Zhao Wenxuan，a film star from Taiwan，has been fond of seeing films since his childhood. He would sometimes go to the cinema for the same film four or five times. He also enjoys literature and art. Before he took the film acting as his career，he had worked in an airline in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan Province. His change of job to acting was quite by chance.
One day，he came across in the paper an advertisement for a leading actor to appear in the film named “Wedding Feast.” Full of excitement，he answered the job ad by telephoning the director of the film — Mr. Li An. It was this telephone call that had changed all his life. At last the director decided him to be the very person for the role. That he could be chosen owed much to his good command of English，natural manners and low pay for his work in the film.
The film “Wedding Feast” proved to be a hit. It won the German Golden Bear Award and entered the competition for one of the Oscar Academy Awards. Also, it was the first Taiwan film that was permitted to be shown in the U. S. Thanks to the film，Zhao Wenxuan became popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong and southeast Asia.
In 1994，Mr. Zhao acted as a leading role in the Hong Kong film，“Red Rose and White Rose”，in which many film stars like Ms Chen Chong from U. S. and Ms Ye Yuqing from the local area participated. This film was named for 10 prizes of the Taiwan Golden Horse Prize and at last it was awarded five prizes for the best play，actress and music. Zhao has regarded the film as one of his favorite films since he stepped into the acting circle.
Since 1993，Mr. Zhao has taken part in the shootings of 13 films， most of which are thought highly of.
Mr. Zhao said the that Taiwan should think to cooperate much with the mainland in the film producing industry and it would benefit each other. In recent years he often came to the mainland for film shooting. He has just completed his performance in the film “Love Affairs” directed by Mr. LiXin，a director from Shanghai Film Studio.
【小題1】Why could Zhao Wenxuan play the leading role in the movie “Wedding Feast”？

A．Because he liked to see films very much.

B．Because he was a famous actor at that time.

C．Because he could speak English very well，acted naturally and gave no thought to the pay for his work in the movie.

D．Because the director of the movie knew him very well.

【小題2】The text suggests that _____.

A．“Wedding Feast” is just an ordinary film

B．the film “Wedding Feast” disappointed people greatly

C．Zhao Wenxuan became a famous movie star because of the film “Wedding Feast”

D．A lot of the Taiwan films are shown in the U. S. every year

【小題3】Which of the following is the right order for Mr. Zhao Wenxuan‘s experience？
a. He joined in the film “Red Rose and White Rose” in Hong Kong.
b. He worked in an airline in Taipei.
c. He suggested Taiwan and the mainland should film more together.
d. When he was a boy，he often went to the cinema.
e. He has just finished the film “Love Affairs” in Shanghai.
f. He acted an important role in the film “Wedding Feast”.

A．d，b，f，a，e，c	B．a(chǎn)，b，d，f，e，c
C．b，e，f，a，d，c	D．c，b，e，a，f，d

【小題4】From the text it can be inferred that _____.

A．one’s success is frequently (often) closely connected with a favorable chance

B．it is never too late to learn

C．know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat

D．there is no limit to knowledge

Here is a story told about an American general who was a very important figure in the American army during the First World War. Everybody in the United States knew him and many people wished to have a picture or something of his in their homes.
Soon after the war the general returned to Washington. One day he went to a dentist and had six teeth pulled out. A week later the general heard that his teeth were being sold in curiosity shops as $ 5 each. On each of the teeth there was a label with the name of the general and words: “Buy these teeth and show them to your friends at home.” The general got angry. He rushed to his office and ordered six officers to go around the city and buy all his teeth.
The officers went out and visited every curiosity shop in the capital. They were away from the office all day. In the evening they returned and put on the table in front of the general the teeth they had bought. They had collected 175 teeth.
【小題1】The general returned to Washington ______.

A．during the war	B．a(chǎn)fter civil war
C．a(chǎn)fter 1945	D．a(chǎn)fter 1918

【小題2】The general’s teeth were sold in ______.

A．the museum

B．the special shops selling some rare and interesting things

C．the department store

D．the hospital

【小題3】The general ordered his men to ______.

A．look for his teeth and buy all of them

B．a(chǎn)rrest the dentist at once

C．make all the shops stop selling teeth

D．buy all the teeth in all the shops

【小題4】In the evening, the officers went back with all the teeth which cost ______.

