Joey is loyal, encouraging and self-sacrificing, always putting others’ interests ahead of his own. He is a hard worker, who also loves to run and play. In short, he’s an ideal friend and a heroic character.
Here is the thing: Joey is a horse, who appears as the main character in Steven Spielberg’s new film War Horse.
It is based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel, which also caused the same-titled Tony Awards winning play.
The film follows the saga of Joey, a racehorse that’s trained for farm work under the loving care of Albert (Jeremy Irvine )after Albert’s drunk father Ted(Peter Mullan ) overpays for the animal at auction(拍賣會).
Then the World War I tears Albert and Joey apart. Joey is sold into the war effort for the British and starts his episodic adventures in Europe.
Splendidly staged, the battle plots in the film are visually astounding and impressive.
And with Spielberg’s unique, top-notch direction and storytelling skills, War Horse cannot escape its episodic nature, calling to mind another Spielberg film about the horrors of war and its effects upon soldiers and civilians—Saving Private Ryan.
While that film shocked with horrific scenes of bleeding, it relied on a company of easily-described characters and a focused storyline to present heroic themes.
Like Saving Private Ryan, War Horse clings to a series of characters, not only Albert, but also British officers, French civilians and German soldiers, who display courage in the face of danger. Everyone who comes in contact with Joey is either already in touch with their inner angel or is quickly moved to become more humane.
Although none of this covers the fact that we’ve seen this stuff elsewhere before, the lovely sentiment will steal your heart.
And the emotional signature of Spielberg can be felt as he establishes the relationship between the boy and the horse and the mood of the piece – there will be tears.
Therefore, calling this beautiful, dramatically incomplete film “ Saving Private Joey”, is entirely justifiable.
【小題1】In common with “ Saving Private Ryan”, the film War Horse _________ .

A．is full of terrifying scenes of bleeding and killing

B．received the title of Tony Awards Winning Play

C．covers a lot of characters

D．tells the story happening in the Second World War

【小題2】Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．War Horse is based on the same-titled novel by Steven Spielberg.

B．Joey is a heroic character because he saved many people’s lives.

C．Albert sold Joey into the war effort for Europe.

D．Joey came to Albert’s care after Ted paid a lot of money for it.

【小題3】According to the passage, what does the underlined word astounding mean?

A．a(chǎn)stonishing

B．confusing

C．satisfying

D．disappointing

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

A．Joey ─ a heroic race horse	B．Albert and Joey
C．Saving Private Joey	D．Spielberg’s Joey

There has been an outpouring of love for, a 23-year-old disabled woman whose dog was killed in front of her while a groomer(美容師) tried to trim(修剪) its claws.
Calls and e-mails came from as far away as the Upper Peninsula and Arizona as well as Oakland and Macomb counties, offering Laurie Crouch, who uses a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis(硬化癥), everything from dogs to money, such as that from Jason Daly of Roseville who said, “ I would like to buy her a new dog.”
A story about the death of Crouch’s pet, Gooch, was printed on the front page of Macomb Daily. Crouch said a man sat on the dog to trim its nails. Gooch died after one claw was trimmed.
Crouch yelled at the groomer to stop when she saw Gooch was struggling to breathe, but she said she was ignored. “If I could have walked, I would have put my hands on her and pulled her off my dog and physically stopped her, but I can’t do that.” Gooch was not a trained service animal, but naturally helped Crouch by picking up things for her.
“This case is absolute animal abuse(虐待),” Larry Obrecht, division manager of the Oakland County Animal Shelter in Auburn Hills, said.
People who read the story contacted Oakland Press to offer help. A message, from Rebecca Amett of Giggles N Wiggles Puppy Rescue, in Roseville, said, “We have puppies to donate … and want to help the young woman who lost her service dog.”
“When Gooch was with me, I was happy,” Crouch said, “I think I can be happy again but no animal can replace Gooch. There’s never going to be another Gooch out there but I think I will find a dog that can bring me joy again.”
【小題1】What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．A disabled woman’s service dog.

B．A cruel groomer killed a disabled woman’s dog.

C．People’s love for a disabled woman who lost her dog.

D．Disabled woman loves to have the dog as company.

【小題2】People called and emailed to             .

A．offer help and care to Laurie Crouch.

B．give their angry voice to the groomer.

C．offer a cure for Crouch’s disease.

D．tell Crouch how to punish the groomer.

【小題3】Gooch died mainly because           .

A．the groomer was careless.

