My husband hasn't stopped laughing about a funny thing that happened to me. It's funny now but it wasn't
at that time.
     Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in town, I wanted a rest before catching the train, so I
bought a newspaper and some chocolate and went into the station coffee shop-that cheap self-service place
with long tables to sit at. I put my heavy bag down on the floor, put the newspaper and chocolate on the table
to keep a place, and went to get a cup of coffee.
     When I came back with the coffee, there was someone in the next seat. It was one of those wild-looking
youngsters, with dark glasses and torn clothes, and hair coloured bright red at the front. Not so unusual these
days.What did suprise me was that he'd started to eat my chocolate!
     Naturally, I was annoyed (苦恼). However, to avoid (避免) trouble-and really I was rather uneasy about
him-I just looked down at the front page of the newspaper, tasted my coffee and took a bit of chocolate. The
boy looked at me closely. Then he took a second piece of my chocolate. I could hardly believe it. Still I didn't
start an argument. When he took a third piece, I felt more angry than uneasy. I thought, "Well, I shall have the
last piece." and I got it.
     The boy gave me a strange look, then stood up. As he left he shouted out, "This woman's crazy!"
Everybody stared. That was embarrassing enough, but it was worse when I finished my coffee and got ready
to leave. My face turned red-as red as his hair-when I realized I'd made a mistake. It wasn't my chocolate that
I'd been taking. There was mine, unopened, just under my newspaper.

1. Last Friday the writer ____.

A. went shopping with her husband
B. had been very busy and needed some time to recover
C. wanted a newspaper and some chocolate to take home to her family
D. bought a newspaper and some chocolate so that she could keep a place at the table

2. When the writer saw the boy go on eating the chocolate, she felt ____.

A. too uneasy to start an argument
B. too shy to look in the boy's direction
C. more and more disappointed at losing the chocolate
D. more and more angry with the boy

3. What does the underlined word "embarrassing" mean most probably?

A. Amusing.
B. Surprising.
C. Socially uncomfortable.
D. Annoying.

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The writer took only one piece of the boy's chocolate.
B. The way the boy was dressed is common nowadays.
C. The wild-looking boy was very rude to the woman.
D. The writer finds what happened in the coffee shop isn't funny at all.

     Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out
of the kitchen, complaining, "Mom, I can't peel potatoes. I have only one hand."
     Mom never looked up from sewing. "You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told
me. "And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!"
     In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the
monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids
behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
     That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look. The next
afternoon, she took me back to school. On the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
     "Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right
hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow. Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every
rung I reached. I'll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing
with their mouths open.
     One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room."
Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the boys would dance with me."
     For a long time, I didn't hear anything. Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys
off with a bat." Her voice was faint and cracking. I peeked out from my covers to see tears running down her
cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears.

1. Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom's attitude when she made
    the child peel potatoes?

A. Cruel.
B. Serious.
C. Strict.
D. Cold.

2. From the passage,we know monkey bars can help a child train ____.

A. the skill to throw and catch things
B. the speed of one's hand movement
C. the strength and skill to hang and sway
D. the bodily skill to rotate (旋转) round a bar

3. What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply (暗示)?

A. Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.
B. The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.
C. Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.
D. What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

4. When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because _____.

A. they felt sorry for what they had done before
B. they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt
C. they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars
D. they were astonished to find the author's progress

5. The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ____.

A. the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep
B. the child's experience reminded Mom of that of her own
C. Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph
D. in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child's growth

     Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. "The
railway owes me￡12," she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office. "You sold me a ticket
for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It
cost me 12."
     Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. "Come into the office, Madam," he
said politely. "I'll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd."
     The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There
was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He couldn't have sold her a
ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. "You look sunburnt," he said to her. "Did
you have a nice holiday in Jersey?"
     "Yes," she answered, shyly. "The beach was lovely. And I can swim too."
     "That's fine," said Harry. "My little girl can't swim a bit yet. Of course, she's only three..."
     "I'm four," the child said proudly. "I'll be four and a half."
     Harry turned to the mother. "I remember your ticket, Madam," he said. "But you didn't get one for your
daughter, did you?"
     "Er, well..." the woman looked at the child. "I mean...she hasn't started school yet. She's only four."
     "A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs...let me see...
￡13. 50. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe the railway 1.50. The law is the law, but since the
fault was mine..."
     The woman stood up, took the child's hand and left the office.

