The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed
more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were made of wood and close together.
Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives. 　
     The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker (面包師) in Pudding Lane. The baker,
with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from
the bakery into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning. 　
     By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning
along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St
Paul's and the Guildhall among them. 　　
     Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire, "People threw their things into the river. Many poor
people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat." 　　
     The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of
the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out. 　　
     After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect (建筑師), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new
houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the
new St Paul's. 　　
    The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just
of the past.

1. It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that _____.

A. some people lost their lives 　
B. the birds in the sky were killed by the fire 　
C. many famous buildings were destroyed
D. the King's bakery was burned down

2. Why did the writer cite (引用) Samuel Pepys?

A. Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. 　
B. Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. 　
C. To show that poor people suffered most. 　
D. To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.

3. How was the fire put out according to the text?

A. The King and his soldiers came to help. 　
B. All the houses made of wood in the city were destroyed. 　
C. People managed to get enough water from the river.
D. Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down.

4. Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread of the big fire? 　
    a. There was a strong wind.　　　　　
    b. The streets were not wide enough.
    c. Many houses were made of wood.　
    d. There was not enough water in the city. 　
    e. People did not discover the fire earlier.

A. a and b　　　　　　　　　　　
B. a, b and c 　
C. a, b, c and d　　　　　 　
D. a, b, c, d and e

     Jee Hock and Meng Kim were very good friends. Jee Hock could not see. He was blind. Meng Kim could
not walk. He was lame. They lived in a village near a forest. Everyone in the village was going to a rich man's
dinner on the other side of the forest. Jee Hock and Meng Kim were anxious to attend the dinner too.
     Blind Jee Hock thought of a plan. He would carry Meng Kim. The lame man could tell him the way. Meng
Kim said that the plan was a good one.
     On the way through the forest, Meng Kim saw a tiger. He did not tell Jee Hock about is. Instead, he quietly
asked Jee Hock to carry him to the mearest tree. Upon reaching an over banging branch, Meng Kim quickly
hauled himself up.
     Then the tiger roared. Jee Hock at once knew a tiger was near. He lay down quietly. The tiger came to him
and sniffed his body. The tiger's whiskers touched Jee Hock's nose. At once Jee Hock sneezed,
"Ah choooooo!"The tiger was afraid and ran away.
     Then Meng Kim came down from the tree. He asked Jee Hock about the tiger. Jee Hock said that the tiger
had told him to choose his friends wisely.

1. Jee Hock and Meng Kim were good _____.

A. men
B. tigers
C. friends
D. brothers

2. They decided to go to _____.

A. a picnic
B. a dinner
C. a party
D. the cinema

3. When Meng Kim saw the tiger, he _____.

A. shouted loudly
B. did not tell Jee Hock about it
C. quickly climbed up a tree
D. lay down quietly

4. Jee Hock knew the tiger was near. He ______.

A. went to sleep
B. cried
C. sat down and waited
D. lay down quietly

5. Jee Hock sneezed because the tiger's whiskers _____.

A. hurt him
B. was very long
C. cut his nose
D. touched his nose

     Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own.
My mom was one of those people.
     My father died when I was nine months old, making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen.
While I was growing up, we lived a very hard life. We had little money, but my mom gave me a lot of love.
Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life, "Kemmons, you are
certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it."
     At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother
spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said, I could walk again
if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year
later, I returned to school - walking on my own!
     When the Great Depression (大蕭條) hit, my mom lost her job. Then I left school to support the both
of us. At that moment, I was determined never to be poor again.
     Over the years, I experienced various levels of business success. But the real turning point occurred on
a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951. I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available
for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child. That was too expensive for the
average American family. I told my wife that I was going to open a motel (汽車(chē)旅館) for families that would
never charge extra for children. There were plenty of doubters at that time.
     Not surprisingly, mom was one of my strongest supporters. She worked behind the desk and even
designed the room style. As in any business, we experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother's
words deeply rooted in my soul, I never doubted we would succeed. Fifteen years later, we had the largest
hotel system in the world-Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries
with an income of $ 1 billion a year.
     You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for
and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.

1. What Kemmons' mom often told him during his childhood was ______.

A. caring
B. moving
C. encouraging
D. interesting

2. According to the author, who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?

A. Doctors.
B. Nurses.
C. Friends.
D. Mom.

3. What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A. His terrible experience in the hotel.
B. His previous business success of various levels.
C. His moms support.
D. His wife's suggestion.

4. Which of the following best describes Kemmons' mother?

A. Modest, helpful, and hard-working.
B. Loving, supportive and strong-willed.
C. Careful, helpful and beautiful.
D. Strict, sensitive and supportive.

