My life suffered a lot in summer five years ago. My father died in a car accident，leaving my mother，my two younger brothers and I alone. At that time，I was a senior high school student. After my father’s funeral，I had no choice but to drop out of school and work in a factory.
I really wanted to return to school and wanted to go to college，but I couldn’t. I only hoped to bring up my two young brothers. Life was not easy for me，for I can’t afford their tuition even if I worked from day to night without stopping. Without my father’s protection，I thought I was a slave to the fate.
Later on，something changed my life. I still remember that it was a rainy day. I put myself in the rain and walked slowly in the street.
Suddenly the rain stopped！I raised my head and found “the sky” was in fact a dark blue umbrella. Then I noticed a middleaged man with one leg on crutch(拐杖) standing behind me. He said to me，“Why not run without an umbrella？If you didn’t run，you would get drenched.”
The man told me that he was a promoter. He once dreamed of being a policeman，but an accident ruined his dream. Though his present job was not suitable for his legs，it was a wonderful start to him. He was very happy that he didn’t lose heart and still “ran” on the road of life...
I was encouraged by the man’s words. I went to a big city and became an assurance representative. After two years’ running，I did well and my family condition turned better little by little. Later I returned to school and succeeded in my entrance to university.
Life is like this. When you are in rainy days in your life，if you couldn’t find a way to prevent you from being wet，you would be overwhelmed. But if you decide to get rid of it，you’ll discover that the rainy days last not so long as you imagine.What happened to the writer at the beginning of the story?
| A．His father died in a car accident six years ago. |
| B．He had to drop out of school to look after his sick mother. |
| C．He couldn’t afford his two brothers’ tuition even if he worked from day to night. |
| D．He didn’t have money to hold the funeral for his father. |
About the middleaged man with one leg on crutch，which of the following is NOT true?
| A．He had dreamt of being a policeman. |
| B．He was a promoter. |
| C．He lost one leg in an accident. |
| D．He had a good job which was suitable for him very well. |
What does the underlined word “drenched” in Paragraph 4 mean in Chinese?
| A．湿透的 | B．干燥的 |
| C．紧张的 | D．舒服的 |
What’s the main idea of the sixth paragraph?
| A．The writer didn’t want to listen to the middleaged man and left without any word. |
| B．The writer made friends with the middleaged man and they got on well with each other. |
| C．The writer had to give up his dream and became a promoter as the middleaged man. |
| D．The writer learned from the middleaged man and the situation soon got better. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Run out of the Rainy Season of Your Life |
| B．Care for the Disabled Person |
| C．Try to Be Independent |
| D．Get to Know More about Middleaged People |
I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career.
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part –time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.When staying with the two girls’ family, the author ______________ .
| A．was paid for extra work |
| B．often worked long hours |
| C．got much help form her boss |
| D．took a day off every other week |
What has the author learned from her own experiences?
| A．Less successful students can still have a career. |
| B．Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student. |
| D．One must choose the job she likes. |
There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets(桶). One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very old and worn-out one, which had seen many years of service, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the path, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop spilled(溢出). The old bucket felt very ashamed（惭愧的） because of its holes: before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked along the path.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, “see how able I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don’t know why he still bothers with you. What a waste of space you are!”
And all that the old bucket could say was, “I know I am not very useful, but I can only do my best. I am happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said, “you both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the path.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the path, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare(光秃秃的)earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.What was the old bucket ashamed of?
| A．His past. | B．His aging. |
| C．His manner | D．His leaking. |
The new bucket made conversations with the old one mainly to ______ .
| A．laugh at the old one |
| B．take pity on the old one |
| C．show off its beautiful looks |
| D．praise the gardener’s kindness |
Why was the old bucket still kept by the gardener?
| A．Because it was used to keep a balance |
| B．Because it stayed in its best condition |
| C．Because it had its own function |
| D．Because it was taken as a treasure(宝物). |
In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl going to Howard University, aiming at a law career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different story to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a mix of adopted(收养)and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To put eyes on him was wonderful---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy then followed son No.3. in 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how engaged I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term
The hardest part was feeling sorry about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you are looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you are in the middle of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process(过程). Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ________ .
| A．a judge | B．a teacher |
| C．a writer | D．a doctor |
Why did the author give up school in her second year of college?
| A．She wanted to study by herself. |
| B．She fell in love and got married. |
| C．She suffered from a serious illness |
| D．She decided to look after her grandma. |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A．She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B．She ignored her sorry feeling for her sons. |
| C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife. |
| D．She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．failure is the mother of success. |
| B．little by little, one goes far. |
| C．every coin has two sides. |
| D．well begun, half done |
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement（广告）for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent（出租）a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax (税) on the first £4，500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register（注册、登记） your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign（签）a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.If you earn ￡5，000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.
| A．￡300 | B．￡500 | C．￡4,500 | D．5,000 |
Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?
| A．On Letpark. | B．On Roomspare. |
| C．On Grashpadder. | D．On Roommateeasy. |
If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
| A．sign an agreement with the government |
| B．pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment |
| C．sell the roof to some energy companies |
| D．keep the roof unchanged within 25 years |
For whom is the text most probably written?
| A．Lodgers. | B．Advertisers. |
| C．House owners. | D．Online companies |
It’s 5:00 in the morning when the alarm (闹钟) rings in my ears. I get out of bed and walk blindly through the dark into the bathroom. I turn on the light and put on my glasses. The house is still as I walk downstairs while my husband and three kids sleep peacefully. Usually I go for a long run, but today I choose my favorite exercise DVD Insanity. Sweat pours down my face and into my eyes. My heart races as I force my body to finish each movement. As I near the end of the exercise, I feel extremely tired, but a smile is on my face. It’s not a smile because the DVD is over, but a smile of success from pushing my body to its extreme limit.
Some people enjoy shopping, smoking, food, work, or even chocolate. But I need exercise to get through each day. Some shake heads when they see me run through the town. Others get hurt when I refuse to try just one bite of their grandmother’s chocolate cake. They raise their eyebrows, surprised by my “no thank you,” or by my choice to have a salad. Over the years, I have learned it’s okay to just say “no.” I shouldn’t feel sorry for refusing food that I don’t want to eat.
So what drives me to get out of bed at 5:00 a.m.? What gives me the reason to just say no to ice cream? Commitment. A commitment to change my life with a way that reduces daily worry, increases self -confidence and energy, extends (延长) life and above all improves my body shape. This is the point where a smile appears on my face as I look at myself in the mirror or try on my favorite pair of jeans that now fit just right. It’s through commitment and sweat that I can make a difference within myself inside and out.Why is there a smile on the author’s face in the morning?
| A．Because she sees her family sleeping peacefully. |
| B．Because she finishes her favorite exercise |
| C．Because she enjoys the interesting DVD |
| D．Because she feels a sense of achievement |
Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?
| A．She doesn’t treat others politely |
| B．She likes to make others surprised |
| C．Others don’t understand what she does |
| D．Others try to help her by offering her food |
What does the underlined word “commitment” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Good health | B．Strong belief |
| C．strong power | D．good habits |
What can we learn about the author from the text?
| A．She acts in a strange way |
| B．She wants to look different from others |
| C．She aims to develop a good body shape |
| D．She has difficulty getting along with others |