1. The woman was angry because _____.

A. she couldn't use the ticket for her round trip
B. she had to return home a day earlier than she had planned
C. she spent more money than she had expected
D. Harry had sold her a ticket to Jersey where there was no sailing

2. Harry was worried because _____.

A. the woman was angry with him
B. he had not done his work properly
C. the Jersey timetable was wrong
D. the little girl didn't have a return ticket

3. Harry started talking to the little girl _____.

A. because he was in difficulty and did not know what to do
B. because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl
C. because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice
D. when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl

4. When Harry said,"The law is the law, but since the fault was mine..." he meant that _____.

A. they must follow it without other choice, even though the fault was his
B. he had to be strict with the woman because of the law, although he didn't want to
C. the woman had to pay him￡1.50 and the railway would pay her for the hotel
D. she should pay￡1.50, but he had made a mistake, so she could go without paying

5. The woman left the office without saying anything because _____.

A. she wanted to go home and get money for the child's ticket
B. she was so angry that she didn't want to have anything more to do with the young man
C. she was moved by Harry's kindness
D. she knew she would have to pay the railway if she insisted

     Nancy and her family moved into a new house with a big garden. She didn't have many friends in her new
neighborhood, so after she sent her husband and children to work and school, she spent a lot of time in the
garden. She loved the flowers, shrubs (灌木) and trees.
     One day, when Nancy was expecting some special visitors, she took extra care of the garden. She pulled
the weeds, trimmed (修剪) the shrubs, cut the grass, and carefully cleaned all the dry autumn leaves. As she
was working, an old woman was watching her with interest over the fence. Nancy had met this woman several
times in the streets. She seemed to be friendly to everybody.
     When Nancy had finished, she stood back to admire her work. "Isn't it beautiful?" she called out to the old
woman. "Yes," replied the old woman, "but there is something missing. May I come in? I'll put it right for you." 
     Nancy opened the gate for her and let her in. slowly, the old woman walked to the tree near the center of
the garden, held it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "Now," said the old
woman, "isn't it much better?"
     Nancy looked at her garden for a while and said, "Strange. The leaves make the garden look more beautiful?" 
     The old woman smiled and said, "When you are as old as me, you'll understand life can't be perfect. The
fallen leaves are part of nature's beauty."

1. Why did Nancy spend most of her time around her house?

A. She was very busy with her work.
B. She had to take care of her children.
C. She thought the neighborhood unsafe.
D. She had few friends in the neighborhood.

2. What did Nancy do in the garden before the visitors came?

A. She picked some flowers in the garden.
B. She invited a neighbor to give her advice.
C. She moved tables and chairs into the garden.
D. She tried to make the garden tidy and beautiful.

