When I was learning calligraphy (書法), my teacher told me a story.
A calligrapher taught handwriting. One of his students who often practiced handwriting with old sheets of newspaper complained that he made very little progress though he had learned it with the calligrapher for a long time. His teacher said to him, “Try to use the best paper. Maybe you'll write better.”
The student did as he was told. It really worked. He made headway not long afterwards and felt curious. He asked his teacher about the reason. The calligrapher answered，“When you used old newspaper to practice handwriting, you would think you were writing a draft. It didn't matter if you wrote badly as old newspaper was plenty in supply. In that case you wouldn't pay much attention to it. Now you use the best paper and you'll treasure it. Each time you write you feel strongly about the rarity of chances and you'll devote to it with all your heart and soul; you'll do the handwriting much more attentively than practicing. Of course you've made rapid progress.”
Indeed, we spend our ordinary days just as they are worthless “old newspaper”．We don't care if we scrawl and waste it, thinking that it will come endlessly—the “old newspaper” is inexhaustible. In such a mood we may each day pass by opportunities but fail to catch any of them.
Life is not a military exercise but an actual war in which real weapons are used. In everyday life there's no chance for us to draft. That's because what we call “draft” actually is the answer sheet we write that cannot be changed.
Every day of our life is something new. Let us take every day as a sheet of the best paper.
【小題1】The calligrapher in the story told the student to write on the best paper because he thought ________.

A．the student would practice more carefully on the best paper

B．it was comfortable to write on the best paper

C．the student had enough money to buy the best paper

D．the student could write more on the best paper

【小題2】The student didn't make much progress at first because ________.

A．he didn't follow his teacher's advice

B．he was too poor to buy better paper to write on

C．he regarded his writing on old newspaper just as a draft

D．he was not used to the calligrapher's teaching manner

【小題3】We learn from the passage that ________.

A．the student finally gave up

B．the student made rapid progress by practicing more carefully

C．the calligrapher was strict with his students

D．old newspaper is not useful

【小題4】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．What teachers say is always true.

B．Success calls for attentiveness.

C．Handwriting is easy to practice.

D．New things are always better than old ones.

【小題5】The writer wants to tell us that ________.

A．there are some good ways to practice handwriting

B．life is like old newspaper

C．we should learn from the student in the story

D．life will not give us a chance to draw a draft

Are morning people born or made? In my case it was definitely made. In my early 20s, I hardly went to bed before midnight, and I would always get up late the next morning.
But after a while I couldn’t ignore the high relationship between success and rising early. On those rare occasions where I did get up early, I noticed that my productivity (效率) was always higher. So I set out to become a habitual early riser. But whenever my alarm went off, my first thought was always to stop that noise and go back to sleep. Eventually some sleep research showed that my strategy was wrong.
The most common wrong strategy is this: supposing you’re going to get up earlier, you’d better go to bed earlier. It sounds very reasonable, but will usually fail.
There are two main schools (流派) of thought on sleep patterns. One is that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day. The second school says you should go to bed when you’re tired and get up when you naturally wake up. However, I have found both are wrong if you care about productivity. If you sleep at fixed hours, you’ll sometimes go to bed when you aren’t sleepy enough. You’re wasting time lying in bed awake.
My solution is to combine both methods. I go to bed when I’m sleepy and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time. So I always get up at the same time (in my case 5 a.m.), but I go to bed at different times every night.
However, going to bed only when I’m sleepy, and getting up at a fixed time every morning are my ways. If you want to become an early riser, you can try your own.
【小題1】According to the passage, the underlined phrase refers to ________.

A．people who stay up until the next morning

B．people who get up early in the morning

C．people who feel sleepy in the morning

D．people whose productivity is the lowest in the morning

【小題2】Why did the author want to become a habitual early riser?

A．Because he / she wanted to have more sleep time.

B．Because he / she wanted to do morning exercise.

C．Because he / she wanted to test which school is better.

D．Because he / she found that the productivity was higher.

【小題3】The author experienced all the following EXCEPT ________.

A．going to bed after midnight

B．a(chǎn)sking scholars for advice on sleeping habits

C．getting up early occasionally

D．pressing off the alarm to go on sleeping

【小題4】What’s the author’s sleep pattern?

A．Going to bed early and getting up early.

B．Going to bed late and getting up late.

C．Going to bed when sleepy and getting up at a fixed early time.

D．Going to bed early and getting up late.

【小題5】The passage is mainly about ________.

A．main schools of thought on sleep patterns	B．how to have a good sleep
C．wrong strategies for getting up early	D．how to become an early riser

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. Sometimes a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this causes your troubles to begin. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, destroying your half-prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this is not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives home, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can also go wrong on the road. During rush hour one evening two cars collided and the drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She got into a panic and stopped her car. This forced the driver following her to stop suddenly. This driver’s wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake, and as she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. A truck driver seeing a cake flying through the air slammed on the brakes. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck onto the road, causing a terrible traffic jam. It took the police an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves, for they were happily having what was left of the cake.
【小題1】If you want to answer the phone without any trouble, you’d better ___________ .

