Joe came to New York from the Middle West, dreaming about painting. Delia came to New York from the South, dreaming about music. Joe and Delia met in a studio. Before long they were good friends and got married.
They had only a small flat to live in , but they were happy. They loved each other, and they were both interested in art. Everything was fine until one day they found they had spent all their money.
Delia decided to give music lessons. One afternoon she said to her husband:
“Joe, I’ve found a pupil, a general’s daughter. She is a sweet girl. I’m to give three lessons a week and get $5 a lesson.”
But Joe was not glad.
“But how about me?” he said.” Do you think I’m going to watch you work while I play with my art? No, I want to earn some money too.”
“Joe, you are silly,” said Delia. “You must keep at your studies. We can live quite happily on $15 a week.”
“Well, perhaps I can sell some of my pictures,” said Joe.
Every day they parted in the morning and met in the evening. A week passed and Delia brought home fifteen dollars, but she looked a little tired.
“Clementina sometimes gets on my nerves. I’m afraid she doesn’t practice enough. But the general is the oldest man! I wish you could know him, Joe.”
And then Joe took eighteen dollars out of his pocket.
“I’ve sold one of my pictures to a man from Peoria,” he said, “and he has ordered another.”
“I’m so glad,” said Delia. “Thirty-three dollars! We never had so much to spend before. We’ll have a good supper tonight.”
Next week Joe came home and put another eighteen dollars on the table. In half an hour Delia came, her right hand in a bandage.
“What’s the matter with your hand?” said Joe. Delia laughed and said:
“Oh, a funny thing happened! Clemantina gave me a plate of soup and spilled some of it on my hand. She was very sorry for it. And so was the old general. But why are you looking at me like that, Joe?”
“What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Delia?”
“Five o’clock, I think. The iron-I mean the soup-was ready about five, Why?”
“Delia, come and sit here,” said Joe. He drew her to the couch and sat beside her.
“What do you do every day, Delia? Do you really give music lesson? Tell me the truth.”
She began to cry.
“I couldn’t get any pupils,” she said, “So I got a place in a laundry ironing shirts. This afternoon a girl accidentally set down an iron on my hand and I got a bad burn. But tell me, Joe, how did you guess that I wasn’t giving music lessons?”
“It’s very simple,” said Joe. “I knew all about your bandages because I had to send them upstairs to a girl in the laundry who had an accident with a hot iron. You see, I work in the engine-room of the same laundry where you work.”
“And your pictures? Did you sell any to that man from Peoria?”
“Well, your general with his Clemantina is an invention, and so is my man from Peoria.”
And then they both laughed.
【小題1】To support the family, Delia worked as             .

A．a(chǎn) tutor	B．a(chǎn) music teacher
C．a(chǎn)n artist	D．a(chǎn) laundry assistant

【小題2】It happened that             .

A．a(chǎn) man from Peoria liked Joe’s pictures

B．Delia earned $15 dollars a week easily

C．the couple worked at the same laundry

D．Clemantina and the general were kind

【小題3】Who hurt Delia’s hand?

A．The general

B．Clemantina

C．Herself

D．A girl

【小題4】We can infer from the underlined sentence that             .

A．Clemantina was an invention of the general

B．Clemantina was an invention of the man from Peoria

C．there were no such men as the general, Clemantina and the man from Peoria

D．the general, Clemantina and the man from Peoria were the couple’s clients

【小題5】The couple’s attitude towards each other is             .

A．faithful	B．honest
C．a(chǎn)shamed	D．heartbreaking

【小題6】Which do you think is the best title of the story?

