Einstein was the greatest scientist of his age. But he was almost as strange as his Theory of Relativity.
Once, while riding a street car in Berlin, he told the conductor that he had been given too much change. The conductor counted the change again and found it to be correct, so he handed it back to Einstein, saying “The trouble with you is you don’t know your figures.”
He had nothing and thought little of the things most people set their hearts on— fame and money. He didn’t want money or praise. He made his own happiness out of such simple things as his work and playing the violin and sailing his boat. Einstein’s violin brought him more joy than anything else in life.
He led a very simple sort of life, went around in old clothes that needed pressing, seldom wore a hat, He shaved （刮胡子）with the same soap that he used for his bath. The man who was trying to solve the most difficult problems of the universe said that using two kinds of soap made his life completely too complicated（復(fù)雜的）.
【小題1】From the second paragraph we know Einstein _____.

A．wasn’t good at maths

B．enjoyed playing jokes

C．had some trouble with figures

D．didn’t care about money at all

【小題2】Einstein was most interested in ______ in life.

A．sailing his boat	B．fame and money
C．playing the violin	D．work

【小題3】“…using two kinds of soap made his life completely too complicated” in the last paragraph suggests that Einstein ______.

A．preferred to live a simple life

B．was a man of humor

C．was too poor to buy more soaps

D．liked to do something different

The fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan was the subject of popular books and movies for many decades. In recent years, however, the character has been criticized as an ill image of Asian-Americans.
Yunte Huang, an English professor at the University of California, says that’s not the case. He has been exploring the character and real-life policeman who inspired him.
Charlie Chan has been a familiar character to readers and film-goers, beginning in the 1920s. The detective solved crimes around the world in more than 40 films through the 1940s, and with the invention of television, found a new audience in the 1950s and 1960s.
Huang discovered Charlie Chan through books by American author Earl Derr Biggers, who created the character.
“One day, I happened to find two Charlie Chan novels. At that point I thought I knew that he was a negative character against Asians, but when I read the book,” he says, “I was immediately attracted. Ever since then, I’ve been a fan of Charlie Chan.”
As a fan of the books and films, Huang was surprised to learn that Charlie Chan was based on a real detective named Chang Apana, who was born to Chinese parents in Hawaii around 1871. Apana worked as a cowboy, and joined the Honolulu police force in 1898.
“He almost immediately became a local legend because as a former cowboy,” says Huang, “he would walk the most dangerous areas in Chinatown carrying a bullwhip（皮鞭）instead of a gun. He didn’t need that.”
Although some say the image of Charlie Chan, with his broken English, is embarrassing for Asian-Americans, Huang believes Chan’s broken English and unusual ancient sayings were part of his charm（魅力）.
“Let me just quote（引用）a few – ‘Actions speak louder than French,’ or ‘Mind like parachute (降落傘). Only function when open.’ Charlie Chan always owes these instructive sayings to Confucius’ eastern wisdom.
For Huang, the fictional Charlie Chan is highly entertaining, while the real-life policeman, Chang Apana, is a Chinese-American success, whose story is worth telling.
【小題1】The passage mainly talks about ______________.

A．how Yunte Huang discovered Charlie Chan

B．how Charlie Chan became famous in the US

C．what Yunte Huang thought of Charlie Chan

D．how a cowboy became a famous detective

【小題2】According to the passage, we know that Charlie Chan __________.

A．was a character in books and movies based on a real detective

B．was a famous actor starring in movies beginning from the 1920s

C．was a famous detective solving crimes all over the world

D．was a Chinese immigrant who became a local legend

【小題3】Chang Apana didn’t need a gun as a weapon because__________.

A．he had his personal charm

B．he liked being a cowboy

C．he was not a true policeman

D．a(chǎn) bullwhip was more useful

【小題4】It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．American author Earl Derr Biggers gave an ill picture of Asian-Americans

B．Yunte Huang believes Charlie Chan represents Asian wisdom in some way

C．Chan’s story was more popular with TV audience than readers and film-goers

D．Charlie Chan became an ill image of Asian-Americans when it first appeared.

In the kitchen of my mother's houses there has always been a wooden stand with a small notepad and a hole for a pencil.
I'm looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can't be the same pencil. The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.
"I'm just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years." I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. "You still use a pencil. Can't you afford a pen?"
My mother replies a little sharply. "It works perfectly well; I've always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days. "
Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, "One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on."
This story, which happened before I was born, reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible exhibits at every meal.
【小題1】Why has the author's mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

A．To leave messages.

B．To list her everyday tasks.

C．To note down math problems.

D．To write down a flash of inspiration.

【小題2】What is the author's original opinion about the wooden stand?

A．It has great value for the family.

B．It needs to be replaced.

