When Frida Kahlo's paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “ a ribbon （絲帶）around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City , Kahlo suffered from polio（小兒麻痹癥）at the age of seven. Her spine （脊柱）became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but noting was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
【小題1】What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most nearly mean?

A．a(chǎn) far better artist	B．a(chǎn) much more famous person
C．a(chǎn) much stronger person	D．a(chǎn) far more gifted artist

【小題2】The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by        .

A．back injuries

B．her bent spine

C．polio

D．the operations she had

【小題3】Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the          .

A．1930s

B．1970s

C．1950s

D．1940s

【小題4】What is author’s attitude toward Kahlo?

A．Devotion

B．Encouragement

C．Worry

D．Sympathy（同情）

The following diaries were written by an Australian boy named Tony. He was on holiday with his family in South Asia.

27 December, 2007 This morning I read an email about a boy in hospital looking for his father and I finally thought of a way to help. I took my camera to the hospital and took photos of the boy. Now I’m going to set up a website on my dad’s computer, upload the photos and add his name and information of the hospital. Hopefully it will help!

2 January, 2008 At the end of the trip, I learned that the boy found his father! His Swedish uncle saw the email on my webpage and arranged the meeting. Is it my website that has made such a success? But at least I’ve done something. We’re returning home tomorrow but I will remember the experience and tell my friends: No matter what we are. We can think of a way to help others.

【小題1】Tony thought of the way to ______.

A．forget the experience	B．take photos of the travelers
C．set up a website for the hospital	D．help the boy find his father

【小題2】______ saw the email and photos on the webpage and arranged the meeting.

A．The boy’s uncle

B．Tony

C．Tony’s father

D．The doctor

【小題3】Tony was more likely to be ______ in South Asia.

A．living

B．studying

C．shopping

D．traveling

【小題4】It can be learned from the diaries that ______.

A．people are willing to set up websites

B．Tony’s father worked in the hospital there

C．people can do something to help each other

D．Tony went there to look for his family members

“Where is Papa going with that ax (斧子)?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”
“I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight.
“Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt (發(fā)育不良的小動物). It’s very small and weak. So your father has decided to do away with it.”
“Do away with it?” shouted Fern. “You mean kill it?”
“Don’t shout, Fern!” she said. “Your father is right. The pig would probably die anyway.”
Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the earth smelled springtime. Fern’s shoes were wetting by the time she caught up with her father.
“Please don’t kill it! It’s unfair,” she said.
Mr. Arable stopped.
“Fern,” he said gently, “you will have to learn to control yourself.”
“This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.” Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father’s hand.
“Fern,” said Mr. Arable, “I know more about raising a group of pigs than you do. A weak pig makes trouble.”
“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small. If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?”
Mr. Arable smiled. “Certainly not,” he said, looking down at his daughter with love. “But this is different. It’s a pig.”
“There is no difference,” replied Fern.
【小題1】What puzzled Fern at the beginning?

A．Why her father refused to eat breakfast.	B．If the hoghouse was big enough for many pigs.
C．How pigs were born at night.	D．What his father would do with an ax.

【小題2】Why couldn’t Fern control herself?

A．Because she was afraid of killing a pig.	B．Because the pig was treated unfairly.
C．Because she loved pet pigs very much.	D．Because her father was rude to her.

【小題3】According to the passage, Fern’s father thought that ______.

A．it was natural for pigs to be born small	B．he couldn’t afford to have so many pigs
C．a(chǎn) weak pig needed more attention	D．he was troubled by raising a weak pig

【小題4】It can be inferred from the passage that Fern was _________.

A．kind-hearted

B．brave

C．shy

D．patient

Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this seventeen-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.
Justin Drew Bieber was born in 1994 in Stratford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007, he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then, with the help of his mother, he uploaded (上傳) videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of thousands of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.
Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive (主管) of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contacted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta seven months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.
In 2009, Justin Bieber released (發(fā)行) his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album (首張專輯). The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0” in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.
【小題1】Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when _____.

A．he met with Scooter Braun

B．he released his debut album

C．he won second place in a competition

D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website

【小題2】It can be inferred from the text that Justin Bieber _____.

A．owed his success to good luck

B．showed a gift for music when he was young

C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry

D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun

【小題3】What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time” according to the text?

A．It is about love and was released in 2010.

B．It attracted the world’s attention after released.

C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries.

D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”.

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

A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success

B．Lucky boy — Justin Bieber

C．What made Justin Bieber a singer?