B．the groomer sat on the dog with another man.

C．the dog was wearing a collar.

D．the groomer didn’t know how to trim the dog’s nails

【小題4】We can infer from the passage that          .

A．Crouch refused to take another dog.

B．Crouch must be sad after losing her dog.

C．Crouch has accepted another dog from a stranger.

D．Crouch can live well without a dog’s company.

Amy and Mark Blaubach were very excited about adopting a child from an orphanage (孤兒院). They thought they would adopt a baby girl. After waiting one and a half years, the social worker asked them to consider adopting a six-year-old boy named Jerry.
After the adoption papers were signed, Amy asked if Jerry had a good friend at the orphanage. Jerry said his best friend was Zack. That was the first time that Amy heard about Zack.
Then Jerry went to his new home with Amy and Mark, where he lived happily and adjusted very well. However, Jerry kept talking about his best friend that he had left behind at the orphanage. So Amy became determined to try and find out more about Zack.
She came across a database specifically for families who had adopted children from the orphanage where she met Jerry. The database allowed parents to enter their child’s name and his or her adoption information. As Amy looked through the database, she found what appeared to be a possible match of her son’s best friend. After sending a new e-mails back and forth, Amy was sure to have the right Zack. He had adopted by Rae and Bruce Hostetler two weeks before. To her surprise, the two families were living in the same city. Then she decided to give these two friends a special reunion (重逢)
On a sunny Sunday, the two boys finally met each other again. When Jerry asked Zack, “Do you remember me?” Zack quickly answered, “Yes! Let’s go and play!” That led to hours of laughter and play. Rae and Amy were excited to see how well their sons got along, and what an amazing bond(聯(lián)系) they had. Thanks to both families, that special bond between Zack and Jerry can continue for the rest of their lives.
【小題1】What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?

A．Amy and Mark thought they would adopt a baby boy.

B．Amy and Mark were unwilling to adopt Jerry.

C．Amy had met Zack before he left the orphanage

D．Amy knew that Zack and Jerry were good friends.

【小題2】After Jerry left the orphanage ________.

A．he wasn’t happy in his new home

B．he couldn’t adapt to his new environment

C．he missed his friend very much

D．he left guilty about leaving his friend behind

【小題3】What can we learn about Zack from the fourth paragraph?

A．He was found at the orphanage by Amy.

B．He was living in the same city as Jerry.

C．He would be adopted by Amy and Mark.

D．The boy named Zack in the database wasn’t Jerry’s friend.

【小題4】Which of the following is TURE according to the last paragraph?

A．The boys met again at Amy’s home.

B．The boys couldn’t get along with each other any longer.

C．When they met again, the boys didn’t recognize each other at first.

D．The boys can keep in touch with each other for the rest of their lives.

【小題5】What is the best title for this text?

A．How to Adopt a Child

B．Amy and Her Adopted Child

C．A Story in an Orphanage

D．A Very Special Reunion

John Fisher, a builder, and his wife Elizabeth wanted more living space, so they left their small flat for an old 40-meter-high castle tower. They have spent five years turning it into a beautiful home with six floors, winning three architectural prizes.
“I love the space, and being private,” Elizabeth says. “You feel separated from the world. If I am in the kitchen, which is 25 meters above the ground floor, and the doorbell rings, I don’t have to answer it because visitors can’t see I am in!”
There are 142 steps to the top so if I go up and down five or six times a day, it’s very good exercise! But having to carry heavy things to the top is terrible, so I never buy more than two bags of shopping from the supermarket at a time. Except for that, it’s a brilliant place to live.
“When we first saw the place, I asked my father’s advice about buying it, because we couldn’t decide. After paying for it, we were a bit worried because it looked awful. But we really loved it, and knew how we wanted it to look.”
“Living here can be difficult—yesterday I climbed a four-meter ladder to clean the windows. But when you stand on the roof you can see all the way out to the sea on a clear day, and that’s a wonderful experience. I am really glad we moved. ”
【小題1】What is the writer trying to do in the text?

A．describe how to turn an old tower into a house

B．recommend(推薦) a particular builder

C．describe what it is like to live in a tower

D．explain how to win prizes for building work

【小題2】Which of the following best describes Elizabeth’s feelings about the tower?

A．She wanted it as soon as she saw it.

B．She likes most things about it.

C．She has been worried since they paid for it.

D．She finds it unsuitable to live in.

【小題3】What problem does Elizabeth have with living in such a tall building?

