Choose the best answer（根据短文内容，选择最恰当的答案): ( 12分)
He was just an ordinary postman. Day after day, he shuttled(穿梭) back and forth across the village. For him, life
was without waves. 
One day, he was delivering mail as usual. When he looked up in the sky, he suddenly lost his balance. It was a little stone that tripped him up（绊倒）. He observed the stone that had embarrassed（难堪） him, finding it strange but beautiful. In his eyes, this stone was like a lost jewel（宝石） covered with dust. The postman then placed the stone in his bag carefully. Because of this stone’s arrival, his day was lightened. He suddenly had a bold thought—I can build a castle with such beautiful stones. How magnificent it will be!
His ordinary life started to be different since then. He still delivered mail, but he collected every stone he could find along the way. All those dusty stones, in his eyes, glittered like diamonds.
Gradually, his small bag couldn’t hold his stones anymore and he needed to use a wheelbarrow to carry them. People didn’t understand what happened when they saw the postman delivering letters with a wheelbarrow full of stones.
After collecting enough stones, he started to build his castle. During the daytime, he passed along the dreams of others; and during the nighttime, he built his own dream. No one was willing to join in. But the postman was unmoved, still happily building his castle. Because he knew, the dream and the castle only belonged to him.
After 20 years of working day and night, the postman’s dream castle was finally completed. It was a magnificent castle just as he had imagined. It was a miracle arising from the ordinary.
This is a real story. The postman’s name is Xue Waller. The stone castle has become a famous tourist attraction in France, which is called“ ideal palace of Ferdinand Cheval.”At the entrance of the stone castle, there is a sentence—“I want to know how far a dream stone can go.” The postman felt embarrassed because he _______.
| A．lost his balance | B．lost his bag |
| C．delivered mail | D．found a stone |
The postman’s own dream was to _______
| A．collect stones | B．deliver mail |
| C．find diamonds | D．build his castle |
The underlined word “glittered” in the third paragraph may mean ________.
| A．shone | B．cleaned | C．posted | D．hid |
Which of the following is not true?
| A． A little stone tripped the postman up while he was delivering mail as usual. |
| B． The postman collected every stone he would find along the way. |
| C． The postman built his castle with the help of his family and friends. |
| D．The postman spent twenty years building his stone castle. |
The postman named Xue Waller was ________.
| A．German | B．French | C． British | D．American |
From the passage we can learn that ________.
| A． The postman had a colourful life before the accident in which he lost his balance. |
| B． The postman gave up his job in order to built his stone castle. |
| C． The stone that tripped the postman up was a real jewel. |
| D． Though people didn’t understand him, the postman continued his dream ---building a castle. |
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| Carefree Helpline Mom hates. Dad forgets. Brothers and sisters never care. Friends lie. People laugh. Even your dog turns away. You feel lost. Nobody helps. You talk. Nobody listens. On Helpline: You talk. We listen.  We listen to all you would like to share. It costs nothing to ask for help. Call 080-911911 anytime, from Monday to Sunday. Carefree Helpline cares for you, day and night.  To talk face to face, please call 080-122133. |
| Below is an ad of a restaurant |
| Tea Cottage Wants You! Join us in Tea Cottage—the best Chinese restaurant in town. We are now looking for someone interested in working with us. 2 Cooks At least two years’ work experience in a restaurant kitchen Good at making Chinese dishes Able to work on weekends Work 16:00—21:00 every day (USD$600 / week) 3 Waiters / Waitress At least one year’s work experience in café or restaurants Part-time welcome Work 11:00—15:00 or 17:00—22:00 (USD$16 / hour) 2 Cleaners No experience needed Part-time welcome Work 12:00—15:00 or 17:00—22:00 (USD$12 / hour) We are also looking for singers and bands for Wednesday nights! Call 213-333-6789 Mr. Wu |
Which is NOT said about Carefree Helpline?
| A．They listen to people in trouble. |
| B．People can talk face to face with them. |
| C．They collect money for people in need. |
| D．People can call them anytime, any day. |
What does “your dog turns away” mean in the reading?
| A．Your dog bites other people. |
| B．Your dog does not care about you. |
| C．Your dog is kicked and runs away. |
| D．Your dog cannot find its way home. |
Giorgio has worked in a restaurant for three years and is good at making pizzas. Which job could be for him in Tea Cottage?
| A．Cook. | B．Cleaner. | C．Singer. | D．None. |
Ronald is a college student. He is looking for his first job that he can do in the daytime. He could find a job of the in Tea Cottage.
| A．cleaner | B．cook | C．singer | D．waiter |
What can we learn about Tea Cottage from the ad?
| A．They are looking for singers and bands for weekend music shows. |
| B．They need cooks who can work both at lunchtime and dinner time. |
| C．One who knows about tea-making has a better chance of working there. |
| D．The waiters will be paid over USD$60 a day for working during lunchtime. |
Thomas Edison was born in America. He invented plenty of electric appliances(电器) and people from all over the world know him. At that time, there was no electric lamp in the world. And it brought people much trouble. Young Edison decided to invent it. He didn’t know which material was suited to be a lamp filament(灯丝). He failed and failed and he spent a lot of time on it. Some of his friends asked him to stop the experiments, but he didn’t listen to them and tried his best to find the material.
One afternoon, one of his friends came to visit him, he was doing his experiments in the lab when the man came in. But he only asked his friend to sit down and didn’t stop to talk with him. The man sat for a long time and Edison said nothing to him. His friend was angry with him and said, “You’ve done the experiments 1,200 times but you failed 1,200 times too!”