A．pull out the telephone line when you are with your baby

B．put your baby on the bed and keep an eye on him / her

C．not hurry to answer the phone

D．make sure your baby is not near the table

【小題2】Who is responsible for the accidents that happened on the road?  

A．The two drivers who were arguing.

B．It wasn’t mentioned in the passage.

C．The woman driver.

D．The truck driver.

【小題3】From this story we learn that ________.  

A．there are many road accidents every day

B．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very strange

C．no one knows why this kind of accident happens

D．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very common

【小題4】The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to ___________.  

A．remind us not to answer the phone when we are busy

B．tell us driving is dangerous every day

C．remind us not to be nervous when we meet an accident

D．remind us not to carry a cake when we are sitting in a car

【小題5】The main idea of this passage is that ________.

A．troubles always come in groups

B．a(chǎn)ccidents may happen anywhere at anytime

C．a(chǎn) telephone call may cause great trouble

D．a(chǎn)nyone may have trouble on their way home

We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. Sometimes a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this causes your troubles to begin. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, destroying your half-prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this is not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives home, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can also go wrong on the road. During rush hour one evening two cars collided and the drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She got into a panic and stopped her car. This forced the driver following her to stop suddenly. This driver’s wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake, and as she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road. A truck driver seeing a cake flying through the air slammed on the brakes. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck onto the road, causing a terrible traffic jam. It took the police an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves, for they were happily having what was left of the cake.
【小題1】If you want to answer the phone without any trouble, you’d better ___________ .

A．pull out the telephone line when you are with your baby

B．put your baby on the bed and keep an eye on him / her

C．not hurry to answer the phone

D．make sure your baby is not near the table

【小題2】Who is responsible for the accidents that happened on the road?  

A．The two drivers who were arguing.

B．It wasn’t mentioned in the passage.

C．The woman driver.

D．The truck driver.

【小題3】From this story we learn that ________.  

A．there are many road accidents every day

B．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very strange

C．no one knows why this kind of accident happens

D．the accidents mentioned in the passage are very common

【小題4】The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to ___________.  

A．remind us not to answer the phone when we are busy

B．tell us driving is dangerous every day

C．remind us not to be nervous when we meet an accident

D．remind us not to carry a cake when we are sitting in a car

【小題5】The main idea of this passage is that ________.

A．troubles always come in groups

B．a(chǎn)ccidents may happen anywhere at anytime

C．a(chǎn) telephone call may cause great trouble

D．a(chǎn)nyone may have trouble on their way home

A
There were smiling children all the way. Charily they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight, Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave hack.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (擁抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car. I looked forward to the return journey.
【小題1】The author expected the train trip to be _______.

A．a(chǎn)dventurous	B．pleasant
C．exciting	D．dull

【小題2】What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

A．The friendly country people.

B．The mountains along the way.

C．The crowds of people in the streets.

D．The simple lunch served on the train.

【小題3】Which of the following words can best take the place of the word“relish”in the second paragraph?

A．choose	B．enjoy
C．prepare for	D．carry on

【小題4】What can we learn from the story?

A．Comfort in traveling by train.

B．Pleasure of living in the country.

C．Reading gives people delight.

D．Smiles brighten people up.

D
At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.
At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.
And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (綜合癥)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”
What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.
【小題1】The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.

A．young students will travel home for Christmas.

B．young people will travel in every direction.

C．it is a large movement of human beings

D．the traffic flows will be more contradictory

【小題2】From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer _______.

A．went home every week to wash dirty clothes

B．understood his parents’ desire of seeing him

C．didn’t understand his parents’ feelings

D．went home to see his parents regularly

【小題3】The underlined word “remedies” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.

A．reasons

B．excuses

C．habits

D．solutions

【小題4】From the last paragraph we know that _______.

A．in modern society, children should leave home

B．Christmas is likely a time for family reunion

C．the significance of Christmas is celebration

D．Christmas is not a comfort for the non-religious

【小題5】From the passage we can infer that by writing the article the writer is to _______.

A．persuade the young to show concern for their parents

B．a(chǎn)sk the young to go home regularly

C．make the young understand their parents’ interest

D．enable the young to be more independent

A
Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.
So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.
Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived — a well-known sage (a wise person) who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.
He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.
Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout: “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?” The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was very angry: “If I could just come down, I would show you!”
That’s what everybody wanted. Then he was coming down. But how? Now everybody was tense about what would happen next! Some wanted to blame the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was even more angry and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge (復(fù)仇).
He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.
However, the rescued man found the sage gone. He stood there, realizing that the man really saved him because he induced (引誘) him to try his best and save himself.
“I should be thankful and not angry.”
【小題1】From the story we know that the sweetest mango must be the one ______.

A．on the very top of a tree	B．hidden in the middle of a tree
C．on the tree for the longest time	D．exposed to sunlight less often

【小題2】What happened after he had picked a few sweet reddish mangoes?

A．He slipped and fell to the ground suddenly.

B．He was climbing down quickly but carefully.

C．He remained hanging helplessly on the tree.

