A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized(強(qiáng)調(diào)) the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusingexperience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished. Gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “You don’t say!” “You don’t say!” I was puzzled. I thought, perhaps this is not an appropriate(適當(dāng)?shù)? topic. “Well, I’d better change the topic.” So I said to him. “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there?” “Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It was magnificent.”He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide. “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it.” Soon I was interrupted again by his words：“You don’t say!” I couldn’t help asking, “Why do you ask me not to talk about it?” “Well, I didn’t request you to do so, ”he answered, greatly surprised.I said, “Didn’t you say’ you don’t say？”Hearing this, the Englishman laughed to tears. He began to explain, ‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘really!’It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to English idioms.”O(jiān)nly then did I know I had made a fool of myself. Since then I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions. Remember: what the English teachers said is always right to us students.
【小題1】A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because ____________.

A．English idioms were not important	B．I was not careful with English idioms
C．my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance of them	D．I had no interest in them

【小題2】At first, on hearing “You don’t say,” I thought the foreigner meant _____________.

A．he was not interested in the topic	B．he was only interested in the Great Wall
C．I had talked too much	D．I had to stop talking

【小題3】 Which of the following is true according to the passage？

A．The Englishman left China without seeing the Great Wall.

B．The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it.

C．The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide.

D．The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting.

【小題4】After the Englishman explained the idiom, ________________.

A．I thought the Englishman had made me a fool	B．the Englishman became a real fool.
C．I felt very silly	D．I became more carefully in everything

Chaplin, one of the greatest and funniest actors, was born in London in 1889. When a poor boy, he was often seen waiting outside the London theatres, hoping to get work in show business. He could sing and dance, and above all, he knew how to make people laugh. But he couldn’t get work and therefore wandered about the city streets.
Charlie Chaplin first acted when he was five. He broke into show business because his mother, a music-hall performer, lost her voice during the performance and had to leave the stage, and Charlie went on and sang a well-known song. Halfway through the song, a shower of money poured onto the stage. Charlie stopped singing and told audiences he would pick the money first and then finish the song. The audiences laughed. This was the first of millions of laughs in Charlie Chaplin’s fabulous(神話(huà)) career.
Twenty years later the same Chaplin became the greatest and best loved comedian in the world. His dream came true in the world. His dream came true in the end. Chaplin became world-famous and almost a king in the world of the film.
Even people who don’t understand English can enjoy Chaplin’s films because they are mostly silent. The equipment for adding sound to films had not yet been developed. The development of films with sound became a problem for Chaplin, as he was uncertain about making films with dialogues. Instead, he coninued to make films without dialogue, but he added music, which he wrote himself. It isn’t what he says that makes us laugh. His comedy doesn’t depend on words. It depends on little actions which mean the same thing to people the world over.
Chaplin lived most of his life in America and the last years in Switzerland, where he was buried at Christmas 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. There was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.
In his book, Chaplin tells us how to succeed in life. He says, “You have to believe in yourself. That’s the secret.”
【小題1】Chaplin is regarded as king of comedy mainly because______.

A．lots of people have seen his films

B．he could sing and dance well

C．he knew how to make people laugh

D．he acted out the common human situations best in his comedy

【小題2】What makes people laugh in Chaplin’s films?

A．It isn’t his words but his actions.	B．Neither his words nor actions.
C．Either his words or his actions.	D．Not only his words but also his actions.

【小題3】The only secret of Charles Chaplin’s huge success is that______.

A．he can make all people, men and women, old and young laugh

B．he has full trust in himself

C．he is always active and hard-working all his life

D．though he is always in trouble, he never loses heart

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

A．He was too shy to meet the managers of the theatres.

B．People won’t stop laughing until tears run down Chaplin’s face.

C．People all over the world can enjoy Chaplin’s films without translation because most of them are silent.

D．He wouldn’t like to work at the theatre.

“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton (骨骼) in the closet (衣櫥)？”Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a(chǎn) skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t you great – great grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?”“Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.”“Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank into a faint (暈倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.
【小題1】According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means         .

A．a(chǎn) family honor	B．a(chǎn) family secret
C．a(chǎn) family story	D．a(chǎn) family treasure

【小題2】What can we learn about some Australian’s ancestors from Paragraph 2?______.

A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

【小題3】Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was          .

A．knocked

B．frightened

C．injured

D．surprised

【小題4】Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home? _________.

