It was the summer of 1965. Deluca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked Deluca about his plan for the future. “I'm going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” Deluca recalls saying, “Buck said, ‘you should open a sandwich shop.’”
That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1,000. Deluca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn't cover their start­up costs, Buck kicked in another $1,000.
But business didn't go smoothly as they expected. Deluca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn't know how badly, because we didn't have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
Deluca was managing the store and to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They'd meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful; we are opening a second store.’” And they did—in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
But the partners' learn­as­you­go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, Deluca would drive around and hand­deliver the checks to pay their supplies. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn't necessary but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” Deluca says.
And having a goal was also important. “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” Deluca adds.
Deluca ended up founding Subways Sandwich, the multimillion­dollar restaurant chain.
【小題1】Which of the following is true of Buck?

A．He put money into the sandwich business.

B．He was a professor of business administration.

C．He was studying at the University of Bridgeport.

D．He rented a storefront for Deluca.

【小題2】What can we learn about their first shop?

A．It stood at an unfavorable place.

B．It lowered the prices to poor management.

C．It made no profits due to poor management.

D．It lacked control over the quality of sandwich.

【小題3】They decided to open a second store because they ________.

A．had enough money to do it

B．had succeeded in their business

C．wished to meet the increasing demand of customers

D．wanted to make believe that they were successful

【小題4】What contributes most to their success according to the author?

A．Learning by trial and error.

B．Making friends with supplies.

C．Finding a good partner.

D．Opening chain stores.

Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
　When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen….
At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful. I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places; maybe I’ll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don’t live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.
【小題1】 Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of ______.

A．observing her school routine	B．expressing her satisfaction
C．impressing her classmates	D．preserving her history

【小題2】What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?

A．A dull night on the journey.

B．The beauty of the great valley.

C．A striking quotation from a book

D．Her concerns for future generations.

【小題3】What does the author put in her diary now?

A．Notes and beautiful pictures.

B．Special thoughts and feelings.

C．Detailed accounts of daily activities.

D．Descriptions of unforgettable events.

【小題4】The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is ______.

A．to experience it	B．to live the present in the future
C．to make memories	D．to give accurate representations of it

One day, when I was working as a psychologist in England，an adolescent boy showed up in my office. It was David. He kept walking up and down restlessly, his face pale, and his hands shaking slightly. His head teacher had referred him to me.  "This boy has lost his family," he wrote.  "He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others, and I'm very worried about him. Can you help?”
I looked at David and showed him to a chair. How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn’t have the answer to, and which no words can describe. Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically
The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat there, only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me. I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon--in complete silence and without looking at me. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit I made sure David won once or twice.
Usually, he arrived earlier than agreed, took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down. It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me?
"Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with," I thought. "Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering.” Some months later, when we were playing chess, he looked up at me suddenly.
"It’s your turn," he said.
After that day, David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times about his biking with some friends, and about his plan to get into university. Now he had really started to live his own life.
Maybe I gave David something. But I also learned that one一without any words一can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.
【小題1】When he first met the author, David .

A．felt a little excited	B．walked energetically
C．looked a little nervous	D．showed up with his teacher

【小題2】As a psychologist, the author .

A．was ready to listen to David

B．was skeptical about psychology

C．was able to describe David’s problem

D．was sure of handling David’s problem

【小題3】What can be inferred about David?

A．He recovered after months of treatment.

B．He liked biking before he lost his family.

C．He went into university soon after starting to talk.

D．He got friends in school before he met the author.

【小題4】What made David change?

A．His teacher’s help.

B．The author’s friendship.

C．His exchange of letters with the author.

D．The author’s silent communication with him.

When milk arrived on the doorstep
When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note-“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”-and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to out house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch （門廊）. Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
【小題1】Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer ________.

A．to show his magical power	B．to pay for the delivery
C．to satisfy his curiosity	D．to please his mother

【小題2】What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?

A．He wanted to have tea there.

B．He was a respectable person.

C．He was treated as a family member.

D．He was fully trusted by the family.

【小題3】Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now.

B．It has been driven out of the market.

C．Its service is getting poor.

D．It is forbidden by law.

【小題4】Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A．He missed the good old days.

B．He wanted to tell interesting stories.

C．He missed it for his milk bottles.

D．He planted flowers in it.

I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be canceled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?"
At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room—if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!"
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.
【小題1】Why did the author shout at the telephone?

