I’m a 20-year-old boy, and the following is my story．
A month after I graduated from high school in August，2007，I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident. I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital．
I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn’t open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around．At that time，it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries. Just like my body，my dreams were completely destroyed. But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams．
After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to make every great effort to learn to talk，eat，walk，shower，and live on my own again．When I was out of hospital，I still had to go to outpatient therapy in Waldorf, Maryland．After I spent a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby steps to walk on my own．It was a miracle that I was able to walk again, but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk, but also run. When it came true, I wanted to get back into the pool again．After having a few lung tests，I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week．After a few months of swim training，I began my freshman year at Mary’s College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team．
By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world．I am just trying to 1ive every day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them. I remember when I was still in my hospital bed，I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members．I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay. Somehow，things would work out for the best.
【小題1】The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of __________.

短文改錯（共10題，每小題1分，滿分10分）
假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。錯誤涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。
增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出該加的詞。
刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（＼）劃掉。
修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。
注意：1．每處錯誤及其修改均僅限一詞；2．只允許修改 10處，多者（從第11處起）不計分。
It is a long time since you come to Beijing to learn Chinese. How are you getting along well with your study? I’m eager to know if you are used to live in Beijing or not. There is going to have an English speech contest in Beijing in July. It’s such important for me that I want to do it well. Therefore, I have some trouble in collecting information I need. That also puzzles me is how to put what I have learned into practice. I know you have a good command of English. Would you please do me favor? I’d appreciate you if you can give me some advice on how to solve these problems. After the speech contest, I will call on you.

B
One cold morning in winter, when I was a little boy, a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder stopped me, saying: “My pretty boy, has your father a grindstone（砂輪）”
“Yes, sir,” said I．
“You are a fine little fellow!” said the man． “Will you let me grind（磨） my ax?”
Pleased with the flattery, I answered, “Oh, yes, sir． The grindstone is down in the shop．”
Patting me on my head, he said, “Will you get me some hot water?” I ran and brought the hot water．
“How old are you, and what is your name?” he asked without waiting for a reply, “I’m sure you are one of the finest boys I have ever seen． Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me?”
Hearing the flattery again, I went to work with a will． It was a new ax, and I worked hard until I was almost tired to death． The school bell rang, but I could not get away, because the ax was not half ground．
At last, however, it was sharpened． Then the man turned to me and said, “Now, you little rascal(小壞蛋), you’ve played truant(逃課)! Run to school, or you’ll be sorry!”
“Alas!” thought I． “It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this old day, but now to be called a rascal is too much．”
The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank into my mind． I have thought of it since． Now, whenever I hear words of flattery, I say to myself． “That man has an ax to grind．”
60．In this passage, the word “flattery” means _____．
A．a(chǎn)n order or direction
B．nice words used beyond truth
C．kind words spoken by elder people to children
D．good manners
61．The man asked the boy many questions because _____．
A．he liked the boy very much
B．he wanted to know the boy’s name
C．he wanted to sharpen his ax
D．he wanted to know how old the boy was
62．The man called the boy “rascal” because _____．
A．his ax was damaged by the boy
B．he didn’t like the boy’s play truant
C．he didn’t need the boy any more
D．he thought that boy should go to school on time
63．Today in the writer’s vocabulary “That man has an ax to grind” means _____．
A． that man has some selfish reasons for his actions
B． that man works with an ax
C． that man is very kind and polite to boys
D． that man needs to sharpen his ax

That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theater. With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away any possible robbers(搶劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck(垃圾車) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eyes. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had got my wallet back. I also had got back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.
【小題1】How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?

If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?
Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.
The nature of what is news may change. What essentially (本質(zhì)上) makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (倫敦的艦隊街，以報館集中而著稱) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (裝置) to do the job for you.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.
【小題1】The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.