A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin （顽童） was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked．
Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated．
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He wished he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．
“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that．” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh yes, I’d love that．”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked．
He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled （残疾） brother．He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car．
“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent．And some day I’m going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about．”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．The street urchin was very surprised when __________．
| A．he saw the shining car |
| B．Paul told him about the car |
| C．he was walking around the car |
| D．Paul received an expensive car |
From the story we know that the urchin __________．
| A．wished to give his brother a car |
| B．wished Paul’s brother to give him a car |
| C．wished Paul could be a brother like that |
| D．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s |
The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______．
| A．to show he had a rich friend |
| B．to show his neighbors the car |
| C．to let his brother ride in the car |
| D．to tell his brother about his wish |
We can infer from the story that __________．
| A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin |
| B．the urchin’s wish came true in the end |
| C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother |
| D．the urchin had a deep love for his brother |
The best title for the story probably is __________．
| A．A Christmas Present | B．A Street Urchin |
| C．A Brother Like That | D．An Unforgettable Ride |
Michael Fish may soon be replaced as a weather forecaster by something truly fishier---the shark(鲨鱼).
Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.
Lauren Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure. If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behavior of sharks to predict bad weather.
Miss Smith had previously studied the behaviour of lemon sharks in the Bahamas.
She then used their close relatives, lesser spotted dogfish, for further research at Aberdeen University. Her work---thought to be the first of its kind to test the pressure theory ---- resulted from the observation that juvenile blacktip sharks off Florida moved into deeper water ahead of a violent storm in 2001.
Miss Smith said: “I’ve always been crazy about traveling and diving and this led me to an interest in sharks.”
“I was delighted to have been able to research in the area for my degree. I know there’s so much more we need to understand ---- but it certainly opens the way to more research.”
It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system.
At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.
In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal(潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish----none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic(模拟) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts.
She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research.The passage is most probably taken from _____.
| A．a short-story collection | B．a popular science magazine |
| C．a research paper | D．a personal diary |
What do we learn from the first four paragraph of the passage?
| A．Sharks may be used to predict bad weather . |
| B．Sharks’ behaviour can be controlled. |
| C．Michael Fish is not qualified for his job. |
| D．Lauren Smith will become a weather forecaster. |
Lauren Smith conducted her research by _______.
| A．removing hair cells from a shark’s balance system |
| B．measuring the air pressure of weather fronts |
| C．recording sharks’ body temperature |
| D．monitoring sharks’ reaction to weather changes |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A popular way of forecasting weather. |
| B．A new research effort in predicting storms. |
| C．Biologists’ interest in the secrets of sharks. |
| D．Lauren Smith’s devotion to scientific research. |
Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.
In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”
“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”
Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?
| A．She had seven brothers. | B．She felt herself a nobody. |
| C．She was too shy to go to school. | D．She did not have any good teachers. |
The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.
| A．work for a school magazine | B．run away from her family |
| C．make a lot of friends | D．develop her writing style |
According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?
| A．Her early years in college. | B．Her training in the Workshop. |
| C．Her feeling of being different. | D．Her childhood experience. |
What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?
| A．It is quite popular among students. |
| B．It is the only book ever written by Cisneros. |
| C．It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish. |
| D．It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine. |
Mrs. Keller had a big family .Her husband had a factory in the town .One of her sons was a lawyer and the other two were drivers .And her two daughters worked in the post office .The old woman stayed at home and could do all housework and wouldn’t employ anybody .
One evening ,the telephone rang while the old woman was preparing supper .She went to answer it .She was told that one of her sons died in a traffic accident .She heard this and fell in a faint .When she came back to life ,she was in hospital .And she needed to be helped after that .
Several months later she was told on the telephone her daughter died while she was being operated on .The old woman was so sad that she had to be in hospital again .From then on she was afraid to answer any telephones and sometimes she was afraid to hear the bell .Of course it brought them some trouble and some important business was held up .So her husband advised her to see a psychiatrist .The man examined her carefully and then asked her some questions.
“You will soon be all right if you follow my advice ,Mrs. Keller” said the psychiatrist.
The old woman took the medicine the doctor gave on time and tried to forget her dead son and daughter .And two months later she went to see the psychiatrist again .
“You have saved me, Doctor ,”the old woman said ,as soon as she saw him .
“Are you afraid to answer the telephone now?”
“No,” answered Keller .
