It feels like every time my mother and I start to have a conversation, it turns into an argument. We talk about something as simple as dinner plans and suddenly, my mother will push the conversation into World War 3. She’ll talk about my lack of bright future because I don’t plan to be a doctor. And much to her disappointment, I don’t want to do any job related to science, either. In fact, when I was pushed to say that I planned to major(主修) in English and communications, she nearly had a heart attack.
“Why can’t you be like my co-worker’s son?” she bemoans all the time. Her coworker’s son received a four-year scholarship and is now earning 70,000 dollars a year as an engineer. I don’t know what to answer except that I simply can’t be like Mr. Perfect as I’ve called the unnamed co-worker’s son. I can’t be like him. I am the type of the person who loved to help out in the community, write until the sun goes down, and most of all, wants to achieve a career because I love it, not because of a fame or salary.
I understand why my mother is worried about my future major. I’ve seen my mother struggle to raise me on her small salary and work long hours. She leaves the house around 6:30 am and usually comes home around 5 pm or even 6pm. However, I want her to know that by becoming a doctor, it doesn’t mean I’ll be successful. I’d rather follow my dreams and create my own future.
【小題1】Which of the following topics do the writer and his mother often talk about?

A．the writer’s studies	B．wars around the world
C．dinner plans	D．the writer’s future job

【小題2】We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the writer’s mother _____.

A．doesn’t think the writer should be a doctor

B．doesn’t want the writer to major in English

C．gets along very well with the writer

D．doesn’t think working in the scientific field is a good idea

【小題3】The underlined word “bemoans” in Paragraph 2 most probably means “________”.

A．disagrees

B．shouts

C．smiles

D．complains

【小題4】Which of the following statements is probably TRUE about the writer?

A．He wants to be like his mother’s co-worker’s son.

B．He wants to find a job in his community in the future.

C．He wants to do something he really likes in the future.

D．He doesn’t think his mother’s co-worker’s son is perfect.

【小題5】We can know from the last paragraph that ____.

A．the writer’s mother works very hard for the family

B．the writer doesn’t know what his future will be like

C．the writer doesn’t think being a doctor is a good job

D．the writer sometimes thinks his mother’s advice is very good

Name: Julia Rosetti
Email: n1950215@droid.fit.qut.edu.au
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Drugs: No
Alcohol: No
Sports/ Activities: I used to do a lot of ballet and stage work, my ambition was to be a professional dancer before I got sick. Nowadays I love to read, and other stuff like that, as well as spending a lot of time with my family and friends.
Grades: I finished high school last year, and I haven’t started college because I’ve been sick. But I got subject prizes in three subjects and high as in the rest.
Favorite Subject: I loved Music, English, History and Biology. Hard to pick a favorite – they’re all so different.
Volunteer Work: It all depends on what you call “volunteer”. Nothing really official, but I spend a lot of my time working and playing with really sick kids, and they come to me for advice a lot.
What My Future Goals Are: I’d either like to go on to do stage work, or work with kids with serious illnesses. I haven’t decided which, yet.
What I do in My Spare Time: Talk to my friends and my family. Hang around with my hospital friends. Watch TV. Go to the movies when I can. I love going on picnics and other outdoorsy stuff.
How I’d Change the World: No question. Cure cancer. Eradicate it forever.
Largest Problem: Sometimes, I think it’s having too many choices, and having too many expectations and others having too many expectations of you. And all the implications (牽連) of this.
Why Would I Make a Good Counselor (顧問): I really want to help other people. I’ve made that my life’s ambition, to help as many people as I can.
Qualifications: I spend a lot of time doing this sort of stuff “unofficially” – I am the Discussion Manager on a discussion list for seriously ill young people. People also write to me because of my homepage, often wanting advice, which I try to give them.
【小題1】What can we infer about Julia Rosetti?

A．She is ill now with a cancer.

B．She has had an operation.

C．She is curing people of cancer.

D．She is working in a hospital.

【小題2】The underlined word “eradicate” most probably means _____.

A．get out of

B．put an end of

C．break up

D．set aside

【小題3】The underlined word “you” stands for _____.

