The Doll and the White Rose
I was walking around in a mall, when I saw a cashier hand this little boy some money back．The cashier said, "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll．”The little boy seemed very disappointed．
I walked toward him and asked him who he wished to give this doll to. "It's the doll that my sister wanted so much for Christmas．She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her. But Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there．"His eyes were so sad．"My sister has gone to be with God．Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister."
My heart nearly stopped．The little boy looked up at me and continued, "I told Daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall."
I quickly reached for my wallet and said," Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll．"
"OK, I hope I do have enough," he said．I put some of my money with his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money．
Surprisingly, the little boy cried, "Thank you God for giving me enough money!" Then he looked at me and added, "I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that Mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much．But he gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose ! "
Then I remembered two days before a local newspaper reported an accident in which a woman and a little girl were badly injured．The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state．Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after I met the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the woman had passed away．I couldn't stop myself from going to the funeral. Teary-eyed, I felt that my life had been changed forever．The boy wanted to buy the doll because____________．
| A．he had always been eager for such a doll |
| B．Santa Claus didn't give him any Christmas gift |
| C．he would give it to his mother as a birthday surprise |
| D．he wanted to turn his sister's Christmas wish into reality |
We can learn from the story that__________．
| A．the boy's sister died after staying in hospital for two weeks |
| B．the boy's family were all seriously injured in a car accident |
| C．the author gave the boy some extra money without his notice |
| D．the boy's mother always wished to receive a white rose on Christmas |
The story most probably conveys the message that ．
| A．a kind act can bring joy and hope to others |
| B．a gift is a perfect way to express love for others |
| C．losing a family member is a heavy blow to children |
| D．a religiou s belief can help one solve problems in his life |
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choice in life.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I would live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is my doctors' code for preparing yourself to die.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. I was completely in despair. Later that evening, I had another examination and my wife told me that tumor turned to be curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I' m fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death. To tell the truth, no one wants to die. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. It clears out the old to make room for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
Your time is so limited that you shouldn't waste it repeating someone else's life. Don' t be trapped by dogma（教条）— which is living with the results of other people' s thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart. It somehow already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.The doctor advised the author to go home and get his affairs in order because ______.
| A．he had to rest at home |
| B．his disease couldn't be cured |
| C．his disease was not serious at all |
| D．he had to wait for the result of the test |
What does the author think of death?
| A．He thinks it is impossible to avoid. |
| B．He thinks it is not the end of life. |
| C．He thinks it is nothing to be scared of. |
| D．He thinks it is the beginning of a new life. |
In the author's opinion, we should ______.
| A．follow others' advice | B．take no notice of diseases |
| C．take exercise and keep healthy | D．have the courage to follow our heart |
What does the underlined word “encountered” in paragraph 2 mean?
| A．came across | B．dealt with | C．survived | D．supported |
Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids to? Try some of these places:
. Visit art museums. They offer a variety of activities to excite your kids' interest. Many offer workshops for making hand-made pieces, traveling exhibits, book signings(签名) by children's favorite writers, and even musical performances and other arts.
. Head to a natural history museum. This is where kids can discover the past from dinosaur models to rock collections and pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops and educational programs are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.
. Go to a Youth theater. Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops are conducted by area artists and educators where kids can discover the secret about performing arts. Puppet (木偶) making and stage make-up are just a couple of the special offerings you might find.
.Try hands-on science. Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through while pushing buttons, experimenting, and building. When everyone is tired, enjoy a fun family science show, commonly found in these museums.If a child is interested in the universe, he probably will visit
| A．a Youth theater | B．an art museum |
| C．a natural history museum | D．a hands-on science museum |
What can kids do at a Youth theater?
| A．Look at rock collections. | B．See dinosaur models. |
| C．Watch puppet making. | D．Give performances. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A science textbook. | B．A tourist map. |
| C．A museum guide. | D．A news report. |
A new generation addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism ,a twentiethcentury disease, affects people from different ages. They surf the net, use email and speak in chatrooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannotstop, and it affects their lives.
Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. Thisobsessionalbehavior hasaffected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log on computers and spend longhours at different websites.
They become hooked on computers and gradually their social and school life is affectedby this situation.They spend all free time surfing and don't concentrate on homework,so this addiction influences their grades and success at school. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends.The relation with theirfriends changes.The virtual life becomes more important than their real life.They have a newlanguage that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society.
Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from the society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who theyhave never met in their life. Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real live friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect all the world.The main idea of the passage is about ____________．
| A．the cause of weboholism | B．the advantage of weboholism |
| C．the popularity of weboholism | D．the influence of weboholism |
The underlined word “obsessional” in the second paragraph most probably means _______．
| A．attractive | B．addictive | C．professional | D．potential |
We can infer from the passage that __________．
| A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers |
| B．students can hardly balance real and virtual life |
| C．people are addicted to games on the Internet |
| D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive anyway |
Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?
| A．It contributes to the development of the web． |
| B．The chat room language may change social culture． |
| C．The problem will be getting more and more serious later． |
| D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life． |
The author's attitude towards weboholism is that of being________.
| A．optimistic | B．positive | C．negative | D．acceptable |
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it？Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power？Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words，you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think，feel，or only partly understand. Often，explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words，you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power”.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many，if not most，highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head，but if you keep a journal(日志)of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project，you’ll probably have more success.
Want to understand a topic？Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example，but if you are learning something new，write a letter to a friend about it，and you will understand it better. Want to invent something？Write an explanation of the problem—why you want to solve it，and why it is worth solving，and you’re halfway there.
Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand. Often，they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Way on How to Write |
| B．Increase Your Brain Power Through Writing |
| C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing |
| D．How to Start Your Writing |
According to the passage，writing can help you a lot except________.
| A．to increase your brain power |
| B．to improve the ability to remember |
| C．to develop your interest in study |
| D．to strengthen the understanding of a topic |
If a writer writes something，it means that he or she________.
| A．has understood it very well |
| B．needs to understand it better |
| C．wants to remember it in his or her mind |
| D．is testing his or her new ideas |
The underlined sentence“you’re halfway there”in the fourth paragraph means that________.
| A．you are already successful |
| B．there’s a long way for you to go to reach your goal |
| C．you are left wondering what to do |
| D．you have been on the way to success |
To me，life without music would not be exciting.I realize that this is not true for everybody.Many people get along quite well without going to the concert，and listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone’s life，whether he realizes it or not.Try to imagine，for example，what films or TV plays would be like without music.Would the feelings，the moving plot，and the greatest interests，be so interesting or dramatic? I’m not sure about it.
Now we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning—the kind of music we hear in the concert hall.We discover them in our everyday life too—in the rhythm of the sea，the melody of a bird in the woods and so on.So music surely has meaning for everyone，in some way or other. And，of course，it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.
It is well said，“Through music a child enters a world of beauty，expresses himself from his heart，feels the joy of doing things alone，learns to take care of others，develops his mind and makes his body strong.”From the text, we learn that many people .
| A．don’t realize the importance of music |
| B．get along quite well without music |
| C．go to the concert instead of enjoying music |
| D．think music would be less exciting than moving plot |
In the writer’s opinion，if there was no music in the films or TV plays，_______.
| A．the cinema and theatre would be quiet |
| B．we would lose some of the audience |
| C．everything would be as exciting as before |
| D．it would be hard to imagine the result |
The underlined word “melody” in the second paragraph means “______”.
| A．flying | B．looking | C．singing | D．living |