Tess was eight years old. Her little brother Andrew was very sick and their parents were completely out of money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother, “Only a miracle can save him now.”
Tess took her money and made her way six blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store.
“And what do you want?” the chemist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen for ages.”
“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really sick. He has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”
“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the chemist said, softening a little.
“Listen, I can help you.” The chemist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He asked Tess, “What kind of miracle does your brother need?”
“I don’t know,” Tess replied. “Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago. “One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered. “And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more, if I need to.”
“Well，what a coincidence (巧合),” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents － the exact price of a miracle for your little brother. Take me to where you live. Let’s see if 1 have the kind of miracle you need.”
That man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon in neurosurgery (神经外科). The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well．
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost… one dollar and eleven  cents… plus the faith of a little child.
【小题1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Tess’s brother would recover because there was a miracle.

B．Tess’s brother would die because his family had no money to treat his illness.

C．Tess’s family would look for a miracle to treat Andrew’s illness.

D．Andrew should go to hospital for a miracle.

【小题2】Why did the chemist get annoyed first？

A．Because he was a nervous man．

B．Because Tess didn’t buy his medicine.

C．Because Tess had bothered him and his brother.

D．Because Tess was poorly dressed.

【小题3】What can we learn about Dr. Carlton Armstrong?

A．He was a stone－hearted man.

B．He cared for only a little money.

C．He never helped others unless given a lot of money．

D．He was a kind gentleman and ready to help others.

【小题4】What can be the best title？

A．A dying boy and her sister	B．A miracle of $ 1.10
C．A kind doctor and his brother	D．A poor girl and a doctor

Danielle Steel, America's sweetheart, is one of the hardest working women in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research time before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to dive into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.
Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, she worked in the public relations and advertising industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best-selling novels, and a series of "Max and Martha" picture books for children to help them deal with the real-life problems of death, new hobbies and new schools. Her 1998 book about the death of her son shot to the top of the New York Times best-selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty-eight of her books have been made into films. She is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for one of her books being the Times best-seller for 381 weeks straight.
Not content with a big house, a  loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource(资源) and has kept in touch with them by e-mail. While she is often compared to the heroines(女主人公) of her own invention, her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But, if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable(独特的) style. There is only one Danielle Steel.
【小题1】Children who have read "Max and Martha" picture books may know ______.

A．how to deal with affairs at school

B．what to do if Max and Martha die

C．what to do when new babies are born into their families

D．how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes

【小题2】One of Danielle Steel's achievements is that ______.

A．some TV plays were based on her books

B．her picture books attracted a lot of young men

C．one of her books became a best-seller in 1998

D．she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records

【小题3】We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel _____.

A．lives an exciting life	B．value her readers a lot
C．writes about quiet women	D．is pleased with her achievements

There is one word that is on the lips of Americans , day and night , “Sorry”.
One time as I was walking on the street , a young man ran by hurriedly , brushing against my handbag . Even as he continued on his way , he turned back and said “sorry” to me . Even in a rush , he didn’t forget to apologize .
One day , after I bought some apples , the salesman was giving me the change , but I wasn’t ready for it , and a coin dropped on the ground, “I’m sorry ,” he said while bending down to pick it up . I was puzzled —why would he apologize when it was my fault ?
Another time , I stepped on a man’s foot in an escalator . At the same time , we both said “sorry” . I thought it interesting : was it really necessary for him apologize ?  
Later on , an American friend explained to me that according to the American ideas, the escalator is public place which everyone should be able to stand in . After someone occupies a position in the escalator , making it difficult for someone else to find a place to stand in , isn’t it necessary to express an apology ?
During my stay in America , I gradually realized that when friction (摩擦) occurs in daily life , Americans don’t care much about who is responsible . If someone is troubled , a “sorry” is always necessary . Even if the other person is hurt , the “sorry” would cool tempers . Perhaps this is why I never saw anyone quarreling on the buses , subways or streets in America .
【小题1】When I was walking in the street , ____ .

