A mother from Colorado who doctors said had died while giving birth to her son, has said it is a Christmas miracle that both she and the boy are alive.
Tracey Hermanstorfer's heart stopped beating and her son Coltyn appeared lifeless after the Caesarean(剖腹產(chǎn)術(shù))section on Christmas Eve. However a few minutes after he was born, both began breathing again. Dr Stephanie Martin told Good Morning America she could not explain how the pair survived. Mrs Hermanstorfer and her husband Mike told the American television show that their baby was now healthy and that they were doing “good” following the drama at Colorado Springs Memorial Hospital.
The couple, who already had two children, had to go into the hospital seven weeks earlier than planned. Her husband, 37, said his wife was tired after receiving an epidural(硬腦膜外麻醉)during the labour(分娩)but after closing her eyes, she “wasn't waking up”．She stopped breathing and she is believed to have suffered a heart attack before her heart stopped beating entirely.
Dr Martin said she was called in and that the outlook was grim since in most situations like this，“despite the best efforts of the team”， the mother was often unable to be revived. In that case doctors then tried to focus on delivering the baby but when he was born he was “completely lifeless”．
Mr Hermanstorfer told the Associated Press news agency，“I had everything in the world taken from me, and in an hour and a half I had everything given to me.”
Dr Martin said she did not have a “great explanation” for why Mrs Hermanstorfer's heartbeat returned. “Somewhere between four and five minutes she had been without heart rate and had stopped breathing a minute or two prior to her heart stopping，” she said. The doctors were then able to bring the baby back to life, and the mother was alive after that.
Despite tests, she said doctors were still not sure about what had happened. However Mrs Hermanstorfer and her husband Mike have said they believed it was down to a miracle. She said：“I got a second chance in life.”
【小題1】The story happened on________.

A．December, 24

B．December, 25

C．December, 31

D．January, 1

【小題2】What might have happened to Tracey Hermanstorfer just before her heart stopped beating?

A．She became unconscious.	B．She took a nap.
C．She had a bad headache.	D．She suffered a heart attack.

【小題3】Which of the following is the correct order of what happened to Tracey Hermanstorfer?
a．suffering a heart attack
b．stopping heart beating entirely
c．stopping breathing
d．coming back to life
e．receiving an epidural
f．producing a baby

A．a(chǎn)cfdbe

B．fcadbe

C．eacbfd

D．eabcfd

【小題4】What feelings did Mr Hermanstorfer experience during the incident?

A．Sad and delighted.	B．Disappointed and depressed.
C．Sad and angry.	D．Touched and regrettable.

【小題5】Which of the following words best expresses Dr Martin's attitude towards Tracey Hermanstorfer's coming back to life?

A．Shocked.

B．Puzzled.

C．Normal.

D．Curious.

It was in October. I was aimlessly wandering down the street, heading into a most gloriously beautiful sunset. I had an urge to speak to someone on the street to share that beauty, but it seemed everyone was in a hurry.
I took the next-best action. Quickly I ducked into a department store and asked the lady behind the counter if she could come outside for just a minute. She looked at me as though I were from some other planet. She hesitated, and then seemingly against her better judgment, she moved toward the door.
When she got outside I said to her, “Just look at that sunset! Nobody out here was looking at it and I just had to share it with someone.”
For a few seconds we just looked. Then I said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.” I thanked her for coming out to see it; she went back inside and I left. It felt good to share the beauty.
Four years later my situation changed greatly. I came to the end of a twenty-year marriage. I was alone and on my own for the first time in my life. I lived in a trailer park which, at the time, I considered a real come-down, and I had to do my wash in the community laundry room.
One day, while my clothes were going around, I picked up a magazine and read an article about a woman who had been in similar circumstances. She had come to the end of a marriage, moved to a strange community, and the only job she could find was one she disliked: clothing sales in a department store.
Then something that happened to her changed everything. She said a woman came into her department store and asked her to step outside to look at a sunset. The stranger had said, “God is in his heaven and all is right with the world,” and she had realized the truth in that statement. From that moment on, she turned her life around.
【小題1】The author asked the woman to go outside to ______.

A．a(chǎn)dmire the sunset

B．cheer her up

C．offer some help

D．have a chat

【小題2】Four years later, the author ______.

A．found her dream job	B．put an end to her marriage
C．worked in a laundry room	D．lived in the same community

【小題3】After reading the article in the magazine, the author was probably______.

A．disappointed

B．puzzled

C．inspired

D．overjoyed

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 more wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she’d said again, “it’s 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(易動感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed 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, 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 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 passage shows that ______.

A．mother cared much about her daughter in words

B．mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

C．mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

D．mother wrote to her daughter in careful words

【小題2】The underlined word “gulf” in the fourth paragraph means ______.

