It was the old lady’s eightieth birthday. She was sure Myra wouldn’t forget her mother’s birthday, even if she was busy. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Perhaps Myra might come. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was sure of that. Two spots of colour brightened her cheeks. She was excited like a child.
Mrs. Morrison had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. Johnnie, the little boy next door, was now up with her with a packe
t of sweets.
“I guess you’ll get lots and lots of presents, ” he said. “I did last week when I was six.”
What would she like? A pair of slippers, perhaps. A blue new cardigan(羊毛衫). Or a table lamp. Or a little clock, with clear black numbers. So many lovely things.
She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast. Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate.
“Granny, granny, ” Johnnie returned. “I’ve got your post!”
He gave her four envelopes. Three were from old friends. The fourth was in Myra’s writing.
“No parcel(包裹), Johnnie?”
“No, granny.”
Almost reluctantly, she tore the fourth envelope open. Folded in the card was a check. Written on the card was a message: Happy Birthday—Buy yourself something nice with the check, Myra and Harold.
The six-figure check fell to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up. Her present, her lovely present. With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits.As can be inferred from the passage, _______.
| A．the old lady lived alone in a flat away from her daughter |
| B．the friends sent the old lady many lovely presents by post |
| C．Myra was stopped by her husband from seeing her mother |
| D．the neighbours cared little about the old lady in daily life |
The old lady expected her daughter most __________.
| A．to send her a present. | B．to send her a check. |
| C．to come back home to celebrate her birthday. | D．not to return home. |
The old lady felt _______ when she saw no parcel came with her daughter’s card.
| A．excited | B．happy | C．disappointed | D．impatient |
Which of the following might serve as the best title for the passage?
| A．The Present | B．The Check | C．The Birthday | D．The Daughter |
The reason why the old lady tore the check into small pieces was that _______.
| A．she was sure her daughter would come, not the check |
| B．she didn’t notice there were six figures on the check |
| C．she didn’t think the check was large enough for a present |
| D．she would prefer a present with love from her daughter |
An American woman Anna Jarvis was the first person to decide the mothers should have a holiday in their honor each year. Miss Jarvis started her campaign in 1906 in her home city Philadelphia. She wrote thousands of letters to congressmen(国会议员), city officials, teachers and newspaper publishers, proposing an official holiday for mothers. She traveled all over America, trying to get support for the idea. Her battle went on for years.
In 1914, the Congress declared the second Sunday in May each year as Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis wanted Mother's Day to be a simple event. She thought children could honor their mothers by spending some time with them as an act of love and respect. However, the holiday turned out to be a major event for department stores, flower shops and greetingcard industry, which Miss Jarvis didn't like.
Americans spend millions of dollars on gifts for their mothers on this day. Younger children often try to prepare and serve breakfast for their mothers. Fathers may offer to take care of children so that mothers can enjoy themselves. The holiday becomes an important time for family gathering.What can be inferred from the text is that ________.
| A．the Congress didn't accept Anna's suggestion until the whole country supported her |
| B．the battle lasted 8 years |
| C．Jarvis didn't enjoy the usual way Americans spend Mother's Day |
| D．Mother's Day is an important day for Americans |
Miss Jarvis proposed Mother's Day in order that people could show their love and respect to their mothers ________.
| A．by spending some time with them |
| B．by offering them precious gifts |
| C．by eating in restaurants together |
| D．by taking children for them |
On Mother's Day ________.
| A．all women, young and old, receive gifts |
| B．families gather together |
| C．all people stay at home |
| D．no one goes to work |
Miss Jarvis proposed Mother's Day, but she didn't like ________.
| A．flower shops selling flowers |
| B．department stores earning money from greetingcards |
| C．greetingcard industry |
| D．the way people spend Mother's Day |
Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take，for example，the story of one 10－year－old boy who decided to study judo(柔道) despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well，so he couldn't understand why，after three months of training，the master had taught him only one move.
“Sensei，” the boy finally said，“shouldn't I be learning more moves？” “This is the only move you know，but this is the only move you'll ever need to know，” the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding，but believing in his teacher，the boy kept training. Several months later，the sensei took the boy to his first tournament(锦标赛，联赛)．Surprising himself，the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult，but after some time，his opponent became impatient and charged；the boy deftly(熟练地) used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success，the boy was now in the finals.
This time，his opponent was bigger，stronger，and more experienced. For a while，the boy appeared to be defeated. Concerned that the boy might get hurt，the referee called a time out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No，” the sensei insisted，“let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed，his opponent made a big mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly，the boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home，the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy gathered the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei，how did I win the tournament with only one move? ”“You won for two reasons，” the sensei answered. “First，you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second，the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm. ”The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．No pains no gains. |
| B．Weakness can become strength. |
| C．Where there is a will there is a way. |
| D．A great judo master. |
According to the second paragraph the boy was ______ with his teacher.
| A．satisfied | B．pleased |
| C．unsatisfied | D．careful |
Why did the referee call a timeout in the finals?
| A．Because he thought the boy would be the loser definitely. |
| B．Because he thought the boy would give up. |
| C．Because he dropped his guard. |
| D．Because he was experienced. |
In the last paragraph the author wanted to tell us ______．
| A．who was the champion |
| B．the reason why the boy won every match |
| C．the sensei was very excellent |
| D．the boy was very courageous |
Anger and other strong emotions (情感) can probably cause deadly heart beats in certain weak people，the US researchers said on Monday.
Earlier studies have shown that earthquake，war or even the loss of a World Cup Soccer game can increase chances of death from sudden cardiac arrest，in which the heart stops passing blood.