A．a young man wanted to rob me of my bag

B．a young man ran by and wanted to brush my bag

C．a young man said sorry to me for touching my bag

D．a young man came hurriedly to help me with my bag

【小题2】When the salesman gave me the change , _____

A．I purposely didn’t want to accept it from the salesman

B．the salesman purposely didn’t want to pass it to me

C．I was slower to accept it than the salesman to give it to me

D．the salesman was slower to give it to me than I could accept it

【小题3】The man on whose feet I stepped apologized to me because ____ .

A．the escalator is a public place

B．the man was very afraid of me

C．the “sorry” said to me was for everyone

D．there wasn’t enough room to get my feet in

【小题4】In this passage , the author seems to feel _____ the Americans’ “sorry”.

A．angry with

B．disappointed with

C．interested in

D．approving of

In 2003, Bethany Hamilton,13, lost her left arm to a shark attack while surfing off Kauai, Hawaii. A new film ,Soul Surfer, is based on the story of how she overcame that to achieve her dream of becoming a professional athlete.
Growing up on the “garden isle” of Kauai, Hamilton spent every minute she could riding the waves. She was on the verge of (即将) becoming a top competitor in professional surfing. But while she was practicing at an isolated cove (小湾)，a four-meter-long tiger shark ripped off her left arm. Though her life was saved ,nobody could imagine she would ever get back on a surfboard again.
In a true test of her faith and by tremendous will power, Bethany did get back up on a surfboard only a month after the attack. Six months later, she was competing again. Bethany Hamilton won her first amateur surfing championship just two years after she lost her arm. She also established the “Friends of Bethany,” a non---profit foundation dedicated to supporting sharks attack victims.
It’s a story told in her autobiography, which is the basis for the film that stars teenager Anna Sophia Robb. “I knew Bethany’s story, of course, but I thought ‘What an incredible role’ ,”explains Robb. “I was so fascinated by all of the challenges. What would it be like to have your arm taken and what would go through your head and how would your faith be challenged?”
The filmmakers used special effects to digitally remove Robb’ s arm .However ,no tricks were necessary for the surfing scenes because Hamilton herself did the breathtaking wave riding .
Now 21, Hamilton says she hopes audiences find inspiration in the description of the sport she loves.
“Not a lot of people know that much about surfing, so I hope they’re educated about it,” Hamilton says. “And most of all if people are going through a hard time, they could be encouraged and find inspiration to push through those hard times and see that, in my case ,so much good has come out of it.”
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?.

A．Hamilton was severely injured when surfing.

B．Nobody thought Hamilton could overcome the troubles.

C．Rob did the breathtaking wave riding in the film Soul Surfer.

D．Hamilton established the “Friends of Bethany” to help shark attack victims.

【小题2】Which of the following can best take the place of the underlined word “tremendous” in the third paragraph?

A．Free.

B．Easy

C．Smart.

D．Strong.

【小题3】What can we learn from Anna Sophia Robb’s words?

A．She was absorbed in the story.

B．she wasn’t sure she could play the role well.

C．She wants to challenge her faith.

D．She doesn’t believe Bethany’s story.

【小题4】How does Hamilton hope people will be affected by her story?

A．she hopes more people will take up surfing.

B．she hopes people will be inspired and encouraged

C．She hopes more people will keep off the sharks.

D．She hopes people will donate something to her charity.

【小题5】What can we learn from the passage?

A．A lot of people are fond of surfing.

B．Good things will happen to the disabled in the end.

C．Faith and will power will help people go through hard times.

D．People can always overcome every difficulty in life.

One of the greatest contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations(引文) showing how it was used.
This was a huge task, so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.
Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.
But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a book-lined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.
Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10,000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.
In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.
Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volunteers defined 414,825 words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.
【小题1】According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary ____.

A．came out before Minor died

B．was edited by an American volunteer

C．included the English words invented by Murray

D．was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary

【小题2】How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

A．He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.

B．He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.

C．He provided a great number of words and quotations.

D．He went to England to work with Murray.

【小题3】Which of the following best describes Dr. Minor?

A．Brave and determined.	B．Cautious and friendly.
C．Considerate and optimistic.	D．Unusual and scholarly.

【小题4】What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The history of the English language.

