It was a winter morning， just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars， Trevor， my husband， had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival， he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor， he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike， a black Kona 18 speed， was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work， putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries （食品杂货）， saving us from having to walk along long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that， several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike， then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another， but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity （人性） as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we， too， can share with others. No matter how big or how small， an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.
1. Why was the bike so important to the couple？
A. They used it for work and daily life. B. It was their only possession(财产).
C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed. D. The man‘s job was bike racing.
2. We can infer from the passage that __________.
A. the couple worked 60 hours a week B. people were busy before Christmas
C. the stranger brought over the bike D. life was hard for the young family
3. How did people get to know the couple‘s problem？
A. From a stranger. B. From a newspaper.
C. From TV news D. From radio broadcasts.
4. What do the couple learn from their experience？
A. Strangers are usually of little help. B. One should take care of their bike.
C. News reports make people famous. D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.
5. From this story， we can see humanity is __________.
A. selfish B. commercial C. kind D. cold-hearted
The worst earthquake in 40 years shook South Asia on Sunday, starting with horrible waves that swept entire villages into the sea. At least 20,000 people in six countries were killed in the disaster, and millions were left homeless.
The quake shook deep beneath the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was felt more than 3000 miles away in East Africa, where heavy tides kept fishermen at home and resorts（度假胜地）closed.
It was as if the sea had struck the land. Residents of Sri Lanka, a small island country off the coast of India, ran to the hills to find safety from the tsunami. Many took their radios, televisions, and other valuables with them. The disaster hit Sri Lanka hardest. Of its 20million people, 1 million lost their homes, and 10000 died.
“The water simply raised itself up and huge waves came ashore,” wrote eye-witness（目击者）Peter Thomas from India. “It was moving very fast. The force broke the glass walls of a restaurant on the beach here and damaged hundreds of boats.”
In some places, the tsunami struck with no warning. “The weather was fine with no clouds,” wrote an eye-witness in Indonesia. “Suddenly the seawater just hit the city. In some parts the water was up to chest level.”
A massive（大众的）effort to help the affected countries is already underway. Leaders from around the world have promised to help, and teams of aid workers and doctors are rushing to the sea. “The United States stands ready to offer all the help to those nations most affected.” Said White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Organizations from the Red Cross to the International Monetary Fund have started fund-raising（筹款）drives to make up the costs of rebuilding. The underlined word “tsunami” in Paragraph 5 can probably be replaced by “__________.”
| A．fierce wind | B．heavy rain | C．terrible storm | D．large waves |
Which of the following is NOT true when this disaster happened?
| A．A sudden storm started with thunder and lightning. |
| B．The seawater rose suddenly and flooded the land. |
| C．Huge waves came upon the land, damaging the buildings and boats. |
| D．The sea struck the land, causing heavy losses. |
In the last paragraph, the writer mainly states __________.
| A．lack of help | B．international efforts |
| C．the fighting against the disaster | D．the result of disasters |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Tens of Thousands of People Are in Danger |
| B．Storm Caused Disasters in South Asia |
| C．Terrible Quake Hits South Asia |
| D．International Aid for South Asia |
Where would you probably see this passage?
| A．In a textbook. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a travel guide. | D．In a dictionary. |
When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called “Brownie”. My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.
One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up（咬破）one of Dad’s shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.
Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she’d let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we’d be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked（吠）or tried to get away. Funny thing is she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.
Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss days when she was with us. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?
| A．Look at them sadly. | B．Keep them company. |
| C．Play games with them. | D．Touch them gently. |
We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie __________.
| A．would eat anything when hungry | B．felt sorry for her mistake |
| C．loved playing hide-and-seek | D．disliked the author’s dad |
Why does the author say that Brownie was more than just a family pet?
| A．She was treated as a member of the family. |
| B．She played games with anyone she liked. |
| C．She was loved by everybody she met. |
| D．She went everywhere with the family. |
Some people got frightened by Brownie when she __________.
| A．smiled | B．barked | C．rushed to them | D．tried to be funny |
Which of the following best describes Brownie?
| A．Shy | B．Polite | C．Brave | D．Caring |
The story I am going to tell you happened about three years ago when I started to learn how to drive. At first, I was very frightened, and I thought I could never learn how to drive a car. Driving a car frightened me because in my home country women never drive, but in the United States every woman has to know how to drive. My husband paid an instructor to teach me how to drive. After that, my husband practiced with me for a long time. My husband always told me that I had to learn. It was important to me and my family.