5. Which of the following led to Kemmons' success according to the passage?

A. Self-confidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family.
B. Mom's encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work.
C. Clear goals, mom's encouragement, a poor family and higher education.
D. Mom's encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities.

     Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner. When we were
seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant. Then waitress said there
was a soldier having dinner with his friend. My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their
dinner was paid for! He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor (施主).
     Then waitress later commented on my dad's thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything
like this before. At a local college, she had studied opera and so she used this to thank my dad by performing
a piece from The Pearl Fisherman. Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect!
     After a while, the soldier appeared at our table (I don't know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him.)
and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without
saying"thanks" to my dad. My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say"thanks". They shook hands as the
soldier left.
      Before we left, the waitress came by again. She did a magic show as another way to show her"thanks" to
my dad. Her show was really great. My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance
time in addition to a $ 50 tip.
     Everyone witnessed something exemplary (可作榜樣的) in the human spirit that night. I can only hope to
see more of this in the future.

1. My dad offered help to the soldier and his friend in the restaurant probably because _____.

A. he wanted to thank them for all they had done
B. he wanted to know more about them
C. he wanted the waitress to thank him
D. he wanted the soldiers to know his kindness

2. The waitress performed The Pearl Fisherman in the restaurant because _______.

A. she was asked to perform to the guests
B. she wanted to show off her wonderful skills
C. she wanted to show her respect and thanks to the author's dad
D. she wanted to attract more and more guests

3. What did the soldier do in response to the author's father's kindness?

A. He gave something to author's dad.
B. He gave a big tip to the waitress.
C. He did a magic show for the author and her father.
D. He said thanks to the author's dad in person.

4. The passage mainly tells us that we should  _______.

A. find ways to thank others
B. learn to be grateful to others
C. try to learn from each other
D. respect soldiers and waitresses

     "Mister D'Arcy is not a policeman. He is, however, very wise. He knew the police would search his
apartment. He also knew how police think. So, he did not hide the letter where he knew they would look
for it.
      "Do you remember how Germont laughed when I said the mystery was difficult for him to solve because
it was so simple?"
     Dupin filled his pipe with tobacco and lit it."Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the police
could not find the letter because D'Arcy had not hidden it at all.
     "So I went to visit D'Arcy in his apartment. I took a pair of dark green eyeglasses with me. I explained to
him that I was having trouble with my eyes and needed to wear the dark glasses at all times. He believed me.
The glasses permitted me to look around the apartment while I seemed only to be talking to him.
     "I paid special attention to a large desk where there were a lot of papers and books. However, I saw
nothing suspicious there. After a few minutes, however, I noticed a small shelf over the fireplace. A few
postcards and a letter were lying on the shelf. The letter looked very old and dirty.
      "As soon as I saw this letter, I decided it must be the one I was looking for. It must be, even though it
was completely different from the one Germont had described.
     "This letter had a large green stamp on it. The address was written in small letters in blue ink. I memorized
every detail of the letter while I talked to D'Arcy. Then when he was not looking, I dropped one of my gloves
on the floor under my chair.
     "The next morning, I stopped at his apartment to look for my glove. While we were talking, we heard
people shouting in the street. D'Arcy went to the window and looked out. Quickly, I stepped to the shelf and
put the letter in my pocket. Then I replaced it with a letter that looked exactly like it, which I had made it the
night before.
     "The trouble in the street was caused by a man who had almost been run over by a horse and carriage. He
was not hurt. And soon the crowd of people went away. When it was over, D'Arcy came away from the
window. I said goodbye and left.
     "The man who almost had an accident was one of my servants(雇員). I had paid him to create the
incident."
     Dupin stopped talking to light his pipe. I did not understand."But, Dupin," I said,"why did you go to the
trouble of replacing the letter? Why not just take it and leave?"
     Dupin smiled."D'Arcy is a dangerous man," he said."And he has many loyal servants. If I had taken the
letter, I might never have left his apartment alive."

1. What is Dupin probably?

A. An actor.
B. A professor.
C. An official.
D. A detective.

2. Which of he following about Dupin's dropping one of his gloves is NOT true?

A. He dropped it intentionally.
B. He dropped it carelessly.
C. He dropped it in order to drop in on D'Arcy again.
D. He dropped it to make an excuse.

3. According to the text, we can infer _______.

A. the letter Dupin took away was exactly the one he wanted.
B. the incident in the street was directed by Dupin.
C. Mr. D'Arcy and Dupin were good friends.
D. Dupin should have taken the letter away directly.

4. Which would be the best title for the text?

A. The stolen letter
B. An unexpected accident
C. A dangerous man
D. The frightening apartment