A．$ 785

B．$ 1,050

C．$ 157

D．$ 875

Driving home from work one evening in the heavy rain, I found a very wet, injured cat on the side of the road. He looked up at me, meowing pitifully. A car must have hit it so it wasn’t able to move. I stopped my car and carried the cat in and went on driving.
At the nearest vet clinic, the vet gently examined it. "He's about eight months old and has two broken legs, but I would need X-rays to know how serious the damage is," he told me. "As he's not your cat, I don't know if you want to go ahead with this. It could be rather expensive."
I knew it would cost me hundreds of dollars, but I agreed with his advice. The following morning the vet rang to say the X-rays confirmed two bad breaks in his legs. "I'll operate on his legs and put metal pins in them to keep them fixed." he told me.
That afternoon I went to pick up my little friend. There I could hardly recognize him. His previously dirty fur was now a beautiful silver grey. His front legs were in two casts and he lay there looking at me, purring(發(fā)咕嚕聲) happily.
I thanked the doctor and went out to pay the bill. "I think you've given me the wrong account," I said to the clerk. "This is only $85. He's had X-rays and an operation on his legs." "No, that's right," she replied. "The vet has only charged you for the medication. There's a message on the bottom."
Written under the total were the words "SPECIAL RATE FOR ADOPTIONS." I was speechless at his kind and generous gesture. I paid the account and under his message I wrote "WITH GRATEFUL THANKS, CAT AND MUM."
【小題1】Why didn’t the vet give the cat X-rays immediately?

A．The damage was not serious at all.

B．The cat was too young to be X-rayed.

C．The doctor wasn’t sure whether the author would like to cover the expenses.

D．The examination was too expensive for the author to afford.

【小題2】What do we know about the author?

A．The author was a caring and generous lady.

B．The author often adopted animals.

C．The author’s workplace was far from home.

D．The author only worked at night.

【小題3】Which of the following is true of the cat?

A．He was deserted by his owner and nearly starved to death.

B．He was saved on a dark and stormy night.

C．He was a lively creature with beautiful brown fur.

D．His back legs were broken and had to have an operation.

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

A．The adventure of a cat

B．An impressive vet

C．An unforgettable night

D．Love in relays

A farmer had a cow.
A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill, he was very worried. He telephoned the vet.
“What’s the problem?” The vet asked him when he arrived.
“My cow’s ill,” the farmer said. “I don’t know what's the matter with her. She’s lying down and won’t eat. She’s making a strange noise.”
The vet looked over the cow. "She’s certainly ill," he said, "and she needs to take some very strong medicine."
He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, "Give her these. The pills should make her better."
“How should I give them to her?” the farmer asked.
The vet gave him a tube (管子)and said, "Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow（吹）. That’ll make it."
The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked more worried.
“How’s your cow?” the vet asked.
“No change,” the farmer said, “and I’m feeling very strange myself.”
“Oh?” the vet said, "Why?"
“I did what you said,” the farmer answered. “I put the tube in the cow’s mouth and then put two pills down it.”
“And?” the vet asked.
“The cow blew first,” the farmer said.
【小題1】The farmer asked the vet for help when his cow _______

A．couldn't lie down

B．didn't eat the pills

C．couldn't make any noise

D．was ill

【小題2】What medicine did the vet give the farmer?

A．A bottle of pills.

B．A long tube.

C．Two pills.

D．A small box.

【小題3】The vet taught the farmer how _________.

A．to blow the tube	B．to make the cow take the pills
C．to take the medicine	D．to put the tube in his mouth

【小題4】Which of the following is true?

A．The farmer ate the pills himself.

B．The cow got better after taking the medicine.

C．The vet came to help the farmer change the cow the next day.

D．The farmer was working outside his house the next day.