A．A service of love	B．A story of Joe and Delia
C．Lies and truth	D．Servants of love

My friend got married. His mother carried two bags of cotton from the countryside by bus and train to his city. After arriving at the city, there was still a long way to his house without any bus passing by the house. His mother walked to his home breathlessly for 40 minutes without taking a taxi in order to save money.
My friend felt bitter as well as funny at his mother’s deeds. He pointed to the cashmere and silk quilts and said, “So long as you have money, you can buy anything in the supermarket. There is no need for you to carry so much cotton here in such a long way.”
But his mother insisted and said, “The cotton of this year is light and warmth-keeping. Have a try and you will know!”
Maybe every parent is the same, caring for their children with stubborn love without caring about whether they know or like it.
This early spring, I went to visit my grandmother. We had dry beans stew （燉菜）, eggplant salad bar, sauce radish （醬蘿卜條）for our dinner, all of which were dried by my grandmother last autumn and tasted wonderful. I loved the dishes to my heart’s content and could not help praising them again and again.
After a few days, my grandmother, who seldom visited us, came to my home and unpacked her bag, smilingly taking out bags of dried eggplants, dried beans and dried vegetable. She told me that I left so hastily last time that she forgot to give me some of these foods, so she took this chance to bring me what I liked.
I was speechless at that time. Due to my casual complimentary her food, my grandmother, a nearly 70-year-old lady, by taking three buses from the west of the city to the east, came to my home with the food I liked. But she was bus-sick in life and even seldom went strolling in the street.
My pretty girlfriend had a failed marriage in the past. After divorce, her parents shed the deepest protection and care to her by helping her attend to the child and offering financial aids. Her parents’ love made her pull herself together and forgot the man who had hurt her before.
Nonetheless, her father, an honest and upright old man, after hearing his ex-son-in-law got promoted in his company, felt terrifically irritated and went to his company to question his boss why a philandering man with corrupt conducts could get promoted. The whole office fell into a mess immediately and many staff just watched on the sidelines. Some people even whispered lightly, "It is a new era now and the relationship between men and women is very open. No one would care about that anymore!"
The old man stood silently in the office with his hands shivering and eyes tearing.
That night, my girlfriend cried heavily in front of me. I asked her whether it was her father’s stupid deeds that made her feel humiliated. But she said that she felt guilty for her dad and that though the rest of the whole world betrayed her, her old father would still back her up and help her get the justice she deserved, just as when she was young and the neighboring boy grabbed her ball, her father would get it back for her. However, this changed world was no longer the stage for her old father and his deeds became funnily obsolete. No one managed to see the real and ever-lasting love to his daughter behind his seemingly rude behaviors.
Now we have grown up so much so that we could support our family and have our own children. But in our parents’ heart, they are still worried that we do not have sufficient quilts and dried vegetables. They would not feel troubled to bring all these to us regardless of long tough journey. They even would not like us to suffer a bit and try all means to protect us without caring about whether what they do is awkward and stupid or not.
Who in the world would love us so deeply and relentlessly without asking for any repay? Only our parents!
【小題1】What does the author want to tell us?

A．The love from our parents is real and deep though sometimes it doesn't appear so.

B．The love from our parents is awkward sometimes, which is rather annoying.

C．Children should appreciate parents' love because their life is so hard.

D．The world is changing so the love of parents should change too.

【小題2】The underlined world "humiliate" in the eleventh paragraph means ________.

A．guilty

B．moved

C．happy

D．a(chǎn)shamed

【小題3】How many examples of older generation’s love are mentioned in the passage?

A．One

B．Two

C．Three

D．four

【小題4】After the author's girlfriend's former husband got promoted, her father _____.

A．congratulated him

B．made his daughter marry him again

C．had a quarrel with him

D．a(chǎn)rgued with his boss

【小題5】From the passage we can learn the author's grandmother is ___________.

A．upright and honest	B．loving and troublesome
C．thoughtful and careful	D．generous and active

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida for a long weekend to warm themselves up during one particularly icy cold winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years ago. They both had jobs, so it was decided that the husband would fly to Florida on a Thursday, and his wife would follow him the next day. Upon arriving as planned, the husband checked into the hotel. There he decided to open his laptop and send his wife an e-mail back in Minneapolis. However, he accidentally left off one letter in her address and sent the e-mail without noticing his error.
In the same time: In Houston, a woman had just returned from her husband’s funeral(葬禮). He was a minister of many years who had been “called home to glory” following a heart attack. The woman checked her e-mail, expecting message from family and friends. Upon reading the first message, she fainted(昏厥)and fell to the floor. Her son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor and saw the computer screen which read:
To: My Loving Wife
From: Your Departed Husband
Subject: I’ve arrived!
I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then. Hope your journey is as uneventful(平靜)as mine was.
P.S. Sure is hot down here.
【小題1】Why did the couple decide to go to Florida for weekend?

