The drug store was closing for the night. Young Alfred Higgins, the shop-assistant, was ready to go
home. Mr. Carr, the boss, stared at him and said:"Hold on, Alfred. Maybe you'd be good enough to take
 the things out of your pockets and leave them here before you go." Alfred's face got red. After a little
hesitation, he took out what he had stolen. Mr. Carr said,"Maybe I should call your mother and let her
know I'm going to have to put you in prison."
     Alfred thought his mother would come rushing in, eyes burning with anger. But, to his surprise, she
arrived wearing a smile. "Hello, I'm Alfred's mother. Is he in trouble?" she said. Mr. Carr was surprised,
too. He had expected Alfred's mother to come in nervously, shaking with fear, asking with wet eyes for
a mercy for her son. But no, she was most calm, quiet and pleasant and was making Mr. Carr feel
guilty…. Soon Mr. Carr was shaking his head in agreement with what she was saying."Of course", he
said, "I don't want to be cruel. You are right. Sometimes, a little good advice is the best thing for a boy at
certain times in his life and it often takes the youths long time to get sense into their heads." And he warmly
shook Mrs. Higgins's hand.
     Back home, without even looking at Alfred, she said,"You are a bad luck. It is one thing after another,
always has been. Why do you stand there so stupidly? Go to bed." In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother
in the kitchen. There was no shame in him, just pride in his mother's strength. He felt he must tell her how
great she was. As he got to the kitchen, he saw his mother drinking a cup of tea. He was shocked by what
he saw. His mother's face was a frightened, broken one. It was not the same cool, bright face he saw
earlier in the drug store. As she lifted the tea cup, her hand shook. And some of the tea splashed on the table.
Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. He watched his mother without making a sound. The picture
of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth coming to an end. He saw all the troubles he brought
his mother in her shaking hand and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was
the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

1. The reason why Mr. Carr felt guilty was that _____.

A. he found Alfred was in fact innocent
B. he should have called a policeman in first
C. Alfred's mother appeared polite and gentle
D. he thought he was partly responsible for it

2. Which of the following is probably said by Mrs. Higgins while talking to Mr. Carr?

A. "Please, for God's sake, you know, he is just a kid."
B. "I can't believe it! You are treating my son like that!"
C. "You know, it takes time for a youth to truly grow up."
D. "Punishment makes sense because it teaches about the law."

3. What does the underlined phrase "his mother's strength"(Para. 3) refer to?

A. Mrs. Higgins's calmness and communicating skills.
B. Mrs. Higgins's attitude towards parental sufferings.
C. Mrs. Higgins's love and care for her son Alfred.
D. Mrs. Higgins's greatness as a woman.

4. After the incident, young Alfred would probably _____.

A. feel ashamed of his mother
B. change his attitude towards life
C. learn to live an independent life
D. hate Mr. Carr for hurting his mother

                                                          Trapped on the 37th Floor
      Melinda Skaar wasn't expecting any phone calls. Skaar was working late in her office at the First
Internet bank of California. By 10:45 that night she was almost ready to go home when the phone rang.
     Picking it up, she heard a guard shouting. There is a fire! Get out of there. Skaar didn't panic. She
figured that it was just a small fire. Her office building was huge. There were 62 floors and her desk
was on the 37th floor.
     Skaar called out to office mate Stephen Oksas, who also stayed late to work. But when they got out
to the hallway, they were met by a cloud of black smoke. Rushing back, Skaar shut the door and filled
the space at the bottom of the door with her jacket to keep the smoke out.
     Then they called 911. before they could call their families, however, the line went dead. That meant
that they were completely cut off from the outside world. All they could do was wait and hope someone
would come to rescue them.
     Minutes ticked by. Smoke began to float into the office. Soon it became hard for them to breathe.
     Looking around, Skaar noticed a small workroom. It seemed to have cleaner air. So they crowed there.
That helped for a while, but in time even the workroom was filled with deadly smoke.
     Hopeless, they tried to break the windows, but the glass was not breakable. Everything they threw at
just bounced back.
     Defeated, they struggled back to the workroom. They felt weak and dizzy. Soon Skaar found Oksas
had passed out.
     Skaar and Oksas knew they were lucky to be alive. Sunday is my birthday, Skaar told a reporter. She
would be turning 29. but she knew she had already got the best present possible-the gift of life.

1. What did Skaar and Oksas do where were stopped by the fire?

A. they called their families
B. they waited where they were
C. they tried to run down the stairs
D. they rushed back and shut the door

2. The first sentence of the passage is to _______.

A. introduce Skaar
B. get the reader's attention
C. explain the cause of the event
D. tell the background information

3. The following helped Skaar and Oksas survive the fire except _______.

A. calling 911 for help
B. breaking the windows to get some fresh air
C. crowding in a small workroom for clean air
D. shutting the door and keeping the smoke out with a jacket

4. what can we conclude from Skaar's action in the fire?

A. she is cleverer than Oksas
B. she was trained as a firefighter
C. she remained calm in the face of danger
D. she had had the experience of being caught in fire.

