I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易動(dòng)感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer, none came.
My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace. It seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work though she’d never been able to. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside — a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折疊) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
【小題1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.

A．a(chǎn)fter Mother died	B．before she became a writer
C．when she was a child	D．when mother gave it to her

【小題2】The passage shows that _______.

A．Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

B．Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

C．Mother cared much about her daughter in words

D．Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words.

【小題3】 The world “gulf” in the passage means _______.

A．deep understanding between the old and the young.

B．different ideas between the mother and the daughter.

C．free talks between mother and daughter.

D．part of the sea going far in land.

【小題4】What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

B．For years, she often talked about the letter.

C．She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D．She read the letter again and again till she died.

【小題5】 What’s the best title of the passage?

A．My letter to Mother	B．Mother and Children
C．My Mother’s Desk	D．Talks between Mother and me.

“I never expected that I would be so busy. Why can’t there be 25 hours in a day?” complained Liu Ran in Hong Kong as mid – term exams were going on.
The 18 – year – old girl was Shandong Province’s top scorer in this year’s college entrance examination. After graduating from Tai’ an No. 1 High School, she chose the Chinese University of Hong Kong, although two famous universities in mainland promised her a place.
“I want to experience a more international school and social life in Hong Kong. I’m majoring in（主修）journalism, so Hong Kong will surly help widen my horizons,” Liu said.
It is two months since Liu first set foot on Hong Kong. She missed home a lot at the beginning, because of the food and language problems.
“The canteen offers mostly Western or Guangdong food, but it’s convenient to cook for ourselves in our dormitory if we like. People speak Cantonese and almost all classes are in English,” Liu explained.
Her English and Cantonese are now both improving, but she still needs more time to adapt to the new environment.
“I’m happy that I made the right decision to study here. With a mix of the Eastern and Western cultures, there is so much to discover and learn,” she said.
Liu has 18 credit hours of classes every week and 23 non – credit hours every other week. She has signed up for four associations including the Chinese Language Debating Team and the drama club. Essays, book reports and presentations also take plenty of time to prepare.
【小題1】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Hong Kong dreams	B．Looking for a job in Hong Kong
C．Social life in Hong Kong	D．the Chinese University of Hong Kong

【小題2】Liu Ran chose the Chinese University of Hong Kong         .

A．to see more of an international school and social life

B．in order to enrich her experiences

C．because it is more famous than any university in mainland

D．Both A and B

【小題3】Which of the following statement is NOT true?

A．She is improving her English and Cantonese.

B．She is allowed to cook in the dormitory.

C．She is too busy to join in activities outside class.

D．She hasn’t adapted herself to the new environment.

【小題4】From the passage we can infer that she was         with her school life.

A．satisfied	B．unhappy
C．bored	D．disappointed

The salesman showed her several bags and she chose＿＿＿one as she didn’t want to spend too much money on it.

A. the less expensive     B. less expensive

C. the least expensive     D. least expensive

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as Mother sat doing letters(學(xué)問(wèn)). Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk”, she said again, “is for Elizabeth.” I never saw her anger, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was too emotional. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed, I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive（原諒）me. I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came. My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace-it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written in, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside－a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded and refolded many times. Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you chose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
【小題1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.

A．a(chǎn)fter Mother died.	B．before she became a writer.
C．when she was a child.	D．when Mother gave it to her.

【小題2】The passage shows that _____.

A．Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter.

B．Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done.

C．Mother cared much about her daughter in words.

D．Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words.

【小題3】The word gulf in the paragraph 2 means ______.

A．deep understanding between the old and the young.

B．different ideas between the mother and the daughter.

C．free talks between mother and daughter.

D．part of the sea going far in land.

【小題4】What did mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

B．For years, she often talked about the letter.

C．She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D．She read the letter again and again till she died.

【小題5】What’s the best title of the passage?

A．My Letter to Mother.	B．Mother and Children.
C．My Mother’s Desk.	D．Talks between Mother and Me.

Dorothea Shaw is 71 years old and nearly blind, and she chose to live alone far away from people. She lives in Belize — a county the size of Wales with a population only that of Swansea. Her home is at Gales Point, a tiny village which can be reached only by sea or air; after a 10-mile walk into the hills one finally reaches a piece of land and two small houses so hidden in the thick over-grown forest that only a handful of people know Dorothea is there.

She lives happily and totally alone – growing her vegetables, looking after her trees and dogs, cats and chickens. Once a month or so an old friend passes by with her food supplies and letters-usually including a letter from her sister in Scunthorpe and some bits of clothing from friends in Canada. Sometimes a local man will come and cut wood for her and a group of British soldiers will come across her and be greeted with the offer of a cup of coffee.

At night she lies in her tiny sleeping room with the dogs on the floor, the cats on the table near the typewriter and one of the hens settled down in a corner of the bookshelf, and listens for hours to any Spanish, English, German or French broadcasts she can find on her radio. Sometimes she gets lonely but most of the time the animals and the radio are company enough.

But recently the very things that she had tried to get free from so well have begun to catch up with her. The peace of the forest has been destroyed by the noise of earth-moving machines not many miles away. What she once only heard of distantly on the radio is now on her doorstep. Things began to change three years ago. The new main north-south road in Belize was cut through the forest only four or five miles away. “Now more people know I’m here.” She says. “I feel more and more uneasy each day.”

Dorothea’s small houses ________.   

A. are entirely surrounded by trees   

B. have always been her home

C. were built for just a few people   

D. are in a county with the same population as Wales

Dorothea lives in the tiny village because ________.

A. she doesn’t like living near people    B. she is too old to move

C. machines destroyed her home        D. there’s nowhere else for her to live

Dorothea doesn’t get lonely since she has _______ with her.

A. her sister   B. some animals     C. friends from Canada    D. a postman

Dorothea spends a lot of time __________.

A. growing all the food she needs         B. cutting down trees

C. listening to the radio                 D. studying languages