Once there was a man travelling in a faraway village. As he was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped. He found that these huge elephants were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains(锁链), no cages. It was clear that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their ropes but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and didn’t try to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can hold them, so they never try to break free.”

How could it be? These animals could at any time break free from their ropes. But because they were always stuck(固定) right where they were, they believed they couldn’t.

Just like the elephants, how many of us go through life believing that we cannot do something, just because we failed at it once before?

We should never give up the struggle(斗争) in life.

1.What did the writer see in the village？

A. Chains B. Elephants. C.Cages. D.Farmers.

2.Why do the elephants never try to break free from the ropes?

A. Because they think they can not..

B. Because they are too old to do it.

C. Because they like their living places.

D. Because they get on well with the trainer.

3.How did the man feel after he heard what the trainer said?

A.Moved. B.Surprised. C.Angry. D.Nervous.

4.Which of the following is the missing part(空白处) in the last paragraph?

A. Failing is part of learning

B. We should be different from others

C. Helping animals is helping ourselves

D. Travelling always makes people relaxed

5.What is the best title for this text?

A. A Pleasant Trip B. A Cruel Trainer

C. Elephant Training D.The Elephant Rope

I never saw my father come home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a “night out with the boys”. He had no hobbies but just took care of his family.

For 22 years, since I left home for college , my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 am. He was always interested in my life----how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.

Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked, was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, for I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father.

Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set(秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry to do, and the house to clean.

The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the week before. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 am. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed(发誓) that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him.

I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had died at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, time to wait for me.

In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father, and even more about myself. As a father, he never asked me for anything but my time. Now he has all my attention, every single day.

1.We know from the reading that the father .

A、liked to paint houses

B、had no friends around him

C、was not healthy in his youth

D、thought of his family as his all

2.When her father painted her first house, the daughter .

A、could only afford a glass of iced tea

B、was too busy to talk to her father

C、could do nothing but hold a paintbrush

D、spent eight hours a day working with her father

3.On January 16, 1996, the daughter felt that her father .

A、seemed to be a little different

B、had no time to phone her as usual

C、became interested in church

D、had forgotten to discuss some things with her

4.In the reading the underlined phrase “get to know him” most probably means .

A、get him to know her B、know more about him

C、get him to know himself D、make him well-known

5.Which is the best title of the reading?.

A、Painting Houses

B、Daughter’s Family

C、Father and I

D、Father’s Phone Calls

单词拼写（共5小题，每小题1分；满分5分）

根据首字母及汉语提示，完成下列单词的拼写，使句意明确，语言通顺

1.There are many words that have more than one p (发音).

2.Do you know what your p_________(父母的) favorite colors are?

3.Our teachers are always p__________(耐心的) when we make mistakes.

4.My friend Tom never eats junk food. And he is h__________(健康的)than me.

5.Excuse me, do you know where I can get some p (明信片)?

书面表达(共20分) XI.书面表达（共1小题；满分20分）

Lin Fen 在学习英语的过程中遇到了一些困难：

1、不能正确地读一些单词；

2、记不住生词，而且总是写错单词；

3、和外教谈话时听不懂。

请你根据以上提示给她提一些建议。

要求：语义连贯，条理清楚，包含要点。字数80-100词。书信格式已给出。

I had _____useful umbrella when it rained.

A. a B. an C.\ D. the

—What is he going to ______ when he ______ up?

—He’s going to be a doctor.

A.do, grow B.does, grows

C.be, grow D.be, grows

—Will you buy the white watch or the red one ?

----I’ll take_____.One is for my mother and the other is for my sister.

A.both B.either C.all D.each

----How terrible the air is!

Yes,if there are ___trees, there will be ___air pollution in our city.

A. less more B. more less

C. less less D. more more

What_____Mike_____last Saturday night?

A.Is; doing B.does; do C.did; do D.was; do

There is_________in today’s newspaper.

A.interesting something B.anything interesting

C.special nothing D.nothing special