James Arruda Henry, a 98-year-old retired lobsterman, has written and published his first book, "In a Fisherman's Language", after learning to read at the incredible age of 91．
Mr. Henry spent most of his life without even his closest family members knowing he was illiterate (文盲）．Forced to quit school in the third grade to take some jobs, he kept the secret close to his chest - only telling to his late wife．
A family problem in his 90s sparked his encourage to restart his education．"He signed a document he could not read," Mr Henry's granddaughter said. And then, after hearing about George Dawson, a son of slaves who learned to read at the age of 98 and went on to write a book of his own, entitled "Life Is So Good" at the age of 101, Mr. Henry took up reading．
"If he can do it．I'm going to try," Mr. Henry said．Starting with his name, he eventually moved on to ABC’s and children's books. He put them down for four years after the tragic loss of his wife. But eventually he went back to reading and with the help of his tutor began to record his life．
He wrote about his family’s voyage from Portugal to the U.S. his many journeys at sea and how he was unable to save another fisherman who had fallen overboard. He became a carpenter and even a professional boxer - and eventually built his own home in Stonington Borough．
His life stories have become so popular, in fact, nearly 800 copies were sold in the first two weeks of the book's release last month．One thousand more have since been printed as requests for the book flood in from as far as Germany．And now even Hollywood producers have approached Mr. Henry about optioning the rights to his life story for a big screen adaptation．
【小題1】Which of the following is true of Mr. Henry?

A．He couldn't read when he was retired．

B．He was not a good student at school．

C．Only his family members knew he was illiterate．

D．He published his book at the age of 91．

【小題2】Mr. Henry made up his mind to study because he           ．

A．had some trouble with his granddaughter

B．couldn't sign the document he was given

C．wanted to share his own experience with others

D．was inspired by George Dawson's story

【小題3】In his book, Mr. Henry didn't mention ____．

A．his family story	B．his school education
C．his journeys at sea	D．his work experiences

【小題4】What's the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Nearly 800 copies of the book were sold．

B．The book was sold well in Germany．

C．His book was popular both at home and abroad．

D．Hollywood has planned to adapt his book for a movie．

A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied，“But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’ m sorry，” said the HR manager.“If you don’t have an e-mail，that means , you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10 kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers(銷售商) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker（經(jīng)紀人）and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered curiously,“You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?" The man thought for a while and replied,“Yes，I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
【小題1】The underlined word “tripled” can be replaced by             . 

A．became large	B．became 3 times
C．increased quickly	D．decreased quickly

【小題2】According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?

A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.

B．The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview.

C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the Supermarket.

D．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft.

【小題3】The man can be described as               .

A．helpful and considerate

B．positive and generous

C．smart and hardworking

D．stubborn and unselfish

【小題4】 Which proverb can best describe the story?

A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing.

B．Where there is a will, there is a way.

C．Accidents will happen.

D．No pains, no gains.

Have you ever wished you could solve complex math problems without thinking? What about learning to play the piano in just three days? Or mastering several foreign languages within a month?
Eddie Morra, the main character in the movie Limitless can do all these things. But he isn’t Superman or Harry Potter. Eddie has taken pills called NZT.
Thriller Limitless came out in China on October 13. In the movie, Eddie is faced with “writer’s block”. He hasn’t written a single word of a novel, and his deadline has passed. And there’s more bad news: his girlfriend breaks up with him. By chance, Eddie runs into a relative who is a drug dealer. He gives Eddie some pills called NZT that allow people to make use of 100 percent of their brains. With the magic pills, Eddie’s life changes completely. He can recall everything he has ever read, seen or heard. He gains a sixth sense that allows him to predict future events. He even becomes a kungfu master by simply memorizing actions in Bruce Lee’s movie.
Before long he has finished his novel, won back his girlfriend and stepped into the financial world. He becomes rich incredibly quickly and is soon employed by a powerful Wall Street company. However, bad side effects are just around the corner. The effects of the pill last for only one or two days, and Eddie has to find more supplies of the pills. Meanwhile, the pills start to have other effects on him. Eddies’ mind loses the ability to control the actions of his body. What does destiny hold for him? Will he be able to go back to his normal life?
“Eddie’s fate turns out to be a barbed （諷刺的） joke… a sharp-eyed comic fable for an age of greed (貪婪)and speed.” writes A. O. Scott, a movie critic with the New York Times.
The drug isn’t real-----yet, some researchers say such memory-enhancing drugs might not be far off. Would you take such a pill despite its side effects? Is the ability to remember everything a blessing or a curse?
【小題1】Which of the following happened to Eddie after he took the pill?

