The other day, I happened to meet someone I hadn’t seen for many years. I couldn’t believe the change in him. In fact, he didn’t even seem like the ___16___ person.

   When I first knew Bill, back in college he was one of the most carefree(無憂無慮) people I had ever ___17___. Bill and I were in the same class in college, and ___18___ was never dull(枯燥的) when he was ___19___. With him there was one wild adventure (探險) after another. Sometimes I wonder how we ___20___ to study for our exams.

Last week I was in Huston on business and I ran into Bill in the bar at the hotel. At first I wasn’t ___21___ sure it was him. Was this short-haired businessman really the same person? I wasn’t really sure until I came near him but it indeed was Bill. Now he works for a bank. He talked most of the evening about his job, his new car and his house. How he had changed! Back when we were in college, the ___22___ thing Bill cared about was possessions(財物). Now they seemed to be his main ___23____.

I suppose it’ s ____24____ to expect people to remain the same, especially when I have changed so much myself. But I must say that I enjoyed the old Bill much more than the new one. Maybe he ___25____ the same way about me.

1.A. proper            B. same             C. usual              D. right

2.A. considered        B. supposed          C. met               D. expected

3.A. learning          B. life               C. work              D. fun

4.A. in               B. out               C. away              D. around

5.A. decided          B. continued          C. managed           D. hoped

6.A. more            B. less               C. still               D. even

7.A. first             B. last               C. next               D. only

8.A. interest           B. event             C. subject            D. problem

9.A. unnecessary       B. foolish            C. common           D. unusually

10.A. felt             B. acted             C. looked             D. discovered

 

The other day Roy Price went “home”to his sister’s house. It’s her home now; and it’s also the house he was born in, Pat, his sister, kissed him and said, “You haven’t changed much, Roy. Let me see, now – when did we meet last?”

    “Thirty years ago,”he answered.“I came here for a week, do you remember? And I was right thirty then.”He added, “You’ve changed very little.”But it wasn’t true. Pat looked like an old lady.

    The next morning Roy walked through the small town alone. The place looked very different. There were lots of traffic signs beside the roads. There was a new car park, a new post office, a new… . He remembered suddenly that the bus used to stop anywhere: you just put up your hand and it stopped. One surprise followed another. But Roy’s biggest surprise was the people. He didn’t recognize（認(rèn)識）anybody at all. He thought perhaps everyone here seemed old. He went into the post office and bought some stamps. “Where are all the children and young people?”he asked the postmaster. The old fellow looked up and answered, “Children? They’re in school, of course.”

    At lunch Pat said, “The town looks nice, doesn’t it?”

    “It’s all different, Pat. It used to be an exciting place, but now it’s full of old people. I don’t understand…”

    “There are a few newcomers, but the ones we knew are still here. You’re not young yourself, Roy, are you?”

1. The house Roy was born in is now his ___________ home.

    A. mother’s                  B. sister’s                            C. new                  D. own

2. In the eyes of Roy, the small town looked ___________ and people seemed ___________.

    A. different, old             B. different, young        C. old, young         D. old, new

3. In the passage the writer mainly wants to tell us that ___________.

    A. people in the small town were old like Roy’s sister

    B. Roy hasn’t changed much but his sister has changed a lot

    C. Roy’s hometown has changed a lot since he left 30 years ago

    D. Roy didn’t recognize anybody because he had been away for 30 years

One Sunday morning, Millie and Amy went to Sunshine Park. They love to chat there. As usual, they sat ___26____a big tree. Suddenly, they heard a whistle from the bushes behind the tree. They turned around but could not see anything unusual. They were ____27______.

“Is 　28 there?” Millie asked. Nobody answered. They 29 very carefully and heard the strange noise again. The two girls were very afraid. They ran away quickly. On their way, they met Andy.

“What happened?” Andy asked. “There’s a ghost in the 30 . Please help us.” Millie said. “Really? Tell me more.” Andy said. Millie told Andy everything. Andy went to the park, 31 beside the tree and listened carefully. Then he heard 32 noise! He looked behind the tree and heard another whisper. He was now sure the sound 33 from the bushes. He searched carefully.

“Oh! Here it is.” Andy said to himself. He 34 a little cat in the bushes. It was very weak. When it miaowed, 　35 made a sound like a whisper.

