D

When I walked into the house after school, I found my dad at home.

"What are you doing home already?" I asked casually.

"Andrew, I was laid off today," he answered quietly.

    I was sure he was joking. "No, you weren't. Why are you really home?"

    Then I noticed his expression and realized he was telling the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career. My father's unemployment created many changes in our lives. He was home all day, which meant my bed had to be made, my room cleaned up, and my homework done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer searching for jobs. I began to notice how down he seemed, and how losing his job had affected his self-esteem (自尊心), though he tried to be optimistic. He asked my brother and me to spend less money. I gave up my allowance（零用錢）, which even though it wasn't much, felt like the right thing to do. I also found a part-time job.

    After several difficult months of searching, my dad decided to go in a totally different direction. He explained that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him build it, and I admired how much time and energy he devoted to it.

   One evening I asked if he needed help. "Only if it doesn't interfere（打擾，妨礙） with school," he said, which sounded like a yes.

I showed up at his office the next afternoon, and most afternoons after that for two months. I always knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really influenced me. Although this was one of the worst experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity. Now I know that through creative problem-solving, I can always find Plans, ask for help, and take risks. 

54．When the father was laid off, he ________.

    A．was angry with his boss             B．didn't care about it at all

    C．couldn't accept the fact easily         D．was as happy as usual

55．We can know from the passage that ________.

    A．it was not easy for the father to find a new job

    B．the father asked his sons to give up their allowance

    C．the father found a good job when he changed his direction

    D．Andrew and his brother helped his father set up his business

56．The underlined word "adversity" in the last paragraph probably means        .

    A．poor feelings     B．bad situations     C．low spirits     D．old ideas

57．What has Andrew learned from his father?

    A．The spirit of creative problem-solving.    B．The skills of surfing the Internet.

    C．The experience of saving money.         D．The rich business skills.

     Tom Brennan was working in a Philadelphia office building when he noticed a black bag. The bag contained a book.

     This chance discovery ended a 12day search by the Library Company of Philadelphia for a historical treasure -- a 120-page -diary kept 190 years ago by Deborah Logan, “a woman who knew everybody in her day,” James Green, the librarian told the magazine America Libraries.

     Most of the diary is a record of big events in Philadelphia. It also includes a description of British soldiers burning Washington D.C. in the war of 1812. She describes President James Madison on horseback as “perfectly shaking with fear” during the troubled days. George Washington, she writes, mistook her for the wife of a French man, and praised her excellent English.

       The adventure of the lost book began September 4 when Cory Luxmoore arrived from England to deliver the diary to his ancestor (祖先) to the Library Company, which he and his wife considered to be the best home for the diary.

      Green told American Libraries he had the diary in his possession “about five minutes” when Luxmoore took it back because he had promised to show it to one other person. On returning to his hotel after showing the precious book to Green, Luxmoor was shocked to realise that he had left it in the taxi.

       Without any delay, Green began calling every taxi company in the city, with no luck. “I've felt sick since then,” Luxmoore told reporters.

        According to Green, no one has yet learned how the diary came to the office building. Tom Brennan received a reward (獎勵) of $1 000, Philadelphia gained another treasure for its history, and Luxmoore told reporters, “It's wonderful news. I'm on high.”

51. This article mainly tells about the story of _______.

A. a lost diary                                           B. Deborah Longan

C. Cory Luxmoore                                    D. the Library Company

52. From the text, we learn that the diary is now owned by _______.

A. Tom Brennan                                              B. an unknown person

C. a Philadelphia magazine                        D. the Library Company of Philadelphia

53. Philadelphia is thought to be the best home for the diary because _______.

A. it was written in Philadelphia                 B. it tells stories about Philadelphia

C. people in the city are interested in old things

D. the British and the Americans once fought in Philadelphia

54. Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to the diary?

 a -- Tom Brennan found the book in an office building.

 b -- The book was shown to James Green.

 c -- Cory Luxmoore arrived from England.

 d -- The book was left behind in a taxi.

A. a, b, c, d         B. c, b, d, a                  C. a, c, d, b                         D. c, a, b, d

55. What did Cory Luxmoore mean when he said “I'm on high”?

A. I'm rich                    B. I'm famous                     C. I'm excited                    D. I'm lucky

Tom Brennan was working in a Philadelphia office building when he noticed a black bag. The bag contained a book. This chance discovery ended a 12-day search by the Library Company of Philadelphia for a historical treasure-a 120-page diary kept 190 years age by Deborah Logan,"a woman who knew everybody in her day,"James Green ,the librarian told the magazine American Libraries. Most of the diary is a record of big events in Philadelphia ,It also includes a description of British soldiers burning Washington .D. C in the war of 1812.She describes President James Madison on horseback as "perfectly shaking with fear"during the troubled days.George Wash- ington,she writes,mistook her for the wife of a French man.and praised her excellent English ．The adventure of the lost book began September 4 when Cory Luxmoore arrived from Eng- land to deliver the diary of his ancestor(祖先）to the Library Company,which he and his wife considered to be the best home for the diary. Green told American Libraries he had the diary in his possession"a bout five minutes"when Luxmoore took it back because he had promised to show it to one other person.On returning to his hotel after showing the percious book to Green,Luxmoore waas shocked to realise that he had left it in the taxi. Without any delay,Green began calling every taxi company in the city,with no luck,"I've felt sick since then,"Luxmoore told reporters.According to Green.no one has yet learned how the diary came to the office building .Tom Brennan received a reward(獎勵)of 1,000,Philadelphia gained another treasure for its histo- ry,and Luxmoore told reporters,"It's wonderful news.I'm on high".