A．Julia Rosetti herself

B．a(chǎn)ll her friends in her life

C．the person she refers to

D．everyone including herself

【小題4】Which of the following statements is true about Julia Rosetti?

A．She had wanted to become a doctor.

B．She had done very well at college.

C．She often visits hospitals in her spare time.

D．She has her own homepage on the Internet.

Today I was at the mall waiting for friends, when a lady wearing a knit hat and a sweater came up to me and, shivering, said, “I’m homeless. Would you mind buying me some food?”
In that split second, everything I’d learned since kindergarten flashed through my mind. Don’t talk to strangers … Be a good citizen … People will take ­advantage of you … Treat others as you wish to be treated … The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return … I guess love won the debate. “Sure,” I said. “What would you like?”
She thought and then said, “I’d like to get Chinese food.” We headed upstairs. On the way she told me about when she was a teenager. She remembers taking pictures for the yearbook with her best friend. She was in the band and played basketball. She got good grades and was a good student.
She ordered soup, an egg roll, white rice, and pepper chicken. I would normally think that was a lot, but she had probably barely eaten in the last few days. I got my usual – lo mein and General Tso’s chicken.
As we ate, we got to know each other. She asked if I played any instruments. I replied that I played the violin, cello, and guitar. She told me she played the flute, piano, guitar, and violin. In the middle of our meal, I realized something. And she thought of it at exactly the same time.
“So, what’s your name?” she asked.
“I’m Claire,” I said, startled at our exact same thought. “What’s yours?”
“Joyce,” she said with a smile.
We continued talking, and she asked my favorite subjects in school and if I wanted to go to college. “Hopefully,” I replied. “I’m interested in nursing.”
“I went to college for nursing,” she said.
I was taken aback. How could we have so much in common? Was she pretending so I’d feel sympathy for her? But her eyes were genuine as she said this.
Meanwhile I was eating my lo mein, picking around the cabbage and the other vegetables. Joyce said, “If you don’t like it you can take it back.” I told her that I liked it, but was not fond of the vegetables. She broke into a big grin. “You don’t like vegetables, huh? Neither did I. But now I do.” I immediately felt guilty. How could I be picking at my food across from someone who barely gets to eat at all?
I tried my best to finish, but she seemed to sense my guilt and said, “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want it.” How could she know what I was feeling? I told her the dish was my favorite, but I just eat slowly.
She replied, “I used to like lo mein, but pepper chicken was my dad’s favorite, so I get that now.” Noticing that she used the word “was,” I assumed her dad had passed away. I found it sweet that she gave up her favorite in order to honor her dad.
She asked why I was at the mall.
“I’m waiting for friends. We’re going to see ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’” I replied, stumbling over the words a bit.
“‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’” she echoed in awe. “What’s that about?” I realized that she didn’t see commercials for movies.
I explained the basic plot and she chuckled. “A man who is born 80 years old and ages backwards! That sounds interesting.”
She got up to get a to-go box. “Would you like one?” she asked, but I refused. I realized that this food would probably last her for a few days, and I was glad she had ordered a lot.
“Would you like these?” I asked, gesturing at the food I had left untouched. “Oh, no, thank you,” she said. “This is enough.” I got up to throw my tray away, feeling guilty about wasting so much.
“I need to meet my friends now,” I explained. “It was so nice to meet you, Joyce.”
“You too, Claire,” she replied with a smile. “Thank you.”
I headed to the theater, and she went back downstairs. It sounds like a perfect coincidence, but I can’t help but think that some force compelled us to meet. I kept puzzling, Why is Joyce homeless? It seems so unfair. She shouldn’t need people to buy her dinner. She was a nurse. She got good grades. She took pictures for her yearbook. She was the person I hope to be in the future. What went wrong? How could such a good life be rewarded with horrible luck?
I feel lucky to have run into Joyce. She changed my outlook. She is still a wonderful person, despite what the world has done to her. I wish her the best, and can only hope that the force that brought us together will help her find what she deserves in life.
【小題1】From the second paragraph we know that the writer _________.

