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 Pauls and the Guildhall among them.
　　Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, write 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 mew St Pauls.
　　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 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】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4】How was the fire put out according to the text?

A．The 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 path of the fire were destroyed according to the King’s order.

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 opinions.
Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish it. They said it was too different. 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 liked helping children. In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said that 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 accept his book at first.

【小題3】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4】Adults most probably think that Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat is _________

A．interesting

B．serious

C．difficult

D．boring

A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳頭) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman. 
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s. 
【小題1】The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______. 

A．alone

B．with his wife

C．with his friend

D．with an Italian

【小題2】One night he went out for _______ alone. 

A．a ride

B．a walk

C．a drink

D．rest

【小題3】Suddenly he found his_______ was gone. 

A．watch

B．money

C．book

D．ring

【小題4】Who was robbed of the watch?

A．The Frenchman was.	B．The Italian was.
C．Both of them was.	D．Neither of them was.

Jean-Michael Lourdis was a promising young pianist. But when the young man played, it seemed to him, as if his hands were iron. He worried so much about his playing that he became oversensitive (過度敏感的) to the comments of his playing. Unfortunately, in those days, a critic(批評家) was not considered a critic, unless he found something wrong. This attitude of the critics would often leave the young man ready to give up his dream and return home.
He was invited to play in Helsinki. The rich, the famous, the leaders of State were all there. Jean-Michael had one of those days when everything went wrong. That night as he played, he felt as if it were the worst concert of his young life. The next day, in the newspapers, some of the comments were so unkind. The young musician was painful.
That day, as he sat in his hotel room in total despair(絕望), there came a knocking at his door. He had a visitor.The famous Finnish composer(作曲家) Jean Sibelius had come by to congratulate the young pianist on his performance. Jean-Michael asked how he thought of that and began to quote some of the newspaper critics. “ Hands of iron. No imagination. Little skill. No joy. Don't you hear what they say?” he asked.
　　Jean Sibelius looked at young Jean-Michael and said, “Remember, son, there is no city in the world where they have erected a statue(雕像) for a critic.”
【小題1】According to the passage, Jean-Michael Lourdis _______.

A．was a bad pianist

B．cared too much about what the critics had said

C．refused to play in Helsinki

D．was praised highly by the critics

【小題2】A critic in those days usually _______.

A．found fault with musicians' performances

B．said kind and encouraging words to musicians

C．helped musicians become famous

D．asked more people to go to concerts

【小題3】 The young musician was painful because _________.

A．he was very strict with himself

B．he didn’t trust himself

C．some of the comments were so unkind

D．he felt lonely in his hotel room

【小題4】Jean Sibelius came to visit the young musician because ________.

A．he wanted to tell the young man the critics were right

B．he wanted to tell the young man not to lose his temper at that time

C．he wanted to tell the young man his performance was great

D．he wanted to tell the young man to respect the critics’ opinion

Goldie’s Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. “We’re moving house.” “No space for her any more with the baby coming.” “We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present.” People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner’s. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down, always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That’s why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn’t hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. “We didn't know what had happened to her,” said the woman at the door. “I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared.” “She must have tried to come back to them and got lost,” added a boy from behind her.
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I’ve learnt a good lesson: not to judge people.
【小題1】How did the author feel about Goldie when Goldie came to the house?

A．Shocked.

B．Sympathetic.

C．Annoyed.

D．Upset.

【小題2】In her first few days at the author's house, Goldie ______.

A．felt worried

B．was angry

C．ate a little

D．sat by the fire

【小題3】Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she ______.

A．saw her puppies	B．heard familiar barking
C．wanted to leave the author	D．found her way to her old home

A flock of hungry pigeons were flying across the sky in search of food. Having traveled a long distance, they felt tired and settled down on a tree.  Just below the tree, they saw grains strewn (撒滿) all over the ground. The pigeons were happy to have found enough food to eat. All the pigeons came down from the tree and started eating the grains. As they were doing so, a huge net fell on them and trapped them all.
The pigeons were taken aback. They noticed a hunter sitting at a distance from the tree, a bow and arrow in hand. The pigeons realized it was the hunter who had trapped them in the net. The hunter got up and began to move towards the pigeons.
The leader of the pigeons spoke, “Friends, we are in great trouble. The hunter will catch us if we do not act swiftly in a few seconds. There is only one option available at this moment. Let all of us use our force together and fly up along with the net. If all of us use our force and fly together, we can fly carrying the net along with us. Let us start now.”
All the pigeons agreed with him and flew high carrying the net along with them. After traveling enough distance away from the hunter, the pigeons settled on a tree and carefully came out of the net one by one and thus escaped the evil design of the hunter.
【小題1】Who strewed the grains over the ground?

A．A villager.	B．The hunter.
C．The pigeon.	D．The writer.

【小題2】The word “    ”has the closest meaning to the underlined word “option”.

A．reason

B．choice

C．action

D．opinion

【小題3】How did the pigeons react when they got trapped?

A．They didn’t know what to do.

B．They tried to fly in all directions.

C．They remained rather calm.

D．They decided to fight for their lives.

【小題4】This story wants to tell us that        .

A．two heads are better than one.

B．confidence will save everyone.

C．teamwork can work wonders.

D．actions speak louder than words.

