For about three years now, I have been writing poetry. It was not until my junior year in high school that I developed an interest, love and skill for writing poetry.
Back in elementary school, I loved to write stories. I would write stories on post-it notes and anywhere I could. Yet when I had to write a limerick(五行打油诗) for an assignment, I could not wrap my head around poetry. I had a very hard time figuring out how to rhyme words and have the words make sense. I eventually tossed the paper with the attempted limerick in the trash. I did not try my hand at poetry again until several years later.
Many years later in my freshman year of high school, my English teacher gave my class a poetry project as an assignment. I still remember my limerick assignment and was afraid of doing the poetry project. For the project, we had to analyze a poem and write a response to it. I chose to respond to Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice. I also wrote my own poem first. I became really excited when writing the poem.
Two years later, I started writing poetry as a hobby and for fun. To learn how good or bad my poems were, I handed them in to some magazines and contests. I won second place in the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Sherry Pruitt Award Contest with a poem called The Ocean, and had my two poems published as high merit(优等) poems. I have continued to write poetry, and have even self-published three collections of poetry in both print and e-book formats, which can be found at my store on Lulu.
Now, I love writing poetry, but I don’t hate writing short stories. I just find it more difficult and not my style of writing, even though I still write short stories occasionally.
【小题1】When the author was a pupil, he ___________.

A．liked writing stories

B．was good at writing poetry

C．could understand poetry well

D．was often praised by his teacher

【小题2】When given the poetry project in high school, the author was___________.

A．excited

B．annoyed

C．confident

D．worried

【小题3】The author took up writing poetry as a hobby when he____________.

A．was in Grade Three in high school

B．worked as a storekeeper

C．was in Grade One in high school

D．was at college

【小题4】How did the author increase his confidence in writing poetry?

A．He wrote a lot of poems and asked advice from his teacher.

B．He published three collections of poetry by himself.

C．He submitted his poems to magazines and contests.

D．He gave up writing stories and only wrote poetry.

There was a king who gave his daughter a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. So the king asked to search for it and put a reward for＄50,000 for anyone who found it.
One day, a clerk was walking home along a river when he saw something shinning in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it to get the ＄50,000 reward.
He put his hand in the river and tried to catch the necklace, but somehow missed it and didn’t catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again.
But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling sad. Just then, an old man walking by saw him, and asked him what was the matter. The clerk didn’t want to share the secret with him, thinking he might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell him anything.
The old man could see this man was troubled. He again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk told him about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing.
The old man then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was hanging on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to take a reflection of the real necklace all this time.
【小题1】The clerk tried to get the diamond necklace to __________.

A．make the king happy.	B．keep it for himself.
C．get the big reward.	D．sell it at a high price.

【小题2】 Before the old man asked the clerk what was the matter, the clerk           .

A．was searching in the water	B．was trying to find help
C．felt rather tired	D．was not feeling good

【小题3】Where did the clerk find the necklace at last?

A．On the tree

B．On the bank

C．In the river

D．In the sand

【小题4】 What might be the best title for the passage?

A．A beautiful diamond necklace	B．A king’s promise
C．A lucky young clerk	D．Changing the way of thinking

Some say everyday miracles(奇迹) are predestined(注定的)—the right time for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.
In 2001, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother’s Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give. The boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.
When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn’t planned to be there that day, but at the last minute, her shift(换班)at the hospital had been changed to see her son’s performance. She was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving him CPR(心肺复苏术), breathing into his mouth and giving him chest compressions. And he revived in the end.
After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.
Kevin, now 18, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking.
Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, he used skills he’d first learned in Scouts. The food that was trapped in the woman’s throat was freed. The colour began to return to her face.
“The food was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”
Who was the woman?
Penny Brown.
【小题1】 The author wrote the passage to show us that         .

A．miracles are predestined and they can happen anywhere

B．whoever helps you in trouble will get a reward one day

C．God will help those who give others a helping hand

D．miracles won’t come without any difficulty sometimes

【小题2】Which of the following statements is TRUE of Kevin Stephan?

