Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there
a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
     My earliest memories of my father are of a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and family,
but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him; as a school girl and young adult I feared him and
felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A's and unhappy with my boyfriends if
their fathers were not as "successful" as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to
struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
     On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father's friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We
walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son's funny facial
expressions. Gone was my father's critical air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who
seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
     The next day my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own
childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment.
After so many years, I'm at last seeing another side of my father. And in doing so, I'm delighted with my new
friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.

1. Why did the author feel bitter about her father when she was a young adult?

A. He was silent most of the time.
B. He was too proud of himself.
C. He did not love his children.
D. He expected too much of her.

2. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?

A. More critical.
B. More talkative.
C. Gentle and friendly.
D. Strict and hard-working.

3. The underlined words "my new friend" in the last paragraph refer to _____.

A. the author's son
B. the author's father
C. the friend of the author's father
D. the café bar

     When Mr Black looked out of the window, he saw two armed men running towards his house. One was
short and the other was rather thin and tall.
     Having closed the window quietly, Mr. Black gave his pistol (手槍) to his son and said, "We are surrounded
by the robbers now," He pointed to the kitchen and his son went in there quickly.
     Mr Black went to the front door with nothing in his hand. He was very good at ju-do (柔道), and lungful. 
     The tall man entered the room with a sharp sword in his hand. He didn't see Mr. Black who stood just
behind the door. He fell onto the floor as Mr. Black attacked. Unfortunately the short man with a pistol jumped
into the room after he had broken the window. He shot Mr. Black in the arm and tied him to a chair. The two
men went out through the kitchen with money they had taken in Mr. Back's bedroom. Suddenly two shots
were heard and the two men fell down. Mr. Black's son had shot them. When the police arrived after they
received the boy's telephone, they took Mr. Black and the two robbers to hospital.

1. When Mr. Black saw two armed men running towards his house, _____.

A. he was very much frightened
B. he told his son get away at once
C. he closed all the windows and doors to keep the robbers off
D. he was calm and had an idea to fight them

2. How did Mr. Black know the two men when he first saw them?

A. They carried weapons with them.
B. Mr. Black had seen them before.
C. They were both running towards the house.
D. Mr. black had never seen them before.

3. Mr. Black fought the tall man _____.

A. with a sharp sword
B. with his hand
C. with a pistol
D. with a broom he found behind the door

     A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children's books to five different libraries in the county
was released from prison after a book publisher agreed to post his bond (保釋金) of $1,000. The publisher
said. "There's a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can't let go of them. He hasn't stolen a
single book. So what's the crime? We think that Mr. Banish has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story."
     When asked why he didn't return the books. Mr. Banish said, "Well, how could I? They became family
to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew
them up, throw them around, tear the pages, spill soda on them, get jelly and jelly on them, and drown them
in the toilet.
     He continued, "Books are people, too! They talk to you,they take care of you, and they enrich you with
wisdom,humor and love. A book is a guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I
dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some flesh air."
     "Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends, My books were happy
books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they're all back in the libraries, on the lower shelves, on
the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids I can hear them calling me. I need to rescue them.
Excuse me. I have to go now."

1. Why was the man put into prison?

A. Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so.
B. Because he stole 700 children's books from the five different libraries.
C. Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed.
D. Because he wanted to publish his story.

2. How did the man treat books?

A. He treated them as real people.
B. He treated them as his own children.
C. He treated them as his furniture.
D. He treated them as his job.

3.From the passage we can learn that the man is _____.

A. a thief
B. a writer
C. crazy about books
D. unfortunate

4. What might happen after the man was set free?

A. He might stop borrowing books.
B. He might start a library of his own.
C. He might go on borrowing books from libraries.
D. He might return all his books

     Lisa was running late. Lisa, 25, had a lot to do at work, plus visitors on the way: her parents were
coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs, she started
to feel uncomfortably warm. By the time she got to the platform, Lisa felt weak and tired-maybe it hadn't
been a good idea to give blood the night before, she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the
tracks.
     Several yards away, Frank, 43, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, found a spot close to where the front of the
train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.
     But when he heard the scream, followed by someone yelling, "Oh, my God, she fell in!" Frank didn't
hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. "No! Not
you!" his girlfriend screamed after him.
     She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa, he could feel the tracks shaking and see
the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.
     It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that
bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained
consciousness (知覺), felt herself being pulled along the ground, and saw someone else holding her purse.
     Lisa thought she'd been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood
pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn't, and that was when she realized how much pain
she was in.
     Police and fire officials soon arrived, and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was
calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown-just as he had been seconds after the rescue, which made her
think about her reaction at the time. "I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die," she
explained.