A．To visit their family and friends

B．To escape from the cold winter

C．To escape from their busy work

D．To attend a friend’s funeral

【小題2】What mistake did the husband make after checking into the hotel?

A．He checked into a wrong hotel

B．He forget to bring the laptop

C．He misspelled her wife’s address

D．He forgot to mail his letter

【小題3】The expression “called home to glory” probably suggests that the man had          .

A．gone back to his hometown

B．called his family to say hello

C．been awarded a prize

D．died and gone to heaven

【小題4】How did the woman probably feel after reading the e-mail?

A．Pleased

B．Amazed

C．Frightened

D．Moved

【小題5】Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．The woman’s husband died of a heart attack

B．The woman liked to chat with her friends by e-mail

C．The couple held their wedding in Florida 20 years ago.

D．His wife wouldn’t go to Florida for his error.

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(錄取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school, she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科醫(yī)師) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.
【小題1】Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?

A．She couldn’t get admitted to medical school

B．She decided to further her education in Paris

C．A serious eye problem stopped her

D．It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States

【小題2】What main obstacle(障礙) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming a doctor?

A．She was a woman.

B．She wrote too many letters.

C．She couldn’t graduate from medical school.

D．She couldn’t set up her hospital.

【小題3】How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?

A．Eight years

B．Ten years

C．Nineteen years

D．Thirty-six years

【小題4】According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blackwell except that she ______.

A．became the first woman physician

B．was the first woman doctor

C．a(chǎn)nd several other women founded the first hospital for women and children

D．set up the first medical school for women

【小題5】Elizabeth Blackwell spent most of her life in _______.

A．England

B．Paris

C．the United States

D．New York City

In 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities.
They showed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” showed their surprise. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H. G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Channel”, a tunnel connecting England and France, is now completed.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”. The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome would cover the whole city.
Supporters(支持者) of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The space, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens and wilderness. H. G. Well’s “moon people” would agree. Would you?
【小題1】The explorers in H. G. Well’s story were surprised to find that the “moon people” ______.

A．knew so much about the earth

B．understood their language

C．lived in so many underground cities

D．were ahead of them in space technology

【小題2】What does the underlined word  (paragraph 3) “it” refer to?

A．Discovering the moon’s inner space.

B．Using the earth’s inner space.

C．Meeting the “moon people” again.

D．Traveling to outer space.

【小題3】What kind of underground system are already here with us?

A．Offices, shopping areas, power stations.

B．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.

C．Gardens, car parks, power stations.

D．Tunnels, gardens, offices.

【小題4】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Alice Cities—cities of the future.

B．Space travel with H. G. Wells.

C．Enjoy living underground.

D．Building down, not up.

A driver stopped his car on a street side to have a rest. As he lay down in the seat and closed his eyes, a person came up and knocked at the window to ask him the time. The driver opened his eyes and looked at his watch. “It’s 8:05,” he said. Then he went to sleep again. But soon he was waken up again because a second person was knocking at the window. “Sir, do you know the time?” he asked. The driver looked at his watch, and told him it was half past eight.
In this way, the driver thought he could not have a good rest, so he wrote a short note and stuck it on the window for all to see. It said, “I don’t know the time.”
Again, he lay down in the seat for his sleep. A few minutes later, a third person came and began to knock at the window, “Hey, sir,” he said. “It is a quarter to nine.”
【小題1】Where did the driver sleep?

A．At the window.	B．In the street road.
C．In his car	D．In his room.

【小題2】How long had the driver been there when the third person called him?