A．debated with the girl over moral issues

B．hates having to make a quick decision

C．hesitated before she decided to reach out

D．fell in love with the girl at the first sight

【小題2】The writer felt guilty for a moment because ________.

A．she was particular about food and also wasted so much

B．she was a strict vegetarian who ate very little

C．she didn’t order enough food for the girl

D．she urged the girl to take her share of food

【小題3】Why did Joyce end up unemployed and homeless?

A．She was a victim of high education

B．She actually had some kind of mental disorder

C．She graduated with average grades

D．The reason is not yet given.

【小題4】Which detail doesn’t show the coincidence in the story?

A．They both took interest in nursing.

B．They were about to ask names of each other at the same time.

C．When Claire headed to the theater, Joyce went back downstairs.

D．They were both musical lovers.

【小題5】The writer was very happy to have met Joyce because______.

A．she didn’t know what she was going to be until then.

B．this chance meeting changed her attitudes towards life in a way.

C．she was glad to be able to pay for someone in need.

D．hopefully the force that brought them together may bring good luck to Joyce.

【小題6】The passage is intended to _______.

A．a(chǎn)rouse readers’ curiosity

B．explore social problems

C．teach readers a lesson

D．share a sweet personal story

In America, when people say “man’s best friend”, they don’t mean another person. Instead, they are talking about a lovely animal：A dog! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give happiness to people’s lives. Some people think of their pets as their children. A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!
Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes”for a blind person or “ears”for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.
Americans hold “Be---Kind-to-Animals Week”in the first week of May.
Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First, think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also, be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.
If you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, don’t kick(踢)it or throw things at it. Instead, just leave it alone, or beter yet, make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal, try to shop them. As people, we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.
【小題1】“A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!”means that__________

A．pets have the right (權力) to inherit (繼承) money.

B．money can give pets happiness.

C．it’s the best way to spend money.

D．some pets are taken as children.

【小題2】Why are dogs brought to hospitals?

A．Because they are ill and need to see doctors.

B．Because they can make the patients happier.

C．Because they can find out the problems of the patients.

D．Because doctors can do experiments (實驗) on them.

【小題3】What’s the most popular activity in the “Be-Kind-to-Animals Week”?

A．Holding a pet show in the week.

B．Playing with pets the whole week.

C．Cooking delicious food for pets.

D．Making friends with other people’s pets.

【小題4】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．A lot of people are interested in dogs.

B．Dogs can help people do many things.

C．Pets are lovely and need care and protection.

D．We have done a lot of things for pets.

【小題5】The words“ man’s best friends”shows____________.

A．the friendship between people.

B．the friendship between people and animals.

C．the friendship between animals.

D．the friendship between men and women

That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (搶劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment (公寓房間), I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾車) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “ Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? the door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were wiling to help each other.
【小題1】How did the write feel when she was walking home after work?

A．Cold and sick

B．Fortunate and helpful

C．Satisfied and cheerful

D．Disappointed and helpless

【小題2】From the first paragraph, we learn that the write was busy  ______.

A．solving her problem at the bank

B．taking part in various city activities

C．learning acting in an evening school

D．preparing for the first night show

【小題3】On her way home the writer _______.

A．lost her wallet unknowingly

B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver

C．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man

D．found some homeless people following her

【小題4】In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?

A．Someone offered to take her back home.

B．A red-haired man came to see her.

C．She heard someone call her name

D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck.

【小題5】From the text, we can infer that the writer _________.

A．would stop working at night

B．would stay on in San Francisco

C．would make friends with cleaners

D．would give up her job at the bank.

Thanksgiving(感恩節(jié)) Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun task——to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class would celebrate the holiday with turkey(火雞) and other traditional goodies(好吃的東西) of season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of her students’ art. And they were. But Douglas made a different kind of picture. He drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand. Douglas was a different kind of boy. Most of the time, as other children played together, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. Everyone could guess the pain he felt from his eyes.
His picture interested other students. Whose hands could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for Gold feeds us.
The teacher stopped at Douglas desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and said, “ It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ ll go outside.” or, “ Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Douglas was thankful for his teacher’s hand. It means much to Douglas. He might not always say thanks, but he’ll remember the hand that reaches out. She wiped her tears away and went on with her work.
【小題1】What did most students think of when given the task?

