Jim went to school to study history, but when he finished his first year, he didn't pass the exam and the
teacher said to him, "You have to leave school."?
    When the boy's father heard this news, he was much worried. He came to the school to see the teacher. He
found the teacher in the office and asked the teacher to let Jim go on with his studies the next year.? 
    "He is a good boy. He always does well in history," said Jim's father, "and if you let him pass the exam this
time, he will do better next year and pass the exam." 
    "No, no, that's impossible!" answered the teacher, "Last month I asked him when Napoleon (拿破仑) died and
he didn't know."? 
    "Please sir, give him another chance." said Jim's father, "You know we don't have any newspapers in our
house, so nobody in our family knew that Mr. Napoleon was ill."??
(     ) 1. The boy in this story was good at history.
(     ) 2. The boy's father went to the teacher's office and talked with him about his son.
(     ) 3. The teacher let all his students pass the exam.
(     ) 4. After that, the teacher let the boy pass the exam.
(     ) 5. The boy's father was not good at history.

     I felt very sad because I was not able to get the ticket to the film Hero last Friday. I learned from the
newspaper that tickets could be bought at the cinema box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 a.m.
and 4:00 p. m. Since I work from 9:00 a. m. to 5:30 p. m., the only time I could go to the cinema was during
my 45 minutes' lunchtime. It is a pity that the cinema is on the other side of the town and the bus service
between my company and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip
in 45 minutes.
     Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for a bus. By the time I saw one come round
the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip, so I had to go back. The same thing happened on
Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. On Thursday my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at
the cinema in twenty minutes. But when I got there, I found a long line of people at the box office. I heard
one man said he had been waiting in line for over an hour. I found I would not have enough time to wait in line.
I caught the next bus and went back across the town.
     By Friday I understood my only hope was to make the trip by car. It was expensive, but I felt it would be
worth it to see the film. The trip by car only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I reached
the cinema, I was delighted to see that nobody was waiting in line. But I quickly found out that it was because
they had already sold out all the tickets.

1. It seemed that the writer of the story works as a ____.

A. worker
B. doctor
C. farmer
D. clerk

2. The writer tried to go to the cinema every day, but really got there ____.

A. five times
B. three times
C. four times
D. twice

3. We can infer from the underlined sentence that the writer was ____.

A. worried
B. sorry
C. surprised
D. pleased

4. In the end the writer got ____ ticket(s).

A. one
B. two
C. three
D. no

5. When the writer reached the cinema, he was delighted because ____.

A. he understood
B. it was expensive, but he felt it would be worth it to see the film
C. the trip by car only took 10 minutes
D. he saw that nobody was waiting in line

    The great ship, Titanic, set off for America in April 1912 on its first trip. It carried more than 1 000
people. 
    The Titanic was the largest and finest ship at that time and it had 16 compartments (密封舱). Even if
(即使) four of those compartments were broken, it would still be able to stay on the sea.
     Four days later, when the Titanic was crossing the sea, the man on watch suddenly saw a very large
iceberg ahead. The great ship turned in time, but soon there was a great noise from below. The captain
went down to see what the matter was. To his surprise, he found the ship was sinking fast because 5
compartments were broken! Hundreds of people jumped into the water. As there were not enough lifeboats,
about 1 500 lives were lost.

根据短文内容，完成下列各题。
1. The ship Titanic set off from England to ____.
2. The captain was ____ to find the ship was sinking fast.
3. How many people lost their lives?
    _________________________________________________
4. Which of the following is NOT true?
                                                                                                                                                       [     ]
A. The captain went down to see what the matter was.
B. Hundreds of people jumped into the sea.
C. 5 compartments of the Titanic were broken.
D. Most of the people were saved.
5. Write down the best title for the passage.
    ________________________________________________

    Bob was a gardener and he had no work for a few months. One day he went out to look for a job. While he
was walking in the street, he saw a poster (招贴) at the gate of a big restaurant. It said the restaurant needed
to hire (雇佣) a man who could grow flowers and trees well. Bob was so pleased that he went straight to
answer it. There Bob was told to go back and get his old working clothes to the office. Bob did so.
    The boss looked over his working clothes carefully and then decided to let Bob have the job. Bob asked the
boss why his working clothes were so important. The boss answered with a smile, "Oh, your working clothes
are all with patches (补丁) on the knees. I have dismissed (解雇) two men these days. They had working
clothes with patches in buttocks(臀部) . They were too lazy."