A．40 minutes.

B．25 minutes.

C．50 minutes.

D．70 minutes.

【小題3】Why did the driver write a note and stick it on the window?

A．Because he didn’t know the time.

B．Because he didn’t want anybody to trouble him.

C．Because he needed somebody to wake him up.

D．Because he wanted somebody to tell him the time.

【小題4】The third person knocked at the window to ______.

A．a(chǎn)sk him the time

B．a(chǎn)sk him not to sleep

C．see if the driver was sleeping

D．tell him what time it was

Last weekend, my kids along with a few other kids from the neighborhood volunteered to help me wash my car. My 10-year-old daughter came up with the idea of washing other people’s cars as well. It was pretty hot outside. She further wanted to give juice for a low cost but not free. I felt happy and decided to help her.
She asked me, “What if we make this ‘a(chǎn) smile car wash’, mommy? ”I couldn’t hold back my tears and encouraged her and other kids to go inside the house and come up with ideas. While I kept myself busy in drying the car, the kids walked up to me with a board of beautiful signs of smiles. They had “Free Car Wash” written on it and the theme of their exercise was “Smile”. It was pretty natural to see a team of kids 5 to 11 years with the task to do something for others.
All that seemed natural and came right from their heart. Nothing seemed to matter to them: their playtime, and then heat outside—they just wanted to help and do something nice in the community!
I helped them make some fresh juice and brought out some waste materials to help clean cars. Passers-by were amazed and one even shouted at them saying “Good kids”. One of them even tried giving them 5 dollars, which they refused. A pretty heart-warming scene!
The following weekend, I saw the idea of the week, the theme of which was “Global Kindness”. I was moved by such wonderful and loving souls. They made me smile!
One of the slogans (標(biāo)語) on their flag was: “Do not fear! Smile retrievers(挽回者) are here.”
【小題1】Who raised the idea of washing other people’s cars for free?

A．The mother

B．One of the passers-by

C．The writer’s 10-year-old daughter

D．One of the writer’s neighbors’ kids.

【小題2】Why couldn’t the author hold back her tears when she knew her daughter’s idea?

A．She was moved by her daughter’s kindness.

B．She felt sorry for those passers-by in hot weather.

C．She was sorry for not helping the kids.

D．She thought of too much hardship of the kids.

【小題3】Why did the kids want to wash others’ cars for free?

A．They wanted to earn money.

B．They were asked to do that by their teacher.

C．They just wanted to help and do something nice in the community.

D．They wanted to exercise in smiling.

【小題4】Which of the following did NOT the writer do to help the kids?

A．She supported the kids’ ideas.

B．She prepared some fresh juice for the passers-by.

C．She brought out some waste materials to help the kids.

D．She gave the kids some money.

Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team " Football, tennis, cricket - anything with a round ball．I was useless," he says now with a laugh．But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England．
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him．At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest．Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend． Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength．At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon．
The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway's School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway's cold - water exploits．Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, then decided that this would be his future．
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long - distance expedition towards the North Pole．It took unbelievable energy．He suffered frostbite （凍瘡） ,ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply -loaded sled （雪橇） up and over rocky ice． Next October, Saunders, 27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900 - kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis．
【小題1】What change happened to Saunders after he was 15 yeas old?

A．He became good at most sports．

B．He began to build up his body．

C．He joined a sports team．

D．He made friends with a runner．

【小題2】The underlined word "exploits" （Paragraph 3） is closest in meaning to______．

A．journeys	B．researches
C．a(chǎn)dventures	D．operations

【小題3】Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?
a．He ran his first marathon．         b．He skied alone in the North Pole．
c．He rode his bike in a forest,        d．He planned an adventure to the South Pole．

A．a(chǎn)cdb

B．cdab

C．a(chǎn)cbd

D．cabd

【小題4】What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?