A．She was curious about it.	B．She planned to keep it for fun.
C．She needed it for her school task.	D．She intended to scare her parents.

【小題5】Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because        .

A．they were crazy

B．they were overexcited

C．they realized their misunderstanding

D．they both thought they had won the quarrel

Once upon a time, there was a man who was so famous that everyone in his country knew him.
One day, the famous man was sitting in a restaurant with his sister. “It must be great to be famous. Everyone tries to please you, and you can do whatever you want to,” said his sister. “It’s quite the opposite sometimes, in fact. Because I’m famous, I can’t do what I want to,” he denied. “But look, we’re sitting at the best table and eating the best food. We couldn’t sit here and eat this if you weren’t famous,” said his sister. “I’ll show you what I mean,” said he.
The next day, the famous man picked up his sister and took her to another country. “I’m not at all famous here,” he said. “Let’s see how we get on.” Soon they found a restaurant, but it was very busy, so they had to queue. “This wouldn’t have happened if you were famous,” said his sister, but the famous man just smiled.
When they finally got a table, it took the waiter years to bring what they ordered. And the food supposed to be hot was cold, and the food supposed to be cold was hot! Eventually, the famous man couldn’t stand any more and asked to see the manager. “This food is awful. We had to wait an hour for a seat, and the service is also very poor. Look, even my spoon is dirty!”
Showing his horribly yellow teeth, the manager, smiling, said, “Well, that’s just bad luck for you.” 
“Don’t you know who I am?” asked the famous man.
“I’ve no idea,” replied the manager.
So the famous man and his sister ran away, without paying.
【小題1】What’s the attitude of the man’s sister toward famous people?

A．Indifferent.

B．Envious.

C．Curious.

D．Annoyed.

【小題2】The famous man took his sister to another country to ________.

A．see how famous he was there	B．enjoy the delicious food there
C．enjoy the beautiful views there	D．see what would happen if no one knew him

【小題3】 In fact, the famous man thought that being famous ________.

A．was a thing worth taking pride in	B．could bring him all he needed
C．was not all great with everything	D．would enable him to travel abroad

【小題4】The passage is written mainly ________.

A．to describe famous people’s life

B．to explain the importance of being famous

C．to show how to deal with problems in a restaurant

D．to show that famous people are watched more

While firing off pictures of a curious five-month-old fox, photographer Simon Czapp soon realized his subject had quite an interest in photography herself. The clever fox was so curious about the camera equipment that she climbed right on top of it. And while she was supposed to be the subject of the shoot, the fox stood on the shutter release button (快門(mén)按鈕) and took her own frames.
Mr Czapp visited the New Forest Wildlife Park to capture images of new arrival Jessie. She has been at the animal park in Ashurst, Hampshire — home to wolves, deer and other animals in 25 acres of ancient woodland — after being abandoned by her mother.
Mr Czapp said, “Jessie was very playful and curious and not at all camera shy. Soon after I arrived she was chewing my shoes and everything seemed to be a game to her. Then she started exploring the camera I had set up on a tripod (三腳架). She balanced her front paws on it and at one point knocked it over.”
He put the camera back on the tripod and Jessie soon jumped back up. At one point she had all four paws on the camera and was keeping her balance. Mr Czapp added, “She jumped up there several times and I realized it could make a good picture. As I was leaving with the public’s viewing window behind me, I thought I heard the camera go off but didn’t think much of it. But when I checked the memory card afterwards, I was amazed to see Jessie had actually taken two pictures of me photographing her. I couldn’t believe a fox had gained an advantage over me! Jessie is a lovely little fox. There were some lovely photos of her but she obviously thought the photographer was worthy of a picture too!”
【小題1】The underlined word “frames” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.

A．photographers

B．pictures

C．buttons

D．a(chǎn)dvantages

【小題2】What do we know about Jessie from the passage?

A．She arrived at the park five months ago.

B．She lives at the park together with some other foxes.

C．She was sent to the park because her mother left her.

D．She loved the life in the park so much that she left her mother.

【小題3】What is the RIGHT time order of the following steps in Jessie taking a photo?
a. Jessie pressed the shutter release button.
b. Mr Czapp left the camera to take a photo.
c. Jessie climbed onto the camera and balanced herself.
d. Mr Czapp set up his camera on a tripod.
e. Jessie stood up to look at the back of the camera.

