About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas（胰腺). I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which was doctor’s code for preparing to die. It meant to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It meant to make sure everything was buttoned up so that it would be as easy as possible for your family. It meant to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy(活組織檢查). I was calm, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
This is the closest I’ve been to facing death. No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by the principle — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
【小題1】The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to let the readers __________.

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband， had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike， a black Kona 18 speed， was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work， putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries(食品雜貨)， saving us from having to walk along long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity(人性) as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
【小題1】Why was the bike so important to the couple？

When I met him，I had a lot of anger inside me. I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem， but in my neighborhood，there are shoot-ups all the time. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way，too，but Mr. Clark wouldn’t let that happen.
Mr. Clark worked long hours，making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact，the scores of our whole class rose. One day，he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera，and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show，he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down.
Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat；those students would go with him to Los Angles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names，Mr. Clark said,“You’re all going.”
On graduation day，there were a lot of tears. We didn’t want his class to end. In 2001，he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch. He started giving lectures about education，and wrote a bestsell -ing book based on his classroom rules，The Essential 55. In 2003，Mr. Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages(孤兒院). It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.
【小題1】Without Mr. Clark，the writer _________.

I remember my first Christmas party with Grandma．I remember the day when my big sister dropped the bomb: “There is no Santa Claus,” she laughed．“Even dummies know that!”
　　I fled to Grandma because I knew she always told me  21 ．After I told her everything, she said “No Santa Claus? Don’t believe it. Now,  22 your coat, and let’s go.”
　　“Go? Go where?” I asked．
　　“Where” 23  to be the General Store．As we walked through its doors, Grandma   24 me ten dollars．That was a lot in those days．“Take this money and buy something for  25 needs it．I’ll wait for you in the car．”
　　The store seemed big and  26 , full of people hurrying to finish their Christmas shopping．For a few moments I just stood there, 27  , holding that bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for．
　　Suddenly I thought of Bobbie who sat right behind me．I remembered he didn’t have a coat．I fingered the bill with growing  28 ．I would buy Bobbie a coat．
　　“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the   29  asked me kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down
　　“Yes,” I replied shyly．“It’s…for Bobbie.”
　　The nice lady smiled at me．I didn’t get any  30 , but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas．
　　That evening, Grandma helped me  31  the coat and wrote, “To Bobby, From Santa Claus” on it．Then she  32 me over to Bobbie’s house．
　　Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie’s house, and she and I crept 33 and hid in the  34 ．Then Grandma gave me a sign．“All right, Santa Claus, get going．”
　　I took a deep 35 , dashed for his front door, threw the present down, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety．Together we  36 breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open．Finally it  37 , and there stood Bobbie．
Forty years haven’t dimmed the thrill of those  38 spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie’s bushes． 39 ,  I realized: Santa was alive and well, and we were  40  his team．

If you are in a town in a western country, you'll often see people walking with their dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful animal in the world. But the reason why one keeps a dog has changed Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted it to help him in the fight against other animals, and he found that the dog listened to him and did what he told him to. Later people used dogs for  hunting other animals, and the dogs didn't eat what they got until their master agreed. So dogs were used for driving sheep and guarding chicks. But now the people in the towns and cities do not need dogs to fight other animals. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason is that people feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she doesn’t have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog, but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family.
【小題1】_______are more useful than a dog in the world.

While watching a swimming competition one night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to complete. In fact, it is difficult enough, not having anyone to race against.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was obvious that the man was not out for gold — his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd beginning to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes (劃水) and you could tell he was exhausted.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
This young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in swimming history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to the competition.
In a competition, we usually watch the brilliant athletes competing for medals, but it is nice to watch an underdog.
【小題1】From the passage we learn that the young man _____.

It was a warm April day when a big fat envelope came in the mail from the only college I had ever imagined attending. I tore open the packet. My eyes were fixed on the word “congratulations. ”I don’t remember ever smiling so wide.
Then I looked at my financial（財(cái)政的）package.
The cost of Dream School’s tuition（學(xué)費(fèi)）, room and board was around $ 40,000- an impossible sum! How could I afford to attend? What good reasons did I have to go there when three other fine colleges were offering me free tuition? My other choices were good, solid schools even if they weren’t as famous as my first choice.
In my mind, attending my dream university would be the only way to realize my dream of becoming a world-class writer. My parents understood how I felt. They told me that even though it would be a financial problem, I could go wherever I would be happiest. But as I was always careful with money, I wasn’t sure what to do.
One of the schools that offered me a full ride had an informational dinner one night in the spring. Considering my parents’ financial difficulties, I decided to drive the 45 minutes and attend. At first, all I had planned to do was smile politely, eat free food, listen quietly. But I surprised myself.
At dinner the president of the university talked about the wonderful activities on campus （校園）including guest lectures and social gatherings. He also made it perfectly clear that free food would be offered at all future events. He continued with explanations of professors, class sizes, activities, and sporting events on campus. As he spoke, I began to realize that this school, though not as good as my first choice, might be the best one for me. It seemed small yet with many great programs. It seemed challenging yet caring.
As the president ended his speech, we clapped politely and pushed back our chairs. As I walked out that door, a feeling of comfort washed over me. Looking at the campus that night, I realized that I would be spending the next four years right there.
In all honesty, my university is not as well-known as my “dream”university. However, it turned out to be the right choice of schools for me.
【小題1】How did the author feel when he started to read the letter?

We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests liked Kelly more, the younger one, enjoying her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a unusual girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.
But we seldom think of how it might affect（影響） the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being paid no attention. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying. I said, “What are you doing here, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said,” Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Why don’t they say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging（擁抱） her to make her feel better.
Now whenever I visit a friend’s home. I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
【小題1】The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” (paragraph 4) means_______.

My six-year-old granddaughter stared at me as if she were seeing me for the first time.”Grandma, you are an antique(古董),”she said. "You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique."
I was not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I took out the Webster's Dictionary and read the definition(定義)to Jenny.I explained, "An antique is not only old, it's an object existing since or belonging to earlier times...a work of art... piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured,"I told Jenny as I put away the dictionary. "They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old."
"I'm only 67,"I renunded Jenny.
We looked around the house for other antiques, besides me. There was a desk that was handed down from rone aunt to another and finally to our family. "It's very old,"I told Jenny.“I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques."
There was a picture on the wall purchased at a garage sale. It was dated 1867. "Now  that's an antique," I boasted. "Over 100 years old." Of course it was marked up and scratched and not in very good condition. "Sometimes age does that," I told Jenny. "But the marks are good marks. They show living, being around. That's something to display with pride. In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become." It was important that I believed this for my own self-esteem.
Our tour of antiques continued. There was a vase on the floor. It had been in my house for a long time. I was not certain where it came from but I didn't buy it new. One thing about antiques, I explained to Jenny, was that they usually had a story. They'd been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place. They'd lasted through years and years. They could have been tossed away, or ignored. or destroyed, or lost. But instead, they survived.
For a moment, Jenny looked thoughtful. “l(fā) don't have any antiques but you," she said. Then her face brightened. "Could I take you to school for show and tell?"
"Only if I fit into your backpack," I answered. And then Jenny's antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.
【小題1】Grandma read the definition of "antique" to Jenny in order to         .

Sir,
Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd., offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.
Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my door step a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.
You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Schiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside.
I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.
Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.
Yours faithfully,
SIMON WALKER
【小題1】Simon Walker wrote the letter to ________