A．Hand

B．Turkey

C．God

D．Farmer

【小題2】Douglas drew an empty hand in order to_____.

A．show thanks to his teacher	B．a(chǎn)sk for a turkey
C．a(chǎn)ttract other students’ attention	D．make the teacher cry

【小題3】How did the teacher feel when Douglas told her the answer?

A．Sad

B．Happy

C．Moved

D．Interested.

【小題4】The underlined word “recall” in paragraph 5 means_____.

A．pass

B．spend

C．waste

D．remember

Two thieves came to a house to steal something. They dug a hole in the wall of the house.
　　There lived many mice in the house. The woman in the house saw a mouse crawl(爬行) into the house in the moonlight. “Look! In comes one,” she said to the man in the house. The thief was so frightened that he hurriedly crawled out of the house and said to the one waiting outside, “She found me when I was just in.” But the thief outside didn’t believe him, so he said, “Let us try to crawl into the house together.” At that time two mice happened to crawl into the house, too. The woman saw the mice and shouted, “In come two, catch them!” The two thieves were terribly frightened. The man in the house said, “You saw them come in but where are they? I will catch them tonight.” The two thieves started running away at once.
　　The two thieves wanted to make it clear whether they had been found or not the night before. The next day they acted as men selling sweet potatoes and came before the house. The man and the woman were ploughing in their fields. The rope broke and the woman came home for a rope. She saw two men selling sweet potatoes and wanted to buy some. She picked out two which looked like mice. At the time the man couldn’t wait for her any longer in the fields and he ran back from the fields to hurry her up. The woman showed the sweet potatoes to the man and said, “How they look like the two of last night.” The man said, “I asked you to fetch a rope, why don’t you hurry for it?” The two thieves ran away very quickly without their sweet potatoes.
【小題1】The two thieves failed to steal anything from the house because _____.

A．they were found out

B．they were frightened by what they had heard in the house

C．they didn’t work together well with each other

D．mice stopped them from doing so

【小題2】From the last paragraph, we know that _____.

A．the two thieves were famous selling sweet potatoes

B．the woman recognized the two thieves

C．the woman pretended to know nothing about the two thieves and made fun of them

D．the two thieves didn’t know that they were not found at all

【小題3】When the woman said, “How they look like the two of last night!” _____.

A．she referred to the two thieves	B．she meant nothing
C．she said it on purpose	D．she referred to the mice

【小題4】“____________”is the best title for this passage.

A．Two Clever Thieves	B．Terrible Mice
C．Hit the Mark by a Fluke(僥幸)	D．A Clever Coupe

【小題5】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The two thieves not only failed to steal things but also lost their sweet potatoes.

B．Whenever they found mice, the people in the house would try to catch them.

C．The two thieves ran away at once, because they thought the woman had seen them.

D．The man let the woman go home for a rope, which would be used for catching the thieves.

It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary when moving to a university job. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia (學術界) outweigh any financial considerations.
Helen Lee took a 70% cut in salary when she moved from a senior post in Abbott Laboratories to a medical department at the University of Cambridge. Her main reason for returning to academia mid-career was to take advantage of the greater freedom to choose research questions. Some areas of inquiry have few prospects of a commercial return, and Lee’s is one of them.
The impact of a salary cut is probably less severe for a scientist in the early stages of a career. Guy Grant, now a research associate at the Unilever Centre for Molecular Informatics at the University of Cambridge, spent two years working for a pharmaceutical (制藥的) company before returning to university as a post-doctoral researcher. He took a 30% salary cut but felt it worthwhile for the greater intellectual opportunities.
Higher up the ladder, where a pay cut is usually more significant, the demand for scientists with a wealth of experience in industry is forcing universities to make the transition to academia more attractive, according to Lee. Industrial scientists tend to receive training that academics do not, such as how to build a multidisciplinary team, manage budgets and negotiate contracts. They are also well placed to bring something extra to the teaching side of an academic role that will help students get a job when they graduate, says Lee, perhaps experience in manufacturing practice or product development. “Only a small number of undergraduates will continue in an academic career. So someone leaving university who already has the skills needed to work in an industrial lab has far more potential in the job market than someone who has spent all their time on a narrow research project.”
【小題1】By “a one-way street” (Line 1, Para. 1), the author means ________.