A．d, e, c, b, a

B．a(chǎn), b, c, d, e

C．c, b, e, a, d

D．d, e, b, c, a

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

A．foxes are better at photographing than men

B．some foxes are more friendly than humans

C．Mr Czapp and Jessie took photos for each other

D．Jessie gained an advantage over Mr Czapp in photographing

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment(公寓房間) in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series (系列) of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
【小題1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbours

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don’t want others to know they are rich

D．want to be happy

【小題2】It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.  

A．live outside New York City	B．live in New York City
C．live in apartments	D．have many neighbours

【小題3】 The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.

A．a(chǎn) person who lives near another	B．people living in an area
C．a(chǎn)n area near the place referred to	D．a(chǎn)n area in another town or city

【小題4】According to the writer, it is ________to keep up with the Joneses.

A．correct

B．interesting

C．impossible

D．good

One hot night last July, when our new baby wouldn’t or couldn’t sleep, I tried everything I could think of: a warm bottle, songs gentle rocking. Nothing would settle him. Guessing that I had a long night ahead of me, I brought a portable TV into his room, figuring that watching the late movie was as good a way as any to kill of the hours till dawn. To my surprise, as soon as the TV lit up, the baby quieted right down, and his little eyes focused brightly on the tube. Not to waste an opportunity for sleep, I then tiptoed out of the room, leaving him to watch the actors celebrate John Bellushi’s forty-fifth birthday.
My wife and I heard none of the baby that night, and the next morning when I went into his room, I found him still watching TV himself.
I found in my baby’s behavior a symbol of the new generation. My wife and I had given him some books to examine, but he merely spit upon them. When we read to him, he did not feel comfortable. And so it is in the schools. We find that our students don’t read and they look down upon reading and scold those of us who teach it. All they want to do is watch TV. After this experience with the baby, however, I have reached a conclusion: “Let them watch it!” If television is that much more attractive to children than books, why should we fight about it? Let them watch it all they want!
【小題1】Why did the author bring a TV set into his son’s room?

A．To make his son keep quiet.	B．To spend the night by watching TV programs.
C．In order not to let his son feel lonely.	D．To make his son go to sleep as soon as possible.

【小題2】The baby’s reaction to the TV program was _______ for the writer.  

A．unexpected

B．encouraging

C．exciting

D．calm

【小題3】From this passage we know that the author is probably           .

A．a(chǎn) doctor

B．a(chǎn) reporter

C．a(chǎn)n editor

D．a(chǎn) teacher

【小題4】According to the passage, which is true of the school children?

A．They prefer reading to watching TV.

B．They like watching TV after school.

C．They would rather watch TV than read books.

D．They like their teachers who teach them reading.

For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play.
【小題1】 The author felt depressed because she __________.

A．couldn't consume her waking hour

B．had not seen a film for a long time.

C．had not finished her work on time

D．had worked on a hard job for too long

【小題2】The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.

A．take photos	B．find a solution to the project
C．hop along the path	D．cheer herself up

【小題3】 The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________.".

A．unsuccessful

B．unrelated

C．uninteresting

D．unexpected

【小題4】In the author's opinion, __________.

A．a(chǎn) bath can make people relaxed

B．depression is usually caused by hard work

C．walking in a busy city centre harms people's health

D．a(chǎn)dults should express their inner feelings freely

【小題5】The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.

A．explanation

B．suggestion

C．introduction

D．reminder

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs．
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house.” It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”
That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch．He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch．”
He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, "See me after class.”
【小題1】Why can the writer use Roberts's house to raise money for youth at risk programs?

A．Because they are good friends.

B．Because Monty Roberts has a poor childhood.

C．Because Monty Roberts like to help youth．

D．Because the youth has the same dream as Montv Roberts.

【小題2】What do you think of Monty Koberts' goal of a horse ranch at that time?

A．dream

B．romantic

C．real

D．false

【小題3】What would happen after the teacher gave a note "See me after class.”?

A．Monty Roberts got very angry at this.

B．The teacher would criticize him.

C．The teacher wanted to tell him that his dream would come true．

D．The teacher would encourage him.

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’ m so glad I did.
On the way to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it — there weren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale—actually as big as our boat—was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools（漩渦） and waves. "She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe—and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off. They swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
【小題1】 In Para2 the author says "I’ m so glad I did." because _________.

A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C．he experienced the rescue of the whales

D．he spent the weekend with his family

【小題2】The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________.

A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

【小題3】What is the theme of the story?

A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.

B．Fishing provides excitement for children.

C．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals.

D．It’s vital to protect the whale in the ocean.