1.This article mainly tells about the story of ＿＿＿＿＿

A.a lost diary

B.Deborah Logan

C.Cory Luxmoore

D.the Library Company

2.From the text,we learn that the diary is now owned by＿＿＿＿＿

A.Tom Brennan

B.an unknown person

C.a Philadelphia magazine

D.the Library Company of Philadelphia

3.Philadelphia is thought to be the best home for the diary because＿＿＿＿＿.

A.it was written in Philadelphia

B.it tells stories about Philadelphia

C.people in the city are interested in old things

D.the British and the Americans once fought in Philadelphia

4.Which of the following shows the right order of what happened to the diary?

a-Tom Brennan found the book in an office building.

b-The book was shown to James Green.

c-Cory Luxmoore arrived from England.

d-The book was left behind in a taxi.

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

5.What did Cory Luxmoore mean when he said "I'm on high"?

A.I'm rich    B.I'm famous    C.I'm excited     D.I'm lucky.

Tom Brennan was working in a Philadelphia office building when he noticed a black bag. The bag contained a book.

This chance discovery ended a 12-day search by the Library Company of Philadelphia for a historical treasure--a 120-page diary kept 190 years ago by Deborah Logan, "a woman who knew everybody in her day," James Green, the librarian told the magazine American Libraries.

Most of the diary is a record of big events in Philadelphia. It also includes a description of British soldiers burning Washington D.C. in the war of 1812. She describes President James Madison on horseback as "perfectly shaking with fear" during the troubled days. George Washington, she writes, mistook her for the wife of a French man, and praised her excellent English. The adventure of the lost book began September 4 when Cory Luxmoore arrived from England to deliver the diary of his ancestor to the Library Company, which he and his wife considered to be the best home for the diary.

Green told American Libraries he had the diary in his possession "about five minutes" when Luxmoore took it back because he had promised to show it to one other person. On returning to his hotel after showing the precious book to Green, Luxmoore was shocked to realize that he had left it in the taxi.

Without any delay, Green began calling every taxi company in the city, with no luck, "I've felt sick since then," Luxmoore told reporters. According to Green, no one has yet learned how the diary came to the office building. Tom Brennan received a reward of 1,000, Philadelphia gained another treasure for its history, and Luxmoore told reporters, "It's wonderful news. I'm on high".

56. This article mainly tells about the story of ______.

A. a lost diary     B. Deborah Logan   C. Cory Luxmoore    D. the Library Company

57. From the text, we learn that the diary is now owned by ________.

A. Tom Brennan                          B. an unknown person

C. a Philadelphia magazine            D. the Library Company of Philadelphia

58. Philadelphia is thought to be the best home for the diary because _______.

A. it was written in Philadelphia

B. it tells stories about Philadelphia

C. people in the city are interested in old things

D. the British and the Americans once fought in Philadelphia

59. What did Cory Luxmoore mean when he said "I'm on high"?

A. I'm rich         B. I'm famous         C. I'm excited        D. I'm lucky.

When I was born, my parents immediately noticed something wrong. My feet were deformed (畸形的), pointing inward and curling under. I wore casts (石膏) and foot braces (支架) in my first two years to correct the problem. Yet I learned to balance and walk in casts. Soon after the last set of casts came off，Mom enrolled me in dance classes as therapy for my feet. I, however，quickly decided to try something else. Not far from my house was an ice rink (溜冰場) in the mall. There，local skaters would perform ice shows. I wanted to try skating.

I started taking group skating lessons. Performing on ice came naturally. For me，skating has never been about beating others. It’s been about being my personal best. I progressed through various levels rapidly and gave my first ice performance at age seven. Soon I started winning local and regional competitions. That’s because being on the ice has always been the one place I can truly express my emotions. The ice is like home.

I began seriously training when I was nine years old. After graduating from girls’ high school，I moved to Canada. Saying goodbye to my family and friends made me homesick，but I knew deep down that I had to leave and train full－time to give my dreams a chance at reality.

I went to compete in the Olympic Games in 1992.I was the first of the final six skaters on the ice. My long performance started well，but I slipped while landing one of my easiest triple jumps，and my hand touched the ice. I didn’t want to make two mistakes in a row，so next I did a jump with just two spins to play it safe. As I neared the end，I had one more jump. I landed it perfectly.

When medals were awarded，I found myself on the top step，the gold hanging around my neck and America’s national anthem playing. Words can’t describe the overwhelming mixture of emotions I felt.

The author was enrolled in dance classes to________.

       A．meet her interest   

       B．improve her dancing skills

       C．help treat her feet 

       D．prepare her for skating

When the author says “The ice is like home”，she really means she________.

       A．can express herself through her performance on ice

       B．can beat others in local and regional competitions

       C．can overcome her difficulty in walking

       D．has realized her dream to perform on ice

The author moved to Canada after graduating from girls’ high school because________.

       A．she could get better treatment of her feet there

       B．she would do full－time training there

       C．that was where the Olympics would hold

       D．she wanted to have further study there

What do we learn about the author’s performance in the 1992 Olympic Games?

       A．She completed it without any mistake.

       B．She made one mistake on the final landing.

       C．She did it quite well except for one mistake.

       D．She made more than one mistake.

By her own experience，the author intends to tell us________.

       A．we can realize our dream if we have the courage to pursue it

       B．even the disabled can take part in the Olympic Games

       C．sports can help people heal both body and mind

       D．sports events are not about winning only