A．different ideas between the mother and the daughter

B．deep understanding between the old and the young

C．free talks between mother and daughter

D．part of the sea going far in land

【小題3】What did mother do with her daughter’s letter asking forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

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

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

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

【小題4】What’s the best title of the passage?

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

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. “Banana 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira.”
He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill. He didn’t have change, so I told him not to worry.
He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it’s not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the corner selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.
I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. “What’s up?” I asked him. “I…I don’t have money to buy books for school.” I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills.
“Will this help?” I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. “Thank you, sir,” he said. “Thank you very much.”
When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for school-books. What if he’s a cheat? And then I wondered why I did it. Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn’t know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.
Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in Northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out for a drive. When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face.
“Oh, gosh! Long time.”
“Are you in school now?” I asked.
He nodded.
“That’s good,” I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. “Here,” I held out a 500 naira bill. “Take this.” He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s a gift.”
He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back. His face shone with sweat. He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, “I’ve been waiting to give these to you.”
【小題1】What was the author’s first impression of the boy?

A．He seemed to be poor and greedy.	B．He seemed to have suffered a lot.
C．He seemed younger than his age.	D．He seemed good at bargaining.

【小題2】The third time the author met him, the boy ______.

A．told him his purpose of selling fruit and nuts

B．wanted to express his thanks

C．a(chǎn)sked him for money for his schoolbooks

D．tried to take advantage of him

【小題3】Why did the author give his money to the boy?

A．Because he had enough money to do that.

B．Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.

C．Because he held a higher position in the society.

D．Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.

【小題4】Which of the following best describes the boy?

A．Brave and polite.	B．Kind and smart.
C．Honest and thankful.	D．Shy and nervous.

In 1943, during the Second World War the body of an English man, William Martin, was discovered off the Spanish coast. The papers he had been carrying were returned to England, where they were carefully examined. They had clearly been changed and that was exactly what the British had hoped would happen, for Martin was a trick designed to fool the Germans.
　 Martin did not exist. The body was that of a sailor who looked as though he had died when his boat sank, but in fact he had been ill and died. Leaving the boat to go down, his parents allowed the dead body to be put into the sea near Spain. It was hoped that the Germans would find it and read the fake(假的)papers he carried.
　　The papers said that the British would attack the island of Sardinia, when in fact they planned to attack the island of Sicily. The trick was successful. When the British landed on Sicily, most of the heavy German guns had been moved to defend(保衛(wèi)) Sardinia.
【小題1】______ put the papers on the dead man.

A．The British

B．German spies

C．Spanish soldiers

D．William Martin

【小題2】When the Germans found William Martin they probably thought he _________.

A．was a British spy with important information about the war

B．was killed by the British soldiers

C．died of an illness

D．had the fake papers of the British Army

【小題3】When the British found out the papers were changed they concluded _________.

A．Martin did exist	B．Martin was a German spy
C．the Germans had read the papers	D．they should attack Sardinia

【小題4】Which of the order is right according to this passage? __________.
a. The Germans found the dead at sea.
b. The British decided to use the dead body to fool the Germans.
c. The British planned to attack Sicily.
d. The papers on Martin were brought to London to be examined.
e. The Germans found the fake papers on the dead body.
f. The Germans decided to defend Sardinia.
g. The Germans believed the papers.

A．c.b.a.e.g.f.d.

B．c.a.b.d.g.f.e.

C．a(chǎn).c.b.g.f.e.d.

D．b.c.a.g.e.f.d.

A cancer-stricken British teenage girl said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online “Bucket List” of things she wanted to do before dying．
Alice Pyne，l5，created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells．“I’ve been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn’t look like I’m going to win this one，” she wrote ．
For her list，the teenager took inspiration from the 2007 film “The Bucket List” in which two men who were badly ill，draw up a list of things they wish to do before they die．
On her list，at the site www．a(chǎn)licepyne．blogspot．com，she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor（骨髓捐贈者），swimming with sharks ，meeting boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer．
Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter．
“Oh, dear and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!” she wrote after her site attracted huge attention．“Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me．”
Pyne，who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston，revealed（透露）the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog．A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register．
【小題1】What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her “Bucket List”?

A．People around the world sent messages to support her．

B．People sent gifts to her from all over the world．

C．A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her．

D．The media called on people to help her．

【小題2】Alice Pyne wrote her “Bucket List” to       ．

A．catch people’s attention

B．say goodbye to a few friends

C．give comfort to two terminally ill men

D．express her last few wishes

【小題3】It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne    ．

A．is unaware of her own conditions

B．is very sad to know that she will die

C．is calm to know that death is approaching

D．is still quite confident in fighting against cancer

【小題4】Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne’s “Bucket List”?