     "Glad to find you so merry, my girls," said a cheery voice at the door, and actors and audience turned to
welcome a tall, motherly lady with a "Can I help you" look about her which was truly delightful. She was not
elegantly dressed, but a noble-looking woman, and the girls thought the gray cloak (斗篷) and unfashionable
bonnet (宽檐帽) covered the most splendid mother in the world.
     "Well, dearies, how have you got on today? There was so much to do, getting the boxes ready to go
tomorrow, that I didn't come home to dinner. Has anyone called, Beth? How is your cold, Meg? Jo, you look
tired to death. Come and kiss me, baby."
     While making these maternal (母性的) inquires, Mrs. March got her wet things off, her warm slippers on,
and sitting down in the easy chair, drew Amy to her lap, preparing to enjoy the happiest hour of her busy day.
The girls flew about, trying to make things comfortable, each in her own way. Meg arranged the tea table.
Jo brought wood and set chairs, dropping, over-turning, and clattering everything she touched. Beth trotted
(小跑) to and fro between parlor (客厅) and kitchen, quiet and busy, while Amy gave directions to everyone,
as she sat with her hands folded.
     As they gathered about the table, Mrs. March said, with a particularly happy face,"I've got a treat for you
after supper."
    A quick, bright smile went round like a streak of sunshine. Beth clapped her hands, regardless of the biscuit
she held, and Jo tossed up her napkin, crying, "A letter! A letter! Three cheers for Father!"
     "Yes, a nice long letter. He is well, and thinks he shall get through the cold season better than we feared. He
sends all sorts of loving wishes for Christmas, and an especial message to you girls," said Mrs. March, patting
her pocket as if she had got a treasure there.
     "Hurry and get done! Don't stop to quirk your little finger and simper (傻笑) over your plate, Amy," cried
Jo, choking on her tea and dropping her bread, butter side down, on the carpet in her haste to get at the treat.
     Beth ate no more, but crept (蹑手蹑足地走) away to sit in her shadowy corner and brood (细想) over the
delight to come, till the others were ready.
     "I think it was so splendid in Father to go as chaplain (牧师) when he was too old to be drafted (被征入
伍), and not strong enough for a soldier," said Meg warmly.
     "Don't I wish I could go as a drummer? Or a nurse, so I could be near him and help him." exclaimed Jo,
with a groan.
     "It must be very disagreeable to sleep in a tent, and eat all sorts of bad-tasting things, and drink out of a tin
mug," sighed Amy.
     "When will he come home, Marmee?" asked Beth, with a little quiver in her voice.
     "Not for many months, dear, unless he is sick. He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can,
and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared. Now come and hear the letter."
     They all drew to the fire, Mother in the big chair with Beth at her feet, Meg and Amy perched on either arm
of the chair, and Jo leaning on the back, where no one would see any sign of emotion if the letter should
happen to be touching. Very few letters were written in those hard times that were not touching, especially
those which fathers sent home. In this one little was said of the hardships endured, the dangers faced, or the
homesickness conquered. It was a cheerful, hopeful letter, full of lively descriptions of camp life, marches,
and military news, and only at the end did the writer's heart overflow with fatherly love and longing for the
little girls at home.

1. What did the girls do after their mother arrived home?

A. They asked her to make dinner.
B. They told her about their day.
C. They got boxes ready to go for the next day.
D. They tried to make her comfortable.

2. The girls' father had not been drafted because he______.

A. was too old
B. had been injured
C. was a chaplain
D. had children

3. What was most likely keeping the girls' father away from home?

A. A storm.
B. A battle.
C. A sickness.
D. A job.

4. Why did Jo most likely sit with her back toward everyone while listening to the letter?

A. To show her sisters that she is angry
B. So that she can sit more comfortably
C. So that she has enough light to read
D. To hide her feelings from her sisters

5. The letter is compared to a treasure to show _______. 

A. that mother was teasing the girls
B. the value of the letter to the girls
C. that mother had money in her pocket
D. the mother's love for the girls

6. In paragraph 3, the word "inquiries" means _______.

A. scolding
B. questions
C. lessons
D. arrivals

     It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to
support the Red Cross campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in
Angola, television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in
explosions caused by landmines. "I knew the statistics," she said."But putting a face to those figures brought
the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13- year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her."
     The Princess concluded with a simple message:"We must stop landmines". And she used every opportunity
during her visit to repeat this message.
     But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which
refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press.
They described her as"very ill-informed" and a"loose cannon". (乱放炮的人)
     The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms:"This is a distraction (干扰) we do not need. All
I'm trying to do is help."
     Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make
matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess's trip had been approved by the Foreign
Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British
government's policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.
     To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkidnd, claimed that the Princess's views
on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was "working towards" a
worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was "a misinterpretation or
misunderstanding."
     For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to
show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had
also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.

1. Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997 _______.

A. to clarify the British governments stand on landmines
B. to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims 1
C. to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims there
D. to voice her support for a total ban of landmines

2. Some members of the British government criticized Diana because _______.

A. she had not consulted the government before the visit
B. she was ill-informed of the governments policy
C. they were actually opposed to banning landmines
D. they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola

3. How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

A. She paid no attention to them
B. She made more appearances on TV.
C. She met the 13-year-old girl as planned
D. She rose to argue with her opponents

4. What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?

A. It had caused embarrassment to the British government.
B. It had greatly promoted her popularity.
C. It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.
D. It had affected her relations with the British government.