However, I couldn’t get my license right away. I failed my driving test two times. After practicing for a long time, I decided to go for my third driving test. I had failed my first test because I was very nervous. Everybody encouraged me to continue practicing. Three weeks later, I decided to try it again, but I failed again. After that, I was very embarrassed（困窘的）, and I said I couldn’t get it, so I stopped practicing for a while.
Not knowing how to drive was bad because I couldn’t do anything. I had two kids, my husband works, and I have to take care of everything. Driving was so necessary that I decided to try it again. And finally, that time, I passed the test. Now I have my license. I know how to drive, and it has changed my life in some important ways. Now I’m driving to the college, learning English and hoping I will get a good job in the future.Why did the author think that she could never learn how to drive a car?
| A．Because she was not an American woman. |
| B．Because she was afraid of a car or a bus. |
| C．Because in her own country women never drive. |
| D．Because her husband didn’t know how to teach her. |
The underlined word “instructor” in the first paragraph probably means __________.
| A．someone who teaches a special skill |
| B．someone who teaches a sport skill |
| C．someone who teaches in an American college |
| D．the information telling you how to drive a car |
How many persons in the author’s family are mentioned except the author herself?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
The passage mainly shows us that the author failed for quite a few times but she never gave up and __________.
| A．she succeeded in driving her car to send her two children |
| B．she succeeded in driving to the college to get a good job |
| C．she succeeded in driving to the college and learned English |
| D．she succeeded in passing driving test and got her license in the end |
The best title of this passage should be “__________”.
| A．My Driving License | B．My Husband and I |
| C．Passing the Test | D．Never Give Up |
It was raining as I got off the train in Nashville, Tennessee. I was tired so I went straight to my hotel.
A big, heavy man was walking up and down in the hotel lobby. Something about the way he moved made me think of a hungry dog looking for a bone. He had a big, fat, red face and a sleepy expression in his eyes. He introduced himself as Wentworth Caswell – Major Wentworth Caswell – from “a fine southern family”. Caswell pulled me into the hotel’s barroom and yelled for a wai
ter. We ordered drinks. While we drank, he talked continually about himself, his family, his wife and her family. He said his wife was rich. He showed me a handful of silver coins that he pulled from his coat pocket.
By this time, I had decided that I wanted no more of him. I said good night.
I was born in the south myself. But I live in New York now. I write for a large magazine. My boss had asked me to go to Nashville. The magazine had received some stories and poems from a writer in Nashville, named Azalea Adair. The editor liked her work very much. The publisher asked me to get her to sign an agreement to write only for his magazine.
I left the hotel at nine o’clock the next morning to find Miss Adair. It was still raining. As soon as I stepped outside I met Uncle Caesar. He was a big, old black man with fuzzy gray hair. Uncle Caesar was wearing the strangest coat I had ever seen. It must have been a military officer’s coat. It was very long and when it was new it had been gray. But now rain, sun and age had made it a rainbow of colors. Only one of the buttons was left. It was yellow and as big as a fifty cent coin.
Uncle Caesar stood near a horse and carriage. He opened the carriage door and said softly, 
“Step right in, sir. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”
“I want to go to 861 Jasmine Street,” I said, and I started to climb into the carriage. But the old man stopped me. “Why do you want to go there, sir?”
“What business is it of yours?” I said angrily. Uncle Caesar relaxed and smiled. “Nothing, sir. But it’s a lonely part of town. Just step in and I’ll take you there right away.”
