Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, serious man not the sort of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager arriving in America, knowing nothing, I wanted a father who could explain the human journey. In college, when friends called home for advice, 1 would sink into deep depression for what I did not have.
Today. at twenty-seven, I have come to rediscover them in ways that my teenage mind would not allow — as adults and as friends with their own faults and weaknesses.
One night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, Dad shared the problem with me. Apparently my legal training had earned me some privileges in his eyes. I talked through the problem with Dad. analyzing the purposes of the people involved and offering several negotiation strategies. He listened patiently before finally admitting, “I can’t think like that. I am a simple man.”
Dad is a brilliant scientist who can deconstruct (解構(gòu)) the building blocks of nature. Yet human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized that he was simply not skilled at dealing with people, much less the trouble of a conflicted teenager. It’s not in his nature to understand human desires.
And so, there it was — it was no one’s fault that my father held no interest in human lives while 1 placed great importance in them. We are at times born more sensitive, wide-eyed, and dreamy than our parents and become more curious and idealistic than them. Dad perhaps never expected me for a child. And I, who knew Dad as an intelligent man, had never understood that his intelligence did not cover all of my feelings.
It has saved me years of questioning and confusion. I now see my parents as people who have other relationships than just Father and Mother. I now overlook their many faults and weaknesses, which once annoyed me.
I now know my parents as friends: people who ask me for advice; people who need my support and understanding. And I’ve come to see my past clearly.
【小題1】What was the author’s impression of her father when she was a teenager?

A．Friendly but irresponsible.

B．Intelligent but severe.

C．Cold and aggressive.

D．Caring and communicative.

【小題2】Why did the author feel depressed when her friends called home?

A．She did not have a phone to a1l home.

B．Her father did not care about her human journey.

C．Her father was too busy to answer her phone.

D．Her father couldn’t give her appropriate advice.

【小題3】After the author overheard her father on the telephone.

A．he blamed her for impoliteness

B．he rediscovered human nature

C．he consulted with her about his problem

D．he changed his attitude towards the author

【小題4】The author realized that ______.

A．her father had too many faults and weaknesses

B．her father was not as intelligent as she had thought

C．her father was not good at interpersonal relationships

D．her father placed too much importance in social activities

【小題5】Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A．My Parents as Friends

B．My Parents as Advisors

C．My Father — a Serious Man

D．My Father — an Intelligent Scientist

Hank Viscardi was born without legs. He had—not legs but stumps(殘肢) that could be fitted with a kind of special boots, People stared at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ (猿人) because his arms practically dragged on the ground.
Hank went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve. After graduating from school, he worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. He would soon have to use a wheel chair.
Hank felt himself get cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs(假腿). Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror. For the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be—a full five feet eight inches tall. By this time he was already 26 years old.
Hank had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room , and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it.
When World War II came , he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs.
【小題1】Children laughed at Hank and called him ‘Ape Man’ because ______.

A．he didn’t talk to them

B．he kept away from them

C．his arms touched the ground when he moved

D．he couldn’t use his arms

【小題2】It can be inferred from the story that five feet eight inches tall is ______.

A．a(chǎn)n average height for a fully grown person

B．too tall for an average person

C．too short for an average person

D．none of the above

【小題3】When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he ______.

A．did everything the other soldiers did

B．did nothing the other soldiers did

C．did some of the things the other soldiers did

D．took some special training

【小題4】The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi _______.

A．had no friends

B．never saw himself as different from others

C．was very shy

D．was too proud to accept help from others

I was brought up in the British, stiff upper lip style. Strong feelings aren’t something you display in public. So, you can imagine that I was unprepared for the outpouring of public grief(悲傷) at a Chinese funeral.
My editorial team leader died recently after a short illness. He was 31. The news was so unexpected that it left us all shocked and upset. A female colleague burst into tears and cried piteously at her desk. Somehow we got through the day's work. The next day was the funeral.
Our big boss stepped forward to deliver a eulogy and was soon in tears. She carried on, in Chinese of course, but at the end said in English: "There will be no more deadlines for you in heaven." Next came a long-term colleague who also dissolved in tears but carried on with her speech despite being almost overcome by emotion. Then a close friend of the dead man paid tribute(哀悼), weeping openly as he spoke. Sorrow is spreading. Me and women were now sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, the man's mother, supported between two women, addressed her son in his coffin. At one point, the mother almost collapsed and had to be held up. We were invited to step forward to each lay a white rose on the casket. Our dead colleague looked as if he was taking a nap. At the end of the service I walked away from the funeral parlor stunned at the outpouring of emotion.
In the UK, families grieve privately and then try to hold it together and not break down at a funeral. Here in China it would seem that grieving is a public affair. It strikes me that it is more cathartic to cry your eyes out than try to keep it bottled up for fear of embarrassment, which is what many of us do in the West.
Afterwards, a Chinese colleague told me that the lamenting at the funeral had been restrained(克制) by Chinese standards. In some rural areas, she said, people used to be paid to mourn noisily. This struck me like something out of novel by Charles Dickens. But we have all seen on TV scenes of grief-stricken people in Gaza and the West Bank, in Afghanistan, Iraq and the relatives of victims of terrorist bombings around the world. Chinese grief is no different. I realized that it's the reserved British way of mourning that is out of step with the rest of the world.
It was our newspaper's production day. We were bussed back to the office to resume work. No more deadlines for our former colleague, but we had to pull together to put the newspaper to print. The boss invited the team to go out for dinner after work. We relaxed, smiled, joked. There was no mention of the funeral or our poor colleague. Enough sorrow had been shed already. We needed a break.
【小題1】The underlined words “stiff upper lip style” mean “      ”.

