I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional (易動(dòng)感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer, none came.
My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside — a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded (折疊) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
【小題1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.

A．a(chǎn)fter Mother died	B．before she became a writer
C．when she was a child	D．when mother gave it to her

【小題2】The passage shows that _______.

A．Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

B．Mother cared much about her daughter in words

C．Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words.

D．Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

【小題3】The world “gulf ” in the passage means _______.

A．deep understanding between the old and the young.

B．different ideas between the mother and the daughter.

C．free talks between mother and daughter.

D．part of the sea going far in land.

【小題4】What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

B．For years, she often talked about the letter.

C．She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D．She read the letter again and again till she died.

【小題5】What’s the best title of the passage?

A．My letter to Mother	B．Mother and Children
C．My Mother’s Desk	D．Talks between Mother and me.

Bicycles are a great way to get around. They’re fun to ride, especially down hills. And, as you speed along the road, you might also think of ways in which you could improve your bike— make it safer, more efficient, or more comfortable. In fact, the two-wheeled machines make for some cool science projects.
This year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), held last May in Cleveland, featured（had）three bicycle projects from three countries. Like many of the other experiments presented at ISEF, the bike projects showed that some of the most interesting scientific research often begins by taking a closer look at things you care about.
Renato Angulo Chu had even grander ambitions. The 12th-grader from Lima, Peru, wanted to address some of his country's economic troubles.
"I see a problem in my country," Renato said. "If you go to the forests in Peru, in some places you cannot find electricity. If you go with my bicycle, you can turn on the lights."
Renato, 16, spent 3 years designing his special Multibike. The device looks like a fixed exercise bike. It has wires fixed along the frame and a blender strapped (fastened) to the back. Turning the pedals operates the blender. The same principle can be used to sharpen knives or sweep city streets.
The Multibike can work either as a fixed bike or as a bicycle able to travel city streets and country roads. It's made from inexpensive materials, and the user gets exercise while pedaling to operate a machine.
"You pedal the bike, and you can mix any drink you want," Renato said. More importantly, he added, the same concept could be used to bring light to houses in remote regions of the rainforest.
【小題1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Bikes should be made more comfortable to ride.

B．You can improve your bicycle for science research.

C．Many inventions are connected with the bicycle.

D．Bicycles are the best way to go about

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

A．ISEF is an exhibiton displaying bicycle experiments designed by students.

B．Looking closely at things you are concerned about can lead to scientific research.

C．Renato’s improvement of the bicycle has solved the country’s great problem.

D．Renato’s special bicycle will soon be put into use in remote areas.’

【小題3】The underlined word “address” in the third paragraph probably has the same meaning as _______.

A．make address written

B．give up

C．work at

D．speak at

【小題4】Renato’s special Multibike has all the following  EXCEPT  ________.

A．making knives sharp	B．mixing any kind of drinks
C．producing electricity	D．operating a machine with its own electricity

【小題5】It can be inferred that Renato’s special bicycle is mainly designed for ________.

A．distant areas in the rainforest without electricity.

B．the use of his own family to make life easier.

C．the competition of ISEF to win money to support remote rainforests

D．enough exercise by pedaling it

Mr. Backer is a kind-hearted man. Once he gave some food to a poor woman . Mr White, the boss of the restaurant, found it and became angry. He often gave the leftovers(剩飯菜) to  some poor workers. Mr. Backers lost his work for it. It was difficult for him to find work in the small country though he was an able cook. The war made all stop. Children couldn't go  to school, most shops were closed, even some farmers were  hungry. Some people were made to leave their houses and they had to find the safe places. It was an autumn night. Mr Backer  hadn't any food to eat and went to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep, because he was very hungry . suddenly he heard a noise in  his room. He saw a man looking for something useful there. He said nothing and watched it carefully. At last the man took a few old clothes out of a broken paper box and took them away. He got up from his bed quickly and followed him gently(文雅地), with his quilt on his back. The man didn't find him and went into a small and wet house. Mr. Backer also went in and saw there was nothing in the room. The thief(賊) saw him and was surprised. He asked, “What did you come here for?” “You have carried my things here,” said Mr. Backer. “I have to move here, too!”   
【小題1】Mr White sent Mr. Backer away because            .

A．he couldn't cook	B．he didn't work hard
C．he didn't like him at all	D．he gave some leftovers to the poor woman

【小題2】       , so the people in the small country got into trouble.

A．The war broke out(爆發(fā))	B．It didn't rain
C．Children couldn't go to school	D．Shops and factories were closed

【小題3】Mr. Backer couldn't go to sleep because               .

A．the weather was cold	B．the weather was hot
C．he was hungry	D．he was ill

【小題4】Mr. Backer said nothing when the thief went into his room because        .

A．he wanted to send him to the police station	B．there was nothing expensive there
C．he was afraid the man could hurt him	D．he hoped the man could help him

【小題5】The underlined word “quilt” in this story means               .