3. From the text, we can learn that the old woman was _____.

A. rich and energetic
B. wise and friendly
C. quiet and sensitive
D. lively and humorous

4. What would be the best title of the text?

A. Nature's beauty
B. An autumn story
C. The art of garden
D. A happy housewife

                                                                    Native Tongue
     At first Kate thought the Romanian girl could not speak and understand English. Nadia would not reply
to anything Kate said. Kate was in charge of showing Nadia around on her first day at Buckminster Grade
School. Kate could not figure out why the school had put Nadia in a class where she could not understand
what people were saying.
     "Why did they do this?" Kate wondered aloud. "I mean, you can't learn if you can't understand the teacher."
Nadia's voice was a whisper. "I understand English. I will learn." Nadia's English was perfect.
     Kate was perplexed. She couldn't understand why Nadia did not like to speak. Then she realized that
moving to a new country probably wasn't the easiest thing to do. There were hundreds of unfamiliar and
unusual things to learn-all at the same time.
     "There're a lot of new things to learn, huh?" said Kate. Nadia nodded rapidly. In a quiet voice she replied.
"Many things people say, I do not understand. I have been speaking English and Romanian all my life, but I
do not know what some children are saying. For example, yesterday a boy asked if I could help him find the
USB port on a thin black box he was carrying. Isn't a port a place for ships? It made no sense to me." "Don't
worry." said Kate. "You'll figure everything out in time. You see, that thin black box was a computer. A USB
port is a place where you can connect other machines to a computer." Nadia and Kate were quiet after that.
They took notes while the teacher gave a maths lesson. To Kate's surprise, Nadia put up her hand and offered
to answer questions at the blackboard.
     Nadia solved every question the teacher gave her. Some of the questions were really difficult, and no one
understood what was going on except Nadia and the teacher. When the teacher said that Nadia answered
everything correctly, the whole class clapped their hands.
     Nadia was smiling when she sat back down next to Kate. "Some things," she said in a normal voice, "are
the same all over the world."

1. At the beginning of Nadia's first day at school, she was _____.

A. disappointed
B. helpful
C. lively
D. shy

2. The underlined word "perplexed" probably means _____.

A. puzzled
B. angry
C. shocked
D. serious

3. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. Nadia did not like Kate
B. Nadia had lived by the sea before
C. Nadia had never seen a computer before
D. Nadia spoke in a soft voice out of politeness

4. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Nadia was better at maths than other students.
B. Nadia found some of the maths questions difficult.
C. Nadia was encouraged to answer questions in class.
D. Nadia understood the maths better than other teachers.

5. What is the message of the story? 

A. Talking about something familiar gives you confidence in communication.
B. Answering questions in class makes you better understood by classmates.
C. Language plays an important role in communication between cultures.
D. Mathematics helps to improve communication between cultures.

     Peter was mad on mountains. Climbing was the love of his life. Church towers, seaside cliffs, rock faces,
ice mountains, anything-"If it's there," he used to say, "then I want to climb it." So the news of his marriage
gave me a surprise. I'd never known him to take much interest in girls. Well, well, Peter was a married man!
I couldn't get over it. I wondered whether his wife would try to stop some of risky adventures.
     She was French perhaps-from that place where he usually spent his holidays. Chamonis, wasn't it? From
Chamonis he'd climbed Mont Blanc on his seventeenth birthday, and one of the Aifuilles the day after! That
was it, then, she was French from a family, most of whom like climbing. No doubt. No other explanation.
     A month later I met them both in town. Anna surprised me because she was English. She was a dancer
in the theater. "Never climbed more than sixty steps in my life," she told me. "Peter has his interests, and I've
got mine. No problems." "None at all," Peter said, smiling.
     "Where did you spend your honeymoon?" "I flew to New York to see the drake Dancers on Broadway.
A wonderful show!"
     Peter said, "I didn't want to miss the good weather. So I went to Switzerland and climbed the north face
of the Eiger with Allen Dunlop. Great fun, the Eiger. Grand place for a honeymoon! I'll show you the photos
we took one day."

1. "Peter was mad on mountains" means _____.

A. he disliked climbing mountains
B. he was angry on mountains
C. he lost his senses on mountains
D. he enjoyed climbing mountains very much

2. The phrase "risky adventures" means _____.

A. expensive adventures
B. dangerous adventures
C. terrible adventures
D. unkind adventures

3. According to the passage, after Peter's marriage _____.

A. he would stop mountain climbing because his wife didn't Iike it
B. his wife would stop him from mountain climbing
C. he himself would give up his love
D. Peter would continue his love and so he did

4. The writer had thought the only reason why Peter married was that the girl _____.

A. might be French living near the mountain, and from a mountaineer family
B. would not stop his climbing
C. perhaps came from France
D. might live near the mountain

5. Peter and Anna's marriage is probably _____.

A. a failure because neither of them loved the other's love
B. happy because each of them respected the other's love
C. painful because either of them would do their own thing
D. a mistake because either of them wouldn't care the other's love