A．cold-blooded	B．warm-hearted
C．self-controlled	D．light-hearted

【小題2】At the funeral,         .

A．five individuals made speeches

B．the boss’s speech was best thought of

C．everyone was crying out loudly

D．the writer was astonished by the scene

【小題3】According to the writer, people in the West     .

A．a(chǎn)re not willing to be sad for the dead

B．prefer to control their sadness in public

C．cry their eyes out at the public funeral

D．have better way to express sadness

【小題4】It is implied that        .

A．the English might cry noisily for the dead in Dickens’ time

B．Chinese express their sadness quite unlike other peoples

C．victims of terrorist bombings should be greatly honored

D．English funeral culture is more civilized than the others

【小題5】This passage talks mainly about          .

A．a(chǎn)n editor’s death	B．bad funeral customs
C．western ways of grief	D．cultural differences

Once on a dark winter's day，when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they did at night，an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the main street.
Sara Crewe leaned against her father，who held her in his arms，as she stared out of the window at the passing people with an old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes. At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had just made from Bombay with her father，Captain Crewe. She was thinking of what a strange thing it was that at one time one was in India in the hot sun，and then in the middle of the ocean，and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets.
“Papa，” she said in a low，mysterious little voice which was almost a whisper.
“What is it，darling?”Captain Crewe answered，holding her closer and looking down into her face．
"Is this the place？＂Sara whispered.
"Yes，little Sara，it is. We have reached it at last.”
It seemed to her many years since he had begun to prepare her mind for "the place”，as she always called it. Her mother had died when she was born，so she had never known or missed her.Her young，handsome，rich father seemed to be the only relation she had in the world．
During her short life only one thing had troubled her，and that thing was "the place” she was to be taken to some day. The climate of India was very bad for children，and as soon as possible they were sent away from it-generally to England and to school.
"Couldn't you go to that place with me，Papa？＂she had asked when she was five years old．
"Couldn't you go to school，too？ I would help you with your lessons.”
"But you will not have to stay for a very long time，little Sara，”he had always said. "You will grow so fast that it will seem scarcely a year before you are big enough and clever enough to come back and take care of Papa.”
She had liked to think of that．She liked to talk to him and read his books-that would be what she would like most in the world，and if one must go away to "the place” in England to attain it，she must make up her mind to go．She liked books more than anything else，and was，in fact，always inventing stories of beautiful things and telling them to herself.
Captain Crewe held her very closely in his arms as the cab rolled into the big，dull square in which stood the house which was their destination．
【小題1】The story happened_______．

A．on a moonless night	B．on a foggy day
C．on a hot day	D．on a starry night

【小題2】Sara Crewe came to England to_______

A．visit her relatives	B．see her mother's house
C．receive education	D．buy books for her father

【小題3】We can learn from the story that Sara Crewe was_______．

A．sceptical

B．curious

C．cheerful

D．imaginative

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel potatoes. I have only one hand.”
Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow. Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every, rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”
For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint and cracking. I peeked out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears.
【小題1】Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child peel potatoes?

A．Cruel.

B．Serious.

C．Strict.

D．Cold.

【小題2】From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train _________.

A．the skill to throw and catch things

B．the speed of one’s hand movement

C．the strength and skill to hang and sway

D．the bodily skill to rotate round a bar

【小題3】What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply?

A．Mom believe every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

【小題4】When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because         .

A．they felt sorry for what they had done before

B．they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C．they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

D．they were astonished to find the author’s progress

【小題5】The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is _________.