A．university researchers know little about the commercial world

B．there is little exchange between industry and academia

C．few industrial scientists would quit to work in a university

D．few university professors are willing to do industrial research

【小題2】What was Helen Lee’s major consideration when she changed her job in the middle of her career?

A．Flexible work hours.

B．Her research interests.

C．Her preference for the lifestyle on campus.

D．Prospects of academic accomplishments.

【小題3】Guy Grant chose to work as a researcher at Cambridge in order to ________.

A．do financially more rewarding work

B．raise his status in the academic world

C．enrich his experience in medical research

D．exploit better intellectual opportunities

【小題4】What contribution can industrial scientists make when they come to teach in a university?

A．Increase its graduates’ competitiveness in the job market.

B．Develop its students’ potential in research.

C．Help it to obtain financial support from industry.

D．Gear its research towards practical applications.

A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute,” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”
The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase (公文包) and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.
I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
“All right then,” I said. “Okay, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forests of hands. Every student would yell. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. One at a time, one at a time!”
A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I inspected the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.
【小題1】The author took the job to teach writing because ______.

A．he wanted to be expected

B．he had written some storied

C．he wanted to please his father

D．he had dreamed of being a teacher

【小題2】What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 2 ?

A．He would be aggressive in his first class.

B．He was well-prepared for his first class.

C．He got nervous upon the arrival of his first class.

D．He waited long for the arrival of his first class.

【小題3】Before he started his class, the author asked the students to ______.

A．write down their suggestions on the paper cards

B．cut maple leaves out of the construction paper

C．cut some cards out of the construction paper

D．write down their names on the paper cards

【小題4】What did the students do when the author started his class?

A．They began to talk.	B．They stayed silent.
C．They raised their hands.	D．They shouted to be heard.

【小題5】The author chose the composition topic probably because ______.

A．he got disappointed with his first class

B．he had prepared the topic before class

C．he wanted to calm down the students

D．he thought it was an easy topic

Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima was born on 22 September 1976 in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Like most of his childhood friends, Ronaldo began his soccer career playing barefoot in the streets of his neighborhood. At the age of 14, he joined SCristovo soccer club and only two years later became the star of Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte scoring a total of 58 goals in 60 matches and earning himself a reputation for his explosive pace and outstanding finishing skills. His goal-scoring record and unusual agility led him to be included in the Brazilian World Cup winning team the following year. After the World Cup, many top European football clubs were trying to sign him. Many people, including Brazilian football legend Pelé, referred to him as the most promising footballer of his generation.
Since his transfer to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo’s biography is one of success after success. Two Copa América s, a UEFA Cup, a Dutch Cup, a Spanish League Cup, and two awards as best player in the world, all in the space of two years, are some of Ronaldo s impressive achievements. On arrival to Inter-Milan in 1997, Ronaldo became the idol of the local fans who refer to him as “il Fenomeno.”
Since the 98 World Cup he has suffered two serious knee injuries that have severely limited his appearances. Just when people began to wonder whether Ronaldo would be able to continue with his football career, he proved to the world that he still could play. In the World Cup held in Korea and Japan, the magical striker won the Golden Shoe award and tied Pelé's Brazilian record for career World Cup goals with 12. He helped Brazil capture its fifth World Cup championship on June 30 with a 2-0 win over Germany. It was the third time that Ronaldo has ever played in the World Cup.
【小題1】We can infer from the passage that Ronaldo _____________.

A．comes from a rich family

B．began to play soccer at 14

C．won a total of 58 goals at 14

D．became a star of Cruzeriro Belo Horizonte in 1992

【小題2】The meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph1 is similar to __________________.

A．a(chǎn) good reputation	B．outstanding quality
C．quick moving	D．excellent skill

【小題3】From the passage we can conclude that Ronald participated in ____big international soccer matches in all.

A．eight

B．eleven

C．twelve

D．five