A．He is a success in sports．

B．He is the best British skier．

C．He is Ridgway's favorite student．

D．He is good instructor at school．

Wherever she goes, Molly leaves her mark. Without saying a word, she speaks to people with her kind eyes. Even when she walks away, she leaves an impression．Molly’s mark is a smile, stamped into the ground by the horseshoe at the bottom of her false leg．
A few years ago, Molly was badly attacked by a dog．The dog bit all four of Molly’s legs and left large cuts in her face. Molly’s owner, Kate Harris, took her to an animal hospital．Doctors there were able to save Molly’s life, but soon one of her legs became very infected(感染).
At first, doctors thought Molly would have to be put to sleep．But Molly changed their minds. This pony, doctors noticed, shifted her weight, and rested her good leg from time to time. Doctors knew that Molly had amazing intelligence, and that she wanted to live.
Several doctors operated on Molly, and removed her infected leg. A false leg was made for her. The leg was a hollow cast with a pole at the bottom for balance. Doctors gave Molly a special horseshoe at the bottom of the leg. This horseshoe she had had a stamp of a smile face in it!
After the operation, Molly walked around on all four legs, as if nothing had ever happened to her! Now, with every step she takes, she stamps a smile in the dirt．But she leaves her m ark in other ways, too.
Kaye Harris took Molly to the false leg center. There were children there who, like Molly, had artificial arms or legs. They were amazed to see a pony with a false leg. Molly made them smile and gave them hope. Soon, Molly began to visit schools, nursing homes, army bases and hospitals. A book was even written about Molly!
【小題1】Molly is the name of a        .             .

A．dog

B．horse

C．parent

D．child

【小題2】Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．Molly can speak to people in kind words.

B．Kay Harris took Molly to a children’s hospital after the attack.

C．In the beginning, doctors had planned to end Molly’s life.

D．Molly sometimes leaves smiling marks on people’s faces.

【小題3】What is unique about Molly?

A．Molly has a false leg with a horseshoe shaped like a smiling face.

B．Molly ran a race and won the first prize.

C．Molly often visits places such as schools and parks.

D．Molly has become a symbol of hope for people of all ages.

【小題4】Which is the best title for the passage?

A．A Book on Molly	B．A False Leg
C．A successful Operation	D．Leaving her Mark

One night about nine o’clock, Dr. Eyck, a surgeon, had a phone call from Dr. Haydon at the hospital in Clens Falls. The surgeon was asked to go there at once to operate on a very sick boy who shot himself while playing with a gun.
The doctor was soon on his way to Clens Falls. It was 60 miles away. And it was snowing heavily in the city. The surgeon thought he could get there before 12 o’clock.
A few minutes later, the doctor was stopped by a man in an old black coat. Gun in hand, the man ordered the doctor to get out. Then the man drove the car down the road, leaving the doctor in the falling snow.
It was after 2 o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Clens Falls. Dr. Haydon told him that the boy had died an hour before.
The two doctors walked by the door of the hospital waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat with his head in his hands.
“Mr. Cuninghan,” said Dr. Haydon to the man, “This is Dr. Eyck. He is the surgeon who walked all the way from Albany to save your boy.”
【小題1】Dr. Haydon asked Dr. Eyck to come to Clens Falls because _____.

A．Dr. Eyck knew the boy was wounded by a shot

B．The boy needed the help of a surgeon

C．Dr. Eyck was the boy’s father

D．Dr. Eyck was Haydon’s friend

【小題2】The surgeon was late because ________.

A．he was stopped by the police

B．the weather was rather terrible

C．Clens Falls was too far from Albany

D．his car was taken away

【小題3】Choose the right order of the following events given in the story.
a. Dr. Eyck was asked to come to the hospital in Clens Falls.
b. Dr. Eyck arrived at the hospital.
c. The boy shot himself.                    d. The boy died.
e. The man in an old coat reached the hospital.  f. Dr. Eyck was robbed of his car.

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

【小題4】The boy could have been saved if ______.

A．he had not been sent to the hospital

B．his father hadn’t arrived in time

C．Dr.Eyck had arrived earlier than the man

D．Dr. Eyck had arrived there two hours earlier