Dear Guys,
I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.
One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉強地) agreed.
Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.
However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, threw it as hard as I could.
It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.
Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, Oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.
The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.
This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.
Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.
Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.
“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.
“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.
And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”
I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.
Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.
It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.
I surprised myself-and I’m sure you as well-by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.
Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”
Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period was just enough blow for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”
And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely, Jen Cordery
【小題1】The writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.

A．she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries

B．she wanted to refresh her childhood memories

C．she could not refuse the polite request from the young man

D．she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight

【小題2】Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?

A．To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.

B．To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.

C．To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.

D．To express her dislike towards softball.

【小題3】What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer _______.

A．inspired

B．encouraged

C．embarrassed

D．depressed

【小題4】What happened to the ball at last?

A．The writer managed to throw the ball back.

B．The boy got the ball back by himself.

C．The writer threw the ball away out of anger.

D．The boys got angry and left without the ball.

In side their one-storey, metal-roofed house on Vancouver Island’s west coast，Janet Schwartz and her domesticated(馴養(yǎng)的) deer, Bimbo，are returning to their normal lives. The law—represented by men and women dressed in black uniforms and carrying guns — is no longer threatening to forcibly separate Schwartz and Bimbo，freeing the l0-year-old deer to the fates (命運) of the surrounding rainforest and its hungry wolves and black bears．
“We love each other，”said Schwartz who turned 70 on Saturday. “she’ll come up to me and she’ll kiss me right on the lips，1ike a man kisses a woman’’
For four days last week，Schwartz’ life turned as rocky as the rough logging road that connected her life to the outside world. Conservation officers had arrived with orders to 1oose Bimbo. Schwartz was to1d she wasn’t allowed to touch Bimbo any more It seemed somebody had complained，said  Environment Minister Terry Lake earlier in the week, noting it’s illegal to keep wild animals as pets.
During those tense days，sleepless nights were made even more restless by nightmares，said Schwartz. There were news stories and Facebook pages which supported Schwartz and by Friday，the government had changed its mind. Schwartz could keep her pet with the help of a veterinarian and conservation officers.
“It makes me feel good，”said Schwartz of the announcement．“She is my life．a(chǎn)nd I’ve had her since the day she’s been born.”
The relationship began when a friend found the orphaned fawn (幼鹿) along a nearby logging road，more than a kilometer away from her current home，said Schwartz. The friend brought the fawn over because she knew Schwartz had raised a deer before.
Schwartz named the fawn Bimbo，based on a Gene Autry song that was playing inside her home at the time，and began feeding the animal goat’s milk.
Days turned into months and years, and now Bimbo’s a part of the family.
【小題1】According to Paragraph 1 , Janet Schwartz’s life is returning to normal because______.

A．no one disturbs her life again

B．she can continue to keep the deer

C．she has married again

D．Bimbo has returned to the forest

【小題2】Why didn’t Schwartz want to loose the deer?

A．It was the only companion in her house

B．She wanted to study the lifestyle of the deer．

C．The deer had become part of her life．

D．She had a veterinarian to help her．

【小題3】 Conservation officers ordered Janet to loose Bimbo because              .

A．the deer was not properly taken care of

B．the deer brought harm to the neighborhood

C．it was against the law to keep the deer as a pet

D．the deer made too much noise

【小題4】 What made the government change its mind?

A．Schwartz’s love for the deer.

B．The threat to the deer in the wild.

C．The change of the law.

D．The influence from the press and the Web.

【小題5】What can we conclude from the text?

A．Bimbo will continue to stay with Schwartz.

B．Bimbo will be loosed to the wild.

C．A professional worker will take over Bimbo.

D．Bimbo will stay m a nearby Zoo.