A．He was mad at the telephone.

B．He was angry with his agent.

C．He was anxious about his wife.

D．He was impatient with the secretary.

【小題2】What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

A．She said nothing.	B．She shouted at him.
C．She called the agent.	D．She threw the phone away.

【小題3】What made the author laugh?

A．His own crazy behavior.	B．His wife’s suggestions.
C．His changeable feeling.	D．His wife’s sweet kiss.

【小題4】What does the underlined word “ antics” refer to?

A．Smart words

B．Unusual actions.

C．Surprising looks.

D．Anxious feelings

The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666 ．In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city , where most of the houses were wooden and close together ．Over one hundred people became homeless , but only a few lost their lives .
　　The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包師）in Pudding Lane ．The baker , with his wife and family , was able to get out through a window into the roof ．A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door ．Then it spread quickly into Thames Street ．That was the beginning.
　　By eight o’ clock three hundred houses were on fire ．On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames ．Tuesday was the worst day ．The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
　　Samuel Pepys , the famous writer , writer about the fire , “People threw their things into the river ．Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment ．Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire．With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
　　After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑師), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone．In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the new St Paul’s
　　The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.
【小題1】The fire began in　　 .

A．a(chǎn) hotel

B．the palace

C．Pudding Lane

D．Thames Street

【小題2】The underlined word‘family’in the second paragraph means　　 .

A．home

B．children

C．wife and husband

D．wife and children

【小題3】It seems that the writer fo the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.

A．some people lost their lives

B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire

C．many famous buildings were destroyed

D．the King’s bakery was burned down

【小題4】Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?

A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.

B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.

C．To show that poor people suffered most.

D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.

【小題5】How was the fire put out according to the text?

A．The King and his soldiers came to help.

B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.

C．People managed to get enough water from the river.

D．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down.

Mr Parker was born in a small village. His father was so poor that he couldn’t send him to school. The boy had to help his parents to do some farming and learned English and maths by himself when he was free. Later on he was made to leave his home village and hoped to find a job in a city. And as soon as war broke out, he joined the army(軍隊). He couldn’t forget his terrible past and fought with the enemies bravely(勇敢的). So he became a general when he was fifty. He was honest and friendly to his soldiers and often punished those who tried to pocket a portion of the soldiers’ pay(克扣軍餉). And his soldiers liked him very much.
Once Mr Parker heard from a soldier. In the letter the young man said the food in their military camp(軍營)was very bad and he wished the general could go to find out the reasons. The old man went there at once without telling anybody. He went in the kitchen and examined everything carefully and found it was very dirty. Then he went in the soldiers’ bedrooms and found there were a lot of fleas. He became angry and asked the soldiers, “What do you think of your food, young men?”
The soldiers saw their officer standing by the general and said nothing. Only a new soldier said, “Very bad, sir!”
“What did you have for lunch today?” asked Mr Parker.
“A fried chicken, some fish and pork, a cake, six eggs and I had three cups of wine(酒).”
“Really?” Mr. Parker called out in surprise. “It’s the King’s(國王)lunch, I think!”
“So do I, General,” said the young man. “But it’s my birthday today. I paid  three hundred dollars for them all in the restaurant!”
【小題1】Mr. Parker was respected because       .

A．he was strict with the officers

B．he cared about his soldiers

C．he was friendly to everybody

D．he paid attention to the soldiers letters

【小題2】Mr. Parker went to the military camp to       .

A．look for the soldier who wrote to him

B．punish the cooks

C．inspect the kitchens

D．find out if the matter in the letter was true

【小題3】The soldiers didn’t say anything because      .

A．they were afraid of the general

B．they thought their foods were good

C．the officer followed the general

D．the general didn’t agree with them

【小題4】Which of the following is true?

A．Mr. Parker found nothing in the military camp.

B．The new soldier had a birthday dinner in the restaurant.

C．The officer wanted to frighten the soldiers.

D．The general no longer believed the soldiers.