A．Her visitors find it hard to see if she is at home.

B．She feels separated from others.

C．She cannot bring home lots of shopping at once.

D．It is impossible to clean any of the windows.

【小題4】How will John and Elizabeth advertise their tower if they sell it?

A．

B．

C．

D．

When I was eight, I saw a movie about an island that had an erupting volcano and jungles filled with wild animals. The island was ruled by a beautiful woman called Tondalaya, the Fire Goddess of the Volcano. It was a low budget movie, but to me, it represented the perfect life. But through the years, Tondalaya was forgotten.
The week I turned 50, my marriage came to a sudden end. My house, furniture and everything I’d owned was sold to pay debts that I didn’t even know existed. In a week I had lost my husband, my home and my parents who had refused to accept a divorce in the family. I’d lost everything except my four teenage children. I used every penny I had to buy five plane tickets from Missouri to Hawaii. Everyone said I was crazy to think I could just run off to an island and survive. I was afraid they were right.
I worked 18 hours a day and lost 30 pounds because I lived on one meal a day. One night as I walked alone on the beach, I saw the red orange lava（火山巖）pouring out of Kilauea Volcano in the distance. It was time to live my imagination!
The next day, I quit my job, bought some art supplies and began doing what I loved. I hadn't painted a picture in 15 years. I wondered if I could still paint. My hands trembled the first time I picked up a brush. But before an hour had passed, I was lost in the colors spreading across the canvas（畫布）in front of me. And as soon as I started believing in myself, other people started believing in me, too. The first painting sold for $ 1500.
The past six years have been filled with adventures. My children and I have gone swimming with dolphins, watched whales and hiked around the crater rim（火山口邊緣）of the volcano. We wake up every morning with the ocean in front of us and the volcano behind us. The dream I had more than 40 years ago is now reality. I’m living freely and happily ever after.
【小題1】Why did the writer go to Hawaii?

A．To free herself from trouble.

B．To make a living.

C．To spend her holiday.

D．To realize her childhood dream.

【小題2】Which of the following is the writer’s dream?   

A．Become a successful painter.

B．Live in nature with animals.

C．Get close to wildlife.

D．Live a free and happy life.

【小題3】We can infer from the passage that __________.

A．the writer wasn’t sure whether she could survive in Hawaii at first

B．the writer’s parents encouraged her to divorce

C．the writer’s husband took away most of her money

D．the writer had never done painting before

Barditch High School decided to hold an All-School Reunion．Over 450 people came to the event．There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park．Several former teachers were on hands to tell stories about the old days．Ms．Mabel Yates, the English teacher for fifty years, was wheeled to the Park．
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans(嘟囔聲)when Ms．Yates was about to speak．Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined．
Then Ms．Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be here．I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies．I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students．Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the birth of your children, in my imagination．”
Ms．Yates paused and started crying a bit．Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me．Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in you chosen path．”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work．You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart．”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping．The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar(呼喊)．Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown．
【小題1】What activity was organized for the school reunion?

A．Telling stories about past events．

B．A picnic on the school playground．

C．Sightseeing in the park．

D．Graduates’ reports in the old building．

【小題2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms．Yates’ speech．

B．Some people got tired from the reunion activities．

C．Many graduates disliked Ms．Yates’ ways of teaching．

D．Most people had little interest in the reunion．

【小題3】We can learn from Ms．Yates’ speech that she _____________．

A．a(chǎn)ttended her students’ college graduations

B．gave her students advice on their careers

C．kept track of her students’ progress

D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies

【小題4】What was Ms．Yates’ belief in teaching teenagers?