He was a hero that saved two children from the jaws of a cougar(美洲獅). Standing barely 1.7 meters, the 22-year-old with black-frame glasses might pass more for a Chinese Harry Potter. Yet Shen Huigang is now getting recognition for his bravery in fighting off a cougar on Vancouver Island, Canada, during a family outing. Shen, also known as Ian, was then an exchange student. With him was a friend, Myles Hagar, and Hagar’s two grandchildren. Silently and suddenly a cougar appeared out of nowhere. By the time they spotted the cat, it already had the head of 18-month-old Julien in its mouth.
“At first, my brain was nothing but blank,” Shen recalled. “But I believed I could get the child back.” He gestured as if he were ready for a fight, and tried to scare the beast off with his bag. Hearing the noise Shen made, the animal dropped the baby and Hagar rushed to grab his grandson. But the animal didn’t run, instead turned toward 3-year-old Iris standing beside Shen. “Had Ian not been there, shouting at the cougar, remaining calm and standing firm, it would certainly have attacked Iris.” Hagar recalled.
They chased the animal back into the woods. “We moved slowly to our vehicle as we waved our fists and bags, pretending to wrestle it,” Shen said. “The vehicle wasn’t far away but it felt like it took us a century to travel the short journey.” As Hagar drove for help, Shen held the heavily-bleeding boy in the passenger seat and calmly kept him awake by hugging and kissing him in case he would go into a coma(昏迷). The boy was flown to a hospital nearby. Doctors later said his little skull had been punctured(刺穿) through to his brain in two places. Luckily, Julien made a full recovery.
“Any hesitation, even a second delay, would have resulted in certain death for Julien, but Ian was there…” Hagar said. Following the incident, the story appeared on Canadian TV networks in every city, and in many small town newspapers---plus many US Internet news sites. The Royal Canadian Humane Association planned to give Shen a Canada Bravery Award, but it couldn’t reach him because he had returned to China.
【小題1】Why did the cougar drop the baby?

A．Because it was scared by the noise made by Ian’s shouting.

B．Because Hagar rushed to grab the baby from its jaws.

C．Because it wanted to attack Iris and took her away.

D．Because Hagar and Ian were chasing it back into the woods.

【小題2】Which of the following statements about Shen Huigang is TRUE?

A．He was called Chinese Harry Potter because he was very brave.

B．His deed was spread both in Canada and the US.

C．He was better at fighting and wrestling compared with Hagar.

D．He was too shocked to move to the vehicle in the incident.

【小題3】What did Ian do in the car to keep the baby awake?

A．He held, hugged and kissed the baby in the passenger seat.

B．He drove the car as quickly as possible to find a hospital.

C．He encouraged the baby telling him to be awake.

D．He held the heavily- bleeding wound of the baby.

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

A．Saving Lives From the Jaws of Death

B．Experiencing a Family Outing

C．Taking Care of Two Children

D．Interviewing a Clever Young Student

Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don' t do it in front of my lads．I don ?t do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said．
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．
【小題1】The new law makes life difficult for             .

A．Obama

B．tobacco industry

C．White House

D．US Food and Drug Administration

【小題2】What do we know about Obama?

A．He no longer smokes．

B．He still smokes as usual．

C．He began to smoke at eighteen．

D．He is trying hard to give up smoking．

【小題3】According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about           ．

A．children

B．officials

C．his family

D．Businessmen

Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遺產(chǎn)） was far greater that just “great-literature”.
February 7 marks the 200^th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.
A White Christmas
Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today.
In the early 19^th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off.
Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”.
In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”
“Dickens” poverty
Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London.
He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作風(fēng)) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.
“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “l(fā)ife mirroring the times of Dickens”.
【小題1】The article is mainly about           .

A．a(chǎn) brief introduction to Charles Dickens’

B．Charles Dickens’ impact on the world

C．the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories

D．Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature

【小題2】Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?

A．Because he created both religious and culture festival.

B．Because his novels have something to do with Christmas.

C．Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.

D．Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas.

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

A．Charles Dickens’ novels reflect the true life at his age

B．Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas

C．Every person can take three days off for Christmas

D．The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty

【小題4】According to the passage the phrase “red tape” refers to           .

