I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from
the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of
career (職業(yè)).
     I wasn't an excellent student because I didn't do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking
what I might do and found I didn't have much to offer. I just accepted that l wasn't the type to have a career.
     I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn't too bad at first. But the problems began
when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We
agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she'd give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn't
often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings
with the children.
     One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told
her about my situation. She suggested me that I should do a course and meet a qualification if I wanted to
work with children I didn't think I would be accepted because I didn't take many exams in school.
     She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot
and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
     Now I've got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you
could have a career, even if you aren't top of the class at school.

1. What is the author's present job?

A. Working part-time in a college.
B Taking care of children for a family.
C. Helping children with their schoolwork.
D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.

2. When staying with the girls' family, the author _____.

A. was paid for extra work
B. often worked long hours
C. got much help from her boss
D. took a day off every other week

3. Why did the author leave her first job?

A. Because she found a full-time job.
B. Because she was fed up with children.
C. Because she decided to attend a part-time course.
D. Because she needed a rest after working extra hours.

4. What has the author learned from her own experience?

A. Less successful students can still have a career.
B. Qualifications are necessary for a career.
C. Hard work makes an excellent student.
D. One must choose the job she likes.

     It was an exciting day as I first entered the classroom for my first lesson in the USA. My heart was beating
very hard when the professor asked everyone to introduce themselves. I was very anxious and did not hear
anyone else's introduction. I buried myself in what I was going to say.
     Classes went on and I noticed my American classmates were very active in class. My unwillingness to speak
during class started to worry me when I realized that I was ignored in class. But I did not give up. One simple
way I broke down this fear of speaking was to arrive 10 to 15 minutes earlier at the classroom. It gave me time
to _____ class discussions.
     The person whom I feared most was the professor. So I found every chance to speak with him before and
after class. When I did not have the chance to talk with the professor in class, I wrote an e-mail or made a date
with him outside the class with questions I had. These were very effective ways to help me speak freely in
class! Since the chance of expressing myself in class was limited, I finished all of my reading and written tasks
before class. One time, the professor asked a question about the reading homework. The whole class was silent
and I suddenly raised my hand and answered it perfectly! That moment I set the world on fire.
     Once I started participating in class, I realized how valuable it was. Class discussion was the best way to
learn and memorize things. It also made class a living and enjoyable experience. Participating in class is also like
climbing a ladder. I often prepared very simple questions to use at the beginning of class. Once I started to
speak, it was easier to speak up more. Classroom is the place to learn, so no one would consider you as a fool
even if you put forward simple questions in class.

1. What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one? I was busy in preparing what I was
    going to say. 
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Which word or phrase can be replaced by the underlined word "participating"? (Please answer within 5
    words.) 
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Please fill in the blank with proper words or phrases to complete the passage. (Please answer within 5 words.)
     ______________________________________________________________________________________
5. Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese. 
    ______________________________________________________________________________________

     Mr. and Mrs. Smith had always spent their summer holidays in New Jersey in the past, staying in a small
inn at the foot of a hill. One year, however, Mr. Smith made a lot of money in his business, so they decided
to go to London and stay at a really good hotel while they went t turning around that famous city.
     They flew to London and arrived at their hotel late one evening. They expected that they would have to
go bed hungry, because in that small inn in New Jersey, no meals served after seven. They were therefore
surprised when the man who received them in the hall asked whether they would take dinner there that night.
     "Are you still serving dinner?" asked Mr. Smith.
     "Yes,certainly, sir," answered the man. "We serve it until half past nine."
     "What are the times of meals then?" asked Mr. Smith.
     "Well, sir," answered the man. "We sever breakfast from seven to half past eleven in the morning, lunch
from twelve to three in the afternoon, tea from four to five, and dinner from six to half past nine."
     "But that hardly leaves any time for us to see the sights of London!" said Mrs. Smith.

1. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had _____ in the past.

A. often stayed in a quite good hotel
B. often stayed in a small inn
C. travelled to many places
D. made a lot of money

2. They decided to go to a really good hotel because _____.

A. it was said to be a quite good one
B. they were tired of small inns
C. it was near many places of interest
D. they now had enough money

3. When they got to the hotel, _____.

A. no meals wre served after seven
B. dinner was still being severed
C. there wre no visitors
D. the waiters were asleep

4. Mrs. Smith _____.

A. would have lots of time to see the sights
B. was afraid that they would have no time to tour around London
C. thought the hotel wasn't so good as they expected
D. did know why the hotel was better than the small inn

