For about three years now, I have been writing poetry. It was not until my junior year in high school that I developed an interest, love and skill for writing poetry.
Back in elementary school, I loved to write stories. I would write stories on post-it notes and anywhere I could. Yet when I had to write a limerick(五行打油詩(shī)) for an assignment, I could not wrap my head around poetry. I had a very hard time figuring out how to rhyme words and have the words make sense. I eventually tossed the paper with the attempted limerick in the trash. I did not try my hand at poetry again until several years later.
Many years later in my freshman year of high school, my English teacher gave my class a poetry project as an assignment. I still remember my limerick assignment and was afraid of doing the poetry project. For the project, we had to analyze a poem and write a response to it. I chose to respond to Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice. I also wrote my own poem first. I became really excited when writing the poem.
Two years later, I started writing poetry as a hobby and for fun. To learn how good or bad my poems were, I handed them in to some magazines and contests. I won second place in the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Sherry Pruitt Award Contest with a poem called The Ocean, and had my two poems published as high merit(優(yōu)等) poems. I have continued to write poetry, and have even self-published three collections of poetry in both print and e-book formats, which can be found at my store on Lulu.
Now, I love writing poetry, but I don’t hate writing short stories. I just find it more difficult and not my style of writing, even though I still write short stories occasionally.
【小題1】When the author was a pupil, he ___________.

A．was in Grade Three in high school

B．worked as a storekeeper

C．was in Grade One in high school

D．was at college

Last summer I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer（掃盲志愿者）. The training I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people’s lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.

My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn’t know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule. She told me it would not help because she could not read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket, because she couldn’t always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.

As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie’s self-confidence, which encouraged her to continue in her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarket. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son, Tony, a shy first grader, with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face, and she began to see how her own hard work in learning to read paid off. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.

As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.

What did the author do last summer?

A. She worked in the supermarket.

B. She helped someone to learn to read.

C. She gave single mothers the help they needed.

D .She went to a training program to help a literacy volunteer.

Why didn’t Marie go to the supermarket by bus at first?

A. Because she liked to walk to the supermarket.    B. Because she lived far away from the bus stop.

C. Because she couldn’t afford the bus ticket.       D. Because she couldn’t find the right bus.

How did Marie use to find the goods she wanted in the supermarket?

A. She knew where the goods were in the supermarket.  B. She asked others to take her to the right place.

C. She managed to find the goods by their looks.       D. She remembered the names of the goods.

Which of the following statements is true about Marie?

A. Marie could do things she had not been able to do before.

B. Marie was able to read stories with the help of her son.

C. Marie decided to continue her studies in school

D. Marie paid for her own lessons.

Shay asked, “Do you think they’ll let me play?” Shay’s father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son, mentally and physically disabled, were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence.
Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around and said, “We’re losing by six runs (分) and the game is in the eighth inning (局).I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the final inning.
Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in heart. The boys saw the father’s joy at his son being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the final inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously joyful just to be in the game and on the field. In the bottom of the final inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. Would they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was almost impossible. The first pitch (投) came and Shay missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to throw the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The pitcher could have easily thrown he ball to the first baseman and Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game .Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, beyond the reach of all teammates, The audience and the players from both teams started screaming, “Shay, run to first! ” Never in his life had Shay ever run that far but made it to first base, wide-eyed and shocked..
Everyone should, “Run to second!” Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time, could have thrown the ball to the second baseman, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third baseman’s head.
All were screaming，“Shay，Shay，Shay，all the way Shay.” Shay reached third base when one opposing player ran to help him and shouted, “Shay, run to third.” As Shay rounded third, all were on their feet, crying,“Shay, run home！”Shay ran to home, stepped on the home base and was cheered as the hero who the who won the game for his team.
That day, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece true love and humanity into this world. Shay didn’t make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy and coming home and seeing his mother tearfully hug her little hero of the day!
【小題1】
Not expecting much, Shay’s father still asked the boy if Shay could play, mainly because the father _________.

