Nick Campbell sat at the side of the road and wondered what to do next. He looked at the second-hand Harley Davidson he’d bought from a back-street garage back home in Miami at the beginning of his trip six weeks before.
For years he had dreams of crossing the United States from east to west by motorbike and he’d finally decided that it was now or never. He’d given up his job, sold his car and set off for the journey of his dreams. He’d been lucky, or so he thought, to find this old Harley Davidson and had bought it for a very reasonable price------it had cost him just $600. But five kilometers from Atlanta, he had run out of luck. The motorbike had broken down.
He pushed the bike into town and found a garage. The young mechanic told him to leave the bike overnight and come back the next day. The following morning, to his surprise, the man asked if the bike was for sale. “Certainly not,” he replied, paid his bill and hit the road.
When he got to Kansas the old machine ran out of steam again. This time Nick thought about selling it and buying something more reliable, but decided to carry on. When the bike was going well, he loved it.
However, in Denver, Colorado the bike broke down again so he decided to take it to a garage and offer it for sale. The mechanic told him to come back in the morning.
The next day, to his amazement, the man offered him $2,000. Realizing the man must be soft in the head, but clearly not short of money, Nick asked for $ 3,000. The man agreed and they signed the papers. Then the mechanic started laughing. In fact it was several minutes before he could speak and when he could he said, “That’s the worst deal you’ll ever make, boy."
He removed the seat. On the underside was the inscription (銘文):
'To Elvis, love James Dean. '
56. Harley Davidson here refers to a _________.
A. car          B. truck         C. garage          D. motorbike
57. Which of the following did Nick value most?
A. Harley Davidson.   B. His job.    C. His dream to travel.   D. His car.
58. Nick was unwilling to sell his Harley Davidson because he thought it was
A. lovely        B. valuable       C. reliable         D. old
59. The underlined word ~ hi the 6th paragraph is closest in meaning to
A. clever        B. crazy          C. honest           D. kind
60. At the end of the story, Nick must have felt very __________.
A. sorry          B. delighted        C. excited         D. moved

六、閱讀理解 (20分)   
A
Mark Twain tells a boy’s story in The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Huck is a poor child, without a mother or home. His father drinks too much alcohol and always beats him.
Huck’s situation has freed him from the restriction of society. He explores in the woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He smokes.
Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped from slavery(奴隸制). They travel together on a raft(木筏) made of wood down the Mississippi River.
Mark twain started writing “Huckleberry Finn” as a children’s story. But it soon became serious. The story tells about the social evil of slavery, seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Huck’s ideas about people were formed by the white society in which he lived. So, at first, he does not question slavery.Huck knows that important people believe slavery is natural, the law of God. So, he thinks it is his duty to tell Jim’s owners where to find him.
Later, Huck comes to understand that Jim is a good man. He finds he cannot carry out his plan to inform Jim’s owners of his whereabouts(下落). Instead, he decides to help Jim escape. He decides to do this, even if God punished him.
1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The outline (概要) of The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn.
B. The childhood of Huckleberry.
C. The reason why Mark Twain wrote the story.
D. The effect of slavery.
The underlined word “restriction” probably means _________.
A. something that you are expected to do.
B. something that you are not allowed to do.
C. something that you are able to do.
D. something that you look forward to.
3. The underlined expression “he does not question slavery” means that ________.
A. he is sure about everything of slavery.
B. he has no question to ask the owner of the slaves.
C. he thinks that slavery is reasonable.
D. he believes that slavery is wrong.
4. What can he inferred from the text?
A. Huck is a white boy.
B. Huck’s childhood is a reflection(反映) of that of Mark Twain’s.
C. It ’s Huck’s situation that makes him decide to travel with Jim.
D. Huck will be punished by God for what he does.
5. Why does Huck change his mind at last?
A. He has made friends with Jim.
B. He finds out the weakness of slavery.
C. God tells him to do so.
D. He finds that Jim is a good man

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle the two miles from my house to the town center but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, ‘You mean fortunately.’ He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.
My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally as I wend my way up the incline I console myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smug smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.
Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a University degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity. From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents, afflictions and difficulties. Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own. Whilst we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it.
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs amputated following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, you’ll never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything. Go to school, join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.”
The biographies of great people are littered with examples of how they took these kinds of steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become defeatist or depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.
【小題1】The writer has a smug smile of satisfaction as he reaches the top of the hill because        .

In my procession as an educator and health care provider, I have worked with numerous children infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The relationships that I have had with these special kids have been gifts in my life. They have taught me so many things, but I have especially learned that great courage can be found in the smallest of packages. Let me tell you about Tyler.
Tyler was born infected with HIV: his mother was also infected. From the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications to enable him to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were hooked up to this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed supplemented oxygen to support his breathing.
Tyler wasn’t willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine-laden backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him in his little wagon. All of us who knew Tyler marveled at his pure joy in being alive and the energy it gave him. Tyler’s mom often teased him by telling him that he moored so fast she needed to dress him in red. That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she round quickly spot him.
This dreaded disease eventually wore down even the likes of a little dynamo like Tyler. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV-infected mother. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to survive, Tyler's mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.
A few days before his death, Tyler beckoned me over to his hospital bed and whispered, “I might die soon. I’m not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised she’s coming to heaven, too. I’ll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me.”
【小題1】What is the boy Tyler’s attitude towards death?

