When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing person-
"Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.　
     One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there
was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone!
Quickly, I called "Information Please" and told her what happened. She told me to open the icebox and
hold a little piece of ice to my finger. After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my
pet bird died, I told "Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul,
always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on
the telephone, "How do you spell 'grateful'?". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was 9, we moved to Boston. A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle.
I had about half an hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said,
"Information, please." 　　
     Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on this but
I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell 'grateful'?" There was a long pause. Then
came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now." I laughed. "So it's really
still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time." I told her
how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said,"
Just ask for Sally."　　
     Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally passed
away five weeks before. 　　
     Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me-"Tell him I still say there are other
worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean." I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. Never
underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today?　

1. What does "Information, Please" refer to in the passage?

A. An amazing girl.
B. A special kind of telephone.
C. A communication system.
D. A service that helps telephone users.

2. What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone?

A. He was amused by the telephone.
B. He hurt his finger with a hammer.
C. He found an amazing telephone.
D. He got a piece of ice from an icebox.

3. What did "Information, Please" give the little boy whenever he was in trouble?

A. Information and conversation.
B. Good memories and happiness.
C. Sympathy and information.
D. Friendship and cheers.

4. When did the author get in touch with "Information, Please" again after he moved to Boston?

A. When he was in trouble on his way to college.
B. When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.
C. When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.
D. Three months later after he moved to Boston.

     We could all see the Murray River slowly moving back, but now all the water was gone. I couldn't believe
that the Murray had dried up, not one drop of water left.
     One morning I went down to the river to try and catch some fish when I saw my boat high and dry (搁浅)
on the bank. I rushed down the river and saw all mud-no water. The fish were just lying there, dying. I looked
up to see if my friend was there. There was the nest but no eagle (鹰) I called out to her with my special
whistle which I made out of steel.
     Suddenly a big shadow came over to me and the eagle landed in her nest and gave her young the food she
was out getting while I whistled. But then I suddenly noticed she was getting thinner and had a bit of sheep's
wool in the side of her talon (利爪). It was deadly quiet by the river bank, except for some sound from my dog.
And also I couldn't see one native animal or bird.
     When I walked inside the kitchen, Mum and Dad had sad looks on their faces. "It's time for us to move,
son, because the river can no longer support us," said Dad. I ran out of the kitchen door with tears in my eyes,
and down to the river bank, to my favorite spot, I said goodbye to my eagle, crying.
     When it was time to go, I saw my eagle fly up into the air with her chicks in her talons, going away to try
and find another home, just like us.

1. Owing to the fact that _____ the eagle looked thinner.

A. there was not enough food for her
B. the eagle was seriously sick
C. the eagle lost many of his friends
D. the eagle had to feed its children

2. Which of the following statements is true?

A. it was winter when the writer went away
B. the eagle lived on the ground beside the writer's house
C. some native animals and birds still lived in the place
D. neither the writer nor his parents wanted to leave

3. The underlined word "chicks" in the last paragraph refers to "_____."

A. the eagle's nest beside the river
B. the writer's pet dog
C. the eagle's children
D. the eagle's food.

4. The main idea of this passage is _____.

A. the author's idea about being away from the Murray River
B. the author's feeling about being away from his homeland and friend
C. the author's travel away from his hometown
D. the author's plan to leave for a new place

     This is a true story which happened in the States. A man came out of his home to admire his new truck.
To his 1______ (puzzle), his three-year-old son was 2______ (happy) hammering dents (凹痕) into the shiny
paint of the truck. The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into pulp (果
浆汁) as 3______ (punish). When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.
     4______ the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to cut the fingers from both
the boy's hands. When the boy 5______ (wake)up from the operation and saw his bandaged stubs, he
innocently said, "Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "6______ when are my fingers going to
grow back?"
     The father went home and committed suicide.
     Think about this story 7______ next times someone steps on your feet or you wish to take revenge. Think
first 8______ you lose your patience with someone you love. Trucks can 9______ (repair). Broken bones and
hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance.
We forget that forgiveness is 10______ (great) than revenge.
     People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will
impress us forever.

     I've loved my mother's desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing
letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens and white paper, I decided that the act of writing
must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
     Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. "But the desk,"
she said again, "is for Elizabeth."
     I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young
girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
     They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was "too emotional (易动感情的)". But she lived
"on the surface".
     As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I
wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
     I posted the letter and waited for her answer, none came.
     My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace. It seemed that nothing happened.
I couldn't be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop
trying to make her into someone she was not.
     Now the present of her desk told me that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work though she'd
never been able to. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside-a photo of my father and a one-
page letter, folded (折叠) and refolded many times.
     Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks
louder than words.

1. The writer began to love her mother's desk _____.

A. after Mother died
B. before she became a writer
C. when she was a child
D. when mother gave it to her

2. The passage shows that _____.

A. Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter
B. Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done
C. Mother cared much about her daughter in words
D. Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words.

3. The world "gulf" in the passage means _____.

A. deep understanding between the old and the young
B. different ideas between the mother and the daughter
C. free talks between mother and daughter
D. part of the sea going far in land

4. What did Mother do with her daughter's letter asking for forgiveness?

A. She had never received the letter.
B. For years, she often talked about the letter.
C. She didn't forgive her daughter at all in all her life.
D. She read the letter again and again till she died.

5. What's the best title of the passage?

A. My letter to Mother
B. Mother and Children
C. My Mother's Desk
D. Talks between Mother and me

     Almost everybody in America will spend a part of his or her life behind a shopping cart (购物手推车).
They will, in a lifetime, push the chrome-plated contraptions many miles. But few will know-or even think
to ask-who it was that invented them.
     Sylvan N. Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937. At that time he was in the supermarket business.
Every day he would see shoppers lugging (吃力地携带) groceries around in baskets they had to carry.
     One day Goldman suddenly had the idea of putting baskets on wheels. The wheeled baskets would make
shopping much easier for his customers, and would help to attract more business.
     On June 4, 1937, Goldman's first carts were ready for use in his market. He was terribly excited on the
morning of that day as customers began arriving. He couldn't wait to see them using his invention.
     But Goldman was disappointed. Most shoppers gave the carts a long look, but hardly anybody would give
them a try.
     After a while, Goldman decided to ask customers why they weren't using his carts. "Don't you think this
arm is strong enough to carry a shopping basket?" one shopper replied.
     But Goldman wasn't beaten yet. He knew his carts would be a great success if only he could persuade
people to give them a try. To end this, Goldman hired a group of people to push carts around his market and
pretend they were shopping! Seeing this, the real customers gradually began copying the phony (假冒的) customers. 
     As Goldman had hoped, the carts were soon attracting larger and larger numbers of customers to his
market. But not only did more people come-those who came bought more. With larger, easier-to-handle
baskets, customers unconsciously bought a greater number of items than before.
     Today's shopping carts are five times larger than Goldman's original model. Perhaps that's one reason
Americans today spend more than five times as much money on food each year as they did before 1937-before
the coming of the shopping cart.

1. What do the underlined words "chrome-plate contraptions" in Paragraph 1 refer to? (no more than 3 words)
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2. What was the purpose of Goldman's invention? (no more than 8 words) 
    _______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why was Goldman disappointed at first? (no more than 6 words) 
    _______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why did Goldman hire people to push carts around his market? (no more than 10 words) 
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