When I was in the seventh grade, I was a candy striper (義工) at a local hospital in my town. I volunteered(自愿做) about 30 to 40 hours a week during the summer.
Most of the time I spent there was with Mr. Gillespie. He never had any visitors, and nobody seemed to care about his condition. I spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him, helping with anything that needed to be done. He became a close friend of mine, even though he responded with only an occasional squeeze (緊握) of my hand. Mr. Gillespie was in a coma (昏迷).
I left for a week for a vacation with my parents, and when I came back, Mr. Gillespie was gone. I didn’t have the courage to ask any of the nurses where he was, for fear they might tell me he had died. So with many questions unanswered, I continued to volunteer there through my eighth-grade year.
Several years later, when I was a junior in high school, I was at the gas station when I noticed a familiar face. When I realized who it was, my eyes filled with tears. He was alive! I got up the nerve to ask him if he was Mr. Gillespie, and if he had been in a coma about five years ago. With an uncertain look on his face, he replied yes. I explained how I knew him, and that I had spent many hours talking to him in the hospital. His eyes welled up with tears, and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever received.
He began to tell me how, as he lay there comatose (昏睡的), he could hear me talking to him and could feel me holding his hand the whole time. He thought it was an angel(天使), who was there with him. Mr. Gillespie firmly believed that it was my voice and touch that had kept him alive. Then he told me about his life. We exchanged a hug, said our good-byes and went our separate ways.
Although I haven’t seen him since, he fills my heart with joy every day. I know that I made a difference between his life and his death. As importantly, he has made a great difference in my life. I will never forget him and what he did for me: He made me an angel.
【小題1】 When the author volunteered at a local hospital, she        .

A．mainly helped the nurses with their paper work

B．made up her mind to become a nurse herself one day

C．spent most of her time taking care of a man in a coma

D．became friends with Mr. Gillespie’s visitors

【小題2】The author didn’t ask where Mr. Gillespie had gone because        .

A．she knew for sure that he had recovered

B．she forgot all about him when she returned to the hospital

C．she had been concerned that he might stay in coma forever

D．she feared that he might have died

【小題3】Judging from the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The author continued her volunteer work in the hospital until seventh-grade.

B．The author met Mr. Gillespie at a gas station several years later.

C．Mr. Gillespie recognized the author’s voice the moment he met her.

D．No one in the hospital believed that Mr. Gillespie would recover from his coma.

【小題4】Which of the following statements best summarizes the point of the story?

A．Those with faith in themselves will succeed.

B．If you spread happiness you will be happy yourself.

C．Respect people and they will try hard to improve.

D．Kindness is loving people more than they deserve.

When I was 12, all I wanted was a signet (圖章) ring. They were the "in" thing and it seemed every girl except me had one. On my 13th birthday, my Mum gave me a signet ring with my initials(姓名首字母) carved into it. I was in heaven.
What made it even more special was that it was about the only thing that wasn't being "replaced". We'd been burnt out in fires that swept through our area earlier that year and had lost everything—so most of the " new" stuff (東西) we got was really just to replace what we'd lost. But not my ring. My ring was new.
Then, only one month later, I lost it. I took it off before bed and it was missing in the morning. I was sad and searched everywhere for it. But it seemed to have disappeared. Eventually, I gave up and stopped looking for it. And two years later, we sold the house and moved away.
Years passed, and a couple of moves later, I was visiting my parents' when Mum told me that she had something for me. It wasn't my birthday, nor was it Easter or Christmas or any other gift-giving occasion. Mum noticed my questioning look. " You'll recognize this one," she said, smiling.
Then she handed me a small ring box. I took it from her and opened it to find my beautiful signet ring inside. The family who had bought our house 13 years earlier had recently decided to do some redecorations, which included replacing the carpets. When they pulled the carpet up in my old bedroom, they found the ring. As it had my initials carved into it, they realized who owned the ring. They'd had it professionally cleaned up by a jeweler before sending it to my mother. And it still fits me.
【小題1】The underlined word "in" in the first paragraph probably means "_____".

A．fashionable

B．a(chǎn)vailable

C．practical

D．renewable

【小題2】When she got the ring back, the writer was about _____.

A．13 years old

B．15 years old

C．26 years old

D．28 years old

【小題3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The writer’s family moved several times.

B．The writer never stopped looking for her ring.

C．The writer’s ring was cleaned up by the new house owner.

D．The writer lost her ring in the morning when she took it off.

