in San Diego. She was one of 25 outstanding senior
volunteers in the nation selected and invited Washington D.C. to receive the award.
     "She was the main person who helped us make that program grow," said Mike Doody, former director of
the Food Bank. "She had a way of getting people to work together and to work hard. She was determined and
stubborn, but in a good way. She had a good heart." People knew her as "Grandma" because of her selflessness
and her devotion to helping hungry children and families. "She reminded people of their Grandma." Doody said. 
     As a widow with a young child in 1979, Mrs. Cooper was helped through a difficult financial time when the
Food Bank provided her with groceries. "She devoted her life to giving back," said her daughter, Monica Cooper. It wasn't unusual for a local church to call Mrs. Cooper to ask her to aid a needy family. "She would give people
food out of her cupboard. Sometimes we would cook a meal for a family living out of their car," Cooper said. 
     Although Mrs. Cooper was honored to receive the national award for her volunteer work, she said being able
to help others was her reward. She died of liver disease and kidney failure, aged 93.

1. The underlined word "charity" in Paragraph 1 refers to _____.

A. offering help
B. donating money
C. providing services
D. showing sympathy

2. The San Diego Food Bank is meant to _____.

A. distribute food in case of emergency
B. help hungry children and families
C. give basic first-aid treatment
D. train some senior volunteers

3. Which of the following is true of Mrs. Cooper?

A. She died at an early age.
B. She refused the national award.
C. She was kind and devoted.
D. She was not easy to get along with.

4. From what Monica Cooper said, we know that _____.

A. she is in financial trouble
B. she was finally rewarded
C. she once misunderstood her mother
D. she thinks highly of her mother

5. Mrs Cooper's story suggests that _____.

A. everyone needs a Grandma nearby
B. children are what their parents are
C. a Sound mind is in a sound body
D. a mother's love never changes

     The sun was just coming up when I headed out to work last May at 6 a.m. Not quite dark, but dark
enough to need my headlights. I turned onto one of the lonely, rural country roads.
     Maybe it was because I was listening to the radio, maybe it was because I was already thinking about
some projects at work, but I didn't spot the dark object on the road until it was too late. I ran over it and
felt the back left tyre pull, and then sink. I stopped and got out of the car.
     No mystery here-my back left tyre was cut like a loaf of bread. Back 50 yards was a piece of sharp
iron I'd run over. I've never changed a tyre. I looked up the road. Not a car in either direction. The nearest
service station was miles away. I threw up my hands. Then I remembered-my cell phone! I powered it up
before realizing, I didn't know who to call.
     Wouldn't you know it, I spotted a car coming from the opposite direction. The driver slowed as he
approached. I guess he could see I was in trouble. He stopped his car, got out and immediately saw the
trouble. "Madam, would you like me to change that tyre for you?" he asked. The man couldn't have been
more friendly. I was so frightened out there and he put me completely at ease. "There," he said, after putting
on the spare, "you're all set to go."
     "Good thing for me that you were driving this way," I told him, as I climbed back into my car.
     "Funny you should say that," he said. "Just like you, I was heading to work, but my job's in the opposite
direction. I made a wrong turn at some point. I don't know what I was thinking."

1. The writer didn't notice the object on the road because _____.

A. it was rather dark then
B. she didn't use her headlights
C. there was much traffic
D. she was careless when driving

2. From Paragraph 4 we learn that _____.

A. the writer felt quite anxious
B. no one would like to help the writer
C. the writer was a new driver
D. the cell phone should be powered up

3. What did the man do when he saw the writer?

A. He stopped and laughed at her.
B. He walked over to frighten her.
C. He helped her without hesitation.
D. He drove away in the opposite direction.

4. The end of the story tells us that the man _____.

A. went a wrong way
B. felt the writer funny
C. didn't know what he was doing
D. knew the writer needed help