B．The friendship between Murray and Minor.

C．Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary.

D．Broadmoor Asylum and its patients.

Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favorite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park,” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”
Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat（节拍）. Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.
By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his color pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room，but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare centre (日托所）.“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife’s away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.
【小题1】When his wife left home. Brad expected to           .

A．go out for a walk in the park

B．watch TV talk show with his children

C．enjoy his first day off work

D．read the newspaper to his children

【小题2】Which of the following did Randy do?

A．Drawing on the wall	B．Eating apple jam
C．Feeding the fish.	D．Reading in a room

【小题3】Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?

A．Because he wanted to clean up his house.

B．Because he suddenly had to go to his office

C．Because he found it hard to manage his boys home.

D．Because he had to take his wife back

【小题4】This text is developed           .

A．by space

B．by comparison

C．by process

D．by time

I passed all the other courses that I took at my university, but I could have never passed botany. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a week in a laboratory looking through a microscope at plant cells, and I could never once see a cell through a microscope. This used to make my professor angry. He would wander around the laboratory pleased with the progress all the students were making in drawing the structure of flower cells, until he came to me. I would just be standing there. “I can’t see anything,”I would say. He would begin patiently enough, explaining how anybody can see through a microscope, but he would always end up angrily, claiming that I could too see through a microscope but just pretended that I couldn’t. “It takes away from the beauty of flowers anyway.”I used to tell him.“We are not concerned with beauty in this course,”he would say.“We are concerned with the structure of flowers.” “Well,” I’d say.“I can’t see anything.” “Try it just once again,” he’d say, and I would put my eye to the microscope and see nothing at all, except now and again something unclear and milky. “You were supposed to see a clear, moving plant cells shaped like clocks.” “I see what looks like a lot of milk.” I would tell him. This, he claimed, was the result of my not having adjusted the microscope properly, so he would readjust it for me, or rather, for himself. And I would look again and see milk.
I failed to pass botany that year, and had to wait a year and try again, or I couldn’t graduate. The next term the same professor was eager to explain cell-structure again to his classes. “Well,”he said to me, happily, “we’re going to see cells this time, aren’t we?” “Yes,sir,” I said. Students to the right of me and to the left of me and in front of me were seeing cells; what’s more, they were . Of course, I didn’t see anything.
So the professor and I tried with every adjustment of the microscope known to man. With only once did I see anything but blackness or the familiar milk, and that time I saw, to my pleasure and amazement, something like stars. These I hurriedly drew. The professor, noting my activity, came to me, a smile on his lips and his eyebrows high in hope. He looked at my cell drawing. “What’s that?”he asked.“That’s what I saw,”I said.“You didn’t, you didn’t, you didn’t!”he screamed, losing control of himself immediately, and he bent over and looked into the microscope. He raised his head suddenly. “That’s your eye!”he shouted.“You’ve adjusted the microscope so that it reflects!You’re drawn your eye!”
【小题1】Why couldn’t the writer see the flower cells through the microscope?     .

A．Because he had poor eyesight

B．Because the microscope didn’t work properly

C．Because he was not able to adjust the microscope properly

D．Because he was just playing jokes on his professor by pretending not to have seen it

【小题2】What does the writer mean by “his eyebrows high in hope”in the last paragraph?

A．His professor expected him to have seen the cells and drawn the picture of them

B．His professor hoped he could perform his task with attention

C．His professor wished him to learn how to draw pictures

D．His professor looked forward to seeing all his students finish their drawings

【小题3】What is the thing like stars that the writer saw in the last paragraph?

A．Real stars	B．His own eye
C．Something unknown	D．Milk

【小题4】In what writing style did the writer write the passage?