Once upon a time there was a monster（怪獸）. He was very ugly and had no friends. No one wanted to talk to him. Even other monsters thought he was ugly.
He lived alone and was very unhappy because he was so lonely.
“I wish I had a friend.” He said to himself every day, “One friend would be enough. Someone to talk to.”
He wrote a letter to a magazine. The magazine gave people advice.
“Dear Editor,” he wrote, “I am a ugly monster. How can I find a friend?”
“Dear monster,” the Editor replied, “Advertise for a friend in this magazine.” The monster wrote an advertisement.
“Monster wants a friend, male or female. I have two heads, four arms, six legs and three tails. I have one blue eye, one green eye and one brown eye. Smoke comes out of my nose. But I am really a kind monster and will be a good friend to someone. If you would like to meet me, please stand outside Blake’s Store at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 7th. Write to Mr. A, Box 45, everybody’s Magazine.”
A few days later he went to the magazine.
“Do you have any letters for Box 45?” he asked.
The clerk looked in Box 45.
“Yes, there is one.” She said, and gave it to him.
The monster opened the letter, and read, “Dear Monster, I think a person’s character is more important than his appearance. I will wait outside Blake’s Store on Friday. Please carry a flower so that I will recognize you. Yours sincerely, Miss Alice Thwaite.”
【小題1】Why was the monster unhappy?

A．He had no friends.	B．He was ugly.
C．He had two heads.	D．He had three tails.

【小題2】What did the monster advertise for?

A．A magazine.

B．A friend.

C．An editor.

D．A male or female monster.

【小題3】How did the monster describe him in the advertisement?

A．Ugly

B．Lonely

C．Kind

D．Good-looking

【小題4】What was strange about Miss Thwaite’s letter?

A．She was not interested in people’s appearance.

B．She wanted to meet the monster.

C．She needed a flower to recognize him.

D．It was the only reply.

  It had been a difficult move. I’d left my family and friends in Indiana, the beloved state where I’d lived most of my life. My new home in Florida was thousands of miles away from anything I knew. It was hot—all the time. Jobs were hard to come by, but I was up for almost any challenge.
At last, I taught in a special school where students have severe learning and behavioral difficulties.
Another teacher and I had spent weeks teaching the children appropriate behavior for public outings. Unexpectedly, only a few students, including Kyle, had not earned the privilege of going. He was determined to make his disappointment known.
In the corridor(走廊) between classrooms, he began screaming, cursing, spitting, and swinging at anything within striking distance. Once his outburst died down, he did what he’d done when he was angry at all his other schools, at home, even once at a juvenile detention(拘留)center. He ran.
People watched in disbelief as Kyle dashed straight into the heavy morning traffic in front of the school.
I heard someone shout, “Call the police!”
But I ran after him.
Kyle was at least a foot taller than me. And he was fast. His older brothers were track stars at the nearby high school. But I could run long distances without tiring. I would at least be able to keep him in my sight and know he was alive.
After several blocks of running directly into oncoming traffic, Kyle slowed his pace.
He took a sharp left. Standing next to a trash bin, Kyle bent over with his hands on his knees. I must have looked ridiculous. But his was not a look of fear. I saw his body relax. He did not attempt to run again. Kyle stood still and watched me approach. I had no idea what I was going to say or do, but I kept walking closer.
He opened his mouth to speak when a police car pulled up, abruptly filling the space between Kyle and me. The school principal and an officer got out. They spoke calmly to Kyle, who willingly climbed into the back of the vehicle. I couldn’t hear what was said, but I didn’t take my eyes off Kyle’s face, even as they drove away.
I couldn’t help but feel that I had failed him, that I should have done or said more, that I should have fixed the situation.
I shared my feelings with a speech therapist who was familiar with Kyle’s history. “No one ever ran after him before, Rachel,” she said. “No one. They just let him go.”
Things changed the day he ran and I ran after him, even though I didn’t have the right words, even though I wasn’t able to save him from the mess he was in. It was the day I didn’t throw my hands in the air and decide he was too fast, a waste of time and effort , a lost cause. It was the day my mere presence was enough to make a profound difference.
【小題1】From the passage we know that _____.

A．the author left her family to Florida because jobs were hard to come by in Indiana.

B．students were allowed to go out after they passed some specific tests.

C．the author worked in a school where students were excellent.

D．no teacher had ever run after Kyle before except the author .

【小題2】Which of the following description about Kyle is not true?

A．He had some behavioral difficulties and once moved from one detention to another.

B．He used to run out to let out his anger when he was in school,home or juvenile detention.

C．Different from his brothers, he learned in a special school while not a normal high school.

D．He was moved by his teacher who treated him with more patience and understanding.

【小題3】Which is the correct order of the trace?
①He burst out when he knew he couldn’t go out.   
②I decided to run after him.
③Kyle stoppped beside a trash bin.
④A police car came and Kyle left with it.
⑤He rushed into the heavy morning traffic.
⑥Kyle slowed his pace.
⑦I walked toward Kyle.

A．①⑤②⑥③⑦④	B．①⑤②④⑥⑦③
C．⑤④②⑥③⑦①	D．①②⑥⑦③④⑤

【小題4】What is the best title of the passage?

A．Kyle, a Boy with Learning and Behavior Difficulties.

B．The Teacher Who Ran.

C．A School with Special Students.

D．A Terrible Conflict.

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

“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣櫥）?” Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully. “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank in a faint（暈倒）, waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.
【小題1】According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means ________.

A．a family honor	B．a family secret
C．a family story	D．a family treasure

【小題2】What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors form Paragraph 2?

A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

【小題3】Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ________.

A．knocked

B．frightened

C．injured

D．surprised

【小題4】Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?

A．She was curious about it.

B．She planned to keep it for fun.

C．She needed it for her school task.

D．She intended to scare her parents.