C．It brings her back to her lonely childhood.

D．It should be passed on to the next generation.

【小題3】The author feels embarrassed for____________.

A．blaming her mother wrongly

B．giving her mother a lot of trouble

C．not making good use of time as her mother did

D．not making any breakthrough in her field

【小題4】What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The mother is successful in her career.

B．The family members like traveling.

C．The author had little time to play when young.

D．The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

Dou Kou, a Chinese boy, is called “the youngest writer in the world”. He has written three books till now. Dou Kou was born in Jiangsu in 1994. When he was 7 months old, his parents started working in over 30 different cities, such as Xi’an and Shenzhen. This kind of life gave him things to think and write about. When he was 9 months old, he could speak and at the age of one, he could say five to six hundred words. At three, he could look up words in the dictionary. At four, his father taught him how to learn by himself. His parents like reading very much. So does he. At the age of 5, he began writing fairy tales. At the age of 6, he wrote a novel about his life in different cities with his parents. His fairy tales are all from his life. One day, he found many mice in the house. They only ate their food but also hurt his mother’s hand. So he thought, “If we give mice the stomach of cows, they will eat grass and they will be helpful to people.” This was his first fairy tales Change Stomach for Mice. Now he studies well in a middle school. He has written his third book, the novel called Eyes of Children. He says, “I am not different from other children. I just wrote several books.
【小題1】How many books has Dou Kou written?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Five

D．Six

【小題2】Thanks to his _____, Dou Kou could write his books.

A．mother	B．father
C．school life	D．life in different cities

【小題3】Dou Kou began to use a dictionary _____.

A．when he wrote fairy tales

B．before his father taught him how to learn something

C．a(chǎn)fter he went to school

D．a(chǎn)fter his mother taught him how to learn something

【小題4】The underlined(劃線的) sentences show us that Dou Kou _____.

A．is different from other children

B．doesn’t tell the truth.

C．is the same as other children

D．likes his books

【小題5】Which is the best title?

A．Three Books by a child

B．How to Write a Fairy Tales

C．How Clever the Boy is

D．Dou Kou, the Youngest Writer

For thirty years, Johnson arrived at work at 9A.M. exactly. He never missed a day and was never late.
However, on one particular day, 9A.M. passed without Johnson’s arrival, it caused a sensation (轟動(dòng)). All workers stopped and wait, and the boss himself looked at his watch and complained.
Finally, exactly at ten, Johnson turned up, clothes dusty and torn, his face hurt and bruised（挫傷）, his glasses bent. He limped painfully to the time clock, struck in with a strong fist, and said, knowing that all eyes were upon him, “I fell and rolled down two flights of stairs in the subway and nearly killed myself.”
But the boss said, “And to roll down two flights of stairs took you a whole hour?”
【小題1】How long did Johnson work in the company?

A．9 years.

B．10 years.

C．20 years.

D．30 years.

【小題2】What did the other workers do when Johnson was late for work?

A．They were waiting for Johnson.

B．They did their work as usual.

C．They complained against Johnson.

D．They were excited to see Johnson was late.

【小題3】What does the boss mean when he said “And to roll down two flights of stairs took you a whole hour?”?

A．He was worried about Johnson’s health.

B．He was glad that Johnson was late for work.

C．He was surprised at Johnson’s being late for work.

D．He wanted to know more about the reason for Johnson’s being late for work.

The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean so that the audiences could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever . He sent his camera crew（攝制組）out one evening to film the sunset for him .
The next morning he said to the men , “ Have you provided me with that sunset ? ”
“ No , sir . ” the men answered .
The director was angry . “ Why not ? ” he asked .
“ Well , sir , ” one of the men answered . “ we’re on the east coast here , and the sets in the west . We can get you a sunrise over the sea , if necessary , but not a sunset . ”
“ But I want a sunset ! ” the director shouted . “ Go to the airport . take the next flight to the west coast , and get one . ”
But then a young secretary had an idea . “ Why don’t you photograph a sunrise . ” she suggested . “ and then play it backwards ? Then it’ll look like a sunset . ”
The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay（海灣）. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director . “ Here it is sir . ” they said , and gave it to him . He was very pleased .
They all went into the studio（攝影棚）. “ All right . ” the director explained . “ now our hero and heroine are going to say good-bye . Run the film backwards so that we can see the ‘ sunset behind them . ’ ”
The “ sunset ” began , but after a quarter of a minute , the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera crew to stop .
The birds in the film were flying backwards . and the waves on the sea were going away from the beach .
【小題1】One evening, the director sent his camera crew out       .

A．to watch a beautiful sunset

B．to find an actor and an actress

C．to film a sunset scene on the sea

D．to meet the audience

【小題2】Why did the director want to send his crew to the west coast ?