D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success

One cold winter evening, some young families and young couples were eating in a McDonald’s when an old couple walked slowly into McDonald’s hand in hand.
Some of the customers looked admiringly at them .You could tell what the admirers were thinking. Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more.” The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation(遲疑) and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped(打開) the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip(吸) of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.
When the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking. “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them.” Then, the man began to eat his French fries, when one young man stood and came over to the old couple’s table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. But the old man replied that they were just fine and they were used to sharing everything.
Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn’t eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink. When the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly, the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.
After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady. “Ma’am, why aren’t you eating? You said that you shared everything. What is it that you are waiting for?”
She answered, “The false teeth”.
【小題1】According to the first paragraph, the old couple _____.

A．enjoyed the scene outside the McDonald’s

B．didn’t look suitable(合適的) for the environment

C．loved being with young families and couples

D．liked the food in McDonald’s

【小題2】The little old man cut the plain hamburger in half because _____.

A．he couldn’t finish eating it with one bite

B．he was very careful with his food

C．he ordered more than he could eat

D．he wanted to share it with his wife

【小題3】The young man who offered to buy the old couple food was _____.

A．impolite

B．stubborn

C．sympathetic(有同情心的)

D．doubtful

【小題4】From the old lady’s answer, we know that _____.

A．she was not interested in the food

B．the couple suffered a terrible toothache

C．the couple were using the same false teeth

D．a(chǎn)ctually she didn’t answer the young man’s question

Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in Lon-don. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.
【小題1】We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.

A．a(chǎn) conductor

B．a(chǎn) worker

C．a(chǎn) thief

D．a(chǎn)n umbrella maker

【小題2】The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to ______.

A．his ticket

B．his bag

C．his drawing

D．his umbrella

【小題3】 Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?

A．Because he was lost in thought.

B．Because it was much like his own umbrella.

C．Because he thought the woman would not notice it.

D．Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown.

【小題4】When looking at Mr. Brown with four umbrellas, the woman felt ______.

A．surprised

B．a(chǎn)ngry

C．fortunate

D．sad

【小題5】How did Mr. Brown get the four umbrellas?

A．He picked them on the train.

B．He brought them from his small town.

C．He bought them in London.

D．He stole them from four women.

It was eleven o'clock that night when Mr. Pontellier returned from his night out. He was in an excellent humor, in high spirits, and very talkative. His entrance awoke his wife, who was in bed and fast asleep when he came in. He talked to her while he undressed, telling her anecdotes and bits of news and gossip that he had gathered during the day. She was overcome with sleep, and answered him with little half utterances.
　　He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, showed so little interest in things which concerned him and valued so little his conversation.
　　Mr. Pontellier had forgotten the candies and peanuts that he had promised the boys. Still, he loved them very much and went into the room where they slept to take a look at them and make sure that they were resting comfortably. The result of his investigation was far from satisfactory. He turned and shifted the youngsters about in bed. One of them began to kick and talk about a basket full of crabs.
　　Mr. Pontellier returned to his wife with the information that Raoul had a high fever and needed looking after. Then he lit his cigar and went and sat near the open door to smoke it.
　　Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well, she said, and nothing had made him sick. Mr. Pontellier was too well familiar with fever symptoms to be mistaken. He assured her the child was burning with fever at that moment in the next room.
　　He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his business. He could not be in two places at once; making a living for his family on the street, and staying home to see that no harm done to them. He talked in a dull, repeated and insistent way.
　　Mrs. Pontellier sprang out of bed and went into the next room. She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow. She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her. When his cigar was smoked out, he went to bed, and in half a minute was fast asleep.
　　Mrs. Pontellier was by that time thoroughly awake. She began to cry a little, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her nightdress. She went out on the porch, where she sat down and began to rock herself in the chair.
　　It was then past midnight. The cottages were all dark. There was no sound except the hooting of an old owl and the everlasting voice of the sea, which broke like a mournful lullaby (催眠曲) upon the night.
　　The tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier's eyes that the damp sleeve of her nightdress no longer served to dry them. She went on crying there, not caring any longer to dry her face, her eyes, her arms.
　　She could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as had just happened were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much against theabundance (充足) of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be self-understood.
　　An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with vague pain. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul's summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did not sit there inwardly scolding her husband, expressing sadness about Fate, which had directed her footsteps to the path which they had taken. She was just having a good cry all to herself.
　　The mosquitoes succeeded in driving away a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer.
　　The following morning Mr. Pontellier was up in good time to take the carriage which was to convey him to the ship. He was returning to the city to his business, and they would not see him again at the Island till the coming Saturday. He had regained his calmness, which seemed to have been somewhatweakened the night before. He was eager to be gone, as he looked forward to a lively week in the financial center.
【小題1】Mr.Pontellier comes back home from his night out in a/an ______state of mind.