A．珠寶

B．錢箱

C．被子

D．鞋帶

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(攝影組) 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 sun 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.”
“That’s a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera crew and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”
The camera crew went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. 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. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. 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 film a scene on the sea	B．to find an actor and an actress
C．to watch a beautiful sunset	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 was angry with his crew.

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

D．Because it was his secretary’s suggestion.

【小題3】The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because ______.

A．it went well with the separation of the hero and 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4】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

【小題5】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 coat is the place to go.

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”.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.
　　He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（布爾喬亞階級(jí)）.
　　Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.
　　Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.
【小題1】Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A．he wanted to teach himself

B．he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C．he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D．he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

【小題2】According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A．just

B．poor

C．comfortable

D．unsatisfying

【小題3】Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A．Oliver Twist	B．The Pickwick Papers
C．A Tale of Two Cities	D．Great Expectations

【小題4】According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A．He didn't go to school at all.

B．He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C．He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old.

D．He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

【小題5】It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．Dickens had a miserable childhood

B．Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C．Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D．Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

Robert Frost was one of America’s best known and most honored serious writers. But his fame came late in his life.
He was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He lived in California during his early  childhood. He was named after the chief Southern general in America’s Civil War. The general’s name was Robert Edward Lee. The poet was named Robert Lee Frost, because his father wanted to honor the general.
Someone once asked another American writer, Ernest Hemingway, how to become a writer. The best thing, he said, was to have an unhappy childhood. If this is true, Robert Frost’s childhood was unhappy enough to make him a very good writer. Robert Frost’s father was a reporter who wanted to be a politician. He often drank too much wine and became angry. Robert was the victim (受害者) of his anger.
Robert Frost finished high school in 1891. After high school, Robert’s grandfather offered to pay his costs at Dartmouth College. But Robert left the school after a few months. He did not like it. He spent the next few years working at different jobs. At one time, he worked in a factory. Later, he repaired shoes. He was a teacher. He was a reporter. Always, he wrote poetry.
Robert Frost attended Harvard University for two years. After that, he returned to the many jobs  he held before. For a while, Frost tried to take care of a farm in the state of New Hampshire. He was not a successful farmer. And he continued to write poetry. He said that until 1930, he earned only about ten dollars a year from writing.
In 1912, he decided to try to make a new start. He took his family to Britain. The cost of living was low. In Britain, Frost found a publisher for his first book of poems. The book was called A Boy’s Will. When it appeared in 1913. Frost received high praise from British readers. Praise was something he had not received in his own country.
Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, read the poems and liked them very much. He wrote a magazine article about Frost. He also helped get Frost’s second book of poems published in America. That book was called North of Boston.
【小題1】The followings are writers EXCEPT ________.

A．Robert Edward Lee	B．Robert Lee Frost
C．Ernest Hemingway	D．Ezra Pound

【小題2】The passage wrote about Hemingway in order to show that

A．he had great influence on Frost’s poetry and life

B．Frost’ s poetry style was the same as Hemingway’s

C．Frost was unhappy because he was the victim of his father

D．Frost spent his childhood unhappily

【小題3】What can we learn from the passage?

A．Once Frost’s first book was published he gained great praise in his country.

B．After leaving Harvard University, he began to learn to write poetry.

C．Frost was found lo have a gift in poetry while he studied in high school.

D．Robert Frost’s father was angry and drank a lot because he didn’t realize his dream.

【小題4】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Robert Frost’s unhappy childhood.	B．Robert Frost’s first and second book.
C．Robert Frost’s family and jobs.	D．Robert Frost’s life and poetry.

HOLLYWOOD(UPI)—Loni Anderson decided last year it was time to change her career around to play moms and comedy instead of pretty young girls.

So far, most people remember her as Jennifer Marlowe, the role she played in her first film in 1982.
This summer people will see Anderson in A Night as Roxbury, a film produced and directed by Amy Heckerlin.
“In the film I have two sons. One is 26, and the other is 30. Isn’t that interesting? I know I don’t look that old, but that’s what’s so fun about it.”
“My character dresses in clothes too short, too tight. Dan Hedaya plays my husband. We’re a couple with a lot of money and no taste. Our sons are complete idiots(白癡). Their purpose in life is to get into the Rich Young Man Club where everybody is proud of his wealth.”
“As you can tell, I’m doing things I’d never have done at the beginning of my career.”
“But I am who I am. I’ve worked as an actress a long time and now I can be anything I want. It’s a great time for me. I don’t have anything to prove.”
“I hadn’t done comedy in a long time. It’s what I do best and what I like best. At this point in my life I want to look a lit­tle bit foolish. I think that would be something new for me.”
【小題1】What had Loni Anderson probably played most in her past film career?

A．Pretty young girls.	B．Old mothers.
C．Foolish persons.	D．Rich women.

【小題2】When did she begin to be an actress?

A．Last year.

B．This year.