For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.
I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on - and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."
Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.
That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.
I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes - every time.
I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!
【小題1】By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “    ”

While I was in 9 th grade, I built a circuit (電路裝置) for the traffic system of our city. After getting the first prize. I got this valuable advice from my father; “Do whatever interests you, and don’t let the work challenge you, make sure you are challenging that work.”
I have always preferred the projects which are challenging and related to real life problems. I clearly remember building a shipping program several years ago. I divided the whole project into several small sections. When I understood it clearly, used my brainstorming skill on it, and gave some basic ideas. Then I asked my professor for help before jumping into coding (編碼). At first, I did not know how to ask questions correctly and always asked the question “How do I do it?” As I  kept working and discussed with my professor, I became more comfortable and those “how ”questions soon turned into “what if I do this and that” types of questions.
It took me four days to write the code. The desire to solve the problem kept me sleepless all nights brainstorming in even greater details. Every time I saw my program running smoothly, I exploded with joy. I still remember the last day of my work. I was getting some problem and didn’t know what to do. At that moment, a man came in to clean. He has headphones, and he was dancing while cleaning the room. Seeing this, I burst out laughing. That moment calmed me. I regained energy and interest and started to work again, and soon I fixed the problem.
My success in the project proved that breaking up a large problem into small parts could help find a possible solution. Discussing the problem with others was also very beneficial. Now I have gained the confidence to attempt any kind of project.
59．According to the passage, the writer was interested in          .
A．developing traffic systems
B．doing challenging projects
C．winning great prizes
D．writing different codes
60．The writer asked the question “how do I do it” at first because         .
A．he had no clear idea about his program
B．he was too shy to express himself
C．he wanted to he understood easily
D．he preferred this kind of question
61．We learn from the passage that the writer’s shipping program         .
A．would benefit people a lot
B．was done together with others
C．was difficult and needed patience
D．cost much money and energy
62．What would be the best title of the passage?
A．Do It Yourself
B．No Pains, No Gains
C．Learning with interest
D．Practice Makes Perfect

When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China．
When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans．Thankfully, we can get all these anywhere in India now．
Still, her answer surprised me: “Green tea．”
As long as I can remember she didn’t even drink Indian tea ．
I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story．My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses．
At the turn of the century, China was not really familiar to the average Indian．It was a strange country．
How things change! And how soon!
Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”．And everyone is talking about China．
The govemment of Indin has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done．A minister once said that India must open the doors for more foreign investment(投資)and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”．
But it’s a two-way street．I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Bangalore to train in software．Meanwhile, all the Indian IT majors are setting up a strong presence in China．
No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, is expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2008, a goal set by both governments．
No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the Sino-Indian(中印)century as the two countries started on January 1 the Sino-Indian Friendship Year．
But what is still a wonder to me is my mother drinking Chinese tea．
41．According to the passage, the author left _____ for ______．
A．India; China            B．China; India     
C．China; Longjing         D．India; Shenzhen
42．The reason why the writer’s mother asked for Chinese green tea is that_____．
A．she had a son working in China         B．she believed it had a curing effect
C．she enjoyed Chinese products     D．she was tired of Indian tea
43．The underlined part “it’s a two-way street” in Paragraph 10 probably means ____．
A．The exchanges between Indian and China benefit both．
B．China and India have different traffic rules．
C．Tea trade works wonders in both India and China．
D．Chinese produces are popular in both China and India．
44．It can be inferred from the passage that _______．
A．the author was concerned for his mother’s health
B．the author was in favor of drinking Chinese green tea
C．the author was surprised at China’s recent development
D．the author was curious about the growth of India’s IT industry

The story goes that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "Today my best friend slapped me in the face."  They kept on walking until they found an oasis（綠洲）, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.  After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "Today my best friend saved my life."  The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone. Why?"
The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us we should write it down in the sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in the stone where no wind can ever erase it."
You have to learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your benefits in the stone.
64．One friend slapped the other because ____.
A．he was angry that his friend took him to the desert by mistake.
B．He was angry that his friend did not agree with him about something.
C．He was angry that his friend kept wasting time writing and carving.
D．He had to save his friend from drowning, and this almost took his own life.
65．The underlined sentence means we should _____.
A．not let others know we are angry with them by letting wind erase what we write down.
B．gradually forgive others for bad things they have done to us as time goes by.
C．make sure what we write in the desert does not remain long .
D．not try to find stones to record things on in a desert.
66．What is the right understanding of the last sentence of the passage?
A．We should write and carve to record different kinds of feelings.
B．We should record different kinds of things in different ways.
C．We should remember only good things others have done to us and let go bad things.
D．We should remember things that others do to us, including both good things and bad things.
67．Which of the following can be the proper title of the passage?
A．True Friendship                     B．Sand and Stone 
C．Hurts and Benefits                  D．Forgiveness and Gratitude