A．Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset .

B．Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset .

C．Because it was his secretary’s suggestion .

D．Because he was angry with his crew .

【小題3】Which of the following is NOT true ?

A．The crew had to follow the secretary’s advice .

B．If you want to see a sunrise , the east coast is the place to go to .

C．The camera crew wasn’t able to film the scene the first day .

D．The director ordered his crew to stop filming the “ sunset ” .

【小題4】The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because       .

A．it went well with the separation of the hero and the heroine

B．when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening

C．it was more moving than a sunrise

D．the ocean looked more beautiful at sunset

【小題5】After the “ sunset ” began , the director suddenly put his face in his hands       .

A．because he was moved to tears

B．a(chǎn)s he saw everything in the film moving backwards

C．a(chǎn)s the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined

D．because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and heroine

I’m a 20-year-old boy, and the following is my story．
A month after I graduated from high school in August，2007，I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident. I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital．
I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn’t open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around．At that time，it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries. Just like my body，my dreams were completely destroyed. But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams．
After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to make every great effort to learn to talk，eat，walk，shower，and live on my own again．When I was out of hospital，I still had to go to outpatient therapy in Waldorf, Maryland．After I spent a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby steps to walk on my own．It was a miracle that I was able to walk again, but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk, but also run. When it came true, I wanted to get back into the pool again．After having a few lung tests，I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week．After a few months of swim training，I began my freshman year at Mary’s College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team．
By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world．I am just trying to 1ive every day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them. I remember when I was still in my hospital bed，I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members．I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay. Somehow，things would work out for the best.
【小題1】The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of __________.

A．operation

B．unconsciousness

C．treatment

D．emergency

【小題2】According to Paragraph 3, it can be inferred that the author ________.

A．was unable to talk or communicate

B．was in despair

C．faced physical and mental challenges

D．felt anxious about his state

【小題3】What is the correct order of the following events?
a．went to outpatient therapy
b．received membership of the swim team
c．was pushed around to visit other patients  
d．walked 1ike a baby
e．1earnt to live all by himself

A．d,a,c,b,e

B．e,c,d,a,b

C．d,c,a,b,e

D．e,c,a,d,b

【小題4】In the last paragraph，the author mainly wants to show_______．

A．his positive influence on other patients

B．his meaningful life

C．his purpose of sharing his story

D．his great achievements

【小題5】The best title for the passage would be“____________”

A．Attitude is everything

B．Actions speak louder than words

C．Everything happens for a reason

D．A good beginning is half done

Howard Dill is a giant among giant pumpkin(南瓜) growers. He grew world champion pumpkins for four years running，from 1979 to 1982, and missed winning the fifth year by only 5 pounds. Today, his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds are sold worldwide to more than 50 seed companies. The pumpkins grown from his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds commonly weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. “I don’t have any training in genetics(遺傳學(xué)); it was all trial and error,” Dill says. He got his love of pumpkins from his father and has enjoyed growing them for years.
Dill still grows giant pumpkins, but not for competition. In the fall, visitors come to enjoy the pumpkins on his 90-acre farm in Nova Scotia, Canada. He plants ten acres of pumpkins for Halloween and two acres of giant pumpkins. One of giant pumpkins was recently baked into 442 pumpkin pies and sold at $5 each for charity.
It you want to try growing a giant pumpkin, Dill recommends starting with a soil test and then adding fertilizer(農(nóng)藥) as needed. Plant the giant pumpkin seed. A giant pumpkin can gain 15 to 20 pounds a day, so careful watering—every day or two—is necessary. You should wait about 130 days until the pumpkin matures and then you can harvest it.
Dill’s favorite pumpkin set the Guinness Book record in 1981. It weighted 493.5 pounds. “I’ve grown them larger since, but that one meant a lot,” he remembers. “I never would have imagined ten
years ago that there would be a 1,000-pounder, but there are many of them now,” says Dill. The 2006 world record holder is Larry Checkon of Pennsylvania. He grew a 1,469 pounder. Dill says, “These world champions are grown from my seeds, so I feel like a winner right along with them.”
【小題1】What can we learn about the world champion pumpkin of 1983?

A．It weighed over 1,000 pounds.

B．It was missing after the competition.

C．It was 5 pounds heavier than that of 1982.

D．It was 5 pounds heavier than Dill’s biggest one that year.

【小題2】 One of Dill’s giant pumpkins earned              .

A．$2210

B．$442

C．$1000

D．$1469

【小題3】 In the third paragraph Dill mainly tells about              .