A．He was hit in the face by a boy and almost lost his life.

B．He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills.

C．He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college.

D．He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke.

【小题3】Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?

A．She was invited to give the players directions.

B．She volunteered to give medical services.

C．She was a little worried about his son’s safety.

D．She came to watch her son’s game and cheered for him.

【小题4】The underlined word “revived” in the third paragraph most likely means       .

A．came back to life

B．became worse

C．failed

D．moved

【小题5】 When Kevin knew the woman was Penny Brown, probably he first felt       .

A．happy

B．surprised

C．sad

D．worried

Not many years ago，a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy-five， he gave ￡ 12，000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s playground.
As a result of his kindness，many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection （注射） in my neck each evening.”he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection
【小题1】Johnson became a rich man through _________.

A．doing business.

B．making whisky.

C．cheating.

D．buying and selling land

【小题2】 The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson __________.

A．had no children.

B．was a strange man.

C．was very fond of children.

D．wanted people to know how rich he was.

【小题3】Many people wrote to Johnson to find out  __________.

A．what kind of whisky he had.	B．how to live longer.
C．how to become wealthy.	D．in which part of the neck to have an injection.

【小题4】The newspaperman ____________.

A．should have reported what Johnson had told him.

B．shouldn’t have asked Johnson what injection he had.

C．was eager to live a long life.

D．should have found out what Johnson really meant.

【小题5】When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening，he really meant that ______.

A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening.

B．he needed an injection in the neck.

C．a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well.

D．there was something wrong with his neck.

Edward Estlin Cummings was a poet well-known for how he wrote his poems He wrote his poems with capital (大写的) letters in the words . For example, the title of one of his poems is “The little horse is newlY” The “Y” is a capital letter. He also used “i” instead of “I” to refer to himself in the poems.
Edward was born on October14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Edward’s father was also named Edward. Young Edward’s mother was named Rebecca. She loved to spend time with her children. She also taught Edward Jr how to write poems. Edward’s sister was born 1896 and her name was Elizabeth. Edward’s father was the first professor of Sociology at Harvard University. He later became the minister of one of Boston’s respected churches. He was the one who taught his son to use his hands as well as his mind. Edward Jr used his hands to paint abstract art.
E.E.Cummings was a very smart boy. Edward was 12 when he became a freshman in high school. He loved circuses, ballets, music and amusement parks.
Edward graduated from Harvard in 1916. During World War I , he joined the army and was sent to France where he drove an ambulance. He and his friend from Harvard were arrested because people thought they were German spies. They were kept in one room where they slept , ate , talked and tried to deal with their fears and boredom. Edward wrote his first book, published in 1922, called The Enormous Room, based on his wartime experiences.
E.E.Cummings was a poet that made his own rules in poetry. He was one of the most popular poets of the 20th century.
【小题1】Which is a special feature of E.E.Cummings’ poems?

A．Their titles are all written with capital letters.

B．A special capital letter is used in them to refer to the writer.

C．He used “Y” to refer to “you”.

D．He used letters in a special way in them

【小题2】What’s the second paragraph mainly about?

A．Edward’s schooling	B．Edward’s parents
C．Edward’s family	D．Edward’s childhood.

【小题3】E.E.Cummings was arrested in the war because ___________.

A．he went to France without permission	B．he looked like a Frenchman
C．he was thought to be German agent	D．he drove away a car that belonged to the army

