WTaipeiTheWHotelisamongthecity-优题课

What Is a Boy?
Between the innocence of babyhood and the seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a “boy”. Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males pack them off to bed at night.
Boys are found everywhere – on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to this and that! Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face，BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and the HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.
When you are busy, a boy is a trouble – maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.
A boy is a mixture – he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker, but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.
He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday mornings, and fire engines. He is not much for Sunday schools, company, schools, books without pictures, music lessons, neckties, barbers, girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.
Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, a three-foot rope, six cents and some unknown things.
A boy is a magical creature – he is your headache but when you come home at night with only shattered pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, “Hi, Dad!”
46. The whole passage is in a tone(调子) of _________.
A. humor and love B. respect and harmony
C. ambition and expectation D. confidence and imagination
47. What does the underlined sentence in Para 4 probably mean?
A. He has altogether five fingers. B. He is slow, foolish and clumsy.
C. He becomes clever and smart. D. He cuts his hand with a knife.
48. According to the writer, boys appreciate everything in the following EXCEPT _________.
A. ice cream B. comic books
C. Saturday mornings D. Sunday schools
49. What does the writer feel about boyhood?
A. Curious. B. Tiring. C. Delightful. D. Unsafe
50. The writer is probably __________________________.
A. a cheerful young bachelor B. a keenly observant father
C. an appreciative fond mother D. a spoiled naughty kid

III 阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Valentine’s Day has its origins in the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia, a yearly festival held on Feb. 15 to help keep dangerous wolves away from townspeople and their crops. On the eve of the festival, Feb. 14, the young women of the town would write their names on small pieces of paper, put them in a jar, and every young man would pick out a name at random. The pair would then be partners for the rest of the festival.
It was 270 B.C. when St. Valentine stood up for love, after Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade Roman soldiers to get engaged or married, believing that married men would rather stay at home than go to war. The priest named Valentine, in defiance(对抗) of Claudius’ orders, secretly married young couples, and on Feb. 14, was punished for his “crime”, thereby becoming the patron saint（守护神） of lovers.
Besides this story, there are some old beliefs about this day:
During the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that birds chose their mates each year on Feb. 14.
Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin fly overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor; if she saw a sparrow, she’d marry a millionaire.
If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will know how many children you will have.
And some charming Valentine’s Day Customs.
In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on Feb. 14.
Heart, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations, which meant “you unlock my heart!”
In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They’d wear these names on their sleeves for one week—hence the term “to wear your heart on your sleeve”.
41.According to the story, Valentine was originally the name of a ________.
A. lover B. priest C. ruler D. feast
42. The Roman emperor forbade soldiers to get married because he thought .
A. married soldiers are not loyal to the country
B. married soldiers are less willing to fight
C. there was no time for soldiers to get married
D. marriage is a crime
43. Why was the priest punished?
He didn’t join the army.
He helped people escape from being sent to the battle field.
He married couples despite the prohibition from the ruler.
He openly defied the ruler’s order to end his marriage.
44. Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?
Feb. 14 and 15 were originally a time for keeping wolves.
People used to believe that birds chose mates on Valentine’s Day.
People believed that the birds they saw on Valentine’s Day predicted what kind of person they would marry.
D. The Welsh used to give out wooden spoons on Feb.14.
45. If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you _________________.
A. openly express your feelings or emotions to others.
B. hardly take your feelings or emotions very seriously.
C. officially announce that you have been married
D. proudly show your choice of sleeve pattern

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own．My mother was one of those people．
My father died when I was one-year-old．While I was growing up, we led a very hard life, but my mom gave me a lot of love．Each night, she seated me on her lap and, spoke the words that would change my life, "Kemmons, you are sure to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it．"
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said that I would never walk again．Every night my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me whatever those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to．She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her．A year later, I walked on my own to school!
When the Great Depression broke out, my mother lost her job．Then I left school to support the two of us．At that moment I decided never to be poor again．
Over the years, I experienced a lot of business success．But the real turning point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951．I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was very angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child．That was too expensive for an ordinary American family．I told my wife that I was going to open a motel （汽车旅馆） for families that would never charge extra money for children．Many people did not believe me at that time．
Not surprisingly, mom was my strongest supporter．As in any business, I experienced a lot of difficulties．But with my mom's words in my heart, I never doubted I would succeed．Fifteen years later, I had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn．In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $l billion a year．
You may not have started out life in the best situations．But if you find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you．
1．What Kemmon's mother often told him during his childhood was____．
A．caring B．moving C．encouraging D．interesting
2．Who played the most important role in making the author walk back to school again?
A．Doctors． B．Nurses． C．His friend． D．His mom．
3．What caused Kemmon to start a motel by himself?
A．His terrible experience in the hotel． B．His wife's suggestion．
C．His previous business success． D．His mom's support．
4．Which of the following best describes Kemmon's mother?
A．Modest, helpful and hard-working．
B．Loving, supportive and strong-willed．
C．Careful, beautiful and helpful．
D．Strict, sensitive and supportive．
5．Which of the following led to Kemmon's success?
A．Self-confidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family．
B．Mom's encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work．
C．Clear goals, mom's encouragement, a poor family and higher education．
D．Mom's encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities．