A．how to do a soil test

B．how to plant the giant pumpkin seed

C．when to water the pumpkin

D．how to grow a giant pumpkin

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

A．Gardening Giant: Howard Dill

B．World Champion Pumpkin

C．Dill Atlantic Giant Seeds

D．How to Grow Giant Pumpkins

Lynn was a young French Canadian girl who grew up in the farming community. At the age of l6, her father thought that she had enough schooling and forced her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. In l922, with limited education and skills, the future didn’t look bright for Lynn. Her father demanded that Lynn find a job as soon as possible, but she didn’t have the confidence to ask for a job.
One day, Lynn gathered her courage and knocked on her very first door. She was met by Margaret Costello, the office manager. In her broken English, Lynn told her she was interested in the secretarial position. Margaret decided to give her a chance.
Margaret sat her down at a typewriter and said, “Lynn, let’s see how good you really are.” She directed Lynn to type a single letter, and then left. Lynn looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:40 a.m. Everyone would be leaving for lunch at noon. She thought she should at least attempt the letter.
On her first try, she got through one line but made four mistakes. She pulled the paper out and threw it away. The clock now read 11:45. “At noon,” she said to herself, “I’ll move out with the crowd, and they will never see me again.”
On her second attempt, things didn’t get any better. Again she started over and finally completed the letter, full of mistakes, though. She looked at the clock: 11:55—five minutes to freedom.
Just then, Margaret walked in. She came directly over to Lynn, and put one hand on the desk and the other on the girl’s shoulder. She read the letter and paused. Then she said, “Lynn, you’re doing good work!”
Lynn was surprised. She looked at the letter, then up at Margaret. With those simple words of encouragement, her desire to escape disappeared and her confidence began to grow. She thought, “Well, if she thinks it’s good, then it must be good. I think I’ll stay!”
Lynn did stay at Carhartt Overall Company…for 51 years, through two world wars and 11 presidents—all because someone had the insight to give a shy and uncertain young girl the gift of self-confidence when she knocked on the door.
【小題1】Why did Lynn leave school at an early age?

A．To learn English well.

B．To earn money for her family.

C．To get self-confidence.

D．To become a typist.

【小題2】When Lynn applied for the job, she              .

A．could speak good English

B．didn’t know much about typing

C．knew Margaret very well

D．never wrote any letter

【小題3】How many attempts did Lynn make to type the letter?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【小題4】Who does the underlined word “someone” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Lynn’s father.

B．Lynn herself.

C．A president.

D．Margaret.

【小題5】What can we learn from Lynn's story?

A．Encouragement makes a difference.

B．Honesty is the best policy.

C．Virtue(美德) leads to success.

D．Time waits for no man.

Mayor Boris Johnson Monday outlined plans to make London “the cleanest” by the 2012 Olympics and called for commitments from other world cities at a climate change conference. Leaders of the world's 40 largest cities are meeting in Seoul this week for a summit on combating global warming ---- the third to be held since 2005.
"What we should do in Seoul is agree that we will stop the endless addiction of mankind to the internal combustion engine (內(nèi)燃機(jī))," said Johnson. He told a press conference the world's cities consume 75 percent of its energy and produce 80 percent of the emissions which cause climate change. "The problem of our planet is an urban problem," Johnson said.
He said the British capital wants to use the Olympics "to drive the greening and the improvement of our city" and noted that London is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025.
Johnson said the key measure was addressing the problems relating to domestic and commercial buildings, which accounted for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in London. This involved retrofitting (翻新) ---- installing lagging (絕緣層材料) ---- in large numbers of public buildings.
Johnson proclaimed himself a "passionate cyclist" and said he would push ahead with cycle super-highways around London.
London's air quality problem, he said, was caused by vehicle emissions from 8,300 antiquated (陳舊的) diesel (柴油) buses, which could be replaced by low-carbon vehicles. There were also 32,000 taxis running on diesel fuel, which could be replaced by electric vehicles.
Johnson said there would be a substantial (實(shí)質(zhì)上的) program in the next few years to produce a "cleaner, greener" bus for his city. "The age of the diesel-emitting bus has got to be over in London."
【小題1】Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to this passage?

A．The used buses running on diesel will be replaced by electric vehicles.

B．London’s air quality will be improved in the near future.

C．London promises to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2025.

D．Plans have been made to solve the problem of carbon dioxide emissions.

【小題2】What does the underlined word mean in the first paragraph?

A．discussing

B．resisting

C．a(chǎn)greeing

D．supporting

【小題3】The topic of the meeting in Seoul might be __________.

A．climate change	B．London Olympics in 2012
C．global warming	D．green environment

【小題4】If the passage was continually written, the following might be __________.

A．measures to replace the old and used vehicles

B．measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in London

C．measures to solve housing and commercial items

D．measures to end the age of the diesel bus