8．Mark Twain was a great writer．He was from the USA．He was born in 1835．He was also a famous speaker．He was famous for his sense of humour．Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time．
One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing．Before he was going to leave，one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes（蚊子） in the town and told him that he'd better not go there．Mark Twain waved （摇动） his hand and said，"It doesn't matter．The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine．I don't think they will come t o visit me．"
After he arrived at the town，Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station．He went into his room，but when he was just about to have a rest，quite a few mosquitoes flew about him．The waiters felt very sorry about that．"I'm very sorry，Mr．Mark Twain．There are too many mosquitoes in our town．"One of them said to him．
Mark Twain，however，made a joke，saying to the waiter，"The mosquitoes are very clever．They know my room number．They didn't come into the wrong room．"What he said made all the people present laugh heartily．
But that night Mark Twain slept well．Do you know why？That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night．
1．Many people liked Mark Twain becauseC．
A．he was famous    B．he liked to talk   C．he was humourous   D．he was a writer
2．That day Mark Twain went to the townB．
A．to see one of his friends      
B．because he wanted to do something there for his writing
C．because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there
D．to see one of his relatives
3．The waiters felt sorry becauseD．
A．they did something wrong to Mark Twain           
B．their hotel was too small
C．the room was not very clean  
D．there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain's room
4．All the people present laughed heartily becauseD．
A．the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn't come into the wrong room
B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain's room number
C．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents
D．Mark Twain made a joke
5．From the story we knowA．
A．no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night
B．the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night
C．Mark Twain didn't have a good rest that night
D．there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer．

7．Some people believe that a Robin Hood is at work，others that a wealthy person simply wants to distribute his or her fortune before dying．But the donator who started sending envelopes with cash to deserving causes，accompanied by an article from the local paper，has made a northern German city believe in fairytales （童话）
The first envelope was sent to a victim support group．It contained?10，000 with a cutting from the Braunschtveiger Zeitung about how the group supported a woman who was ro bbed of her handbag； similar plain white anonymous （匿名）envelopes，each containing?10，000，then arrived at a kindergarten and a church．
The envelopes keep coming，and so far at least?190，000 has been distributed．Last month，one of them was sent to the newspaper's own office．It came after a story it published about Tom，a 14-year-old boy who was severely disabled in a swimming accident．The receptionist at the Braunschweiger Zeitung opened an anonymous white envelope to find 20 notes of?500 inside，with a copy of the article．The name of the family was underlined．
"I was driving when I heard the news，"Claudia Neumann，the boy's mother，told DerSpiegel magazine．"I had to park on the side of the road； I was speechless．"
The money will be used to make the entrance to their house wheelchair-accessible．and for a course of treatment that their insurance company refused to pay for．
"For someone to act so selflessly，for this to happen in such a society in which everyone thinks of himself，was astonishing，"Mrs．Neumann said．Her family wonder whether the donator is a Robin Hood character，taking from banks to give to the needy．
Henning Noske，the editor of the Braunschweiger Zeitung，said："Maybe it is an old person who is about to die．We just do not know．"However，he has told his reporters not to look for the city's hero，for fear that discovery may stop the donations．
1．The Braunschweiger Zeitung is the name ofC．
A．a church     B．a bank        C．a newspaper     D．a magazine
2．Which of the following is TRUE about the donation to Tom？D
A．The donation amounted to?190，000．
B．The donation was sent directly to his house．
C．The money will be used for his education．
D．His mother felt astonished at the donation．
3．It can be inferred from the passage thatB．
A．the donator is a rich old man
B．the donation will continue to come
C．the donation comes from the newspaper
D．the donator will soon be found out
4．What would be the best title for the passage？C
A．Money Is Raised by the Newspaper
B．Newspaper Distributes Money to
C．Unknown Hero Spreads Love in Envelopes
D．Robin Hood Returns to the City．

6．Teenagers ________ their sense of hearing because they always wear earphones．（　　）

A．

damage

B．

are damaging

C．

has damaged

D．

will damage

5．We couldn't forget the historic moment on Oct.11，2012，when the first Chinese Nobel laureate，Mo Yan，won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature．Minutes after the award was announced，millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on the Internet．So a Chinese getting the Nobel Prize for literature did really increase the national pride．
On Dec.11 （Monday） in Sweden Mo was given the Nobel diploma，medal and a document confirming the prize amount．In his speech at the ceremony，Mo said receiving the prize felt like a fairy tale，but of course it was true and that literature was useless compared with science．Mo's award filled the blank left by Chinese literature in the world literary history．Meanwhile，Monday's Nobel awards ceremony set off another buying rush on Mo's works among Chinese readers．
 
45．Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize forB．
A．history          B．Literature          C．peace           D．physics
46．Which of the following words can best describe our Chinese feeling when hearing the news？C
A．Calm           B．Relaxed            C．Proud           D．indifferent
47．The underlined word"laureate"in Paragraph 1 most probably meansB．
A．loser            B．winner             C．fan             D．superstar
48．Which of the following statements is NOT true？B
A．It was hard for Mo Yan to believe he was awarded the prize．
B．Mo Yan thinks Literature is useless．
C．Mo Yan was given the Nobel Prize，medal and a document．
D．Mo Yan's works were more popular after his receiving the prize．

