Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1987, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities（設(shè)備） to help save the lives of wounded soldiers.Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgrum. Her services were recognised in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.
In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taugh him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（輻射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia on March 17, 1956.
【小題1】Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?

A．Because she received a degree in mathematics.

B．Because she contributed to saving the wounded.

C．Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic.

D．Because she worked as a helper to her mother.

【小題2】Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederio joliot?

A．At the Curie Institute.	B．At the Cniversity of Paris.
C．At a military hospital.	D．At the College of Sevigne.

【小題3】When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?

A．In 1932.

B．In 1927.

C．In 1897.

D．In 1926.

【小題4】 In which of the following aspects was Irene Cuire different from her mother?

A．Irene worked with radioactivity.	B．Irene combined family and career.
C．Irene won the Nobel Prize once	D．Irene died from leukemia.

When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing  person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.　
One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone! Quickly, I called “Information Please" and told her what happened.  She told me to open the icebox and hold a little piece of ice to my finger.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my pet bird died, I told
"Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “How do you spell ‘grateful’? ". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was 9, we moved to Boston.
A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an
hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please."    　　
Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on
this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?"  
There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have
healed by now."   I laughed. "So it's really still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."  I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."　　
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally
passed away five weeks before.   　　
Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me—“Tell him I still say
there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.”  I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched
today?　
【小題1】
What does “Information, Please” refer to in the passage?

A．An amazing girl.

B．A special kind of telephone.

C．A communication system.

D．A service that helps telephone users.

【小題2】
What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone? 

A．He was amused by the telephone.

B．He hurt his finger with a hammer.

C．He found an amazing telephone.

D．He got a piece of ice from an icebox.

【小題3】
What did “Information, Please” give the little boy whenever he was in trouble? 

A．Information and conversation.

B．Good memories and happiness.

C．Sympathy and information.

D．Friendship and cheers.

【小題4】
When did the author get in touch with “Information, Please” again after he moved to
Boston?  

A．When he was in trouble on his way to college.

B．When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.

C．When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.

D．Three months later after he moved to Boston.

Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought that someone would dance on the beach. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”
The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide is going out, and if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely, then he bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”
There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can know that gift, we will gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future.
We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our starfish wisely and well, the world will be better.
【小題1】
One day, the wise man saw the young man          .

A．dancing along the beach	B．walking with a dancer
C．picking up starfish for sale	D．trying to save as many starfish as possible

【小題2】
Near the end of the passage, “something very special” refers to          .

A．the gifts from friends	B．the strength of making decision
C．our own starfish	D．the ability of shaping one’s own future

【小題3】
From the last two paragraphs, we can learn that          .

A．the wise man realized something new and important

B．the wise man thought it was foolish of the young man to throw starfish into the ocean

C．the young man had the ability to make a difference

D．it is necessary for us to save starfish on the beach

【小題4】
The writer told this story in order to show us          .

A．how and where we can write a good article

B．everyone can do something for the future

C．wise men are sometimes stupid

D．young people are actually wiser than old people

When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gain entry to Harvard University. And her amazing story has inspired a movie, “Homeless to Harvard：The Liz Murray Story” , shown in late April.
Liz Murray , a 22-- year-- old American girl, has been writing a real--life story of willpower and determination. Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug--addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Liz was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it.
Liz went back to school. She threw herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she lived on the streets. “What drove me to live on had something to do with understanding, My understanding was that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night.
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that come easily to others, such as a safe living environment, to encourage herself that "next to nothing could hold me down". She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. But Liz decided to leave her top university a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her father, who has also developed AIDS. "I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me all the time."
　　Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is "as simple as making a decision".
【小題1】 The word “setback” in the first paragraph most probably means___________?

A．danger

B．difficulty

C．unhappiness

D．disaster

【小題2】What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Liz’s Harvard Dream	B．Bitter Childhood of Liz
C．Liz’s Love for Her Parents	D．Liz’s Struggle for Her Life

【小題3】What actually made Liz throw herself into her studies ?

A．Her parents’ addiction to drugs	B．Her mother’ s disease
C．Lack of food and clothes	D．Her mother’ s death

【小題4】 According to the passage, which is NOT true about Liz?

A．strong-- willed

B．envious

C．determined

D．respectful

James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9.There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.
"J.C., "he replied.
She thought he had said "Jesse", and he had a new name.
Owens ran his first race at age 13.After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second?  year student in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.
A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.
The stage was set for Owens victory at the Olympic Games  in Berlin the next year,  and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African?American winners.
"It was all right with me, "he said years later."I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway."
Having returned from Berlin,  he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country,  either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.
Owens? Olympic victories  made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks,  motorcycles and dogs.
"Sure, it bothered me, "he said later." But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat."
In time,  however,  his gold medals changed his life."They have kept me alive over the years, "he once said. "Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard."
【小題1】
　Owens got his other name "Jesse" when.
A.　he went to Ohio State University    
B.　his teacher made fun of him
C.　his teacher took "J. C."for "Jesse"
D.　he won gold medals in the Big Ten meet
【小題2】
　In the Big Ten meet，Owens

A．hurt himself in the back	B．succeeded in setting many records
C．tried every sports event but failed	D．had to give up some events

【小題3】
　We can infer from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the US at that time because.