When Marilynne Robinson published her first novel, Housekeeping, in 1980, she was unknown in the literary world. But an early review in The New York Times ensured that the book would be noticed. “It’s as if, in writing it, she broke through the ordinary human condition with all its dissatisfactions, and achieved a kind of transfiguration（美化）,” wrote Anatole Broyard, with an enthusiasm and amazement that was shared by many critics and readers. The book became a classic, and Robinson was recognized as one of the outstanding American writers of our time. Yet it would be more than twenty years before she wrote another novel. 
During the period, Robinson devoted herself to writing nonfiction. Her essays and book reviews appeared in Harper’s and The New York Times Book Review, and in 1989 she published Mother Country: Britain, the Welfare State, and Nuclear Pollution, criticizing severely the environmental and public health dangers caused by the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in England—and the political and moral corruption(腐敗). In 1998, Robinson published a collection of her critical and theological writings, The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought, which featured reassessments of such figures as Charles Darwin, John Calvin, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Aside from a single short story—“Connie Bronson,” published in The Paris Review in 1986—it wasn’t until 2004 that she returned to fiction with the novel Gilead, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her third novel, Home, came out this fall.
Her novels could be described as celebrations of the human—the characters in them are unforgettable creations. Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and her sister Lucille, who are cared for by their eccentric（古怪的）Aunt Sylvie after their mother commits suicide. Robinson writes a lot about how each of the three is changed by their new life together. Gilead is an even more close exploration of personality: the book centres on John Ames, a seventy-seven-year-old pastor(牧師) who is writing an account of his life and his family history to leave to his young son after he dies. Home borrows characters from Gilead but centers on Ames’s friend Reverend Robert Boughton and his troubled son Jack. Robinson returned to the same territory as Gilead because, she said, “after I write a novel or a story, I miss the characters—I feel like losing some close friends.”
【小題1】Robinson’s second novel came out ____.

A．in 1980

B．in 1986

C．in 1998

D．in 2004

【小題2】What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．Robinson’s achievements in fiction.

B．Robinson’s achievements in nonfiction.

C．Robinson’s influence on the literary world.

D．Robinson’s contributions to the environment.

【小題3】According to Paragraph 3, who is John Ames?

A．He is Robinson’s close friend.

B．He is a character in Gilead.

C．He is a figure in The Death of Adam.

D．He is a historian writing family stories.

【小題4】From which section of a newspaper can you read this passage?

A．Career.

B．Lifestyle.

C．Music.

D．Culture.

Fannie Cratty wasn’t really my aunt. I only referred to her as “My Aunt Fannie” because the name always made my father laugh and gave my mother cause to look angrily at both of us---at me for being disrespectful of my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior.
As a young woman, my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse owned by Fannie Cratty. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fannie make the best blueberry jam ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. Aunt Fannie was well known for her jam and for never sharing the recipe with another living soul. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart, as long as Aunt Fannie was alive (and she lived to be ninety-six!), she never made the jam without Ms. Cratty in our kitchen to direct the process and preserve the secret. 
Each August, when blueberry season would roll around, my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannie’s visit. It was vital that I should be on my best behavior. After all, the woman was old, wealthy, very strict with children. Whenever she was at the house, I didn’t need to be reminded to guard my thoughts and watch my tongue. 
One year, after I had been particularly helpful with the jam process, Aunt Fannie gave me a quarter(25分硬幣) and then made me promise that I would never spend it. “Hold onto this quarter,” she said, “and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first quarter, given to me by my grandfather.” It had obviously worked for her. So, I kept the 1938-quarter into a small box, put it in my dresser drawer, and waited to become rich. 
I now have the blueberry jam recipe and the quarter from Aunt Fannie. In people’s eye Aunt Fannie’s success was due to that secret recipe. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Neither has significantly contributed to my wealth, but I keep them as reminders to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build.
【小題1】Paragraph 2 implies that my mother    .

A．used to forget the secret blueberry jam recipe

B．wanted to show off her excellent cooking skills

C．was unable to make the jam without Aunt Fannie’s direction

D．tried to convince Aunt Fannie that she would keep the secret

【小題2】According to Paragraph 4, the author believed that Aunt Fanni was rich because    .

A．she had kept her first quarter

B．she had never wasted money

C．she had worked very hard

D．she had kept her promise

【小題3】The author thinks that we can feel wealthy if we    .

A．share our wealth with others

B．have good fortune and money

C．know the secret of a jam recipe

D．own lasting love and friendship

【小題4】Which would be the best title for this passage？

A．An old quarter	B．Valuable Things
C．Blueberry Jam Recipe	D．Memories of old time

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I ’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(里脊）in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it---there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale--- actually as big as our boat-- was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and camp up suddenly, making big whirlpools(旋渦）and waves. “ she’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point , my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe---and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
【小題1】The author says “ I’m so glad I did”(in Para.2) because_________

A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C．he spent the weekend with his family

D．he experienced the rescue of the whales

【小題2】 The harbour survived the storm owing to____________

A．the shape of the harbour

B．the arms of the bay

C．the still water in the channel

D．the long coast line

【小題3】 The mother whale failed to help her baby because___________

A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long.