“I dare answer it whether it rings or not ”Mrs Keller could do all housework because ______.
| A．she had no money to employ a helper. | B．she was strong enough to do all at home |
| C．she didn’t believe anybody | D．only she was free at home |
The old woman fell in a faint because _____
| A．she went to answer the telephone. | B．she was very ill that evening |
| C．she walked in the room carelessly | D．she heard the news about her son’s death. |
After she came out of hospital , Mrs Keller wasn’t ___as before .
| A．strong | B．able | C．clever | D．sad |
"I've changed my mind．I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my daddy back．" Lucien Lawrence's letter to Father Christmas, written after his schoolteacher father had been knifed to death outside his school gale, must have touched every heart．Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn't see the stars in the sky．When those whom we love depart from us, we cannot see the stare for a while．
But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again．And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father is there too, in your mind and in your heart．I find that my parents, long dead now, still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than 1 ever did when they were alive．I still live to please them and I'm still surprised by their reactions．I remember that when I became a professor,! was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself, that I couldn't wait to call my parents．The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all Mother said was "I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!" I haven't forgotten．The values of my parents still live on．
It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care．Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors （挑衅者）, and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas'' It's a serious thought, one to give me pause．
I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet " Deliver my soul from the sword（剑）, and my darling from the power of the dog．" Yet I know the death comes to us all,
and sometimes comes suddenly．We must therefore plan to live forever, but live as if we will die
tomorrow．We live on, I'm sure, in the lives of those we loved．and therefore we ought to have a care
for what they will remember and what they will treasure．If more parents knew this in their hearts to
be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today．According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ______．
| A．puts forward the subject of the text |
| B．shows the author's pity on the kid |
| C．acts as an introduction to the discussion |
| D．makes a clear statement of the author's views |
In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us ______．
| A．how much he misses his parents now |
| B．why his parents often appear in his dream |
| C．when Lucien will get over all his sadness |
| D．how proud he was when he succeeded in life |
What feeling did the author's mother express in her reply?
| A．Proud． | B．Happy． | C．Disappointed． | D．Worried |
In the author's opinion, the value of a person's life is ______．
| A．to leave behind a precious memory to the people related |
| B．to have a high sense of duty to the whole society |
| C．to care what others will remember and treasure |
| D．to share happiness and sadness with his family |
What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?
| A．Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns． |
| B．Advise parents stay with their children safely at home． |
| C．Spend every day meaningfully in memory of the death． |
| D．Try to keep violence and murder far away from society． |
GREENWICH—Recently, a group of concerned Greenwich residents gathered to discuss how they could help those who may be alone during the holiday season．Armed with plenty of ideas and a sincere desire to do good, this group now refers to themselves as "A Random Act of Kindness"．As members of this group, we are to put together a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day that will provide a free meal to those who are alone or can't provide for themselves．This task will require many resources to make it successful．We are gathering a small army of volunteers to devote their time to helping prepare, cook, serve, clean, organize and promote this event．We hope that you can help us．The following is what we have planned to do;
·A 2 - hour free dinner that will take place at the Greenwich VFW with 2 seatings, one from 1 p．m．to 2 p．m．and the other from 2: 30 p．m．to 3: 30 p．m．by reservation only on Thanksgiving Day.
·Amy McPhail and Julie Carroll are accepting names of volunteers as well as food donations for the cause; Amy can be contacted （联络） at 692 -7841 for donations and Julie can be contacted if you'd like to volunteer at 884 -0658．
·A bank account has been created through Glens Falls National Bank to accept money donations and checks can be made payable to "A Random Act of Kindness" and sent to Glens Falls National Bank c/o Dan Flynn．
·Ellen Pemrick （ Caterer） ．Beth Anthony （ Beth's Cafe） and David Hughes （Glens Falls Hospital） will be consulted to make sure the highest quality of food can be served．
·We are looking to serve between 150 and 250 people at this event．We are serving the following: turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie．Beverages will include: milk, water, coffee & apple cider．
If you are interested in donating any of the above items, please drop off your donations at the VFW in Greenwich any evening between November 14 and November 24．If you have any problems dropping any items off during that time, please contact George Perkins at either 692 -2367 or 573 -8115．Any non-perishable food donalions not used for the dinner will be donated to the local Greenwich Food Pantry．
Any help you can provide for us would be gready appreciated．Everyone's generosity to the Greenwich community and its residents is very much appreciated．Reservations for dinner are now being accepted by calling Pal Perkins at 692 -2367 until November 13．If you want to be a volunteer for this Thanksgiving dinner, you may call _____．
| A．884-0658 | B．692-2367 | C．573-8115 | D．692-7841 |
How many people will probably be served at the Thanksgiving dinner?
| A．500． | B．400． | C．300． | D．200． |
Which of the following will be included in the dinner?
| A．Apples and milk． | B．Pumpkins and water． |
| C．Coffee and stuffing rolls． | D．Potatoes and cranberry pie． |
As a volunteer for this Thanksgiving dinner, you can ______．
| A．contact Julie to make sure of the quality of food |
| B．help make some arrangements for this event |
| C．drop off your donations at the VFW anytime |
| D．donate some money to Glens Falls National Bank |
The purpose of this passage is to _____．
| A．describe a Thanksgiving celebration |
| B．introduce a Thanksgiving volunteer group |
| C．call on people to participate in a Thanksgiving event |
| D．persuade people to donate for a Thanksgiving dinner |