George, when your big brother and your little dog and I walked you up to schools today, you
had no idea how I was feeling.
You were so excited. You had packed and unpacked your pencils and safety scissors in your backpack a dozen times. I am really going to miss those lazy mornings when we waved your brother and sister off to school.
Because you are my youngest, I had learned a few things by the time you came along. I found out that the seemingly endless days of babyhood are gone like lightning. I blinked(眨眼), and your older siblings were setting off for school as eagerly as you did this morning, I was one of the lucky ones; I could choose whether to work or not. By the time it was your turn, the shining prizes of career advancement and a double income had lost their brightness. A splash(濺水) in the pool with you in your bright red boots or "just one more" rereading of your favorite book, Frog and Toad Are Friends, meant more. You didn't go to preschool and I hope that doesn't hold you back. You learned numbers by helping me count the soda cans we returned to the store.
I have to admit that in my mind's eye, an image of myself while you're in school has developed, I see myself updating all the photo albums and starting that novel I always wanted to write. As the summer wound down and more frequent quarrels erupted between you and your siblings, I was looking forward to today. And then this morning, I walked you up the steep hill to your classroom. You found the coat hook with your name above it right away, and you gave me one of your characteristically fierce, too-tight hugs. This time you were ready to let go before I was.
Maybe someday you will deliver a kindergartner to the first day of school. When you turn at the door to wave good-bye, he or she will be too deep in conversation with a new friend to notice. Even as you smile, you'll feel something warm on your cheek.
And then, you’ll know…
64．What does the author mean by the underlined sentence?
A．She gave up the job with a big salary and prizes.
B．She could only recall her good job at home now.
C．Many good jobs with better pay attracted her but she didn’t take them.
D．Compared with bringing up the baby, work seemed to fade to her.
65．Which statement is NOT TRUE about George’s family according to the letter?
A．George’s parents gave birth to three children
B．The Georges is a double income family.
C．The children had more arguments during the summer.
D．They recyled soda cans.
66．The passage tries to show us         .
A．how excited a child will be on his first day to school
B．how deeply a mother loves her child
C．how many efforts a mother has made to raise a child
D．how a mother plans her future life after her children go to school

    I must have been about fourteen then, and I put away the incident from my mind with the
easy carelessness of  youth. But the words, Carl Walter spoke that day, came back to me years
later, and ever since have been of great value to me.
Carl Walter was my piano teacher. During one of my lessons he asked how much practicing I was doing. I said three or four hours a day.
"Do you practice in long stretches, an hour at a time?"
"I try to."
"Well, don't," he exclaimed. "When you grow up, time won't come in long stretches.    Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them five or ten before school, after lunch, between household tasks. Spread the practice through the day, and piano-playing will become a part of your life."
When I was teaching at Columbia, I wanted to write, but class periods, theme-reading, and committee meetings filled my days and evenings. For two years I got practically nothing down on paper, and my excuse was that I had no time. Then I remembered what Carl Walter had said. During the next week I conducted an experiment. Whenever I had five minutes unoccupied, I sat down and wrote a hundred words or so. To my astonishment, at the end of the week I had a rather large manuscript ready for revision, later on I wrote novels by the same piecemeal method. Though my teaching schedule had become heavier than ever, in every day there were idle moments which could be caught and put to use. I even took up piano--playing again, finding that the small intervals of the day provided sufficient time for both writing and piano practice.
There is an important trick in this time--using formula: you must get into your work quickly. If you have but five minutes for writing, you can't afford to waste four chewing your pencil. You must make your mental preparations beforehand, and concentrate on your task almost instantly when the time comes. Fortunately, rapid concentration is easier than most of us realize.
I admit I have never learnt how to let go easily at the end of the five or ten minutes. But life can be counted on to supply interruptions. Carl Walter has had a tremendous influence on my life. To him I owe the discovery that even very short periods of time add up to all useful hours I need, if I plunge（投入）in without delay.
56．The meaning of “stretch” in the underlined part is the same as that in sentence “       ”.
A．The forests in the north of the province stretch for hundreds of miles.
B．Bob worked as a government official for a stretch of over twenty years.
C．My family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.
D．During his senior year his earnings far enough to buy an old car.
57．Which of the following statements is true?
　　A．The writer didn’t completely take the teacher’s words to heart at first.
　　B．Carl Walter has had a great influence on the writer's life since he became a student.
　　C．The writer owes great thanks to his teacher for teaching him to work in long stretches.
　　D．Rapid concentration is actually more difficult than most people imagine.
58．We can infer that the writer             . 
A．has new books published each year however busy his teaching is
B．is always tired of interruptions in life because his teaching schedule is always heavy
C．has formed a bad habit of chewing a pencil while writing his novels
D．can find sufficient time for mental preparations beforehand, so he's devoted to work   instantly
59．What is the best title of this passage?
A．Concentrate on Your Work           B．A Little at a Time
C．How I Became a Writer                 D．Good AdviceIs Most Valuable