4．Ammie Reddick from East Kilbride，Lanarkshire，was only 18 months old when she had the accident that had scarred（留下创伤） her for life．The curious child reached up to grab the wire of a hot kettle in the family kitchen and poured boiling water over her tiny infant frame．
Her mother Ruby turned round and，seeing Ammie horribly burnt，called an ambulance which rushed her daughter to a nearby hospital．Twenty percent of Ammie's body had been burned and all of her burns were third-degree．There，using tissue taken from unburned areas of Ammie's body，doctors performed complex skin transplants to close her wounds and control her injuries，an operation that took about six hours．Over the next 16 years，Ammie underwent 12 more operations to repair her body．
When she started school at Maxwelton Primary at age 4，other pupils made cruel comments or simply wouldn't play with her．"I was the only burned child in the street，the class and the school，"she recalled，"some children refused to become friends because of that．"
Today，aged 17，Ammie can only ever remember being a burned person with scars； pain is a permanent part of her body．She still has to have two further skin transplants．Yet she is a confident，outgoing teenager who offers inspiration and hope to other young burns victims．
She is a member of the Scottish Burned Children's Club，a charity set up last year．This month，Ammie will be joining the younger children at the Graffham Water Center in Cambridgeshire for the charity's first summer camp．"I'll show them how to get rid of unkind stares from others，"she says．Ammie loves wearing fashionable sleeveless tops，and she plans to show the youngsters at the summer camp that they can too．"I do not go to great lengths to hide my burns scars，"she says，"I gave up wondering how other people would react years ago．"
56．How many operations has Ammie already had？B
A．Twelve            B．Thirteen           C．fourteen           D．Fifteen
57．What did other children do when Ammie first went to school？D
A．They were friendly to her．B．They showed sympathy to her．
C．They were afraid of her．D．They looked down upon her．
58．Ammie will teach the younger children at the Graffham Water Center toA．
A．face others'unkindness bravely             
B．hide their scars by proper dressing
C．live a normal life                           
D．recover quickly
59．Which of the following words can't properly describe Ammie？C
A．Courageous        B．Confident          C．sensitive          D．Outgoing
60．What can be the best title of the passage？D
A．A Seriously Burned Girl Survives         
B．Ways to Get Rid of Unkind Stares
C．Permanent Scars And Pain For a Girl          
D．A seriously burned angel of Hope．

3．About a year ago，a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to me．I never heard any noise from the children，but the parents were always yellingat them．
   We often met，I always spoke，but the only answer I ever got was a hello from a four-year-old girl．One day when I returned，they were just coming back to their apartment and the little girl was holding the door in the hall open for the others．I remained in the car doing unnecessary things．The parents were telling her to hurry．I looked up and saw the little girl was still holding the door open，waiting for me．I hurried as much as I could and thanked her．She was smiling from ear to ear．
That afternoon I was at the K-Mart and saw a white teddy bear．I thought of the little girl and said to myself，‘I bet she would like it．'So I bought it for her．
The next day there was a knock on the door and it was the little girl and her father．She was so proud of her bear and thanked me．Then I noticed her mother and the other children were there in the hall，too．
Now when we meet in the hall，we all speak in a friendly manner．Last night we had about four inches of snow．The temperature was below zero．When I opened the outside door，there was my car with all the snow removed．The man next door was the only person I knew in the whole building，so when I saw him the next day，I asked him if he was the nice person that removed the snow．He said NO．He wanted to，but his wife said she wanted to do it．
Isn't it amazing that the small kind act of a four-year-old girl can change so many things for the better？
61．Why did the author do unnecessary things in his car？A
A．He did not wanted to be embarrassed．
B．He did not know how to kill time．
C．The weather was cold outside．
D．His neighbor yelled at him．
62．The author bought a teddy bear toB．
A．show off his wealth                      B．express his thanks
C．please his neighbor                      D．refuse the help
63．The underline word"yelling" in the passage probably meansC．
A．knocking            B．beating          C．shouting          D．laughing
64．What the four-year-old girl did made the author feelC．
A．cold               B．sad             C．warm                D．angry
65．What is the main idea of the passage？B
A．Children should be polite to their neighbors．
B．People should be kind and communicate with each other．
C．Your neighbors are not as bad as you think．
D．Things can be changed by removing snow．

