When Abe Lincoln was just a boy, he had to help his father Tom to look after his farm. It was hard work
and there wasn't much fun for him. Abe Lincoln wanted to go to school, but there was no school there. Abe
was sad most of the time.
     Mrs Lincoln loved the boy very much. She tried her best to make Abe happy. One morning she got up early
and said to Tom Lincoln, "I'm going to town." Tom was surprised. "That's a long way. And the snow is
heavy. What are you going to do in the town?"
     "I'll let you know when I come back," she said and then went out of the house. It took Mrs Lincoln a long
time to get to town. She bought something there and started back. And it was late in the evening when she got
home.
     The next morning Mrs Lincoln said to Abe, "Today is your birthday. We are going to have a party!" She put
some food on the table, and then brought out a present.
     "A book!" Abe cried. It was an old book, but he liked it. A smile came to his face. He looked up at Mrs
Lincoln and said, "Thank you!"

1. When he was a child, Abe Lincoln wanted to be a school _____, but there weren't any schools nearby. So
     he ______ go to school.
2. Mrs Lincoln loved her ______ and tried her best to make him happy. One morning, she wanted to go out to
    do some ______.
3. It took Mrs Lincoln a lot of ______ to______ town.
4. Mrs Lincoln ______ Abe a present. The present for Abe was a ______.
5. Abe was very ______ to have the present. He ______ it very much.

      Mr. Ross finished speaking on the phone, and then looked carefully at my mother and me. For a few
seconds he didn't speak, and just watched us. Then he said, "I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Sanders. I need
some help with my work. My secretary is in hospital, and there's a lot of work to do. Sometimes you'll have
to work late at night, because of time difference in New York and Tokyo. Is that right?
     "Yes, that's all right," said my mother.
     "Can you use a computer?"
     "Yes."
     "Good." He looked at me. "Is that your daughter?"
     "Yes, this is Carol," said my mother. 
     "Hello." I said.
     "Greta says you like gardening. There's a big garden here, so you can help Mr. Duncan. And there's a
farm. Dan and Stella Parks live in the farmhouse and work on the farm. You can help them, too. We have
some animals, some sheep, a few cows and chickens. And there's a horse called Smoke. He's gray, like his
name. Can you ride?"
     "Yes," I said, "I can ride a horse."
     "You can ride Smoke around the island, if you like."
     "I'd like that," I said, "Thank you."
     "And we grow vegetables and fruit." he said, "I work on the farm sometimes. I enjoy it." 
     I smiled at him but he didn't smile back.
     "Carol will enjoy working on the farm," said my mother, "Won't you, Carol?"
     "Yes." I said.
     "Mr. Ross looks sad," I thought, "But how did he get all his money? And why does he hide away on a
British island?"

1. Mr. Ross got a lot of work to do because ______.

A. there was a farm on the island
B. his secretary was in hospital
C. there was a big garden behind his house
D. he had some animals on the farm

2. Mrs. Sanders ______ working late at night.

3. Greta told Mr. Ross that Carol enjoyed ______.

A. riding
B. playing games
C. gardening
D. looking after animals

4. Perhaps Mr. Duncan's job was in charge of the ______.

5. Mr. Ross worked on the farm ______.

A. every day
B. once a week
C. twice a month
D. from time to time

                                                            Dividing Up the Work
      Mr Evans and I work in the same office. He's the oldest of all. So he's told to manage (管理) us. He's
strict with us all and makes us listen to him. We know he's kind and often ready to help everybody, and we
all like him. 
      Mr Evans began to work in our factory when he was twenty-three. He's worked her for twenty-five
years. Once he pulled our boss's (老板) son out of the river when the water washed the boy away. The
boss thanked him very much and has paid him more since then. He has his house, car and his servant (佣人)
does all housework for his family. Of course he lives a light life. But sometimes he looks unhappy. We asked
him what happened to him, he never told us why. One day I met him at a party. We began to drink together.
He was sad that night and drank much. And when the party was over, he couldn't go home by himself. I had
to take him home. In his house I asked, "Can you tell me how do you and your wife divide up work (分工)
at home?"
    "I manage our children and secant", answered the man.
    "What about your wife?" 
    "She manages our money and me!" our head said angrily.

1. Mr Evans is ______ now.

A. twenty-three
B. twenty-five
C. forty-eight
D. forty-nine

2. We like Mr Evans because ______.

3. The word "wash" in the story means ______.

A. 冲走
B. 洗去
C. 冲击
D. 冲出

4. Mr Evans is paid more because ______.

A. he's very able
B. he saved the boss's son
C. he's strict with his workmates
D. he's worked in the factory for twenty-five years

A. He has to do much housework
B. He has to listen to his wife
C. His children don't listen to him
D. Something is wrong with him

                                                           I'm Watching TV Now
     Jim found work in a shop two years ago. Mrs White, the shopkeeper, trusts (信任) the able young man
and pays him more. He's happy and work harder.
     Once Jim knew a beautiful girl called Mable at a friend's party. They danced for several times and fell
deeply in love. But Mable's parents didn't agree to marry (嫁) their daughter to a poor young man. So they
took the girl to America and travelled there. And they didn't let her come back to London. She wrote a letter
to Jim and told him about it. Of course the young man didn't have enough money to go to see her. He was
so sad that he began to drink.
     It was Saturday one day, Jim didn't go to work. He came to a bar (酒馆) and sat down to drink. Just
then, Mike, one of his old friends, came in. He asked Mike to drink with him. Crying, he told him all and the
young man felt sorry for him. After a while they were both drunk and left. 
     Mike wanted to take his friend home. When they passed a zoo, they went in and walked to a cage in
which there were two tigers. Having seen them a tiger roared (咆哮). Mike was afraid and said, "Let's go.
It's dangerous to stand here."
    "I don't think so." said Jim. "I'm watching TV now."