861 Jasmine Street had been a fine house once, but now it was old and dying. I got out of the carriage.
“That will be two dollars, sir,” Uncle Caesar said. I gave him two one-dollar bills. As I handed them to him, I noticed that one had been torn in half and fixed with a piece of blue paper. Also, the upper right hand corner was missing.The narrator （故事的叙述者）got to Nashville probably _______.
| A．in the morning | B．at noon | C．in the afternoon | D．in the evening |
The narrator didn’t like Caswell mainly because of ________.
| A．his appearance | B．his family | C．the way he talked and behaved | D．his wife |
The publisher told the narrator to go to Nashville ______.
| A．to get a writer to sign an agreement for his magazine |
| B．to collect some stories and poems from a writer |
| C．to look for good writers for his magazine |
| D．to visit his old friend Azalea Adair |
Uncle Caesar’s strange coat ________.
| A．was worn by a military officer |
B．was a new gray coat |
| C．was an old yellow raincoat | D．had only one button left |
From the question “Why do you want to go there, sir?”, we guess that Uncle Caesar _______.
| A．wanted to know why the narrator wanted to go there |
| B．knew the place and was concerned about the narrator |
| C．would charge two dollars for taking the narrator there |
| D．must have lived in the neighbourhood before |
In the 1880s, people drank John Pemberton’s tonic to cure headaches. It wasn’t a very popular drink, and he sold only about a dozen drinks a day. That’s why Pemberton was willing to sell the rights to his medicinal drink. The buyer, Asa Griggs Candler, paid just $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola. Today, Coca-Cola (or Coke) is worth billions of dollars. It controls 50 percent of the world market in soft drinks.
How did Coca-Cola become so popular? One answer is that Asa Candler was a very clever businessman. He was one of the first people to use mass marketing. How did he do this? First, he made his product unique. When he bought the rights to Coca-Cola, it came in ordinary bottles. It looked like every other drink on the market. To make Coca-Cola look different, Candler modernized the bottles. He also made an eye-catching logo for his products. When other companies tried to imitate Coca-Cola’s name, Candler took them to court.
In addition to the unique bottle and logo, Candler spent a lot of time and money advertising his product. He used advertising to make a powerful image of Coca-Cola in the minds of his customers. He gave away free bottles of Coke. He put the name of his drink on pencils, trays, Japanese fans, matches, and many other things. Then he gave the things to people for free. He advertised Coca-Cola in the newspaper and painted the words “Drink Coca-Cola” on the sides of buildings and barns. By 1902, Coca-Cola was the best known product in the United States.
Candler was also able to make memorable advertisements. They often had catchy slogans such as “The Pause That Refreshes.” He also used famous athletes to advertise his product. They helped people to think of Coca-Cola as a delicious drink for everyone.
Today, businesses all over the world use mass marketing, but the makers of Coke were the first. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola from _______.
| A．the inventor of a medicinal drink | B．a well-known businessman |
| C．a doctor | D．a carpenter |
The underlined sentence in paragraph 2 implies that __________.
| A．he invited people from other companies to attend a court ball |
| B．he shared Coca-Cola’s name with other companies after they went back from the court |
| C．he played basketball with people from other companies on the basketball court |
| D．he took legal action to those who wanted to copy Coca-Cola’s name |
Candler used slogans to advertise his product. Slogans are _______.
| A．popular music | B．free products | C．memorable phrases | D．simple things |
By using mass marketing, Asa tried many ways EXCEPT _______.
| A．making Coca-Cola look different |
| B．paying $ 2,300 for the rights to Coca-Cola |
| C．advertising Coca-Cola a powerful image in the minds of the customers |
| D．using famous athletes to advertise his product |
The passage is mainly to _______.
| A．explain that it is easy to use mass marketing |
| B．advice people to spend a lot of money and time on mass marketing |
| C．tell how Asa changes Coca-Cola into a worldwide business by using mass marketing |
| D．describe different ways of using mass marketing |