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

A．My New Ring

B．Lost and Replaced

C．Lost and Found

D．An Expensive Ring

When Russell Lyons volunteered for the first time, he read Goodnight Moon to a class of San Diego preschoolers. And it wasn’t reading－h(huán)e’d memorized the book and was reciting it out loud. He was 4. Still, he said it felt good up there, in front of the other kids, lending a hand. He wanted more of that feeling.
Thirteen years later, he’s getting a lot of it. He’s on a five-month road trip across America－not sightseeing, but volunteering.
The University City resident has spent time at an animal reserve in Utah, a women’s shelter in St. Louis, a soup kitchen in New York, a retirement home in Tucson. This week he’s in Los Angeles, at a program that supports disabled youth.
“I just like helping people and feeling that something I do is making a difference,” he said. He resists the idea that his “Do Good Adventure” is all that unusual. It bothers him that the media often describes young people as lazy, self-centered and materialistic. So he sees his trip as a chance to make a statement, too. “About 55 percent of teens do volunteer work, higher than the rate of adults,” he said, according to a 2002 study. “Not everybody knows that.”
Of course, some teens do volunteer work because it looks impressive on their college applications. Lyons said he mentioned his trip on his submissions. But charity work is a habit with him. Even before the cross country trip, he was volunteering abut 200 hours a year at various places. He’s made sandwiches for homeless families in Washington D.C.. He’s taught math to fifth-graders in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
He gets some of that drive from his mother, Leslye Lyons, who has been involved in nonprofits for much of her life. She was there when her son “read” to the preschoolers－a memory of hers “that will never go away.”
【小題1】 What did Russell Lyons think of his first volunteering?

A．Creative.

B．Impressive.

C．Persuasive.

D．Imaginative.

【小題2】The third paragraph is meant to ______.

A．indicate Russell Lyons is working as a volunteer

B．introduce some tourist attractions across America

C．a(chǎn)ppeal to volunteers to offer help to those in need

D．show volunteers are needed in all parts of America

【小題3】 According to Paragraph 4, Russell Lyons is against the idea that ______.

A．what he has done is common

B．most teens do volunteer work

C．young people don’t work hard

D．a(chǎn)dults prefer to be volunteers

【小題4】Russell Lyons has been doing volunteer work because ______.    

A．it is necessary for college applications

B．he ought to keep his promise to Momit

C．he likes the feeling of being praised

D．has become a natural part of his life

My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat at the same time in a second-hand clothing store. It stood out among big and old coats. It had beautiful tailoring and an unbelievable price: $28. I looked at my son and we both said nothing, but John’s eyes shone. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular with teenage boys, but they could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better. John tried it on and turned from side to side, eyeing himself in the mirror. The fit was perfect.
John wore the coat to school the next day and came home with a big grin. “Did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They loved it,” he said.
Over the next few weeks, John changed. He was polite, less argumentative, more thoughtful, and on the whole much happier. “Good dinner, mom,” he would say every evening. Without a word of objection he would carry in wood for the stove. One day when I suggested that he might start on his homework before dinner, John, who always put things off, said: “You’re right. I guess I will.” When I mentioned this incident to one of his teachers, she joked that the coat must have changed him.
John and I both know we should never mistake a person’s clothes for the real person within them. But there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see, for practicing standards of excellence in thought, speech, and behavior, and for matching what is on the inside to what is on the outside. 
【小題1】What does the author try to express in the first paragraph?

A．The coat looked like a magical coat.

B．They were good at shopping.

C．The coat was a real bargain.

D．They had the same taste in clothes.

【小題2】What does the underlined word “grin” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．A wide smile.	B．A worried look.
C．A jealous spirit.	D．A joking tone.

【小題3】After John wore the new coat, the author found he _______.
a. was happier and better-behaved
b. received more praise from his teachers
c. was willing to follow suggestions
d. made rapid progress in study
e. would say sweet words to please her

A．a(chǎn), b, c

B．a(chǎn), c, e

C．b, d, e

D．c, d, e

【小題4】What message does the author intend to deliver in the article?

A．We should not judge people by their appearance.

B．Life is full of possibilities when we are young.

C．It’s beneficial to try different things in our lives.

D．What we wear could help shape who we are inside.