A．True human nature could be realized in the way we treat each other.

B．Everyone has his own strength even if mentally or physically disabled.

C．Everyone can develop his team spirit in sports and please his parents.

D．The results of the game should not be the only concern of the players.

Standing on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a police officer saw a car moving slowly at 18 MPH. He  _36_  to himself, “This driver is just as  _37   as a speeder!” So __38 _ he turned on his lights and pulled the driver over.   39   the car, he noticed that   40   were five old ladies — two in the front seat and __41__three in the back, their eyes wide and faces white as ghosts. The driver, obviously   42_ , said to him, “Officer, I don’t understand. I was  _43__ exactly the speed limit!  _44__ seems to be the problem?” “Ma’am,” the officer replied, “You weren’t  _45__, but you should know that driving  _46__  than the speed limit can also be a(n) __47   to other drivers.” “Slower than the speed limit? No, sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly…Eighteen miles per hour!” The old woman said a bit __48_ . The police officer, trying to  _49_  a laugh, explained to her that “18” was the route number, _ 50_  the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the old woman smiled and thanked the officer for  _51_  out her error. “But before I let you  _52_ , Ma’am, I have to ask if everyone in this car is all right? These women seem very  _53_  and they didn’t make a single sound the whole time.”The police officer asked. “Oh, they will be all right  _54   a minute, officer. We just  _55__  Route 128.”

1.A. turned             B. thought         C. came            D. agreed

2.A. dangerous          B. well            C. silly           D. soon

3.A. tightly            B. immediately     C. privately       D. deadly

4.A. Suspecting         B. Blaming         C. Starting        D. Approaching

5.A. those              B. they            C. there           D. these

6.A. other              B. more            C. else            D. another

7.A. confused           B. worried         C. delighted       D. excited

8.A. increasing         B. reaching        C. lowering        D. doing

9.A. How                B. What            C. When            D. Where

10.A. running           B. breaking        C. speeding        D. concentrating

11.A. slower            B. safer           C. faster          D. higher

12.A. guide             B. demand          C. aid             D. danger

13.A. nervously         B. proudly         C. roughly         D. constantly

14.A. control           B. give            C. make            D. show

15.A. or                B. but             C. not             D. and

16.A. pointing          B. speaking        C. taking          D. squeezing

17.A. drive             B. go              C. laugh           D. run

18.A. united            B. exhausted       C. worried         D. tolerated

19.A. in                B. after           C. for             D. with

20.A. sped up           B. left out        C. broke down      D. got off

For John and Amy, birthdays have always been a big deal-a welcome excuse to celebrate life.
When their son, Alex,  36 three in 2005, they invited 20 friends to a nearby park. Not long after that the  37 were brainstorming ways to teach Alex about giving to  38 . “We wanted to do something that would have a(an)  39 on our community, and that our young child could  40 in. We started wondering what  41 fortunate kids do on their birthdays. The next day, we called a local shelter, and learnt that  42 children typically didn’t do  43 to celebrate at all. No cake. No gifts. No party.” The couple said.
Several weeks later,   44 held a party at the  45 for the children who had birthdays that month. They decorated, served cake, and danced with 50 kids. Alex helped to  46 presents.
47 that first party, the couple have turned their simple idea_ 48 Birthday Blessings, a nonprofit that hosts monthly parties at 10 shelters.
To date, Birthday Blessings (birthdayblessings.org.) has thrown more than 500  49 at different shelters and handed out 22, 000 party   50 to nearly 4000 homeless children in and around their community.
Birthday Blessings is 51 entirely by volunteers. The charity（慈善）will take almost anything—toys, clothing, candy, baby items—  52 it’s not used. “These kids never get anything new.” John said, “It makes a big  53 to them psychologically.”
Being “part of this labor love” is 54 making an impression on their son Alex. On his seventh birthday, his grandparents sent a check.   55 it, the first thing he said was that he wanted to give half to the birthday kids.