My granddaughter, Shari, owns The Berry (莓果) Factory in Sacramento, California, and her mother, Joan, and I were helping with the Valentine’s Day rush. We’d dipped (浸泡) hundreds of berries, arranged gift baskets and packaged orders to be shipped around the country.
By the end of the day, the two middle-aged women, Joan and I, were exhausted. Shari didn’t seem tired. That was typical Shari. Though she was very busy, I’d seen her give away berries to everybody — parking attendants, mail carriers and hairdressers. “For me?” they would say, bursting into a smile.
As a “thank you”, Shari took us out for dinner. But there was a 45-minute wait at her favorite restaurant. “No big deal. There’s another place just up the road,” she said, driving us there. This time we walked right in.
When the waitress came to take our drink orders, Shari reached into her handbag, pulling something out. “I want you to have these,” she said, handing the waitress a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries. “She will love those berries!” I thought. But the waitress seemed startled. She only let out a “thank you” before grabbing the box and rushing into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, the waitress returned with our iced tea. “I apologize,” she said. “My best friend and I had promised to send each other something every Valentine’s Day. But she passed away last year. I didn’t know how I’d get through this day without her. Then you handed me that box.”“I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Shari. “It’s not much, but I hope you can enjoy them.”“Oh, I will,” the waitress said. “See, every year we always sent each other the same thing; a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries bought from our favourite store, The Berry Factory.”
【小题1】What can be inferred in the first paragraph?

A．The Berry Factory is a gift store

B．The Berry Factory has few shop clerks.

C．The Berry Factory has many branches around the country

D．The Berry Factory has customers from different parts of the country.

【小题2】 Which of the following words can best describe Shari?

A．Talkative

B．Creative

C．Kind-hearted

D．Well-known

【小题3】 The underlined word “startled” in Paragraph 4 probably means _________.

A．shocked

B．excited

C．tired

D．frightened

【小题4】We can learn from the last paragraph that _________.

A．the waitress’ best friend didn’t like chocolate

B．the waitress’ best friend broke up with her

C．the waitress’ best friend worked for Shari

D．the waitress’ best friend was Shari’s customer

“Can I see my baby？” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby’ s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed(叹息), knowing that his life was to be misfortunate. He cried to his mum “A boy, a big boy... called me a freak (怪人)．”
He grew up, handsome. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. “But you might communicate with other young people，” his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’ re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’ s a secret.” The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared.
Later he married and became a lawyer. One day, he asked his father, “Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her.” “I do not believe you could，” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.”
The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother’ s casket棺材. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show the mother had no outer ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut，” his father whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？”
【小题1】Why did Mother gasp when she saw her newborn baby?

A．Because her son had a tiny face.	B．Because she saw her son crying.
C．Because her son was born imperfect.	D．Because her son was in her arms.

【小题2】Which word can describe Mother’ s feeling when the son threw himself into her arms?

A．Nervous.

B．Sympathetic.

C．Proud.

D．Angry.

【小题3】We can infer that the person who donate the ears is_____.

A．A doctor.

B．His father.

C．His mother.

D．A stranger.

【小题4】From the passage we know the followings are True except________
A, the mother felt sorry for the son without ears   B. the doctor didn’t like the baby
C. the boy meant everything to the mother        D. the father kept the secret until mother died
【小题5】The best title for the passage would be ________.

A．Mother’s hair	B．An unforgettable memory
C．Who gave me the ears?	D．Who is my best respectable person?

Finally, I got a part – time job working at the local coffee shop. I had figured that the job would be easy. However, the actual situation was not what I had expected. The customers were hard to please. There was always too much sugar, too little ice, or not enough skimmed milk. However, I kept at it.
One rainy day, Hank, one of my regular customers, came in looking sad and defeated. I asked what the problem was sand if we could help, but Hank wouldn’t tell me any details. He just said he felt like going to bed, pulling the sheets up over his head, and staying there for a few years. I knew exactly how he felt.
Before he left, I handed him a bag of his favorite type of doughnuts along with his iced coffee. He looked at me skeptically because he hadn’t ordered anything else except iced coffee.
“It’s on me,” I told him. “Have a nice day.”
He smiled and thanked me before turning around and heading back out into the rain.
The next day was a horrible one. The rain kept pouring down and I spent my afternoon hanging out the window, handing people their orders. What’s worse, no one felt like tipping that day.
However, around 7:00 pm, Hank drove up to the window. Instead of ordering anything, he handed me a single pink rose and a little note. He said that few people take the time to care about others nowadays and he was glad there we still people like me in the world. I was speechless and very touched; I hadn’t thought that I had done anything incredible.
The note read:
Christine,
Thanks for being so sweet, kind and thoughtful yesterday. I was sincerely touched by you. It is so nice to meet someone that’s nice, warm, sensitive and unselfish. Please don’t change your ways because I truly believe that you will excel. Have a great day!
Hank
Later, I did come across more complaining customers. But anytime I felt sad or just sick of coffee, I thought of Hank and his kindness. Then I would smile, hold my head up high, clear my throat and ask politely, “How can I help you?”
【小题1】How did the author feel after he began to work at the coffee shop?