The United States will introduce a new exam system for students who seek to study in the USA and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York．
The exam, which means a great change from the current English level test, was introduced by Theresa Jen, associate director of the International Service of the USA College Board, America's leading educational organization．
"The Advanced Placement International English Language （APIEL） will be offered for the first time all over the world on May 10, 2012," said Jen．
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language）, the GRE （Graduate Record Examination）, or the IELTS （International English Language Testing System）．
"I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam," said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL．
Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL．"The APIEL is made for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia．" Jen said．
"The APIEL will be used," said Jen, "because the TOEFL can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities of using English．" Xinhua reported that a large number of foreign students who had high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after being admitted．
"Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand 'English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with fluency, and writing in an organized way．" Jen said．
1．The underlined word "current" in the second paragraph means____．
A．high B．present C．low D．formal
2．We can learn from the passage that____．
A．the TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS
B．it will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL
C．Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future
D．a student will have to take the APIEL if he/ she wants to study in English-speaking countries from 2012
3．The APIEL is designed for students who want to study in English-speaking countries, such as____．
A．the United States and Canada B．Canada and Ireland
C．Australia and India D．Britain and France
4．According to the passage, the United States will introduce a new exam because____．
A．it will bring the US government quite a lot of money
B．more and more students want to get further education in the USA
C．the existing exam systems can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities
D．the Chinese pay special attention to English studies with China's entry into the WTO
5．Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A．A New Exam Designed for Students
B．The Four Skills in Learning English
C．The Key to English-speaking Countries
D．TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to Be out of Date

Diary of a Do-It-Yourself Book
This book based on Greg Hefley's own "diary" lets kids express themselves in an exciting way．In the book, kids will be asked: What was the best dream you have ever had? The worst thing you have ever eaten? The best secret you have ever heard? This Do-It-Yourself Book is unique and special because it has blank pages for readers to write their own stories and keep their own diaries．
Author: Jeff Kinney
List Price: $10．95
Price: $6．57 Buy it on Amazon．com．
You save: $4．38（40%）
Train to Somewhere
Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on a train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. Stop after stop goes by, and there is no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy Marianne, either. But th at is all right. She has to he free for her mother to claim her. Then the train stopped at its final stop, a town called Somewhere…
Author: Eve Bunting
List Price: $6．95
Price: $6．95 Buy it on Amazon．com．
You save: $0．00（0%）
Chinese Children's Favorite Stories
This volume of beloved Chinese stories contains a delightful selection from the store of Chinese legend. Discover many delightful animal characters as well as Change and Guan Yin. Retold for an international audience, the stories with beautiful pictures will give children aged ix to ten in other countries a chance to learn about both the tradition and culture of China.
Author: Mingmei Yip
List Price: $18．95
Price: $12．89 Buy it on Amazon．com．
You save: $6．06（32%）
The Way Science Works
The perfect introduction to show how science explains the world around us! Eye-opening experiments and extraordinary photography bring science to life．Discover science in action from the principles that explain everyday facts to the theories behind the technology in today's fast-moving world. Full of facts about famous scientists, technology news and more．
Author: Robin Kerrod
List Price: $24．99
Price: $16．49 Buy it on Amazon．com．
You save: $8．50（34%）
1．Diary of a Do – It – Yourself Book is different from other books because you can .
A．ask the author questionsB．write your own stories in the book
C．have a chance to see beautiful photos D．read many interesting stories about the author
2．Amazon．com gives no discount on .
A．Diary of a Do-It-Yourself Book B．Train to Somewhere
C．Chinese Children’s Favorite Stories D．The Way Science Works
3．Based on Train to Somewhere, how many children head west on the train．
A．15. B．14. C．13. D．16.
4．Chinese Children's Favorite Stories is written for____
A．Chinese children aged 6 to 10 B．teenagers in other countries
C．junior students in other countries D．foreign children aged 6 to 10
5．Whose book would you like to read if you are interested in science and technology?
A．Jeff Kinney’s．B．Eve Bunting's．
C．Mingmei Yip’s．D．Robin Kerrod’s．