“It’s certainly been shown in all different ways that when you put people under pressure，sudden death will increase，” said Dr.Rachel Lampert of Yale University in New Haven，Connecticut.
“Our study starts to look at how this really has an effect on the electrical system of the heart，” Lampert said.
She and her assistants studied 62 patients with heart disease and ICDs that can discover dangerous heart beats and send an electrical shock to bring a normal heart beat back.
Patients in the study took part in an exercise in which they told a recent angry period while Lampert’s team did a test called TWave Alternant that measures electrical instability(不稳定性) in the heart.
Lampert said the team on purpose asked questions to get people to experience the angry period again.“We found in the lab that yes，anger did increase this electrical instability in these patients，” she said.
Next，they followed patients for three years to see which patients later had a cardiac arrest and needed a shock from their ICDs.“The people who had the highest anger were 10 times more likely than everyone else to have cardiac arrest，” she said.
Lampert said the study suggests that anger can be deadly，at least for people who are already weak to this type of electrical disorder in the heart.From the passage we know cardiac arrest refers to ________.
| A．someone who will be caught if he does something wrong |
| B．some place where you can show all your feelings |
| C．some disease that can kill people instantly |
| D．something used by patients in hospital |
The underlined word “this” in Paragraph 4 refers to “________”．
| A．feelings of anger and pressure |
| B．games |
| C．feelings of happiness |
| D．hunger |
What did Lampert use to measure electrical instability of patients’ heart?
| A．ICD and TWave Alternant test. |
| B．ICD and Cardic arrest. |
| C．Cardiac arrest. |
| D．The passage doesn’t tell us. |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．new findings for heart disease |
| B．that anger really can kill a person |
| C．a new test of measuring heart blood |
| D．a study showing danger of heart beats |
Recently a man came to me，because he was told that there was fluid around his heart. After trying many drugs which were of no use to reduce the fluid，he was told the only other choice was to have an operation. He refused because he knew that every illness has a mental cause and that if he had the operation but did not clear the mental cause，the fluid would return. At last，he searched the Internet to find a metaphysical healer (自然力治疗师)，and he found me.
The mental cause of his disease was an experience of breaking up five years ago with several friends，whom he had known for over twenty years. This experience broke his heart. Not knowing how to “mend” his broken heart，his body created a “repair” by surrounding his heart with fluid to protect it from the sad feelings.
Our work focused on reminding him of the feelings of being loved and forgiving his friends. Months later，his heart was mended and the fluid disappeared. He left my office after the final session with a smile on his face and a spring in his steps.
The key is: to create a healthy body，you must be healthy not only in body，but also in mind.
To be mentally healthy，you need to build up strong relationships. Creating strong relationships will insure that you are accompanied by a network of loving persons. It is important for building a support system that boosts your spirits. Even when you are alone，you will not feel lonely or upset. Strong relationships are not spaceships－they are not hard to build.The underlined word “boosts” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．controls |
| B．guides |
| C．lifts |
| D．affects |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Loving others will keep you in good spirits. |
| B．Heart illness can be cured without operation. |
| C．Creating strong relationships will keep you healthy. |
| D．Spiritual health is necessary for physical health. |
Which of the following views may the writer agree with?
| A．Old friendship is easy to lose. |
| B．A good friendship is a useful medicine. |
| C．The best doctor is your own body. |
| D．It needs many efforts to build relationships. |
If this passage is continued with another paragraph，what would it be probably about?
| A．How to build strong relationships. |
| B．How to protect your heart. |
| C．How to keep mentally healthy. |
| D．How to live a healthy life. |
When my mom and dad said that we could adopt a couple of cats，I jumped at the chance to have some lovely animals around the house. So we went to the Humane Society where there were a lot of animals up for adoption. The first thing I noticed was that there was not a lot of room for the animals and not a lot of supplies to care for them. Even though they didn’t have much，the people who worked there tried to care about the animals. Still，it seemed they had no enough food and medicine to keep the animals healthy.
My family and I finally decided to adopt two cats we named Sox and Sierra. We went up to the front desk to sign the papers for them，and that’s when I noticed a box on the counter. The Humane Society was hoping to get enough donations to buy more supplies for the animals and also build a new building to help more animals.
Later that day my mom and I went shopping，and as we were walking through the parking lot at the store，I noticed a green piece of paper not far from our car. It was kind of wet，but it looked like it could be a dollar bill，so I walked over and picked it up. It wasn’t a dollar bill－it was a twenty-dollar bill!
When I got home，I dried it off and thought about what to do with it. I considered spending it on a toy and a lot of other things. Right then，Sox climbed up onto my lap，and I knew what I was going to do with the money.
I asked my mom to take me back to the Humane Society so that I could put the money in the donation box. The lady at the counter thanked me，and I felt really good about what I did.When knowing they would have a couple of cats，the author felt ________.
| A．annoyed |
| B．excited |
| C．angry |
| D．astonished |
What can we know from the first paragraph?
| A．How wealthy the writer’s family was. |
| B．How people helped the Humane Society with the money animals. |
| C．The living conditions of the animals in the Humane Society. |
| D．The great efforts people working in the Humane Society made. |
Where did the author find a twenty-dollar bill?
| A．In the park. |
| B．On the way back home. |
| C．At the parking lot. |
| D．At the gate of the Humane Society. |
How did the author deal with the money she found?
| A．She spent it on some books. |
| B．She bought some toys with it. |
| C．She returned it to the one who lost it. |
| D．She gave it to the Humane Society. |