A．he was not of the right race

B．he was the son of a poor farmer

C．he didnˊt shake hands with Hitler

D．he didnˊt talk to the US president on the phone

【小題4】
　When Owens says "They have kept me alive over the years ",he means that the medals.

A．have been changed for money to help him live on

B．have made him famous in the US

C．have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life

D．have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs

【小題5】
　What would be the best title for the text?

A．Jesse Owens, A Great American Athlete

B．Golden Moment — A Life?time Struggle

C．Making A Living As A Sportsman

D．How To Be A Successful Athlete

I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.
“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made a crooked line straight. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(縫) a piece of cloth with these words:  “My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Ooh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. Zxxk
It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.
【小題1】
Why did the author go to mother’s home?

A．To see her mother’s quilts.	B．To help prepare for a show.
C．To get together for the family dinner.	D．To discuss her grandmother’s life.[來源:Z

【小題2】
The author was surprised because __________________.

A．the quilt looked very strange.	B．her grandmother liked the quilt.
C．the quilt was the best she had seen.	D．her mother had made some changes

【小題3】
The underlined word “crooked” in the passage most probably means __________ .

A．unfinished

B．broken

C．bent

D．unusual

【小題4】
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Quilt Show

B．Mother’s Home

C．A Monday Dinner

D．Grandmother’s Quilt

The day was Thankful Thursday. It's a weekly tradition that my two little girls and I began years ago. Thursday has become our day to go out and make a positive contribution. On this particular Thursday, we had no idea exactly what we were going to do. At noon, I drove to a McDonald’s with my daughters because they kept complaining that they hadn’t had enough to eat at breakfast. There we saw some homeless people in the street and we bought lunch for them.
We were about to complete when we found a small woman standing at the corner, asking for change. We handed her some food, and then started to head home. Suddenly from the mirror of the car, I saw the woman waving at us, so I had to turn around and stopped where the small woman stood. She walked to our car, and said, "Thank you, lady! No one has ever done anything like this for me before." I replied, "Well, I'm glad that we were the first." Feeling uneasy, and wanting to move the conversation along, I asked, "So, when do you think you'll eat your lunch?"
She just looked at me with her huge, tired brown eyes and said, "Oh honey, I'm not going to eat this lunch." I was confused, but before I could say anything, she continued. "You see, I have a little girl of my own at home and she just loves McDonald's, but I can never buy it for her because I just don't have the money. But you know what…tonight she is going to have McDonald's!"
I don't know if the kids noticed the tears in my eyes. So many times I had questioned whether our Acts of Kindness were too small to have effect on those poor people. Yet at that moment, I realized the truth of Mother Teresa's words: "We cannot do great things — only small things with great love."
【小題1】
According to this passage, the small woman was ______.

A．too happy to stand at the corner

B．too eager to ask for more food

C．too poor to buy McDonald’s

D．too busy to care for her daughter

【小題2】
What can we know from the passage?

A．The author finally realized what she did was of use to the poor.

B．The author would stop doing her acts of kindness to the poor.

C．The author’s daughters found their mother cried at the end of the day.

D．The author’s daughters would make friends with the woman’s daughter.

【小題3】
What would be the best title of the passage?

A．No Pains No Gains

B．No Pleasure Without Pain

C．No Small Act of Kindness

D．No Sweet Without Sweat

Cyril was a small town. The houses there were all made of wood; almost everything in the houses such as cupboards, tables and chairs were made of wood, too. And all the houses faced south. The town was never peaceful. Fire broke out once a week on summer afternoons. Residents were puzzled who the real firebug(縱火犯) was.
One day a big fire broke out. It was said that a Negro had jumped out of the house on fire, so the police arrested(逮捕) all the Negroes in the street. However, fire never stopped to breaking out when the Negroes were in prison.
Mauson, a physics teacher didn’t believe that the Negroes were the firebugs, for he really knew about those Negroes, He made up his mind to find out who the real firebug was.
One day he was invited to drink in a pub and happened to notice that many bottles and plastic plates were baked by the hot sunrays. Suddenly he realized what the actual fact was. He jumped with joy, saying, “I’ve got the answer!”
Mauson dashed out of the pub to his friend’s house nearby, which also faced south. He made an experiment there to confirm his idea.
The next Saturday afternoon, Mauson asked some policemen and newsmen to come to the house. They were told that the real firebug would be shown there. At that time the sun was shining full into the house and it became hotter and hotter inside the room.
Someone wanted to draw the curtains together, while another was going to use a bottle to drink water, but neither got permission from Mauson, who wanted to let the firebug in.
“Now,” said Mauson, “this house will soon catch fire.” People looked at each other in surprise. Mauson asked them to look at the bottles and focus on the table cloth. After a while the cloth gave off a burning smell and began to catch fire!
The mystery of fire was discovered, but the police wouldn’t believe him and insisted that Negroes had been the firebugs. Instead they arrested Mauson and put him into prison. But Mauson said he would never turn against science.
【小題1】
The town was never peaceful, for fire broke out        .