A．regulations that are required to finish a task

B．a(chǎn) situation where poor members of society are hurt

C．conflict between people in power and weaker people

D．a(chǎn)greements made by the underclass of society

For the past two years, 8-year-old Harli Jordean from Stoke Newington, London, has been selling marbles(彈珠). His successful marble company, Marble King, sells all things marble-related － from affordable tubs of the glass playthings to significantly expensive items like Duke of York solitaire tables － sourced, purchased and processed by the mini-CEO himself.
“I like having my own company. I like being the boss,” Harli told the Mirror.
With profits now in the thousands, “the world’s youngest CEO” has had to get his mother and older brothers to help him meet the growing demand.
Harli launched Marble King after swapping marbles at school led to schoolchildren consuming his marble collection. Yes, he literally “l(fā)ost his marbles.” Harli and his mother, Tina, turned to the Internet to find replacements.
Harli saw an empty space online: the marbles he wanted were hard to find. Within months, Harli had his own marble-selling website － and orders started pouring in.
Tina says her son's attachment to marbles started when he was just 6.
“His attachment became so passionate that we started calling him the Marble King — so when he wanted to set up a website it was the natural name for it,” she told The Sun.
“I never thought it would become so popular － we are struggling to cope with the number of orders at times.”
The 8-year-old boy has his sights set on expanding his business and launching his own brand of marbles.
“Sometimes his ideas are so grand we have to scale them back a bit. But his dream is still to own Britain's biggest marble shop and open stores around the world,” Tina told The Daily Mail.
“At the moment he is annoying me by creating his own Marble King marbles － so that could well be the next step for him.”
【小題1】Harli’s Marble Company became popular as soon as he launched it because ______.

A．it was run by “the world’s youngest CEO”

B．it filled the gap of online marble trade

C．Harli was fascinated with marble collection

D．Harli met the growing demand of the customers

【小題2】How many mass media are mentioned in the passage?

A．One

B．Two

C．Three

D．Four

【小題3】The underlined expression “scale them back” is closest in meaning to ______.

A．hold them down	B．carry them out
C．set them aside	D．clear them away

【小題4】What message do the last two paragraphs carry?

A．Conflicts often occur between Harli Jordean and his family.

B．Harli’s mother and brothers are worried about Marble King’s future.

C．Marble King marbles will surely attract more fans around the world.

D．The “Marble King” has great ambition for his Marble King company.

Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five, he gave £ 12，000 to the village school to buy land and equipment (設(shè)備) for a children’s play ground.
As a result of his kindness, many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman, During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five, Johnson had a sense of humor (幽默). He liked whisky (威士忌酒) and drank some each day. “I have an injection (注射) in my neck each evening.” He told the newspaperman, thinking of evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and has a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.
【小題1】Johnson became a rich man through          .

A．doing business	B．making whisky
C．cheating	D．buying and selling land

【小題2】The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson       .

A．had no children.	B．was a strange man.
C．was very fond of children.
D．wanted people to know how rich he was.

【小題3】The newspaperman         .

A．should have reported what Johnson had told him.

B．shouldn’t have asked Johnson what injection he had.

C．was eager to live a long life.

D．should have found out what Johnson really meant.

【小題4】When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening, he really meant that      .

A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening.

B．he needed an injection in the neck.

C．a(chǎn) daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well.

D．there was something wrong with his neck.

Tom arrived at the bus station quite early for the London bus. The bus for London would not leave until five to twelve. He saw a lot of people waiting in the station. Some were standing in lines, others were walking about. There was a group of school-girls. Their teacher was trying to keep them in order. Tom looked around but there was nowhere for him to sit.
He walked into the station café. He looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. He found a seat and sat down, facing a large mirror on the wall. Just then, John, one of Tom’s friends, came in and sat with Tom.
“What time is your bus?” asked John.
“Oh, there is plenty of time yet,” answered Tom.
“Oh, I’ll get you some more tea then,” said John.
They talked while drinking. Then Tom looked at the clock again.
“Good heavens! It’s going back-ward!” he cried. “A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve and now it’s half past eleven.” “You are looking at the clock in the mirror,” said John.
Tom wanted to kick himself for being so foolish. The next bus was not to leave for another hour. He has never liked mirror since then.
【小題1】Tom went into the station café because _______.

A．John asked him to have a cup of tea

B．he wanted a drink there

C．he would meet a friend of his

D．it was early yet and he could find a place to sit

【小題2】What time was it in fact when he looked at the clock in the mirror?

A．Half past twelve.	B．Half past eleven.
C．Twenty to twelve.	D．Half past one.

【小題3】When we look at a clock in the mirror we’ll see _______.

A．the right time	B．it is going slower
C．it is going backward	D．it is going fast

【小題4】Which of the following is true?

A．Tom missed his bus.

B．He liked mirror even before.

C．The next bus would leave soon.

D．Tom arrived in London on time.