A．He can easily call everyone in the world.

B．He can expect what will happen next with his sixth sense.

C．He can control a powerful Wall Street company and becomes rich.

D．He can make a special pill to improve his own memory.

【小題2】What’s A. O. Scott’s opinion of the movie?
A. The movie can help slow our pace in life.
B. The movie turned out to be only a joke.
C. The movie can help invent a memory-enhancing drug.
D. The movie aims to show something is wrong with our society.
【小題3】What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Memory-enhancing is sure to do good to us.

B．More people will take pills to enhance their memory.

C．People are soon likely to remember everything.

D．Such a pill to enhance memories may soon be invented.

【小題4】What is writer’s purpose of writing the passage?

A．To give us the information of a new movie.

B．To inform us of a new research on a new drug.

C．To suggest a good way to improve memory.

D．To tell us something about a new drug to enhance our memory.

We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got pulled over. A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really being troublesome at first. Lecturing us, he said, “You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?” Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. His way towards us totally changed. He asked, “Oh, so you boys are in a band（樂隊）？” We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual band questions about the type of music we played, and how long we had been at it. Suddenly, he stopped and said, “Tim, you want to get out of this ticket, don’t you?” Tim said, “Yes.” So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest of us, inside the car, didn’t know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Next thing we knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car he had parked in front of us. With that, he threw the car into reverse（倒車），stopping a few feet in back of our car. Now we suddenly felt frightened. We didn’t know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market or something. All of a sudden, the policeman’s voice came over his loudspeaker. He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90.” Turns out, the policeman had told Tim that the only way he was getting out of the ticket was if he sang part of one of our songs over the loudspeaker in the police car. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance, and sent us on our way without a ticket.
【小題1】The policeman stopped the boys to      .

A．put them into prison	B．give them a ticket
C．enjoy their performance	D．a(chǎn)sk some band questions

【小題2】The policeman became friendly to the boys when he knew they       .

A．had long been at the band	B．played the music he loved
C．were driving for a show	D．promised him a performance

【小題3】The boys probably felt        when they drove off.

A．joyful

B．calm

C．nervous

D．frightened

“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣櫥）?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully. “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a(chǎn) skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank in a faint（暈倒）, waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.
【小題1】According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the close” means ______.

A．a(chǎn) family honor

B．a(chǎn) family story

C．a(chǎn) family secret

D．a(chǎn) family treasure

【小題2】What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors form Paragraph 2?

A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

【小題3】Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ______.

A．frightened

B．knocked

C．injured

D．surprised

【小題4】Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?

A．She planned to keep it for fun.

B．She needed it for her school task.

C．She was curious about it.

D．She intended to scare her parents.

【小題5】Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ______.

A．they were crazy

B．they were over excited

C．they realized their misunderstanding

D．they both thought they had won the quarrel

Not many years ago，a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five， he gave ￡ 12，000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s playground.
As a result of his kindness， many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk，Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy—five. Johnson had a sense of humor.  He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection （注射） in my neck each evening.” he told the newspaperman，thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain，asking him for the secret of his daily injection.
【小題1】Johnson became a rich man through _________.

A．making whisky

B．doing business.

C．buying and selling land.

D．having an injection each night

【小題2】When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening， he really meant that ______.

A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening.

B．he needed an injection in the neck.