B．the whirlpools she had made were no big enough.

C．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction.

D．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

【小題4】What is the theme of the story?

A．Fishing provides excitement for children.

B．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals.

C．It’s vital to protect the environment.

D．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’ s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." " I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly,  I got it from my mother, and ,my mother  got it from her’ s. But I really need the money.
The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man ,however ,was nowhere to be found.
【小題1】The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for _____ .

A．his wife

B．his mother-in-law

C．his own mother

D．no one

【小題2】He paid $5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining (討價還價) because______.

A．he was very rich.

B．he wanted to make the jeweler believe him

C．he was anxious to get it

D．his business had been successful

【小題3】 He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be______.

A．exactly the same size as the black one

B．exactly the same quality as the black one

C．worth more than $25,000

D．exactly as big and nice as the black one

【小題4】 Many people answer the advertisement because they wanted______.

A．to see the perfect pearl

B．to buy some beautiful pearl too

C．to get in touch with the rich man

D．to sell their own pearl at a high price

【小題5】The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.

A．he died suddenly

B．he happened to be out

C．he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money

D．he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time

The artist Grandma Moses became famous for her simple, bright, cheerful paintings of American farm life．Her full name was Anna Mary Robertson Moses．But she was known to everyone as Grandma Moses because she did not begin to paint seriously until in her seventies．
Born on a farm in New York, Anna had little schooling．Her days were filled with farm chores．But she often found time to make pictures．Soon, however, she became too busy to draw or paint．At the age of 12, she went to work as a servant for a family nearby．She worked for other people for many years．Then, when she was 27, she married Thomas Moses, a farmer．And they began raising a family of their own．
Anna Moses could no longer do heavy farm work with age．Then, in her seventies, she began to paint in oils．Her pictures showed things she recalled from childhood-farm scenes, ice-skating, bringing home the Christmas tree．Later, she began to display her art at county fairs．Her pictures recorded a way of life that was quickly passing away．People everywhere loved these happy scenes, and soon her paintings were shown in art galleries．Grandma Moses became famous partially on account of her age, but mainly because her approach to art was modest and simple compared to many other painters of her time．Without formal training or even knowledge of Modernism, she relied on her own simple techniques to create her landscapes and scenes．She continued to paint almost until her death, on December 13, 1961 , at the age of 101．
The themes in her paintings provided the comfort of a rural life that many busy Americans treasured from their past．The threat of nuclear arms that appeared on television screens and in magazines had Americans starving for something more．Grandma Moses' art appealed to those who had lost hope for the future．Her classic paintings still appear on TV commercials, greeting cards, and magazine and book covers．
【小題1】What can be inferred from the fact that Grandma Moses picked up a paintbrush?

A．She had no other ways to kill time．

B．Her friend and family suggested it．

C．She had had a love for painting since her childhood．

D．She needed to make a living by selling her paintings．

【小題2】The key reason for her success is ___  .

A．her old age	B．her plain style
C．her lack of training	D．her modern knowledge

【小題3】We can know from the passage that ______．

A．her paintings raised people's hope for the future

B．her paintings expressed the reality of her old age

C．many Americans were interested in purchasing art works

D．people wanted to get comfort by remembering grandmas

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They combine funny words, pictures, and social opinion.
Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish it. They said it was too different , and it’s not worth publishing. A friend finally published it. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He had a strong desire to help children. In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read.
The story is about a cat who tries to entertain two children on a rainy day while their mother is away from home. The cat is not like normal cats. It talks. The book was an immediate success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults say it is still one of the stories they like best.
【小題1】What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Some of Dr Seuss’ books for children.

B．What are Dr Seuss’s books mainly about?

C．Dr Seuss — a famous writer of children’s books.

D．Why are Dr Seuss’ books different?

【小題2】What do we know about Dr Seuss’s first book for children?

A．It was Dr Seuss’ worst book.

B．It dealt with a very serious subject.

C．Neither children nor adults like it.

D．Many publishers didn’t take it seriously at first.