1. Jim was ______.

A. American
B. French
C. Australian
D. English

2. Mrs White trusts Jim because ______.

3. Mabel's parents didn't agree to marry their daughter to Jim because ______.

A. they decided to travel in America
B. they made the girl study in America
C. the young man wasn't rich enough
D. the young man worked in a shop

4. Mabel's parents tried to ______, so they took her to America.

A. make their daughter happy
B. travell all over the world
C. find work outside England
D. stop their daughter from meeting Jim

A. forget his suffers (痛苦)
B. forget Mabel
C. pass the time
D. remember the days when he stayed with Mabel

                                             A Man with Two Badly Burned Ears
     Mr Smith was in trouble those days. He drove a car for Mr Black, a rich business man. He worked hard
and the shopkeeper liked him. But he couldn't work when he drank too much. And once he almost fell into
the river when he drove"along the bridge. Mr Black became angry and was going to send him away. he had
a big family and was afraid of it and promised (许诺) he would stop drinking at once. The man told him to
wait to be dealt with (处置).
    One Monday morning Mr Smith came into the office, with two badly burned ears.
    "What happened to your ears?" asked Mr Black.
    "Well," said the man. "I went to watch a football match yesterday while my wife was ironing (熨) clothes.
She had put the iron (熨斗) near the telephone before she went to cook supper. Our team lost the game and
I felt sorry for it. As soon as I went in the sittingroom, the phone rang and I answered the iron!" 
    "And what happened to the other ear?"
    "When I put the iron down on the table, the telephone rang again!"

1. ______, so he almost drove the car into the river.

A. Mr Smith was no careful
B. Mr Smith drank too much
C. Mr Smith forgot they were on the bridge
D. Mr Smith couldn't work in the evening

2. Mr Smith was afraid to ______.

3. Mr Smith went to watch the football match on ______.

A. Monday
B. Tuesday
C. Saturday
D. Sunday

4. We can guess ______.

A. Mr Smith drank much after the match
B. Mr Smith was angry with his team
C. Mr Smith didn't drink those days
D. Mr Smith watched the match at home

A. telephone
B. telephones
C. iron
D. irons

     One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to
the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that
she feared.
     Her mother said, "Don't be afraid, honey. Take courage!"
     "What's courage?" she asked, running to her mother's bed.
     "Courage is the brave breath," her mother answered.
     "Mum, do you have courage?"
     "Certainly."
     The girl held out her little hands, saying, "Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me."
     After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her
fists (握拳) nervously, afraid that the"breath of courage" would run away. Then with her fists clenched,
she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
     Her mother said to herself,"It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of 'breath' to me. Then I can
hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost."
     In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat
(战胜) is nobody but ourselves.

1. The girl walked back because ______.

A. the bathroom was too far away
B. her mother wouldn't go with her
C. she was too afraid of the dark
D. the bedroom door was locked

2. We learn from the reading that ______.

3. To stop "mother's breath" from running away, the girl ______.

A. held out her little hands
B. clenched her fists
C. talk to her mother
D. held her own breath

4. The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A. adults are always brave enough
B. children learn to be brave quickly
C. the fear in one's mind is the real problem
D. the mother can deal with anything with breath

A. The Fearless Mother
B. One Lonely Girl
C. One midnight
D. The Breath of Courage

     He was struggling (费劲) to tie his shoes. I was struggling with whether I should help him.
     I did, and he was grateful.
     "Thank you," he said.
     "I'm glad I could help. I just thought it would be easier for me to reach," I said.
      He was a disabled man, and forced to look down most of the time. His arms and legs were
twisted (扭曲的) terribly, and he couldn't do what the rest of us would consider easy tasks. He
always managed to look up to see how you reacted (反应) to his words, however. He had a big
smile, making me feel comfortable. 
     I was still on my knees by his wheelchair.
     " Nice shoes," he said.
     "Thanks. No one ever complimented me on them before," I said.
     "No one has the same view of the world as I do," he replied.
     "Tell me about the world as you see it," I said smiling.
     "Most people can see if someone is comfortable with them or not in their eyes. I see it in their
feet." he said."If people keep moving their feet, I just let them go, because I know they're impatient
with me. I don't want to make people uncomfortable.
     "What about me? I asked.
     "I could see your compassion. And then you came down to my level. I was the one who was
nervous." he said. "I don't normally have someone look me in the eye."
     "They don't know what they're missing," I told him.
     "My old face is nothing to brag (自夸) about." he said.
     "But that smile is so big."
      Yes, and it's not only a big smile but an attitude.

1. The disabled man knew people were impatient mostly by their ______.

[     ]

A. words
B. eyes
C. feet
D. smile

2. The unlined word compassion is the closet in meaning to ______.

[     ]

3. We learn that the disabled man ______.

[     ]

A. had great difficulty looking after himself
B. always asked people for help
C. couldn't have a big smile
D. liked to talk about people's shoes

4. The writer felt comfortable because ______.

[     ]

A. he had a nice talk to the man
B. the man looked him in the eye
C. he didn't move his feet before the man
D. the man had a big smile on the face

[     ]

A. the disable man had something wrong with his mind
B. not many people went down to the man's level
C. the man was good at telling people about the world
D. the writer would not give the man move help