26. A. under　 　　 B. on　 　　　　　　　 C. behind　 　　　　　 D. in

27. A. excited　 　　　 B. frightened　 　　　 C. frightening　 　　　 D. exciting

28. nobody　 　　　 B. everybody　 　　 C. anybody　 　　　 D. somebody

29. A. saw　 　　　　　 B. looked　 　　　　　 C. heard　 　　　　 D. listened

30. A. church　 　　　 B. school　 　　　　　 C. garden　 　　　　　 D. park

31. A. rose　 　　　　 B. slept　 　　　　 C. stood　 　　　　 D. lay

32. A. a　 　　　　 B. the　 　　　　　　　 C. an　 　　　　　　　 D. other

33. A. came　 　　 B. learned　 　　　　　 C. heard　 　　　　 D. fell

34. A. smelled　 　　　 B. looked　 　　　　　 C. searched　 　　 D. found

35. A. he　 　　　　　 B. she　 　　　　　 C. it　 　　　　　　　 D. that

The high school years are a key period. The things we learn during this time really shape our lives. Liu Changming, principal of Beijing No. 4 High School made 18 suggestions for students just starting high school on how to get the best out of high school. Here are ten of them.
1) Read 50 books. But choose them from ten different fields.
2) Help a person. Look for a classmate, an elderly person, in fact anyone who could benefit（獲益）from your help. You’ll find you benefit too!
3) Research. Research a particular area, such as science, history or art.
4) Make a foreign friend. Try to befriend someone from a foreign country. It’s an ideal way to learn about a foreign country.
5) Publish（出版）an article. Whether it appears in a newspaper, your school magazine or in your own blog, an article will be something to look back on in pride in later years.
6) Take up a new sport. Choose one you’ve never played before. If you find you like it, you’ll have a hobby for life
7) Join a club. Working hard in a club or other activities will give you a life outside of your studies.
8) Find a part-time job. Try and do the job for at least a month.
9) Find a person to learn from. Choose someone with unusual experience or special talent. Try to learn all you can from him or her.
10) Learn to cook four Chinese dishes. Learning how to cook is not only a practical skill but a way of building a bridge to other people.
【小題1】 According to the passage, by making a foreign friend you can ______.

A．learn about another culture	B．practice spoken English
C．discuss the international situation	D．share your happiness and sadness

【小題2】Beside learning a practical skill, another purpose of learning to cook is ______.

A．to help your parents with housework	B．to kill time
C．to have communication with others	D．to make friends

【小題3】Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A．You should read fifty books of the same field.

B．Do a part-time job for less than a month.

C．Try to publish an article to make you famous.

D．You can benefit a lot by helping others.

【小題4】The principal made the suggestions in order for the students to ______.

A．make contributions to society	B．a(chǎn)chieve greet progress in high school
C．love high school life	D．finish high school

The expression “down to earth” means being open and honest. It is easy to get on with some one who is down to earth. A down-to-earth person is the opposite of someone who acts important or proud.
Down-to-earth people could be important members of society. But they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. A person who is filed with his own importance and pride is said to have his nose in the air.
Americans use another expression that is similar in some ways to down to earth. The expression is both feet on the ground. Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality（現(xiàn)實）. He may have dreams, but he does not allow them to have influence on his understanding of what is real.
The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds. Someone with his head in the clouds is a person whose mind is not on what is happening in real life. Such a person may be called a day－dreamer.
When we have both our feet on the ground, and when we are down to earth, we do not have our noses in the air. We act honestly and openly to others. Our lives are like the ground below us— solid(牢固的) and strong.
【小題1】A down-to-earth person could be_____________.

A．social and proud

B．good and opposite

C．real and important

D．strong and changeable

【小題2】The expression “has one’s nose in the air” means_____________.

A．眉飛色舞

B．目中無人

C．瞻前顧后

D．春風(fēng)得意

【小題3】This passage mainly talks about_____________.

A．the use of some expressions	B．dreams and achievements
C．the lifestyle of honest people	D．honesty and understanding

【小題4】If you want to understand what is real in life, you have to_____________.

A．get along with other people easily	B．learn from those who are down to earth
C．be a good dreamer with quick mind	D．have both your feet on the ground

【小題5】If you only consider your own importance, __________.

A．you’ll think you are better than others

B．your life will be like the solid and strong ground

C．you’ll be hated by down-to-earth people

D．your life will be filed with love