【小題3】How old was Dr Seuss when he wrote his first book ?

A．30

B．31

C．32

D．33

【小題4】How did Dr Seuss help children according to Paragraph 3?

A．By asking others to help them in magazines.

B．By writing interesting and simple books.

C．By changing his old books into simpler ones.

D．By giving them books for free.

【小題5】Adults most probably think that Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat is _________

A．interesting

B．serious

C．difficult

D．boring

A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and raining. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift.
“I can’t leave her out in this weather,” the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door.
“Do you want a lift?” she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman, “Have you been waiting for a long time?” The old woman shook her head. “Strange,” thought the young woman. She tried again. “Bad weather for the time of year,” she said. The old woman nodded. No matter what she said, the hitchhiker (搭便車的人) gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug.
Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker’s hands which were large and hairy.Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car. “I can’t see out of the rear screen,” she said. “Would you mind clearing it for me?”
The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door. As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off.
When she got to the next village she pulled up. She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. She gave a gasp — inside the bag was a gun.
【小題1】The young woman stopped the car because ______.

A．“the old woman” asked her to

B．she knew “the old woman”

C．she knocked “the old woman” down

D．she wanted to help “the old woman” out in the bad weather

【小題2】What’s the weather like that day ?

A．Sunny

B．Cloudy

C．Rainy

D．Windy

【小題3】The young woman asked the hitchhiker to clear the rear screen because _______.

A．this was the way she thought of to get rid of him

B．she couldn’t see out of the rear screen

C．the hitchhiker was very helpful

D．the rear screen was covered with dirt

【小題4】 The hitchhiker left the bag with a gun in it behind because _______.

A．he wanted to give the young woman a warning

B．he hadn’t expected that the young woman would leave him behind in the rain

C．it was his present for the young woman

D．he wanted to kill the young woman with the gun

【小題5】What might the man be?

A．a(chǎn) teacher

B．a(chǎn) soldier

C．a(chǎn) robber

D．a(chǎn)n actor

Tracy Caulkins is known as the first American to set an American record and win an American title in each of four swimming strokes（泳姿）: breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, freestyle.
Tracy Caulkins was born in Minnesota and lived in Iowa until she was six. She began swimming when she was eight, after the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee. While unwilling at first to swim in cold water or get her face wet, she began to train in earnest (認(rèn)真地) as her talent became clear. Though her father worked for the public schools, the family sent her to a private school when the public schools could not accommodate (適應(yīng)) her training schedule.
At age 13, Tracy Caulkins took part in the trials(選拔賽) for the 1976 Olympics, but did not make the team. She continued to win national and international titles, and was disappointed in 1980 when the U.S. didn’t attend the Moscow Olympics. She continued to train and compete.
In 1981, Tracy Caulkins began college, graduating in 1985. In college, she continued competing and training, though she had slowed down from her peak (頂峰) years.
Caulkins trained especially hard for the 1984 Olympics, and not only made the team, but was captain of the swim team and at Los Angeles, won three gold medals and was named Sportswoman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee. After that she retired from swimming, and was a commentator (解說員) for swimming events as well as taking advantage of her fame to do business.
Tracy Caulkins married Australian swimmer, Mark Stockwell, in 1991, their romance having begun at the 1984 Olympics when he jumped into a warm-up pool to introduce himself. They married in Nashville and moved to Australia, where they had three children. Caulkins continued to be professionally involved in sports.
【小題1】Tracy Caulkins was sent to a private school because _____.

A．the schedule of the public school wasn’t suitable for her

B．her parents had to work in the school

C．her family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee

D．she showed strong interest in swimming

【小題2】Which Olympic Games did Tracy Caulkins attend?

A．The 1976 Olympic Games.	B．The 1980 Olympic Games.
C．The 1984 Olympic Games.	D．The 1992 Olympic Games.

【小題3】Give the correct order of the following events in Tracy Caulkins’ life.
a. She was named Sportswoman of the Year.
b. She became a commentator.
c. She got married.
d. She went to college.
e. She attended the Olympics.

A．d; e; a; b; c

B．d; e; c; b; a

C．d; a; e; c; b

D．d; e; a; c; b

【小題4】When was Tracy Caulkins born?
A. In 1963      B In 1953       C In 1960       D Not mentioned