A．To ask people to donate bone marrow．	B．To get a cool computer．
C．To swim with shark．	D．To meet a boy．

【小題5】Take That will arrange to       ．

A．meet Pyne in person

B．help Pyne in any possible way

C．donate money to Pyne

D．invite Pyne to join the band

Tasha Tudor(August 28，1919 — June 18，2008) was an American illustrator(插畫家)and writer of children’s books. She received many awards and honors for her contributions to children’s literature. When people talk about her creativity in artwork，she said,“I do it to support my dogs and my four children.”Her great publishing record, the number of magazine stories that have been written about her over the years, and her admirers have no effects on her at all.

Much of Tasha’s artwork and her reading are done in the wintertime.“I love winter. It’s delightful，”she says.“I don’t have to go anywhere because I work at home. If I’m snowed in，I can stay this way for months.”She hopes for early, deep snow to protect her garden from the hardship of the New England winter，and when it comes she puts on snowshoes when she needs to get down the mile-long dirt path that leads to the road.
Given her enjoyment of winter and her fantasy(夢幻)way of life，it’s not surprising that Tasha’s  Christmas is a storybook holiday. She hangs flowers over the front door. Her tree comes from the woods,
and it goes up on Christmas Eve，lit by homemade candles and decorated with her great- grandmother’s collection that dates from 1850. In a place of honor on the tree are large cookies cut into the shapes of her animals.
The grandchildren and friends get presents from Tasha’s old dolls；so do the animals and they
have their own Christmas tree. “Of course，it’s a known fact that all the animals talk on Christmas
Eve,”she has written. Small, handmade gifts fill a big wooden box
At the end 0f each year, Tasha can look back and know that her life is perfect，that she has
again ignored the twentieth century，and that the magic continues. And for the rest of us，here’s
a bit of advice, Tasha style：“Nowadays, people are so restless．If they took some tea anti spent more time rocking on the porch(門廊)in the evening listening to light music，they might enjoy life more.”
【小題1】Tasha loved winter because it allowed her to ____________．

A．read stories to her grandchildren

B．show her DIY snowshoes to kids

C．stay indoors working mid reading

D．enjoy bicycle tiding along the path

【小題2】From the passage, we can learn that Tasha’s life is ____________．

A．modern and fashionable	B．simple and fantastic
C．lonely and hard	D．a(chǎn)dventurous and inspiring

【小題3】Which of the following is TRUE about Tasha?

A．She cared little about fame.

B．She created an animal fund.

C．She wrote many stories for magazines.

D．She bought presents for her relatives.

【小題4】In which section of a paper can you probably read the article?

A．Travel.

B．Sports.

C．Economy.

D．People.

The composing career (作曲生涯) of Albert Roussel got off to a changeable start, and received one of its biggest successes from a lie.
Roussel became an orphan (孤兒) at the age of eight and went to live with his grandfather. He built on the music he had learned from his mother, entertaining himself by reading through the family music collection and playing operatic selections and popular songs on the piano. Three years later Roussel’s grandfather died, and his mother's sister took him in. Her husband arranged for young Albert to take piano lessons. Summer vacations at a Belgian seaside added a second love to his life — the sea. He studied to be a soldier in the navy, but still made time to study music.
In the French Navy, he and two friends found time to play the music of Beethoven and other composers. Roussel also began composing. At the Church of the Trinity in Cherbourg on Christmas Day 1892, he had his first public appearance as a composer. That success encouraged Roussel to write a wedding march, and one of his fellow naval officers offered to show it to a famous conductor, Edouard Colonne. When Roussel’s friend returned with the manuscript (手稿), he reported that Colonne had advised Roussel to give up his naval career and devote his life to music.
Not long afterward, at the age of 2S, Roussel did just that. He applied the qualities that he had developed in the navy to his composing and became a major force in twentieth century French music. As for Edouard Colonne’s inspiring advice that Roussel should devote his life to music, Roussel's naval friend later admitted that he had made it up and that he had never even shown Roussel’s manuscript to the conductor.
【小題1】What information can we get from the second paragraph?

A．Albert’s grandfather died when Albert was eight years old.

B．Albert's aunt arranged for him to take piano lessons.

C．Albert gave up studying music after he studied to be a soldier in the navy.

D．Albert came to love the sea after summer vacations at the seaside.

【小題2】From the third paragraph we know that ______.

A．in the French Navy, Roussel and two friend began composing

B．Roussel’s first public appearance at the church was successful

C．Roussel's naval friend showed the wedding march to Edouard

D．Edouard Colonne advised Roussel to devote his life to music

【小題3】Which of the following is true according to the text?