“You’re right, my friend,” Edison went on doing his experiments and said. “But I’ve known 1,200 materials are not suited to be a lamp filament!”Why do many people know Edison?
| A．Because he was very clever. |
| B．Because he worked hard. |
| C．Because he spent much time on his work. |
| D．Because he invented many electric appliances. |
He tried to find a kind of material which was suited to be ______.
| A．a lamp | B．a lamp filament | C．a telephone | D．a light |
Edison was busy with his work, so ____________.
| A．he asked his friend to help him |
| B．he asked his friend to go back first |
| C．he didn’t stop to talk with his friend |
| D．he asked his friend to watch him working |
His friend was angry because ____________.
| A．he couldn’t persuade Edison to give up |
| B．Edison didn’t say hello to him |
| C．Edison failed 1,200 times |
| D．he didn’t think Edison was polite to him |
From the passage, we learn that ___________.
| A．Edison was a hard-working person | B．Edison never gave up |
| C．Edison was rude to friends. | D．Both A and B |
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods door to door found that he had ten cents left. He was hungry so he decided to beg* for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his courage when a lovely young woman opened the door. He only asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I pay you?"
"You don't pay me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught me never to accept the pay for a kindness." He said, "Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically*, but it also increased his believe in God and the whole human. He was about to give up and stop before this point.
Years later the young woman became fairly ill. The local doctors had no idea to deal with her illness. They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists* can be called in to study her strange disease. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous was called in for the consultation*. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a light filled his eyes. Immediately, he got up and went down through the hospital hall into her room. Dressed in his doctor's uniform he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room and decided to do his best to save her life. From that day on, he gave special attention to her.
After Howard Kelly and his workmates worked hard for a long time, they won and the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him for agreement. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words:
"Paid." (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly
Tears of happiness came down out of her eyes as she prayed* silently: "Thank You, God. Your love has reached everywhere through hearts and hands of the human beings." Little Kelly felt when the woman opened the door for him.
| A．surprised | B．excited | C．upset | D．happy |
The woman was saved at last because .
| A．she wasn’t badly ill |
| B．Dr. Kelly helped her a lot and paid for her cost |
| C．the cost for her disease is only the cost for a glass of milk |
| D．other people knew that she was kind and gave her a hand |
Which following isn’t mentioned in the article?
| A．Dr. Kelly lived a poor life when he was young. |
| B．Little Kelly was thankful when he left the woman’s house. |
| C．Dr. Kelly didn’t remember the woman at all. |
| D．The woman believed in God very much when she saw the words written by Dr. Kelly. |
What is the best title?
| A．The Boy And The Woman | B．A Glass of Milk |
| C．A Sick Woman | D．A Strange Disease |
How did men first learn to invent words? It is still unknown to people; in other words, the origin* of language is a mystery. All we suppose is that some early men invented certain sounds, in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings,actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined* to present those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, we call words.
We are sure that the power of words lies in their associations-- the things they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words make us think of the glad and sad things of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which strongly appeal to people and have great effect on our minds and feelings. This lovely and wonderful use of words is what we call literary* style. Above all, the real poet is a owner of words. He can express his meaning in words which sing like music and which by their position* and association can move men to tears. We should learn to choose our words carefully and use them true, or they will make our speech silly and low.From the passage, we learn that language might begin with .
| A．feelings | B．actions | C．signs | D．sounds |
The underlined phrase appeal to probably means .
| A．to interest | B．to let... down |
| C．to make...relaxed | D．to surprise... |
What is the second paragraph mainly about?
| A．The power of new words |
| B．The importance of old words |
| C．The association of our experience with words |
| D．The change and development of words |
From the passage, we can learn that ________.
| A．people have discovered how words came from |
| B．it’s enough for a good writer to have great thoughts |
| C．the anthor suggest people to use words with right skills |
| D．the longer we live, the number of words that mean something will be smaller. |
An old man called Xie Liang, 80, has given free help to people who ask for directions for 8 years.
Every day, Mr Xie goes to Dongzhimen Bus Stop, and gives help to at least 1,200 people asking for directions. During holidays, the number may be even 3,500. There are more than 50 roads and streets meeting at Dongzhimen, and at least 100 thousand people pass by there daily.
The reporter of Beijing Youth Daily had an interview with Xie. At that time, he arrived at the bus stop and placed his little table with maps and guidebooks written by himself on it.
"Is it really free to ask you for the way?" said a person from southeast China
"Of course," answered Xie with a smile. "Quite a number of people have asked me the same question. I am a volunteer."
The reporter found that at least 5 people came to ask him for the way in a minute, and Xie told them the way patiently and gave every one of them a note with his words on it.Xie has a husky voice. People think that it's because of the result of the things he is doing.
Now Xie has encouraged several other volunteers to join him. Many people hope to do volunteering like Xie, but it's hard to do as well as he does.Xie Lang directs the ways for people at the bus stop as .
| A．a driver | B．a reporter | C．a guide | D．a volunteer |
During holidays, there may be ________ people a day asking Xie for ways.
| A．5 | B．1,200 | C．3,500 | D．100,000 |
The old man helps others by .
| A．calling a taxi for them |
| B．driving them to the right place |
| C．giving them maps or guidebooks to read by themselves. |
| D．telling them the right way or writing the way on a note. |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．No other volunteers help Xie Liang now. |
| B．Xie Liang has written some guidebooks on his own. |
| C．People don’t need to pay Xie Liang for asking for directions. |
| D．Xie Liang’s voice is bad because he has to talk with so many people every day. |