A．Realistic

B．Romantic

C．Serious

D．Humorous

Two men dressed as police officers stole about ＄200 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum early this morning.
The two burglars knocked on a side door of the museum at about 1:15 am. They told the two security guards on duty that there was a disturbance in the area. The guards then made the very serious mistake of allowing the two men to go into the building. After they went in, the two burglars tied the guards up with tape.
The two men stole 11 paintings and an ancient Chinese vase. The stolen works included three paintings by Rembrandt. A maintenance（保卫）worker discovered the two guards at about 7 am and called police.
One of the greatest losses was Rembrandt’s works, “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.” It was a very popular attraction at the museum and was one of the most valuable works stolen.
Museum officials said that the value of the stolen art is at least 200 million dollars, and may in fact be much more. The true value of the paintings is unknown, because they have not been on the market for nearly a century. This is considered to be the biggest theft ever in the United States. Officials are waiting to see whether the burglars will demand a ransom for the paintings or try to sell them to a private collector.
Museum officials and police are not sure why the burglars chose certain works and not others. There are other paintings in the museum that are even more valuable than the ones that were stolen.
Special investigators are looking into the theft and the museum’s security system. They believe that this is a “professional job,” because the people involved were well prepared and knew what they wanted.
【小题1】How did the two burglars get into the museum?

A．They broke into the museum.

B．They had the key to the museum.

C．They tied the guards up with tape.

D．The security guards opened the door for them.

【小题2】According to the passage, “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” was the following except that           .

A．it was the most valuable work at the museum

B．it was Rembrandt’s works

C．it was very attractive to visitors

D．it was one of the greatest losses

【小题3】Which of the following best explains “demand a ransom for the paintings”?

A．Ask for money to give the paintings back.

B．Send the paintings to some foreign country.

C．Hide the paintings in a secret place.

D．Change them into more valuable things

【小题4】The investigators believe that this is a “professional job” because the burglars        .

A．were dressed as police officers

B．didn’t steal the most valuable works

C．liked Rembrandt’s work and made careful plans about the theft

D．made careful plans about the theft

Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the tree and sing. There isn’t a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird.
I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and that way have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home, I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out on our back porch（门廊）, and on the second day of the bird’s captivity my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth . The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened? I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought.
Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time and, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred: “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.
【小题1】The boy caught a mockingbird because___________.

A．he wanted a pet for a companion

B．he liked its beautiful feather

C．he wanted it to sing for him

D．he had just got a cage

【小题2】The mockingbird died because__________.

A．it ate some poisonous food the boy gave it by mistake

B．it ate the poisonous food its mother gave it

C．it was frightened to death

D．it refused to eat anything

【小题3】The word “ornithologist” in the last but one paragraph probably means________.

A．a religious person

B．a kind and sympathetic person

C．a schoolmaster

D．an expert in birds

【小题4】The most important lesson the boy learned from the incident is that______.

A．birds put in a cage won’t live long

B．you have to be very careful about the food you give to young birds

C．when you capture a young mockingbird, you should keep it away from its mother

D．freedom is valuable to all living creature.

I stood outside New York's Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.
From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knee, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.
Life was tough. I couldn't stand, much less walk. I rarely, left the farmhouse---and then only in someone's arms. Mam bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.
“The world will see him when he can walk,” she told Dad. “And he will walk.”
Mam devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.
A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.
“There's nothing anyone can do but you can't,” Mam said. “You and I are going to walk through town.”
The next day Mam dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mam took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan,” she said.
We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I'd walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mam's eyes shining with a mother's pride.
That night, back on our farm, I lay exhausted on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I'd done on my walk.
Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mam's words came back to me—Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do—and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.
I've sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world's finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mam's words chiming in my ears. Then I began singing. I couldn't feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my heart, the same place where Mam's promise lived.
【小题1】What was the problem with the author as a baby?

A．He was expected unable to walk.

B．He was born outward in character.

C．He had a problem with listening.

D．He was shorter than a normal baby.

【小题2】The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means _______.

A．shortcoming

B．disadvantage

C．disability

D．delay

【小题3】Why did Mam dress him and herself in finest clothes?

A．To hide their depressed feeling.

B．To indicate it an unusual day.

C．To show off their clothes.

D．To celebrate his successful operation.

【小题4】From the story we may conclude that his mother was _______.

A．determined

B．stubborn

C．generous

D．distinguished

【小题5】According to the writer, what mattered most in his success?

A．His consistent effort.	B．His talent for music.
C．His countless failures.	D．His mother's promise.