“It is a dreadful thing to be poor a fortnight before Christmas, ” said Clorinda, with the mournful sigh of seventeen years.
Aunt Emmy smiled. Aunt Emmy was sixty, and spent the hours she didn’t spend in a bed, on a sofa or in a wheel chair; but Aunt Emmy was never heard to sigh.
“The gifts which money can purchase are not the only ones we can give,” said Aunt Emmy gently, “nor the best, either.”
“Oh, I know it's nicer to give something of your own work,” agreed Clorinda, “but materials for fancy work cost too. That kind of gift is just as much out of the question for me as any other.”
“That was not what I meant,” said Aunt Emmy.
“What did you mean, then?” asked Clorinda, looking puzzled.
Aunt Emmy smiled.
“Suppose you think out my meaning for yourself,” she said. “That would be better than if I explained it. Besides, I don't think I could explain it. Take the beautiful line of a beautiful poem to help you in your thinking out: 'The gift without the giver is bare.”
“I'd put it the other way and say, 'The giver without the gift is bare,” said Clorinda. “That is my predicament(窘境)exactly. Well, I hope by next Christmas I'll not be quite bankrupt. I'm going into Mr. Callender's store down at Murraybridge in February. He has offered me the place, you know.”
“Won't your aunt miss you terribly?” said Aunt Emmy gravely. “I think she would rather have your companionship than a part of your salary, Clorinda,” said Aunt Emmy. “But of course you must decide for yourself, dear.”
“Well, I must say bye-bye and run home.” Clorinda lived just across the road from Aunt Emmy in a tiny white house behind some huge willows. But Aunt Mary lived there too--the only relative Clorinda had, for Aunt Emmy wasn't really her aunt at all. Clorinda had always lived with Aunt Mary ever since she could remember.
Clorinda puzzled over Aunt Emmy's meaning for days. Then all at once it came to her. On Christmas Day, Clorinda went over to Aunt Emmy's.Aunt Emmy was lying on the sofa before the fire, and Clorinda sat down beside her.
“I've come to tell you all about it,” she said. “Aunt Emmy, I thought for days over your meaning ... And then one evening it just came to me. At first I didn't think I could give some of them, and then I thought how selfish I was. I would have been willing to pay any amount of money for gifts if I had had it, but I wasn't willing to pay what I had. I got over that, though, Aunt Emmy. Now I'm going to tell you what I did give.”
“First, there was old Aunt Kitty. You know she was my nurse when I was a baby. She is always glad when I go to see her, but I've never gone except when I couldn't help it. She is very deaf, and rather dull and stupid, you know. Well, I gave her a whole day. I took my knitting yesterday, and sat with her the whole time and just talked and talked. She was so pleased and proud; she told me when I came away that she hadn't had such a nice time for years. ”
“Then there was ... Florence. You know, Aunt Emmy, we were always intimate friends until last year. Then Florence once told Rose Watson something I had told her in confidence. I found it out and I was so hurt. I couldn't forgive Florence, and I told her plainly I could never be a real friend to her again. Florence felt badly, because she really did love me, and she asked me to forgive her, but it seemed as if I couldn't. Well, Aunt Emmy, that was my Christmas gift to her ... my forgiveness.”
“I gave Aunt Mary her gift this morning. I told her I wasn't going to Murraybridge, that I just meant to stay home with her. She was so glad--and I'm glad, too, now that I've decided so.”
“Your gifts have been real gifts, Clorinda,” said Aunt Emmy. “Something of you--the best of you--went into each of them.”
“I didn't forget you, Aunt Emmy,” she said, as she unpinned the paper.
There was a rosebush. Aunt Emmy loved flowers. She put her finger under one of the roses and kissed it.
“It's as sweet as yourself, dear child,” she said tenderly. “And it will be a joy to me all through the lonely winter days. You've found out the best meaning of Christmas giving, haven't you, dear?”
“Yes, thanks to you, Aunt Emmy,” said Clorinda softly.
【小題1】Clorinda felt anxious before Christmas because___________.

A．She had to leave Aunt Mary

B．She didn’t know what kind of Christmas gifts she should buy

C．She had not enough money to buy Christmas gifts

D．She had no time to make a proper decision

【小題2】 Which of the following sentences can best explain the line “The gift without the giver is bare.”？

A．A gift is valued by the mind of the giver.

B．Forgiveness is a gift for the giver and the receiver.

C．You cannot buy love or respect with expensive gifts.

D．Think twice before you give gifts to somebody

【小題3】What is the gift that Clorinda gave to old Aunt Kitty?

A．Passion

B．Sympathy

C．Kindness

D．Company

【小題4】What does the underlined phrase “in confidence” mean?

A．respectfully

B．confidently

C．secretly

D．willingly

【小題5】 Which two words can best describe Aunt Emmy?