2．When Ben Franklin was only a boy，he always wanted to know about things．He was always asking his father and brothers‘What？'and‘How？'and‘Why？'
They couldn't always tell him what he wanted to know．
When they couldn't tell him，Ben tried to find out for himself．
Many times Ben did find out things that no one knew before．The other boys would say，‘That is Ben Franklin!He's always finding out something new!'
Ben lived close to the water．He liked to go there to see the boats．He saw how the wind blew them across the water．
One day Ben said to himself：‘Why can't the wind help me float across the water？And I'm going to try．'Ben got his big kite．He took hold of the kite string and ran with it．The wind took the kite up into the air．Then Ben jumped into the water．
The wind blew the kite high into the air．Ben began to float across the water．Soon he was on the other side，and he had not worked at all．
One boy shouted，‘Look at Ben floating across the water!His kite takes him to the other side without any work!'
‘Yes，'said another．‘He's always finding new ways to do things．'
56．When he was only a child，BenD．
A．liked to fly a kite by himself                    
B．always asked easy questions
C．always liked to play with water                   
D．always liked to find out how things worked
57．His father and brothersA．
A．couldn't answer all his questions                
B．could answer all his questions
C．tried hard to find out something new for him 
D．were too busy to answer his questions
58．How did Ben Franklin float across the water？C
A．The other boy took him across it．
B．The water carried him across it．
C．The flying kite took him across it．
D．A boat took him across it．
59．He found out many things thatC．
A．children didn't know                B．his father knew
C．people didn't know                  D．most people knew
60．From the story we can know that young Ben Franklin likedA．
A．using his mind                          B．using his hands
C．making kites                            D．flying kites．

1．Lisa has always been overweight．She wanted to lose weight，not just because she wanted to look more beautiful and healthier，but also because it would make life easier．For example，it was difficult for Lisa to find ready-made clothes that would fit．She had to ask a tailor to make clothes that were large enough．In school，she needed a special chair which was bigger and stronger than the other chairs．If she went for a walk，she got tired very quickly．She was also unhappy about the way people treated her sometimes．"People look at me and even make fun of me．That's unfair!It's true that I'm overweight，but I don't think people should treat me differently because I'm big．I can't enjoy having dinner with my friends because I'm afraid of getting fatter．"Her friends and family never made fun of her．They tried to help her instead．They wanted her to be happy and healthy．Sometimes when Lisa was feeling sad，she didn't want to speak to anyone．
But now things are quite different．Last month her classmates were preparing for the School Art Week．Someone advised Lisa to play the lead role of the Proud Queen who was tall and fat．Lisa agreed and practiced a lot．
Soon after the play，Lisa became the star!She did so well that everybody remembered the Proud Queen．They stood around her and said"Congratulations"to her．She even won the School Best Actress Award for her wonderful performance．
Now Lisa doesn't worry about being fat any more．She believes in the English saying"Every dog has its day．"
51．How did Lisa feel about her weight at first？B
    A．Proud                B．Worried          C．Happy            D．Strange
52．Why was Lisa chosen to play the role of the queen in the play？B
A．Because she was a star．
B．Because she was fat．
C．Because she was liked by her classmates．
D．Because she was the best student in her class．
53．What does the underlined sentence"Every dog has its day"in the last paragraph mean？D
A．Dogs never have weight problems．
B．Dogs can bring people good luck．
C．Everyone should have good heart．
D．Everyone gets a chance eventually．

20．Christopher Thomas，27，was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast．Diagnosed with diabetes（糖尿病），Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin（胰岛素） three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage，blindness and even death．And if that weren't bad enough，he had no health insurance．
After a month of feeling upset，Thomas decided he'd better find a way to fight back．He left Canton，Michigan for New York，got a job waiting tables，nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar，and created diabeticrockstar．com，a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones-a place where over 1，100people share personal stories，information and resources．
Jason Swencki's son，Kody，was diagnosed with diabetes at six．Father and son visit the online children's forums together most evenings．"Kody gets so excited，writing to kids from all over，"says Swencki，one of the site's volunteers．"They know what he's going through，so he doesn't feel alone．"
Kody is anything but alone：Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States，with 24million diagnosed cases．And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages．These days，Thomas's main focus is his charity，Fight It，which provides medicines and supplies to people-225to date-who can't afford a diabetic's huge expenses．Fight-it．org has raised about﹩23，000-in products and in cash．In May，Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean．
Even with a staff of 22volunteers，Thomas often devotes up to 50hours a week to his cause，while still doing his full-time job waiting tables．"Of the diabetes charities out there，most are putting money into finding a cure，"says Bentley Gubar，one of Rockstar's original members．"But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now．"

56．Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas？C
A．He needs to go to the doctor every day．
B．He studies the leading cause of diabetes．
C．He has a positive attitude to his disease．
D．He encourages diabetics by writing articles．
57．Diabeitcrockstar．com was created forA．
A．diabetics to communicate 
B．volunteers to find jobs
C．children to amuse themselves 
D．rock stars to share resources
58．According to the text，KodyB．
A．feel lonely because of his illness
B．benefits from diabeticrockstar．com
C．helps create the online kid's forums
D．writes children's stories online
59．What can we learn about Fight It？A
A．It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties．
B．It organizes parties for volunteer once a year．
C．It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics．
D．It owns a well-known medical web-site．
60．The last paragraph suggests that ThomasC．
A．works full-time in a diabetes charity
B．employs 22people for his website
C．helps diabetics in his own way
D．tries to find a cure for diabetes．

19．-What's the noise outside？
-Some children_____ hide-and-seek in the yard．（　　）

A．

were playing

B．

are playing

C．

have played

D．

played