C．a(chǎn) daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well.

D．there was something wrong with his neck.

【小題3】Which words do you think can best describe Johnson according to the passage?

A．humorous and drunk	B．wealthy and honest
C．wealthy and humorous	D．drunk and clever

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their ears, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries (食品雜貨) saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that，several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced (影響) us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
【小題1】Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A. The man’s job was bike racing.     B. It was their only possession.
c. It was a nice Kona 18 speed.        D. They used it for work and daily life
【小題2】We can infer from the text that ________

A．The couple worked 60 hours a week

B．people were busy before Christmas

C．the stranger brought over the bike

D．life was hard for the young family

【小題3】How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

A．From radio broadcasts.	B．From a newspaper.
C．From TV news.	D．From a stranger.

【小題4】What does the couple learn from their experience?

A．Strangers are usually of little help.

B．One should take care of their bike.

C．News reports make people famous.

D．An act of kindness can mean a lot.

Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
　　 One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes（蚊子） in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved (搖動) his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr. Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
　　Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
　　But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night.
【小題1】That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.

A．to see one of his friends

B．because he wanted to do something there for his writing

C．because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there

D．to see one of his relatives

【小題2】The waiters felt sorry because _____.

A．they did something wrong to Mark Twain

B．their hotel was too small

C．the room was not very clean

D．there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room

【小題3】All the people present laughed heartily because _____.

A．the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room

B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number

C．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents

D．Mark Twain made a joke

【小題4】From the story we know _____.

A．no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night

B．the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night

C．Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night

D．there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer

Hobbs was an orphan(孤兒). He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work changed him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.One day the lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded（目瞪口呆的）. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place of the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will（遺囑）,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that.” said the young man.
【小題1】He wanted to borrow money because he wanted to_____.

A．study abroad	B．work abroad
C．pay for the debts	D．learn to paint pictures

【小題2】Hobbs was dumbfounded on receiving the money because he thought_____.

A．the money was too much

B．the money was too little

C．he would be dismissed

D．the lawyer meant to punish him

【小題3】With the money he got, first Hobbs_____.

A．planned to have a happy life for a few days

B．decided to give up his work in the office

C．was to give a dinner to his friends

D．had no idea what to do

【小題4】What Hobbs was asked to do was_____.

A．to tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it

B．to read his uncle’s will

C．to tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money

D．nothing but to buy some pictures

【小題5】What Hobbs really loved to do was_____.

A．working in the factory

B．living in a fine hotel

C．painting pictures

D．saving the money

John Smith was a writer, who wrote detective stories for magazines（雜志）, though he never dealt with criminals（罪犯）. One evening he could not finish an end for a story. He sat in his study（書房）, but he had no ideas. So he decided to go to the cinema.
When he came back, he found that he had had a visitor. Someone had broken into his house. The visitor had had a drink, smoked several of his cigarettes and had read his story. The visitor left him a note. “I have read your story and I don’t think it is very good. Please read my suggestions and you can finish it. By the way, I am a thief. I’m not going to steal anything tonight. But if you become a successful writer, I will return.”
John read the thief’s suggestions. Then he sat down and wrote the rest of the story. He is still not a successful writer, and he is waiting for his “visitor” to return. Before he goes out in the evening, he always leaves a half-finished story in his study.
【小題1】Detective stories are stories about_____.

A．science	B．children
C．the future	D．the police

【小題2】John went to the cinema because_____.

A．he was too tired

B．he wanted to look for a thief

C．he could not finish his story and hoped to get some ideas

D．he wanted to enjoy himself in the cinema

【小題3】The visitor came to John’s house in order to_____.

A．steal something	B．read the story
C．have a drink	D．visit the writer

【小題4】The visitor_____.

A．stayed in John’s house for a night

B．took some of John’s things away

C．left John some advice

D．was a good friend of John’s

【小題5】John would like to_____.

A．have a talk with his visitor

B．get more ideas from the visitor

C．make friends with the visitor

D．catch the visitor and take him to the police