Baroness Thatcher, Britain’s greatest post-war prime minister, died at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke (a disease related to blood vessels in the brain), her family announced on 8 April 2013. Her son, Sir Mark, and daughter Carol confirmed her death that morning. zxxk
Margaret Thatcher, daughter of a businessman and mayor of Grantham, was educated at the local grammar school, and at Oxford, where she got a degree in chemistry, and upon graduation she worked for four years as a research chemist. She then qualified as a lawyer in 1954.
As Miss Margaret Roberts, she stood twice in parliamentary (國(guó)會(huì)的) elections for the Conservative Party (保守黨), before being elected (after her marriage) to the House of Commons in 1959.
When the Conservatives returned to office in June 1970, she was appointed secretary of state for education and science. After the Conservatives lost power in 1974, she was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet (內(nèi)閣), and was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975.
Baroness Thatcher became prime minister on 4 May 1979 and went on to earn the nickname “the Iron Lady”, becoming known for her strong responses to the political and economic crisis, which Thatcher’s supporters think are good for Britain, while her opposers argue that her policies destroyed British manufacturing.
Lady Thatcher governed Britain from 1979 to 1990. She will go down in history not only as Britain’s first female prime minister, but as the woman who changed Britain’s economy in addition to being an awesome rival on the international stage. zxxk
Lady Thatcher was the only British prime minister to leave behind a set of ideas about the role of the state which other leaders and nations try to copy and apply.
【小題1】How old was Lady Thatcher when she became prime minister?

A．64

B．53

C．87

D．45

【小題2】Why did Lady Thatcher get the nickname “the Iron Lady”?

A．Because she was the first female prime minister in Britain.

B．Because she took strong measures to deal with the crisis.

C．Because she was strong enough to live a long life.

D．Because her supporters credited (歸功于) her with developing the British economy.

【小題3】Which of the following statements is NOT true about Lady Thatcher?

A．She died of a heart attack on 8 April 2013.

B．She left behind many ideas about the role of the state.

C．Not all the people are in favor of her policies.

D．She governed Britain for 11 years.

【小題4】Which is the correct order of what happened in Thatcher’s life?
a. She became prime minister.
b. She was appointed secretary of state for education and science.
c. She was educated at a local grammar school.
d. She was elected leader of the Conservative Party.
e. She qualified as a lawyer.

A．e-c-b-d-a	B．c-e-d-b-a
C．b-c-e-d-a	D．c-e-b-d-a

I have been very lucky to have won the Nobel Prize twice. It is, of course, very exciting to have such an important recognition of my work, but the real pleasure was in the work itself. Scientific research is like an exploration of a voyage of discovery. You are continually trying out new things that have not been done before. Many of them will lead nowhere and you have to try something different, but sometimes an experiment does work and tells you something new and that is really exciting. However small the new finding may be, it is great to think “ I am the only person who knows this” and then you will have the fun of thinking what this finding will lead to and deciding what will be the next experiment. One of the best things about scientific research is that you are always doing something different and it is never boring. There are good times when things go well and bad times when they don’t. Some people get discouraged at the difficult times but when I have a failure, my policy has always been not to worry but to start planning the next experiment, which is always fun.
It is very exciting to make a new discovery. Some people will do the strangest things for this excitement, such as going round the world in a balloon or walking to the North Pole. There are not many new places to explore but there is a lot of new information to be discovered in science and a journey into this unknown area can be much more worthwhile and just as exciting.
I am sometimes asked, “What do you have to do to win a Nobel Prize?” My answer is: “I don’t know. I have never tried.” But I know of one way not to win one. There are some people whose main reason for doing science is to win prizes and they are always thinking about how to do it. Such people don’t succeed. To do good science you must be interested in it and enjoy doing experiments and thinking out problems. And, of course, you must be prepared to work hard and not to be too discouraged by failure.
【小題1】In the writer’s eyes his greatest pleasure in all his lifetime is _______.

A．to win the Nobel Prize for the first time

B．to be awarded the Nobel Prize for the second time.

C．in the work itself

D．to have a much more important recognition of his work.

【小題2】Why did the writer think scientific research to be one of the best things?

A．You will be able to win the Nobel Prize through the scientific research

B．You can make as much money as possible by doing the scientific research.

C．You may continue doing with something different and exciting, so you can never be tired of doing the scientific research.

D．You can get much more chances of promotion by making the scientific research.

【小題3】What would the writer do when he had a failure?

A．He would forget this failure and start the next experiment.

B．He used to be worried about it for several days and never forget it.

C．He always gave up his study as the result of the failure.

D．He used to think out the reasons and then continue to do it again.

【小題4】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．The writer could still keep calm when he heard the news that he had won the Nobel Prize.

B．The writer always gave up his courage when he met with some difficulties in the course of his scientific research.

C．In the field of science there are still many new things which need to be studied further.

D．There are still many exciting places to explore in the world.