1. Bob was very happy when he saw the poster because _______.

A. he needed something to do
B. the job was suitable (合适的) for him
C. the restaurant could give him food
D. the boss knew him

2. When the boss saw Bob, he _______.

A. gave him the job at once
B. liked Bob at once
C. asked Bob to go home to get his working clothes
D. liked Bob's clothes

3. Bob's new job was _______.

A. to wash dishes
B. to clean the restaurant
C. to cook dishes
D. to grow flowers and trees

4. We may learn that the boss was _______.

A. very clever
B. foolish
C. very kind
D. hardworking

5. When the two men had clothes with patches on the buttocks, the boss understood that they _______.

A. didn't work hard
B. worked very hard
C. were too dirty
D. were good gardeners

    Very few people were coming to eat at the White Rose Restaurant, and its owner did not know what to do.
The food in the restaurant was cheap and good, but nobody seemed to want to eat there. Then he thought of an
idea to change it. A few weeks later, his restaurant was always full of men with their lady friends. Whenever a
man came in with a lady, a smiling waiter would give each of them a beautiful menu. The menus looked the
same outside, but they were quite different inside. The waiter gave the man a menu with the correct price for
each dish and bottle of wine, while he gave the lady a menu with a much higher price. So when the man ordered
dish after dish and wine after wine, the lady thought he was much more generous (大方) than he really was.

1. At the beginning of the story _______ at the White Rose Restaurant.

A. the owner was trying to fool the ladies
B. people didn't like to have meals
C. ladies weren't always there
D. the waiter gave the man a wrong menu

2. Several weeks later, _______.

A. the food there was much cheaper and better
B. men and women enjoyed eating at the restaurant
C. the owner gave each of the ladies some flowers after dinner
D. the owner was very thankful to his waiters

3. The waiter gave the man and the lady different menus, and _______.

A. the price in the lady's was much higher than its real price
B. the price in the man's was much higher than its real price.
C. ladies liked the beautiful menu very much
D. the menus were different outside

4. When the man ordered dishes and wine again and again, his girl friend felt _______.

A. very sad
B. much afraid
C. quite pleased
D. much surprised

5. The owner played tricks to attract (吸引) business when _______.

A. nobody seemed to want to eat there
B. the food was too cheap and good
C. the restaurant was full of people
D. the waiter was giving each of them a beautiful menu

                                                                      Quick Service
     A man took a pair of shoes to a shoe repair shop and said to the shoemaker, "I'd like you to repair these
shoes for me, please." 
     "Certainly, sir." the shoemaker said.
     "When will they be ready?" the man asked.
     "I'm a bit busy, but they will be ready for you on Thursday," he said.
     "That's fine." the man said and left the shop.
     The next morning he received a letter, offering him a job in another country. Within 24 hours he was on
an airplane to his new job.
     Twenty years passed and he returned to his hometown.
     He remembered his shoes.
     "They were a good pair of shoes," he thought,"I wonder if the shoemaker is still there and still has them.
I'll go and see." The same shop, although he was an old man by now.
     "Good morning." he said to the shoe maker, "Twenty years ago, I brought in a pair of shoes. Do you still
have them?"
     "Name?" the old shoemaker asked.
     "Smith." the man said.
     "I'll go and see. They may be in the back."
     The shoemaker went out to the back of his shop and a few minutes later returned, carrying a pair of shoes.
     "Here they are." he said, "One pair of brown shoes. I'm a bit busy now, but they'll be ready on Thursday."

1. Why did the man go to a shoemaker?

A. They were old friends.
B. He wanted him to make a new pair of shoes.
C. He wanted him to repair a pair of shoes.
D. He had a very old pair of boots. He wanted to repair it.

2. Why didn't the man return to the shoe repair shop on Thursday?

A. He forgot.
B. He went to another country.
C. He was too busy.
D. He knew the shoes would not be ready.

3. The man was away from his hometown ____.

A. until Thursday
C. until the next morning
C. for about 20 years
D. for a few days

4. What did the man do when he returned to his hometown?

A. He looked for a new job.
B. He bought a new pair of shoes.
C. He visited all his friends.
D. He returned to the shoemaker.

5. The man finally found that ____.

A. his shoes were still there, but the shoemaker didn't repair them
B. his shoes were not there
C. the shoemaker repaired the shoes
D. the shoemaker lost the shoes