C．1972.

D．1982.

【小題3】What was she going to change?

A．Her clothes.	B．Her husband.
C．Her role type.	D．Her living place.

【小題4】Where does this article most likely appear?

A．Newspaper.	B．Science magazine.
C．Tourist guide book.	D．Historical record.

One day a mime(啞劇演員) is visiting the zoo and wants to make some money as a street performer. As soon as he starts to draw a crowd, a zookeeper drags him into his office. The zookeeper explains that the zoo’s most popular attraction, a gorilla(大猩猩), has died suddenly and the keeper fears that attendance at the zoo will fall off. He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla. The mime accepts.
The next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before the crowd comes. He soon discovers he can sleep all as he likes, play and make fun of the people and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime — the job he likes but loses.
However, with days going by, he begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his. Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience(觀眾), he climbs to the top of his cage, crawls across a partition(隔墻), and dangles(懸掛) from the top to the lion’s cage. The lion gets angry at this. The scene is afuel to the crowd.
At the end of the day he is given a pay raise for being such a good attraction. Well, this continues for some time. The crowds grow larger, and the mime’s pay keeps going up.
Then one day when he is dangling over the lion he slips and falls. The mime is terrified(嚇壞). He starts screaming, “Help me!”, but the lion is quick. The mime soon finds himself flat on his back looking up at the angry lion and the lion says, “Shut up you fool! Do you want to get us both fired?”
【小題1】How does the mime find the job dressing up as the gorilla?

A．Hard and tiring.

B．Dangerous.

C．Easy and fun.

D．Boring.

【小題2】The mime’s first contact with the lion is to __________.

A．find pleasure for himself	B．get the lion’s attention
C．get his pay raised	D．win back his audience

【小題3】The underlined works “a fuel” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by __________.

A．frightening

B．common

C．exciting

D．familiar

【小題4】From the last paragraph we can know that ___________.

A．the lion will eat the poor mime

B．the lion is also played by a person

C．the animals in the zoo are all played by people

D．a(chǎn)nimals played by people can attract more visitors

When I wandered along a path through woods in the countryside, a small water pool came into my sight ahead. I changed my direction and took the part of the path that wasn’t covered by water or mud to go around it. When I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked by something several times! It was from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt. The attacker stopped attacking me when I backed up a foot. I couldn’t help laughing when I looked down and found I was being attacked by a butterfly!  
Curiously, I took a step forward to see clearly. My attacker dashed towards me again. He rushed towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but failed. For a second time, I took a stop backwards when the attacker paused. I didn’t know what to do. After all, it’s just uncommon that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That’s when I discovered why the attacker was kept charging me. He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting tenderly close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could do nothing but admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had attacked me for his mate’s sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was much larger than he. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life. I shouldn’t have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mates’ safety seemed admirable. I was moved and rewarded him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool, leaving them undisturbed. He had truly earned those moments to be with his dear mate.
Since then, I’ve always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
【小題1】Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?

A．To get close to a butterfly.

B．To avoid getting his shoes dirty.

C．To escape a sudden attack.

D．To look over the bad situation.

【小題2】What made the man feel funny?

A．Making the attacker pause.

B．Being stepped on by his mate.

C．Being attacked by a butterfly.

D．Discovering the energetic butterfly.

【小題3】From this experience the man learned _____.

A．people should protect butterflies

B．how he should deal with attacks

C．people should show sympathy to the weak

D．what he should do when faced with trouble

【小題4】Which of the following word can best describe the butterfly?

A．Brave

B．Amusing.

C．Careless.

D．Strong.

In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.C., the Qin army launched a more serious attack upon the State of Wei than ever. The king of the State of Wei gathered his officials, and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars, the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of resistance.
At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counselor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said, "Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all. It is just because they are afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of Qin, but it will never stop attacking us until our land is totally given away."
He added,“Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. Isn't it similar to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?”
Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. As might be expected, the Qin army attacked the State of Wei in 225 B.C. again, surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes (堤防) of the Huanghe River. The State of Wei was finally destroyed.
【小題1】When asked how to defeat the Qin army, most officials _______.

A．were scared and at a loss what to do

B．looked worried and turned to Su Dai for help

C．a(chǎn)sked a large enemy force to bear down upon the border

D．were extremely frightened and decided to give up fighting back

【小題2】The underlined phrase“sue for”in Paragraph 2 probably means _______.

A．demand

B．beg for

C．search for

D．negotiate for

【小題3】Su Dai used the example of“carrying faggots to put out a fire”to show _______.

A．the ambition of the State of Qin	B．the serious results of giving in
C．the loss of the land of the State of Wei	D．the trembling consequences of defense

【小題4】The story is mainly developed by _______.

A．time

B．logic

C．making comparison

D．cause and effect

【小題5】The attitude of the writer towards Su Dai is _______.

A．a(chǎn)pproval

B．praise

C．neutral

D．disapproval