A traveler lost his way and got off the highway to see where he was. As he drove by, he saw rows and rows of pigpens and pigs running in fields. Suddenly, his eyes caught something really strange. It looked like a pig with a wooden leg.
He drove up into the arm, where he met the farmer. “ Excuse me, ” the traveler said. “ I was just driving by and looking at all your pigs, and I just had to stop and ask about it. Tell me, is there really a pig out there with a wooden leg?” The farmer smiled. “ Oh, that would be old Caesar you saw. He’s the finest pig I’ve ever had ---and smart! Well, let me tell you a little about that pig.”
“ One night a couple of years ago I got to drinking and I guess I had more than I should have. I fell down and knocked over a lamp. That started a fire in the house and old Caesar smelled the smoke. He came in the back door, got the wife and kid out, roused me up and got me out. There is no question about it ---- that night old Caesar saved all our lives. You know that I’m not going to forget it too easily.”
“ Why,” the traveler said, “ this is amazing! I have never heard of a pig like this before! This is fantastic! But tell me, how did he get that wooden leg?”
The farmer laughed and said, “ Well, when you have a pig so smart, you don’t want to eat him all at one time!”
【小題1】The farmer thought the pig _______.

A．very fat

B．very clever

C．very kind

D．very strange

【小題2】The passage indicates that _______.

A．the pig lost a leg in the fire

B．the farmer deeply thanked the pig

C．the pig had a very good keeper

D．the real leg had been eaten by the farmer

【小題3】The author wants to _______.

A．report a piece of news

B．tell us a moving story

C．tell us a humorous story

D．have a joke with us

My father was Chief engineer of a merchant ship, which was sunk in World War II. The book
Night of the U-boats told the story.
Memories
In September, 1940, my mother, sister and I went to Swansea, where my father’s ship was getting ready to sail. We brought him a family photograph to be kept with him at all times and keep him sail.
Then I remember my mother lying face down, sobbing. She had heard from a friend that the ship had been sunk by a torpedo(魚雷).
I can remember the arrival of the telegram(電報(bào)),which in those days always brought bad news. My grand- mother opened it. It read, “Safe, Love Ted.”
My most vivid memory is being woken and brought down to sit on my father’s knee, his arm in a bandage.
He was judged unfit to return to sea and took a shore job in Glasgow for the rest of the war. For as long as I can remember, he had a weak heart. Mother said it was caused by the torpedoes. He said it was because of the cigarettes. Whichever, he died suddenly in his early 50s.
Ten years later I read Night of the U-boats and was able to complete the story.
Torpedo
One torpedo struck the ship. Father was in the engine room, where the third engineer was killed. He shut down the engines to slow the ship making it easier for it to be abandoned.
By the time he got on deck (甲板) he was alone. Every lifeboat was gone except one which had stuck firm. When he tried to cut it free it swung against the ship, injuring his hand and arm. He had no choice but to jump—still with the photograph in his pocket.
Three days later, he and other survivors were safe in Glasgow. All 23 with him signed the back of the photograph.
In my room is the book and the photograph. Often, glass in hand, I have wondered how I would have dealt with an explosion, a sinking ship, a jump into a vast ocean and a wait for rescue? Lest（以免）we forget, I have some more whisky and toast the heroes of the war.
【小題1】We can infer(推斷) that the mother and children went to Swansea ________.

A．to meet a friend

B．to see the father off

C．to take a family photo

D．to enjoy the sailing of the ship

【小題2】What did the author learn about the father from the telegram?

A．he was still alive.

B．His knee was broken.

C．His ship had been sunk.

D．He had arrived in Glasgow.

【小題3】What can we know about the author’s father after his ship was attacked?

A．He lost his arm

B．He repaired the engines.

C．He managed to take a lifeboat.

D．He was the last to leave the ship.

【小題4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．A group of forgotten heroes

B．A book describing a terrifying battle.

C．A ship engineer’s wartime experience.

D．A merchant’s memories of a sea rescue.