A．in the afternoon

B．in summer

C．a(chǎn)t any time

D．A and B

【小題2】
Why did the police arrest all the Negroes?

A．One of them had jumped out of the home on fire.

B．They were suspected to be the firebugs.

C．The police hated the Negroes.

D．The Negroes knew something about the fires.

【小題3】
Drinking in a pub, Mauson realized what the actual fact was         .

A．by experiment	B．by backing the bottles
C．through the hot sunrays	D．by accident

【小題4】
By making an experiment, they knew the real firebug was        .

A．the Negroes

B．bottles

C．sunrays

D．plastic plates

【小題5】
Mauson was put into prison, because          .

A．he had told a lie

B．he had fund out the real firebug

C．he had turned against science

D．he had made friends with the Negroes

While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had an experience which occurred merely two feet away from me.
Trying to locate my friend among the passengers coming through the jet way, I noticed a man walking toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First he kissed his three children one by one and said, “It’s nice to see you. I missed you so much!” Then he hugged his wife, “I’ve saved the best for last!” giving her the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. They stared at each other’s eyes, smiling at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds（新婚夫婦）, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be.
Full of admiration, I asked, “Wow! How long have you two been married?” “Being together for fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” He replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well, then, how long have you been away?” I asked. “Two whole days!” “Two days?” I was astonished. By the intensity (熱烈) of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks --- if not months. I knew my expression betrayed me, so I turned away my eyes and said quietly, “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after so long!”
The man suddenly stopped smiling and looked me straight in the eye. With forcefulness he told me something that left me a different person. “Don’t hope, friend…decide!” Then he smiled again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!”
With that, he and his family turned and walked away together.
I was still watching that man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, “What are you looking at?” Without hesitation, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, “My future!”
【小題1】
The best title of the passage may be _______.   

A．Long Loving Hugs	B．My Future
C．Don’t Hope. Decide	D．Love Is Everywhere

【小題2】
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The man replied to the author, with his eyes still fixed on his wife’s face.

B．After being away for several weeks, the man missed his family very much.

C．It was fourteen years since the couple had got married.

D．Their three kids reminded the author of newlyweds.

【小題3】
By saying “my expression betrayed me” (in Paragraph 4), the author means that ____.

A．he failed to express his ideas to the man

B．the man sensed his real feelings from his expression

C．he didn’t believe in his expression any more

D．his expression was not faithful to him

【小題4】
From the passage, we can infer that __________.

A．the experience may be easily forgotten by the author

B．the author will live a passionate life from now on

C．the author will be away from his family and hug them passionately upon his return

D．Americans prefer to save the best for last

When my daughter, Sophie, was admitted to a college we were very happy, but a little worried about becoming empty nesters. I knew I had to do something to help myself adapt, starting with the summer before she left.
Sophie had a pack of colorful T-shirts. I knew she wouldn’t wear them any more, so I decided to make a quilt out of them for her bed at college. It focused my energy, and also let me relive some memories. I tried to work on the quilt when Sophie wasn’t at home----which turned out to be often. She was very busy with her friends. Even when she was around, her door was shut more than usual. I felt a bit hurt. After all, we didn’t have much time together before she went to college, I was already missing her, and she hadn’t ever left yet.
When we arrived at the college, a wave of emotion flooded me. I tried to hold it back, but Sophie saw it in my face. She took a big red book from her bag. “I made this for you, Mom,” she said. Then I knew why she had been staying behind a closed door that summer. It was an album of photographs documenting the life of our family over the last 17 years.
I broke into tears. Some of it was sadness at having to let her go, but some of it was joy. I knew that our connection was more powerful than ever, and that we’d always be connected by the strongest of threads, the love that went into every stitch of her quilt and every photo of my album.
In Sophie’s dormitory I unfolded the quilt on her bed. For a moment she was speechless. Then she threw her arms around me. “Mom, I love you,” she said. One of her new friends was calling her outside. Sophie turned, and I let her go.
【小題1】
What do we learn about Sophie from the passage?

A．She did not understand how her mother felt about her leaving.

B．She had few friends, and kept to herself at home that summer.

C．She made a photo album to show her love.

D．She liked her colorful T-shirts very much.

【小題2】
Why did the author feel hurt, according to the second paragraph?

A．Because Sophie was not interested in what she was doing.

B．Because Sophie had little time for her.

C．Because Sophie was going to leave home for a long time.

D．Because Sophie did not help her to make the quilt.

【小題3】
How did the author feel when they arrived at the college?

A．She felt worried.

B．She felt nervous.

C．She was sorry to be leaving her daughter.

D．She missed her daughter very much.

【小題4】
Why did the author finally let her daughter go?

A．She realized that her daughter had to go to college by herself.

B．She realized that the love between them would never be cut off.

C．Sophie’s present had made her forget her sorrow.

D．Sophie’s new friends were calling her outside the dormitory.