A．Excited.

B．Confused.

C．Disappointed.

D．Satisfied.

【小题2】What happened to the regular customer of the author?

A．He was very sick and had to stay in bed for some days.

B．He was not satisfied with the coffee served to him.

C．He was anxious to stay at home for a long time.

D．He was not feeling himself for some reasons.

【小题3】．What does the underlined word “skeptically” probably mean in the passage?

A．questioningly

B．hopefully

C．anxiously

D．excitedly

【小题4】．It was Hank who helped the author realize the importance of        .

A．patience in one’s work	B．being kind to regular customers
C．taking time to care about others	D．sticking to one’s own career

【小题5】What is the best title of the passage?

A．A Warm – hearted Man	B．Coffee Shop Kindness
C．My Part – time Job	D．A Horrible Raining Day

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.
The father asked his son, “What is that?”
The son replied, “That is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, “What is this?”
The son said, “Father, I told you just now. It’s a crow.”
After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for the third time, “What is this?”
This time, the son said to his father in a low and cold tone, “It’s a crow, a crow.”
After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, “What is this?”
This time his son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A minute later the father went to his room and came back with a diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page.
Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn’t at all feel angry, but instead felt affection for my son.
If your parents reach old age, do not look at them as a burden, but speak to them gently, and be kind to them. From today say this aloud, “I want to see my parents happy forever. They have cared for me ever since I was a little child. They have always showered me with love. I will take care of my old parents in the best way no matter how they behave.”
【小题1】The writer mainly intends to ______ .

A．tell us the function of a diary	B．call on us to love our parents
C．teach us what a crow is	D．introduce a pair of son and father

【小题2】The underlined word “affection” (last but one Para.) probably means______.

A．puzzlement

B．hatred(恨)

C．worry

D．love

【小题3】We can infer that the father wrote that piece of diary at the age of ______.

A．eighty

B．three

C．thirty-eight

D．forty-five

【小题4】The old man brought out the diary, which he had kept since his son was born, because ______.

A．he forgot what had happened	B．he would like his son to read it
C．it could remind himself of the past	D．he wanted to find what a crow was

One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by sending newspapers door to door, was so hungry that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” With these words, Howard Kelly left that house.
Years later the woman became badly ill and was finally sent to the hospital in a big city. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Dressed in his doctor’s clothes, Dr. Kelly went into her room and recognized her at once. From that day on, he gave special attention to her, and decided to do his best to save her life.
At last the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to the woman’s room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words:
“Paid in full with a glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly.”
Tear of joy flooded her eyes.
【小题1】The boy sent newspapers door to door in order to ________.

A．continue his schooling	B．become a famous doctor
C．thank the woman for her kindness	D．support his poor family

【小题2】Which is true about the boy and the woman?

A．He was too shy to ask her for some water.

B．She thought he was not hungry but thirsty.

C．She wanted him to pay for the glass of milk.

D．She never thought he would save her life later.

【小题3】After Dr. Kelly knew who the woman was, he ________.

A．began to take good care of her himself

B．told her she once gave him a glass of milk

C．decided to try his best to save her

D．asked for her bill and paid it off at once

【小题4】The best title for this passage is ________.

A．A Warm-hearted Woman	B．A Glass of Milk
C．The Final Bill	D．A Famous Doctor