A．cute and joyful	B．kind-hearted and emotional
C．optimistic and wise	D．gentle and timid (羞怯的)

【小題6】Which of the following is the best title?

A．A Special Christmas	B．Clorinda’s Gifts
C．Aunt Emmy	D．Clorinda’s Choice

Yesterday was my stepmother’s birthday. I haven’t been home for a long time, so I wanted to stop by the house to see her on this special day.
I have been struggling on a low income so I was afraid that I couldn’t afford the long trip. Gas is so expensive nowadays! Anyway, I filled my tank with gas and set off. 
I stopped at a shopping mall and found a present. It was the perfect gift and I knew she would love it. But when I got to the cashier, my card wasdeclined! I didn’t have enough money in my account to pay for the gift!
So I pondered the issue for a few minutes. I could put it back and get something cheaper, but I knew there was nothing else in the store she would have liked as much. So, I got to my smart-phone and transferred some money from my saving account and was able to buy the gift. It took a big part of my savings but I wanted her to have something special.
It turned out that she loved the gift and I felt that even though I had spent almost all my money, my stepmother deserved the best. I was glad I gave her the best I could.
Before I left my parents’ house, my dad took me to one side and, with our secret handshake, he gave me some money. I hadn’t said anything to him about my financial condition, but I guessed my dad just knew it. When I got to the car, I saw the amount he gave me was three times what I had spent on the gas and the gift!
It goes to show that doing the right thing always comes with great rewards.
【小題1】 Why was the writer unwilling to have a long trip?

A．Because gas was hardly available.

B．Because the writer was short of money.

C．Because the writer didn’t like driving.

D．Because the road was difficult to drive on.

【小題2】The underlined word “pondered” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.           

A．thought about

B．tried on

C．depended on

D．got through

【小題3】From the passage, we can infer that ________.

A．the writer loves his stepmother very much

B．the gift the writer bought was loved by his father very much

C．the writer spend all his savings buying the gift for his stepmother

D．the gift the writer bought was the most expensive one in the shop

【小題4】Why did the writer’s father shake hands with the writer in secret?

A．Because he wanted to ask the writer for something special.

B．Because he wanted to give the writer some money.

C．Because he knew the writer had been struggling financially.

D．Because he didn’t want others to copy their handshake.

Hercule Poirot looked over the small gate which gave admission to Pine Crest. It was a modern nicely-built house. It was on a hill top, and the hill top was planted with a few sparse pines. It had a small neat garden and a large elderly man was watering with a big tin.
Spence’s hair was now grey all over. He had not shrunk much in girth（圍長）, though. He stopped watering and looked at the visitor at the gate. Hercule Poirot stood there without moving.
“God bless my soul,” said Spence. “It must be. It can’t be but it is. Yes, it must be Hercule Poirot!”
“Aha,” said Poirot, “you remember me. I’m grateful.”
Spence abandoned the watering can and came down to the gate.
“What brings you down here?”
“What has brought me to many places in my time,” said Poirot, “and what once a good many years ago brought you to see me. Murder, Spence.”
“I’m done with murder since I retired,” said Spence, “except in the case of weeds. Killing weeds is never easy as you think, something’s always wrong. How did you know where to find me?” he asked as he opened the gate and Poirot passed through.
“You sent me a Christmas card. It had your new address on it.”
“Ah yes, so I did. I’m old-fashioned, you know, I like to send round cards at Christmas time to a few old friends. I’m an old man now.”
“We both are.”
“Not much grey in your hair,” said Spence.
“I take care of my hair with a bottle,” said Poirot. “There is no need to appear in public with grey hair unless you wish to do so. By the way, why have you come to live in Woodleigh Common?”
“As a matter of fact, I came here to join forces with a sister of mine. She lost her husband, her children are married and living abroad. So I moved in here. Pensions（退休金）don’t go far nowadays, but we do comfortably living together.”
【小題1】From their dialogue, we can learn about _______.

A．their common friends	B．Spence’s sister’s characters
C．their relationship	D．Poirot’s recent life

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

A．Spence used to deal with murder.

B．Poirot didn’t care about his appearance.

C．Spence moved to join his sister for lack of money.

D．Poirot came specially to reunite with his old friend.

【小題3】From the passage we can infer that they might _______ next.

A．meet Spence’s family	B．discuss about a murder
C．visit Spence’s new home	D．water the garden together