A．excited

B．confused

C．depressed

D．disappointed

【小題2】 Mr. Pontellier criticizes his wife because ______.

A．she is not wholly devoted to her children

B．she does little housework but sleep

C．she knows nothing about fever symptoms

D．she fails to take her son to hospital

【小題3】The writer would most likely describe Mr. Pontellier’s conduct during the evening as ______.

A．impatient and generous	B．enthusiastic and responsible
C．concerned and gentle	D．inconsiderate and self-centered

【小題4】The underlined sentence suggests that Mr. Pontellier's complaints to his wife are ______.

A．hesitant and confused	B．not as urgent as he claims
C．a(chǎn)ngry and uncertain	D．too complex to make sense

【小題5】In paragraphs 8 to 13, Mrs. Pontellier’s reactions to her husband’s behavior suggest that ______.

A．she accepts unquestioningly her role of taking care of the children

B．this is one of the first times she has acknowledged her unhappiness with her husband

C．her relationship with her husband is not what has made her depressed

D．she is angry about something that happened before her husband left

【小題6】The passage shows Mr. Pontellier is happiest when he ______.

A．sits near the open door smoking a cigar and talking

B．makes up with his wife after a heated argument

C．has been away from home or is about to leave home

D．has given his children gifts of candies and peanuts

My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard.  ___【小題1】___ Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.
My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. ___【小題2】___ She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.
___【小題3】___  Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. ___【小題4】___ She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.
Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is!  __【小題5】__ This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A．She enjoys listening to classic music.

B．As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C．She loves her students and cares for them.

D．She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.
F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.
G. Can you tell us something about your mother?

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 (威士忌酒) 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】The gift of money to the school suggests (暗示) that Johnson ___________.

A．had no children	B．was a strange man
C．was very fond of children	D．wanted people to know how rich he was

【小題2】Many people wrote to Johnson to find out ___________.

A．what kind of whisky he had	B．how to live longer
C．how to become wealthy	D．in which part of the neck to have an injection

【小題3】The newspaperman ___________.

A．should have reported what Johnson had told him

B．shouldn’t have asked Johnson what injection he had

C．was eager to live a long life

D．should have found out what Johnson really meant

【小題4】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 needn’t 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

A nine-year-old kid was sitting at his desk when suddenly there was a puddle (水坑) between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet. He thought his heart was going to stop because he couldn’t possibly imagine how this had happened. It had never happened before, and he knew that when the boys found out, especially Jack,  he would never hear the end of it. When the girls found out, especially Martha and Jackie, they would never speak to him again as long as he lived.
He prayed this prayer, “Dear God, I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat!” He looked up from his prayer and here came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he had been discovered. As the teacher was walking toward him, a classmate named Susie was carrying a goldfish bowl full of water. Susie lost her balance in front of the teacher and dumped (倒) the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretended to be angry, but all the while was saying to himself, “Thank you, Lord!”
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule (嘲笑), the boy was the object of sympathy (同情). The teacher rushed him downstairs and gave him gym shorts to put on while his trousers dried out. All the other children were on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. Martha even gave him her own candy. The sympathy was wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been turned to someone else—Susie. She tried to help, but they told her to get out.
When school was over, the boy walked over to Susie and whispered, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Susie whispered back, “I wet my trousers once, too!”
【小題1】The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means _______.

A．the boys would never play with him

B．the boys would treat him as usual

C．he would hardly hear any praise from the boys

D．he would be laughed at by the boys endlessly

【小題2】After Susie dumped water in his lap, the boy was in a state of _______.

A．disappointment

B．relief

C．a(chǎn)nxiety

D．a(chǎn)nger

【小題3】What did the other kids do after the incident?

A．They offered him dry clothes.

B．They laughed at the boy rudely.

C．They helped the boy do the cleaning.

D．They urged the boy to get out angrily.

【小題4】Why did Susie dump water in the boy’s lap?

A．The boy asked her to do so.	B．She just did it by accident.
C．The teacher told her to do so.	D．She knew the boy’s trouble.

【小題5】Besides Susie, _______ also knows what had really happened to the boy.

A．Martha

B．Jack

C．the teacher

D．the boys