A little homeless girl stood crying near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was too crowded. “ I can’t go to Sunday school.” She cried to the priest (牧师) as he walked by. The priest took her inside. The child was very happy because they found a room for her. She went to bed that night thinking of the children who had no place to sleep or pray in.
Two years later, the girl died there. As her little body was being moved, a worn and red purse was found, which she had found in the rubbish. Inside the purse was 57cents and a note, written in childish handwriting, which read: “This is to help make the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday school.”
After the priest tearfully read that note, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion(热爱) to others. Soon, a newspaper reported on it. It was read by a wealthy man who offered the church a piece of land worth many thousands of dollars. When told that the church could not pay much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents. Soon, the church collected a large amount of money. Within five years, the girl’s gift had increased to $250,000. When you are in the city of Philadelphia, visit Temple Baptist Church, Temple University, and the Sunday school building. No child here is left outside on Sunday school days again. One of the rooms of the Sunday school building is hanged with the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents made such a remarkable and real history.How did the girl feel when she thought of other homeless kids?
| A．Joyful. | B．Lucky. |
| C．Sympathetic. | D．Shameful. |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is probably to ____.
| A．tell people to give money to the church mentioned in the article |
| B．try to make people remember that little girl and that priest forever |
| C．look forward to having more people to go to the church to pray for the best |
| D．express admiration to the little girl showing her unselfish love to others |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Poor and Rich. |
| B．What Fifty-seven Cents Can Do? |
| C．A New Sunday School. |
| D．A Red Purse. |
I vividly remember walking back to my house after collecting the afternoon mails. I saw a credit card statement, another credit card statement and our bank statements. It was in that moment that I felt a deep tension.
I realized that even though I had married a man who I absolutely loved and adored, I really didn’t have a clear sense of how he handled money and how the two of us were going to combine our different approaches to handling money in our marriage. I was more organized and detailed, but he was more of a laid-back type. I knew that getting on the same financial page was a key factor in creating a successful marriage and financial future.
I asked my husband if he would be willing to set up a time each week to talk about our finances and develop a plan for getting rid of our credit card debt. My husband said he would be willing to do this. Admittedly, he was skeptical — but willing.
We came to refer to our weekly meetings as our Financial Dates. We didn’t really have a clue as to what we were doing. All we knew was that we needed to give our finances serious attention. Some Dates were filled with tense conversations. Other Dates were filled with laughter, joy and creativity. However, we kept showing up for our Dates and we never gave up. What started out as a means for survival became a powerful connecting thread in our relationship. Something shifted within us.
Instead of our finances becoming a source of divisive tension that pulled us apart, they became
the glue that held us together as we became a unified team.
I still recall the day that we excitedly crossed off our last credit card payment on the chart we had created. We had finally arrived. We were free. We had been given wings to fly.
Now, whenever I feel huge stress I ask myself, “How am I contributing to what is happening right now?” This gives me the ultimate power to take action. Even though my husband and I don’t have any guarantee against future challenges, I am left with something deep within that is unshakable and that can never be taken away — the memory of our past successes and the power to integrate (整合) these lessons in my day-to-day life.Why did the author feel nervous when collecting the afternoon mails? _______
| A．She was not sure about her marriage. |
| B．She didn’t know how to handle money. |
| C．She could feel the pressure of the huge debt. |
| D．She was reminded of the quarrels in the family. |
Which word can replace the underlined word “laid-back” in the second paragraph?_____
| A．relaxed. | B．skeptical. |
| C．lazy. | D．confident. |
What can we learn from the Financial Dates? ______
| A．They showed the couple clear direction at first. |
| B．They left the couple nothing but deep sadness. |
| C．They were once interrupted but quickly continued. |
| D．They strengthened the couple’s relationship at last. |
We can infer that when faced with stress the author will _______.
| A．try to change the situation |
| B．focus on what contributes to it |
| C．get power from the memory |
| D．feel free to do what she likes |
Revolutionary TV Ears
TV Ears has helped thousands of people with various degrees of hearing loss hear the television clearly without turning up the volume(音量) and now it’s better and more affordable than ever! With TV Ears wireless technology, you set your own headset volume, while other TV listeners hear the television at a volume level that’s comfortable for them. You can even listen through the headset only and put the TV on mute(静音) if the situation calls for a quiet environment —maybe the baby is sleeping. Or perhaps you are the only one who is interested in listening to the ballgame.
TV Ears patented technology includes a revolutionary noise reduction car tip, not used in any other commercially available headset. This tip reduces outside noise so that television dialogue is clear and understandable. Get the technology that has proven to help the most demanding customers. That’s why TV Ears has earned the trust and confidence of audiologists(听觉学家) nationwide as well as world-famous doctors.
| Doctor Recommended TV Ears! “My wife and I have used TV Ears almost daily for the past two years and find them a great help in our enjoyment of television . As a retired ear doctor, I heartily recommend TV Ears to people with normal hearing as well as those with hearing loss.” — Robert Forbes, M. D, CA |
| Customer Recommended TV Ears! “ Now my husband can have the volume as loud as he needs and I can have the TV at my hearing level. TV Ears is so comfortable that Jack forgets he has them on ! He can once again hear and understand the dialogue.” — Darlene & Jack B, CA |
Risk Free Trial! TV Ears comes with a 30-day risk free trial.
Special Offer — Now ＄59.95.
If you’re not satisfied, return it.
Money-back guarantee!
