Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favorite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park,” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”
Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat（節(jié)拍）. Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.
By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his color pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room，but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare centre (日托所）.“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife’s away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.
【小題1】When his wife left home. Brad expected to           .

A．go out for a walk in the park

B．watch TV talk show with his children

C．enjoy his first day off work

D．read the newspaper to his children

【小題2】Which of the following did Randy do?

A．Drawing on the wall	B．Eating apple jam
C．Feeding the fish.	D．Reading in a room

【小題3】Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?

A．Because he wanted to clean up his house.

B．Because he suddenly had to go to his office

C．Because he found it hard to manage his boys home.

D．Because he had to take his wife back

【小題4】This text is developed           .

A．by space

B．by comparison

C．by process

D．by time

One Sunday a few of us decided to take advantage of the first sunny day we’d have for ages to take a trip down to the coast to visit the penguins again. Last time I went down there was a couple of months ago and it was a dull cold day. Sunday couldn’t have been more different — clear skies and sunshine made it feel like summer, although it was still -25°C.
Six of us drove to the coast. It was the first time we’d been off the base on our own without our field assistant, so it had a slightly different feeling — more like a few friends going to the seaside than an Antarctic field trip! When we reached Windy Creek, we luckily caught sight of quite a few small flying seabirds, which are seldom seen there.
Once on the sea ice we found that some of the more curious penguins had wandered over from the main group to come and check us out. We’d been told that then they were nursing their chicks (剛孵出的幼雛) and they would be more careful and nervous than last time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. We walked across to the main group which were stretched for a couple of miles along the coast. We sat down for some sandwiches and soon found ourselves surrounded by many curious observers. Without any attackers on land, they were very brave and came within a meter of us to pose (擺姿勢) for photos.
Before heading back, we spent a few hours on the sea ice watching the penguins and their chicks, which had grown dramatically (明顯地) since our last visit. It was such a nice day.
【小題1】
When did the trip most probably happen?

A．On a dull Sunday.	B．On a warm Sunday.
C．On a summer Sunday.	D．On a winter Sunday.

【小題2】
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the six people _____.

A．felt a little nervous

B．felt a little excited

C．were left all by themselves on their Antarctic base

D．got bored with staying with their field assistant

【小題3】
What does the writer mean by saying “but that didn’t seem to be the case”?

A．They were told a lie.

B．A wrong decision was made.

C．The truth was the opposite.

D．They didn’t believe what they were told.

【小題4】
The six people did the following during the trip EXCEPT _____.

A．feed the penguins

B．take pictures of the penguins

C．enjoy watching flying seabirds

D．watch the young penguins

French novelist Jules Verne (1828—1905) is often called the father of science fiction. Although he was not a great traveler himself, his characters travelled to the moon (in From the Earth to the Moon), under the sea (in Twenty thousand leagues under the sea), into a volcano (in A journey to the centre of the earth), around the world (in Around the World in Eighty Days) and to many other places.
　　Jules Verne was born in the French city of Nantes in 1828. When he was a boy he ran away from home to work on a ship. However, his father soon found him and brought him home. After that he decided that any future travel he did would be in books. In 1847 his father sent Jules to Paris to study to be a lawyer. Even though he was busy writing, Verne passed his exams in 1849 with high marks.
　　When Jules told his father he did not want to be a lawyer, his father was very angry. He stopped sending his son any money, so Jules had to earn a living by his writing. Over the next few years he wrote many stories and plays, which brought him only a little money. Then, in 1856, he met Honorine de Viane, a rich, young widow with two children. The couple married the next year.
After his marriage, Verne worked as a businessman in Paris. However, he was not very successful at his job and spent most of his time writing books and doing research for the next one. In 1863 he published his novel Five Weeks in a balloon and the following year he published A Journey to the centre of the earth which made him famous. His books became so popular and earned him so much money that he was able to leave his job and work full time on his writing.
In his Lifetime, Jules Verne wrote more than 50 books and he became a rich man. Many of this imaginative novels have been turned into films.
【小題1】When Jules Verne was brought home by his father, he decided that ________.

A．he would devote himself to writing

B．he would go on more travels in the future

C．he would stop writing about future travels

D．he would do what his father required

【小題2】Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．He was not good at his schoolwork.

B．He went to Paris because he wanted to be a lawyer.

C．His early stories and plays didn’t bring in much money.

D．He got married in 1856.

【小題3】Jules Verne became rich mainly because of his ________.

A．family

B．marriage

C．business

D．writing

【小題4】Which book can be considered as a turning point in Jules Verne’s life?
A. From the Earth to the Moon.
B. Five Weeks in a Balloon.
C. A Journey to the Center of the Earth.
D. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
【小題5】Which can we infer from the passage?

A．Jules Verne’s stories and plays were liked by film makers.

B．Jules Verne was not clever enough to learn law.

C．Jules Verne’s wife helped him a lot in his writing career.

D．Jules Verne’s stories and plays made him famous in the 1850s.

In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.C., the Qin army launched a more serious attack upon the State of Wei than ever. The king of the State of Wei gathered his officials, and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars, the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of resistance.
At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counselor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said, "Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all. It is just because they are afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of Qin, but it will never stop attacking us until our land is totally given away."
He added,“Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. Isn't it similar to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?”
Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. As might be expected, the Qin army attacked the State of Wei in 225 B.C. again, surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes (堤防) of the Huanghe River. The State of Wei was finally destroyed.
【小題1】When asked how to defeat the Qin army, most officials _______.

A．were scared and at a loss what to do

B．looked worried and turned to Su Dai for help

C．a(chǎn)sked a large enemy force to bear down upon the border

D．were extremely frightened and decided to give up fighting back

【小題2】The underlined phrase“sue for”in Paragraph 2 probably means _______.

A．demand

B．beg for

C．search for

D．negotiate for

【小題3】Su Dai used the example of“carrying faggots to put out a fire”to show _______.

A．the ambition of the State of Qin	B．the serious results of giving in
C．the loss of the land of the State of Wei	D．the trembling consequences of defense

【小題4】The story is mainly developed by _______.

A．time

B．logic

C．making comparison

D．cause and effect

【小題5】The attitude of the writer towards Su Dai is _______.

A．a(chǎn)pproval

B．praise

C．neutral

D．disapproval

Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favourite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park,” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”
Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat（節(jié)拍）. Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.
By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his colour pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room，but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realised that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare centre (日托所）.“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife’s away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.
【小題1】When his wife left home. Brad expected to          .

A．go out for a walk in the park

B．watch TV talk show with his children

C．enjoy his first day off work

D．read the newspaper to his children

【小題2】Which of the following did Randy do?

A．Drawing on the wall	B．Eating apple jam
C．Feeding the fish.	D．Reading in a room

【小題3】Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?

A．Because he wanted to clean up his house.

B．Because he suddenly had to go to his office

C．Because he found it hard to manage his boys home.

D．Because he had to take his wife back

【小題4】This text is developed          .

A．by space

B．by comparison

C．by process

D．by time