A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B．the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth

A butcher watching over his shop was really surprised when he saw a dog coming inside the shop. He went over to the dog and noticed it had a note in its mouth. He took the note and it read “Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in his mouth, as well.”
The butcher looked carefully and was surprised to find that there was really a ten-dollar note there. So he took the money and put the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog’s mouth. The butcher was so impressed, and since it was about closing time, he decided to shut up shop and follow the dog.
So off he went. He followed the dog to a bus stop. The dog stopped and started looking at the timetable. The dog checked out the time, and then sat on one of the seats provided. Along came a bus. The dog walked around to the front, looked at the number, and went back to its seat. Another bus came. Again the dog went around to the front, looked at the number and climbed on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, followed it onto the bus.
The bus traveled through the town and out into the suburbs. Eventually the dog got up, and moved to the front of the bus. It stood on two back paws and pushed the button to stop the bus. Then it got off with groceries still in its mouth.
Well, the dog and the butcher were walking along the road, and then the dog turned into a house. It walked up the path, and dropped the groceries on the step. Then it walked back down the path, took a big run, and threw itself against the door. Then again, it threw himself against it. There’s no answer at the house. so the dog waited at the door.
The butcher watched as a big guy opened the door, and started shouting at it. The butcher ran up, and stopped the guy. “Why do you shout at the dog? It is really a genius.” The guy responded, “You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog’s forgotten its key.”
【小題1】Which may be the best title of the passage?

A．A clever dog.	B．A curious butcher.
C．A cruel owner.	D．A second lost key.

【小題2】Why was the butcher surprised when he saw the dog?

A．Because there was a note in the dog’s mouth.

B．Because a dog was not supposed to come into his shop alone.

C．Because the dog was not afraid of being butchered.

D．Because the dog could read.

【小題3】The passage implies that _________.

A．dogs are cleverer than man

B．dogs are our best friend

C．the butcher is a cruel person

D．some people are never satisfied with what they have got

【小題4】The dog threw itself against the door, because _________.

A．it wanted to force the door open

B．it wanted its owner to open the door

C．it wanted to punish itself for forgetting the key

D．it wanted to get the butcher’s help

【小題5】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The butcher was curious so he followed the dog.

B．The dog didn’t get on the first bus because it was the wrong number.

C．To get off the bus, you should let the driver know by pressing the button.

D．The dog would be driven away by the big guy.

Last winter ,when I was heavily pregnant , I was visiting my sister and brother-in –law’s house and had to park in a nearby parking lot because they didn’t have accessible parking .The snow was extremely heavy and there was lots of ice on the ground –not many people had ventured out that evening !
When I returned to my car around 11pm, I noticed that I was the only car left. Nervously, I hopped into the car and let it warm up a bit. When I finally tried to drive away, my wheels began to spin. I was stuck! I spun and spun and wondered what to do.
All of a sudden, in my rear view mirror, I saw four teen-aged boys approaching my car. They were walking side by side in a line and dressed a bit like gang members --- at least I thought that's what they looked like. My car was in a very isolated area and I began to panic. I was certain they were coming to my car to harm me. Terrified, I just froze. One of the young men tapped on my window and said "Excuse me, Ma'am, can we help you? You seem stuck." Still afraid and fearing the worst, I said "I am stuck." And the young man said "It's okay, stay in your car and we'll push you out of the snow." And they did!
When they finally got me out of the snow, they smiled and waved. I rolled down my window and thanked them, embarrassed to have judged them so poorly.
【小題1】Why did the author just freeze when the four young men walking toward her car?

A．Because she was afraid of being harmed.

B．Because she sat in her car for too long a time.

C．Because she was cold indeed in that freezing evening.

D．Because she knew they would rob her of the car.

【小題2】Which of the following words can best describe the four young men?

A．Impolite

B．Ill-mannered

C．Unfriendly

D．Warm-hearted.

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

A．One of the four teenagers was a gang member.

B．The kids wanted to help the author out of trouble.

C．The author would have a baby in her car.

D．The young men enjoyed pushing cars out of the snow.

【小題4】The best title for the text would be___________．

A．Every man has his faults

B．Fortune favors those who use their judgment

C．Don't judge a book by its cover

D．Think twice before you do

I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲諷) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)
There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality , " these books have made me all that I am ." That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The writer thought it was impossible for one to read two thousand books.

B．While at high school, the writer had plans for reading.

C．The writer only read books no more than 100 pages.

D．The writer thought the teacher was not being serious about the suggestion of reading.

【小題2】The underlined phrase "with finality" most probably means ____________.

A．firmly

B．immediately

C．simply

D．pleasantly

【小題3】The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to________.

A．explain why it was included in the list

B．describe why he seriously crossed it off the list

C．show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand

D．prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

【小題4】The writer provides two book lists to ________.

A．show how he developed his point of view

B．tell his reading experience at high school

C．introduce the two persons' reading methods

D．explain that he read many books at high school