Call now ! 800-123-7832
TV Ears helps you ______.
| A．improve your sleeping quality |
| B．listen to TV without disturbing others |
| C．change TV channels without difficulty |
| D．become interested in ballgame programs |
What makes TV Ears different from other headsets? ______
| A．It can easily set TV on mute |
| B．Its headset volume is adjustable |
| C．It has a new noise reduction ear tip |
| D．It applies special wireless technology |
This advertisement is made more believable by ______.
| A．using recommendation |
| B．offering reasons for this invention |
| C．providing statistics |
| D．showing the results of experiments |
"Jin's new collection of short stories...shows he could teach some native-born writers a few things about the beauty of spare prose（散文）and the power of a few well-chosen words."
-- USA Today
"Amusing...Realistic...Rarely has China seemed less exotic and more accessible...The stories have the air of fable（寓言）."
--Los Angeles Times
"A vivid picture...of Chinese society in the era just after the Cultural Revolution."
-- Chicago Tribune
"Brilliant...delightful...Ha Jin's customs, ideas and landscapes might be of an Eastern persuasion, but his writing communicates universally. Without being didactic or condescending, these stories often resemble modern fables…”
--Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
"Beautifully understated short stories of life in modern China. Some of them are likely to break your heart."
--People
"A short story collection that offers readers...a dozen ways to enter the changing landscape of modern China...No one has ever captured the collision between the Communist society and the western culture quite like Ha Jin."
--Baton Rouge Magazine"Ha Jin", is probably a _____.
| A．name of a place in China |
| B．name of a writer of ancient China |
| C．name of a writer of modern times |
| D．name of a book |
"Los Angeles Times", "USA Today" and "Star Tribune (Minneapolis)" are the names of_____.
| A．newspapers and magazines |
| B．different places in America |
| C．different organizations that sell books. |
| D．book critics. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The "People" doesn't like the stories because they will break people's heart. |
| B．The "USA Today" suggests that Ha Jin should work as a school teacher. |
| C．Ha Jin's book has many beautiful paintings. |
| D．Ha Jin's book has successfully described a modern China to western readers. |
All the statements can be used to help to_____.
| A．attract more tourists to China |
| B．attract more students to a university |
| C．sell more books of Ha Jin |
| D．sell more copies of Los Angeles Times |
Ben lived in the same house as I did, on the same floor, his door facing mine; we often saw each other, and I knew how he lived when he was at home. And at home it was the same story: dressing-gown, nightcap, closed windows, locked doors, and –‘Oh, I hope nothing bad will happen!’ Vegetarian food is not good for him, yet he could not eat meat, so he ate freshwater fish with butter—not a vegetarian dish, yet one could not say that it was meat. He did not keep a female servant for fear people might think evil of him, but had as cook an old man of sixty, called Alan, who had once been an officer’s servant and could cook after a fashion. This Alan was usually standing at the door with his arms folded; with a deep sigh, he would mutter always the same thing: “there are plenty of them about nowadays!”What is the relationship between Ben and Alan?
| A．Teacher and student. | B．Friends. |
| C．Family. | D．Employer and employee |
Why didn’t Ben keep a female servant?
| A．Because he was afraid of other people’s opinion about him. |
| B．Because he couldn’t afford one. |
| C．Because Alan used to work for an officer. |
| D．Because he could not eat meat. |
What does the underlined word “mutter” probably mean?
| A．To cook after a fashion. | B．To speak very quietly. |
| C．To fold one’s arms. | D．To sigh deeply. |
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A stampede（踩踏）killed at least 35 people and injured 43 during New Year's Eve celebrations in Shanghai, on the city's popular waterfront tourist attraction known as the Bund（外滩）, authorities said.
The Shanghai government said that large crowds started to stampede in Chen Yi Square on the Bund just before midnight, with authorities working to rescue and aid the wounded.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the stampede. The official Xinhua news agency said many of the injured were students.
The government said on its official microblog（微博） that an inquiry had begun, with city leaders rushing to the scene and to hospitals to visit the injured. An emergency meeting would be held to ensure stepped-up safety measures were taken throughout the city.
Photographs on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, showed densely packed crowds of revelers（狂欢者）along the Bund, which is lined with buildings from Shanghai's pre-communist period on the bank of the Huangpu River.
In some photographs, rescue workers were seen trying to resuscitate victims lying on the pavement while ambulances waited nearby.
Authorities had shown some concern about crowd control in the days leading up to New Year's Eve. They recently canceled an annual 3D laser show on the Bund that last year attracted as many as 300,000 people.
At dawn on Thursday, there were still small crowds of revelers trying to find taxis home and workers were clearing up trash strewn around the Bund. There was little sign of the mayhem that had broken out just hours earlier.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Pete Sweeney; Editing by Howard Goller and Mark Bendeich)What is the passage mainly about?
| A．An accident that killed some people. |
| B．A new-year celebration. |
| C．A popular tourist attraction in Shanghai. |
| D．Some old buildings along the Huangpu River. |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
| A．The reason of the stampede was not clearly known. |
| B．At dawn on Thursday, no one could be seen around the Bund. |
| C．The city leaders were busy visiting the injured in hospitals. |
| D．The 3D laser show on the Bund had been put on every year. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．All the injured students will return to school soon. |
| B．There will be stricter rules concerning public safety throughout the city. |
| C．It will be impossible to find out the reason of the accident. |
| D．People didn’t know that the 3D laser show had been cancelled. |
Where can you most probably find the passage?
| A．From a science text book. |
| B．From a traveler’s journal. |
| C．From a government document. |
| D．From a news website. |