A．The composing career of Roussel started stably.

B．Roussel learned basic music knowledge from his aunt.

C．A white lie helped Roussel achieve success.

D．Roussel was cheated and hurt by his naval friend.

【小題4】Who told a lie according to the text?

A．Roussel’s grandfather.

B．Albert’s naval friend.

C．Roussel's aunt.

D．Edouard Colonne.

Jenny was a pretty five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl (珍珠) necklace priced at $2.50. Her mother bought the necklace for her on condition that she had to do some homework to pay it off. Jenny agreed. She worked very hard every day, and soon Jenny paid off the necklace. Jenny loved it so much that she wore it everywhere except when she was in the shower. Her mother had told her it would turn her neck green!
Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would read Jenny her favorite story.
One night when he finished the story, he said, “Jenny, could you give me your necklace?”
“Oh! Daddy, not my necklace!” Jenny said. “But you can have Rosy, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. Okay? ”
“Oh no, darling, that’s okay.” Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. “Good night, little one.
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny for the necklace after her favorite story. “Oh, Daddy, not my necklace! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. Do you remember her? She’s my favorite.”
“No, that’s okay,” her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. “God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams. ”
Several days later, when Jenny’s father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling. “Here, Daddy,” she said, holding out her hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father’s hand.
With one hand her father held the plastic pearl necklace and with the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue box. Inside the box was a real, beautiful pearl necklace. He had had it all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap necklace so he could give her a real one.
【小題1】What did Jenny have to do to get the plastic pearl necklace?

A．She had to help her mother do some housework.

B．She had to listen to her father tell a story every night.

C．She had to ask her father to pay for the necklace.

D．She had to give away her favorite toys to the poor children.

【小題2】From the text we know that ______.

A．Jenny’s mother paid a lot for the plastic pearl necklace

B．Jenny wore the necklace everywhere even in the shower

C．Jenny didn’t like Rosy and Ribbons any longer

D．Jenny got a real pearl necklace from her father

【小題3】Jenny’s father asked for her plastic pearl necklace repeatedly in order to ______.

A．get it for himself

B．donate it

C．train her character

D．put it away

【小題4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．A Lovely Girl	B．Father and Daughter
C．A Pearl Necklace	D．An Unforgettable Childhood

Would you jump off the Great Wall of China for 300 pounds a day?
A stunt (特技表演)person is a man or woman who does all the dangerous bits of acting work in films or on TV. This can be anything from a simple fall into a swimming pool, or walking off the top of a tall building. It sounds like a job that you would have to be made to try, but there are actually lots of people who want to do it.
Sarah France, twenty-four, is one of Britain’s sixteen professional stunt women ---there are one hundred and sixty stunt men in the country. We asked Sarah how she came to be a stunt woman.
“When I was young I was trained to be a dancer, and for seven years after school I was hardly out of work. A dancer’s life is pretty short, though, and my father suggested I should think about doing stunt work after I’d given up dancing. I thought about it for the next two years and decided to have a go. For six months, I worked really hard every day. I had to learn different skills---swimming, jumping, horse -riding, etc.”
Sarah finished the course in just five months and applied to the office which decides whether you’re accepted as a professional stunt person or not. Two weeks after she was accepted, Sarah was throwing off the Great Wall of China in Superman IV.
“I was very lucky to get work so quickly. I had a small part, playing a traveler who fell off the Wall after an earthquake. The traveler’s life was saved by Superman, of course! Actually, I fell forty-five feet into a pile of cardboard boxes! You can’t use anything softer than that or you will be brought back into view of the cinema. Instead you just have to learn to fall properly. It’s quite dangerous but I enjoy it.”
【小題1】Quite a number of people want to do dangerous acts in films because___________.

A．they are mad	B．they don’t think them dangerous
C．no training is needed	D．they can earn much money

【小題2】Sarah gave up dancing because___________.

A．her father persuaded her to do stunt work

B．she could not go on dancing forever

C．she had to work hard every day

D．she was often out of work

【小題3】Soon after Sarah got her new job as a stunt person, ______________.

A．a(chǎn)n earthquake took place near the Great Wall

B．she fell off the Great Wall and hurt herself

C．she was asked to act in Superman IV

D．she learned how to fall properly

【小題4】Which of the following words best describes Sarah?

A．Healthy

B．Adventurous

C．Skillful

D．Successful

【小題5】The purpose of the first sentence of the passage is to ____________.

A．draw the readers’ attention to the whole passage

B．invite you to try jumping off the Great Wall for money

C．a(chǎn)sk you to be a stunt person

D．raise a question for the readers to think about