A．Hard-pushed students are more likely to succeed．

B．Pressure on students from teachers should be reduced．

C．Teachers’ knowledge is the key to students’achievements．

D．Students’ respect is the best reward for teachers．

【小題5】Which of the following can best describe Ms．Yates?__________．

A．Reliable and devoted．

B．Strict but caring．

C．Proud but patient．

D．Tough and generous．

FOR many young people, having to attend school with a parent would be their worst nightmare. However, Senior 1 student Li Qinmei is happy taking her father with her as long as she can go to classes. He is disabled and unable to take care of himself.
The 16-year-old country girl in Zhucheng, Shandong Province has experienced one disaster after another in her short life. Li lost her mother at three. Four years later, her father became paralyzed after a tractor accident. At 12, her misfortune returned with the death of her grandma. Since then she has been forced to shoulder all the responsibility for her broken family.
Li learnt to cook and managed to live a life with an allowance of only 24 yuan per month. The most difficult thing she had to deal with was helping her father bathe, dress and use the toilet as he could hardly move.
"I felt embarrassed, and so did my dad. It was really hard at the beginning," she recalled.
During most of her junior school years, Li went to classes only once a month as her father was seriously ill at the time.
"I taught myself at home and asked teachers for help on my school days," she explained.
Li's hard work paid off this fall. She was admitted by Zhucheng No 1 High School, a local key school, based on her good performance in the entrance exams.
The school offered Li and her father a room on campus to live in so she could look after him during breaks.
Once in a while, Li felt sad when she saw her classmates going shopping or hanging out with friends.
"I envy them sometimes because they have both mum and dad to look after them. However, I soon feel relieved as I still have my dad with me," she said.
Li admitted that the difficulties in life had taught her to be strong.
"I believe I will go on and continue my studies at a good university," she said, in a confident tone.
Her teacher Mr. Wang has the same belief. Li made great progress in the recent monthly exams. "She works hard and is always eager to excel (好強(qiáng)的). It's not easy for her never to be late for school, but she has managed to make it work," Wang said.
【小題1】Li Qinmei has to shoulder the family because ________.

A．her father was badly injured in a car accident

B．her mother passed away when she was 3

C．her grandma died when she was 12

D．misfortune in her life forced her to do so

【小題2】From the passage we can infer that _________.

A．Li Qinmei doesn’t like others talking about her father

B．many young students hate going to school with their parents

C．Li Qinmei has made great progress in her study

D．Li Qinmei has lost three relatives and has to take care of her father

【小題3】What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “hanging out” in the passage?_________.

A．playing outside

B．working hard

C．exchanging ideas

D．talking happily

【小題4】According to the passage, which statement is Not True? __________.

A．Li Qinmei was admitted to a local key school because of his good scores in the exams

B．Li Qinmei is not very embarrassed when she helps her father bathe

C．Li Qinmei often goes to attend her father after class

D．Li Qinmei is able to go to class on time though she has to attend her father

【小題5】What’s the best title of the story?________.

A．Difficulties make strong

B．A touching story

C．A strong-minded girl-Li Qinmei

D．Li Qinmei’s successful study life

At exactly eleven Sir Percival knocked and entered, with anxiety and worry in every line of his face. This meeting would decide his future life, and he obviously knew it.
“You may wonder, Sir Percival,” said Laura calmly, “if I am going to ask to be released（免除）from my promise to marry you. I am not going to ask this. I respect my father’s wishes too much.”
His face relaxed a little, but one of his feet kept beating the carpet.
“No, if we are going to withdraw（退出）from our planned marriage, it will be because of your wish, not mine. ”
“Mine?” he said in great surprise. “What reason could I have for withdrawing?”
“A reason that is very hard to tell you,” she answered. “There is a change in me.”
His face went so pale that even his lips lost their color. He turned his head to one side.
“What change?” he asked, trying to appear calm.
“When the promise was made two years ago”, she said, “my love did not belong to anyone. Will you forgive me, Sir Percival, if I tell you that it now belongs to another person?”
“I wish you to understand”, Laura continued, “that I will never see this person again, and that if you leave me, you only allow me to remain a single woman for the rest of my life. All I ask is that you forgive me and keep my secret.”
“I will do both those things,” he said. Then he looked at Laura, as if he was waiting to hear more.
“I think I have said enough to give you reason to withdraw from our marriage,” she added quietly.
“No. You have said enough to make it the dearest wish of my life to marry you,” he said.
【小題1】How did Percival feel during his meeting with Laura?

A．Angry.

B．Calm.

C．Excited.

D．Nervous.

【小題2】We can learn from the passage that ______.

A．Laura’s father wished to end her marriage

B．Laura had once promised to marry Percival

C．Percival had been married to Laura for two years

D．Percival asked to be released from the marriage

【小題3】What do you think is the ending of the story?

A．Laura was married to Percival.

B．Laura was married to another man.

C．Percival was married to another woman.

D．Both Percival and Laura remained single for the rest of their lives.