D．He shouted loudly for help but no one helped.

【小題3】How did the man feel when the sage hit him with a stone?

A．He was nervous.	B．He kept silent.
C．He felt surprised.	D．He was angry.

【小題4】What do you think motivated (caused) the man to climb down?

A．Courage.

B．Revenge.

C．Carefulness.

D．Assistance.

【小題5】 What does the story imply?

A．Anger saves one’s life.	B．Wisdom does count (很重要).
C．Skill and strength count.	D．Anger is the biggest enemy.

B
When I was about 10 one day, I was walking down the street with my mother. She stopped to speak to Mr. Lee. I knew I could see Mr. Lee anytime around the neighborhood, so I just stood there. After we passed him, my mother stopped and said something unforgettable, “You let that be the last time you ever walk by somebody you know without opening your mouth to speak, because even a dog can wag its tail when it passes you on the street.” That sentence sounds simple but it made me become who I am.
At work, I used to say hello to the president of the company and ask him how our business was doing. But I also spoke to the people in the café and people who cleaned the buildings, and asked them how their children were doing, for every single person deserves to be accepted, no matter how humble(低微的) they are. I remember that after a few years of passing by the president, I had the courage to ask him for a chat. We had a great talk. At some point, when I asked him how far he thought I could go in his company, he said that if I wanted to, I could get all the way to his seat.
I’ve become vice-president, but that hasn’t changed how I treat people. I speak to people wherever I am. Speaking to people creates a pathway into their world, and it lets them come into mine, too.
The day you speak to someone who has his head down and then see him lift it up and smile, you will realize how powerful it is just to open your mouth and say hello.
【小題1】What is the best title for this passage?

A．The Power of Being Talkative

B．My Mother’s Influence on Me

C．The Power of Saying hello

D．My Way to Become Vice-President

【小題2】 It is implied in the first paragraph that____.

A．the writer didn’t know Mr. Lee

B．the writer didn’t say hello to Mr. Lee on that occasion

C．the writer didn’t get along well with his mother

D．the writer’s mother stopped to say hello to everyone she met

【小題3】 What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A．The writer didn’t say hello to everyone in the company.

B．The writer made a very good impression on the president of the company.

C．The president of the company thought the writer was much better than him.

D．The president of the company actually didn’t like the writer at all.

【小題4】 For the writer, saying hello to others_______.

A．is a way to get what he wants

B．has become a habit and a way of life.

C．is a way to show respect for his mother

D．is important in making him remembered.

【小題5】 According to paragraph 3, in the writer’s opinion, speaking to others can______.

A．make our world much better

B．make people much happier every day.

C．help people understand each other better

D．help people work much better

B
It is the duty of every man to work. The life of a lazy man is of no use to himself and to others. The man who is too lazy to work is the man who is generally most ready to beg or to steal. Every boy, when he is young, should learn how to do some useful work.
But it is not enough that a boy should learn some kind of work. He should put his heart and soul completely into his work, and not waste his spare time. “Work while you work and play while you play” is as good a rule for young people as for the old!
There is no better help to diligence (勤奮) than the habit of early rising, and this, just like all other good habits, is most easily formed in youth. There is an English saying, “Lost time never returns”. This means that everybody must be diligent and make good use of his time. One must study hard when one is young so that one may make great progress, succeed in life and become useful to one’s country. Those who are diligent will never become beggars. Therefore, we can say that diligence is the mother of success.
【小題1】From the passage, we know that those who are too lazy to work will_________.

A．waste their time

B．help others

C．become beggars or thieves

D．make progress some day

【小題2】In order to learn to be diligent, it’s important for young people to _________.

A．form the good habit of getting up early in youth

B．learn about some good habits

C．work while they work and play while they play

D．work all the time without playing

【小題3】One can’t be successful in life unless he _________when he is young.

A．is diligent in his study

B．loves life

C．spends some time learning something

D．makes up for his lost time

A
“Depend on yourself” is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.
There have been many great men in history. But many of them were very poor in boyhood, and had no uncles, aunts, or friends to help them. Schools were few and low. They could not depend on them for an education. They saw how it was, and set to work with all their strength to know something. They worked their own way up to fame.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, “I cannot make worthy men of you, but I can help you make men of yourselves.”
Some young men have no ambitions(抱負(fù)) to do anything; and they are to be pitied. They can never succeed unless they see their foolishness, and change their courses. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of parents and teachers, and depend upon their own honest and serious efforts.
【小題1】The best title for this passage is ________.

A．Depend on Yourself

B．Don’t Depend on Your Parents

C．Nobody can help you

D．The Good Advice

【小題2】 From the passage we know that many great men in history ________.

A．learned everything themselves in boyhood

B．didn’t receive any education

C．had no relatives or friends

D．depended on themselves to become famous

【小題3】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Parents can make you succeed.

B．Great men in history were very poor.

C．Teachers would not like to help you to be a man.

D．Only you can make yourself a great man.

【小題4】Why have some young men failed in everything?

A．They have no ambitions.

B．They are to be pitied.

C．They have changed their courses.

D．They have seen their foolishness.