1. What was the most probable cause for Lisa's weakness?

A. She had run a long way.
B. She felt hot in the subway.
C. She had done a lot of work.
D. She had given blood the night before.

2. Why did Jennifer try to stop her boyfriend?

A. Because they would miss their train.
B. Because he didn't see the train coming.
C. Because she was sure Lisa was hard to lift.
D. Because she was afraid the train would kill him.

3. When did Lisa become conscious again?

A. When the train was leaving.
B. After she was back on the platform.
C. After the police and fire officials came.
D. When a man was cleaning the blood from her head.

4. The passage is intended to _____.

A. warn us of the danger in the subway
B. show us how to save people in the subway
C. tell us about a subway rescue
D. report a traffic accident

     Every weekday morning I take the 8:30 bus to go to my job. I know by sight several people who also take
that bus. Some of the girls work as maids. They get off at each stop in ones, twos or threes.
     But at one corner something wonderful happens. Before the bus stops, a little dog races out of the nearest
house. He doesn't look at two of the maids who get off. But for the third he has a joyful "Hello!". From head
to tail, his little body wags his happiness. Everyone on the bus watches until the maid and the dog go into the
house.
     One day not long ago, the maid wasn't on the bus. I wondered if the dog would be waiting for her. Sure
enough, he was!
     He stood at the back door of the bus for a minute. I could see his joyful welcome turning into fearful
worry. Where was she?
     The driver closed the back door. The dog raced to the front door. It, too, shut in his face. Everyone on the
bus felt sad. Poor little pup! He looked so unhappy, standing there! The driver couldn't stand it. He opened the
door and looked down at the dog. "She didn't come today," he said, in a loud, kind voice.
     A man in a front seat leaned forward. "Maybe she will come tomorrow," he called.
     The dog wagged his tail as if to say "thank you." He watched the bus as we pulled away. Then he turned to
trot home-alone.
     The next day everyone on the bus was happy to see the maid back again. Yes, the dog was waiting for her. 
     The welcome he gave her was even warmer and more delighted than usual. We all smiled at one another.
How bright and good the morning suddenly seemed to us!

1. What do the people on the bus usually see at one corner?

A. A little dog coming close to the bus when it stops.
B. Two maids get off the moment the bus stops.
C. A dog waiting for someone.
D. A dog greets a maid merrily and follows her into a house.

2. One day the maid wasn't on the bus and the dog _____.

A. didn't appear
B. stood waiting at the bus stop till the bus left
C. raced about looking for the maid
D. went back the moment he found the maid wasn't there

3. All this made people on the bus _____.

A. awfully sorry
B. greatly surprised
C. very bored
D. much exited

4. The next day people on the bus were happy, for _____.

A. the maid was among them again
B. she would not take the same bus
C. she was not on their bus
D. she was waiting for an empty bus to come

5. We can safely say this story is about _____.

A. a magic dog
B. a young maid that has magic powers
C. a bus that can produce magical results
D. the close relationship between a maid and her dog

     Sometimes you make a wish, but when it comes, you decide you don't want it. That's what happened with
Micky'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, Micky told us that his wish was to win a prize in the Pine Ridge-match. We quickly told Micky, "If you
tell people your wish, your wish won't come true." So we lit the candle again, and he made another wish. Micky
and Paul were both supposed to start playing at 5:30.
     When Micky reported to the check-in table, the game organizers told him his opponent (對手) had phoned
and said he was coming late. The officials told Micky he could choose not to play and be declared the victor of
the first round of competition.
     But Micky 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.  
     Micky had some good returns, but he lost quickly, 6-1, 6-0.
     We congratulated Micky 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," Micky 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," Micky said. In his eyes, his "birthday present" had been the chance to
win by his opponent's being late.
     Micky ended up winning the "consolation prize (鼓勵(lì)獎(jiǎng))" a small prize that we didn't know existed until
Micky earned it by being undefeated in the consolation bracket (檔次).
     We'll' never know what Micky'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 kind of person is Micky?

A. A person who always gives up.
B. A person who is afraid of challenges.
C. One who enjoys challenges.
D. One who is selfish.

2. Why did Micky lose the match?

A. Because he gave up a good chance.
B. Because he let the others know his birthday wish.
C. Because he was proud of himself.
D. Because his opponent played much better than him

3. The prize Micky won was _____.

A. one he had expected
B. not a well-known one
C. a famous one
D. one he thought meaningless

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

A. enjoying challenges is helpful for one to keep "young"
B. one will become old as he celebrates his birthdays
C. one will stay young by continuously celebrating his birthdays
D. challenges can make one never get old