When the swim season began, my 11-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and I cut a deal. She would go to practice three times a week and try really hard, and I wouldn’t make her compete in the swim meets because on the day of a meet, she would be nervous all day. Her nerves rooted from the possibility that she would do something horribly wrong and let everyone down.
Recently, they had a T-shirt relay, which works like this: one person from each relay team puts on a T-shirt and a pair of socks, swims 50 meters, and gets out of the pool. She takes off the clothes and puts them on the next person, who then swims 50 meters. This continues until everyone on the team has completed a lap.
By the last leg, Elizabeth’s team had built up a moderate lead. Then it was Elizabeth’s turn to swim. She seemed to swim faster in the T-shirt and socks than when she wasn’t wearing them.
Approaching the halfway mark, she was still in the lead. Then one of Elizabeth’s socks fell off and was floating in the pool. “She has to get that sock on before the end of the race,” a swimming official told her team, “or you will be disqualified.”
Everybody on her team started screaming, “Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Stop! Get the sock!” But she couldn’t hear them. As she started her last 25 meters, a girl in Lane 2 was gaining on Elizabeth. It was time for desperate measures. A girl on my daughter’s team jumped in the pool, grabbed the sock, and swam after Elizabeth. She grabbed Elizabeth’s foot. “You have to put the sock on,” the girl screamed. Elizabeth continued swimming while her teammate put on the sock.
By now, the girl in Lane 2 was about to pass Elizabeth. With the sock finally on, Elizabeth swam her heart out for the last 15 meters. It was close, but Elizabeth beat the other girl to the wall for the victory.
On the ride home, she relived her moment of glory again and again. She told me that if the T-shirt relay was an Olympic event, her team would win the gold medal. I told her that in my professional opinion, she was absolutely right.
【小題1】Elizabeth was nervous about swim meets because she _______.

A．was afraid of disappointing everyone

B．didn’t expect to lose the swim match

C．didn’t want to compete against other girls

D．was worried about making errors in public

【小題2】 From the passage, we know that _______.

A．socks contributed greatly to Elizabeth’s victory

B．the match nearly drove Elizabeth desperate

C．good luck finally fell on Elizabeth’s team

D．Elizabeth’s team narrowly won the match

【小題3】 It can be inferred that Elizabeth would _______.

A．swim faster in the T-shirt

B．enjoy swim meets later on

C．experience the moment again

D．take part in an Olympic event

Rocky Lyons was five years old when his mother, Kelly, was driving along the country road with him. He was asleep on the front seat of their truck, with his feet resting on her lap. As his mom drove carefully down the winding country road, she turned onto a narrow bridge. The truck hit a rock and slid off the road. She attempted to bring it back up onto the road by pressing hard on the gas pedal and turning the steering wheel to the left. But Rocky’s foot got caught between her leg and the steering wheel and she lost control of the truck.[ X.JTYJY.COM/]
The truck fell into a 20-foot ravine（峽谷）. When it hit bottom, Rocky woke up. “What happened, Mama?” he asked. “Our wheels are pointing toward the sky.”
Kelly was seriously wounded and blinded by blood. “I’ll get you out, Mama,” announced Rocky, who had surprisingly escaped injury. He climbed out from under Kelly, slid through the open window and tried to yank（用力拉）his mother out. But she didn’t move.
“Just let me sleep,” begged Kelly, who was out of consciousness. Rocky insisted, “Mom, you can’t go to sleep.”
Rocky managed to push Kelly out of the truck and told her he’d climb up to the road and stop a car to get help. Fearing that no one would be able to see her little boy in the dark, Kelly refused to let him go alone. Instead they slowly moved up to the road. The pain was so great that Kelly wanted to give up, but Rocky wouldn’t let her.
Rocky kept repeating the inspirational phrase, “I know you can, I know you can.” When they finally reached the road, Rocky broke into tears seeing his mother’s torn face clearly for the first time. Waving his arms and shouting, “Please stop!” the boy stopped a truck. His mother was sent to hospital.
It took 8 hours to rebuild Kelly’s face. She looks quite different today---“I used to have a straight long nose, thin lips and high cheekbones; now I’ve got a flat cheeks and much bigger lips”--- but she has few scars and has recovered from her injuries.
Rocky’s heroics were big news. Everyone was surprised at this little boy’s power. “It’s not like I wanted it to happen,” The boy explained. “ I just did what anyone would have done.” “If it weren’t for Rocky, I’d have died,” said his mother.
【小題1】According to the text, Rocky and Kelly _________ .

A．were lost on a country road

B．had limited time to find their way

C．were involved in a truck accident

D．knew little of what happened to them

【小題2】When he woke up, Rocky ___________ .

A．was frightened by his mother’s blood

B．found his mother had fallen asleep

C．was stuck against the door of the truck

D．found the car was turned over

【小題3】What happened to Kelly at last?

A．She passed away.

B．She survived and recovered from injuries.

C．She became a hero.

D．She had a different life.

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

A．A Boy and His Mother	B．How to Behave Well？
C．I Think I Can	D．Nothing is Lost