     Sometimes you make a wish but when it comes, you decide you don't want it after all. That's what
happened with Mickey's "birthday wish".
     Our family tradition is that you make a wish before you blow out the birthday candle. After he blew
out the candle, Mickey told us that his wish was to win a prize in the Pine Ridge match. We quickly told
Mickey that if you tell people your wish, your wish won't come true. So we lit the candle again, and he
made another wish.
     Mickey and Paul were both supposed to start playing at 5:30.
     When Mickey reported to the check-in table, the game organizers told him his opponent had phoned
and said he was coming late. The officials told Mickey he could choose not to play-and be declared the
victor of the first round of competition.
     But Mickey said he didn't want to win by not playing. He wanted the experience of playing a great
player. Finally, the beast showed up. He was tall, smiling and relaxed. His serve (發(fā)球) was like lightning.
Mickey had some good returns, but he lost quickly, 6-1, 6-0. We congratulated Mickey on having some
good returns and a few great serves. And we noted that he had won the first game.
     "I didn't win that game," Mickey said. "I think he just gave it to me at the beginning because he arrived
late."
     "It was a birthday present," I said, smiling.
     "No, I refused my birthday present," Mickey said. In his eyes, his "birthday present" had been the
chance to win by his opponent's forfeit.
     Mickey ended up winning the "consolation trophy"-a smaller prize we didn't know existed until Mickey
earned it by being undefeated in the consolation bracket.
     We'll never know what Mickey's second wish was-the wish he didn't share with us.
     It seems to me that no matter how many birthdays you celebrate, as long as you enjoy challenges, you
will never be "old".

1. What impressed the writer most according to the passage?

A. Mickey was defeated in the game.
B. Mickey played fairly well in the game.
C. Mickey was brave enough to face the challenge.
D. Paul's perfect serve skill.

2. Why did Mickey lose the match?

A. He gave up the chance to be the victor of the first round of competition.
B. He let out his birthday wish.
C. He was too sure of his ability.
D. His opponent played much better than he did.

3. What did Mickey feel after the game?

A. He tried his best and that was enough.
B. He had no way to defeat his opponent.
C. He was not satisfied with himself.
D. He hated his opponent and was determined to beat him next time.

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _____.

A. one can keep young by enjoying challenges
B. you will become old as you celebrate your birthdays
C. you will stay young by continuously celebrating your birthdays
D. you will keep young without celebrating your birthdays

                                                       My Garden by Nelson Mandela
     In early 1977, the authorities (當(dāng)局) announced the physical labour and arranged some kind of work for
us to do in the courtyard. The free time also allowed me to hunt what became two of my favorite hobbies in
Robben Island-gardening and tennis.
     To survive in prison, one must develop ways to take satisfaction in one's daily life. One can feel fulfilled
(充實(shí)) by washing one's clothes so that they are particularly clean. Just as one takes pride in important tasks
outside of prison, one can find the same pride in doing small things inside prison.
     Almost from the beginning of my sentence on Robben Island, I asked the authorities for permission to
start a garden in the courtyard For years, they refused without offering a reason But finally they gave in, and
we were able to cut out a small garden on a narrow patch of earth against the far wall.
     The soil in the courtyard was dry and rocky. In order to start my garden, I had to remove a great many
rocks to allow the plant room to grow.
     The authorities supplied me with seeds. At first, I planned tomatoes and onions, because these plants did
not require rich earth or constant care. The early harvests were poor, but they soon improved.
     I began to order books on gardening. I studied different gardening techniques and types of fertilizers (肥
料). I did not have many of the materials the book discussed, but I learned by trial and error (反復(fù)實(shí)驗(yàn)). For
a time, I tried to grow peanuts, and used different soils and fertilizers, but finally I gave up. It was one of my
few failures.
     A garden was one of the few things in prison that one could control. The process of planting a seed,
watching it grow, taking care of it and then harvesting it offered a simple but long-lasting satisfaction. The
sense of being the owner of the small patch of earth offered a small taste of freedom.

1. Mandela's hobbies on Robben Island were ____.

A. hunting and physical labour
B. gardening and tennis
C. washing his clothes
D. gardening techniques and types of fertilizers

2. When did Mandela ask the prison authorities for the permission to start a small garden?

A. Soon after 1997.
B. Some time in early 1977.
C. Almost as soon as he went to prison there.
D. Long after he went to prison there.

3. Why did Mandela wash his clothes especially clean although he was in prison?

A. To show he could do it as well as others.
B. To get some sense of pride and satisfaction from it.
C. To show others that he preferred to be clean.
D. To gain the authorities' permission to start a garden.

4. Hard as he tried, he failed ____ at last. 

A. to order books on gardening
B. to grow tomatoes and onions
C. to grow peanuts
D. to get the same pride inside prison.