Some people believe that a Robin Hood is at work, others that a wealthy person simply wants to distribute（分發(fā)）his or her fortune before dying. But the donator who started sending envelopes with cash to deserving causes, accompanied by an article from the local paper, has made a northern German city believe in fairytales（童話）.
The first envelope was sent to a victim support group. It contained ?10,000 with a cutting from the Braunschweiger Zeitung about how the group supported a woman who was robbed of her handbag; similar plain white anonymous（匿名）envelopes, each containing ?10,000, then arrived at a kindergarten and a church.
The envelopes keep coming, and so far at least ?190,000 has been distributed. Last month, one of them was sent to the newspaper’s own office. It came after a story it published about Tom, a 14-year-old boy who was severely disabled in a swimming accident. The receptionist at the Braunschweiger Zeitung opened an anonymous white envelope to find 20 notes of ?500 inside, with a copy of the article. The name of the family was underlined.
“I was driving when I heard the news,” Claudia Neumann, the boy’s mother, told Der Spiegel magazine. “I had to park on the side of the road; I was speechless.”
The money will be used to make the entrance to their house wheelchair-accessible and for a course of treatment that their insurance company refused to pay for.
“For someone to act so selflessly, for this to happen in such a society in which everyone thinks of himself, was astonishing,” Mrs. Neumann said. Her family wonder whether the donator is a Robin Hood character, taking from banks to give to the needy.
Henning Noske, the editor of the Braunschweiger Zeitung, said: “Maybe it is an old person who is about to die. We just do not know.” However, he has told his reporters not to look for the city’s hero, for fear that discovery may stop the donations.
【小題1】The Braunschweiger Zeitung is name of _____.

A．a(chǎn) church

B．a(chǎn) bank

C．a(chǎn) magazine

D．a(chǎn) newspaper

【小題2】Which of the following is TURE about the donation to Tom?

A．The donation amounted to ?190,000.

B．The donation was sent directly to his house.

C．His mother felt greatly surprised at the donation.

D．All the money will be used for his treatment.

【小題3】It can be inferred from the passage that      .

A．the donation will continue to come

B．the donator is a rich old man

C．the donation comes from the newspaper

D．the donator will soon be found out

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

A．Money Is Raised by the Newspaper.

B．Unknown Hero Spreads Love in Envelopes.

C．Newspaper Distributes Money to the Needy.

D．Robin Hood Returns to the city.

I bent down in the shade under a sixty-foot-tall cactus（仙人掌）, waiting for them to appear. The time was eight thirty in the morning. For seven mornings I had come to the same distant spot in the Sonoran Desert, in southern Arizona. I was here to watch the roadrunner, a small fast-running bird.
I spotted two birds under a bush with red flowers. The roadrunners rushed out from under it. The birds moved rapidly on long skinny legs. Their feathers were brown and black. Their tails were seven inches long. Roadrunners use the tail for balance when running.
That day, the roadrunners performed a courtship（求婚）dance. They ran in wild circles. Suddenly, one stopped and stood still, its round eyes full of light. The second bird took hold of a small stick off the ground and presented it to the first, a gift serving as a symbol of their partnership.
I returned to the spot each day, leaving bits of boiled chicken hoping they would return. Roadrunners eat snakes, lizards, mice, beetles, and spiders. Food is in short supply in the desert, so my offerings were welcome. The pair grew used to me.
Soon after the pair finished building their nest six white eggs appeared in the nest bowl. In about three weeks, six roadrunner chicks, skin as black as coal, cried for food. Their parents brought food such as fence lizards and stink bugs. They fed their young until they were a month and a half old.
Early one morning, a coyote（叢林狼）came around, nose to the ground, for fresh bird meat. The roadrunners fearlessly drove the coyote away, but it was soon back. After three attacks the coyote went away for good, tail between its legs.
I stopped watching the nest when the little roadrunners, at two months of age, were ready to live on their own. It was hard to break away from “my roadrunner family.” Whenever I see a roadrunner now, rushing over the ground, I say hello to it as an old friend.
【小題1】The author went to the Sonoran Desert to       .

A．go on a tour of the desert

B．carry out research into some animals in the desert

C．make an observation about a kind of bird

D．enjoy an adventure in southern Arizona

【小題2】What can we learn about roadrunners from the text?

A．They have short tails and legs.

B．They move at a fast pace.

C．Their feathers are red and brown.

D．They don’t like boiled chicken.

【小題3】We can learn from the last but one paragraph that the roadrunners were        .

A．brave

B．clever

C．easily-frightened

D．lazy

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

A．How do roadrunners seek a partner?

B．My close friendship with roadrunners.

C．Roadrunner family in the Sonoran Desert.

D．How did I find roadrunners in Arizona?