Lisa is ten years old. She is handicapped (残疾)because she has brain damage. She could not do even the simplest thing until a year ago. She could not comb(梳理)her hair or feed her self. Her parents loved her. But they treated her like a baby.

   Mr. Ching has a daughter and a son. They live far from their father. Mr. Ching felt lonely. He decided to do something about it. He decided to become a foster grandfather to a handicapped child. And that was how he met Lisa.

   Foster grandparents are grandparents who are not related by birth, but foster grandparents love the children they care for. They love them just as natural grandparents love their grandchildren

   The foster grandparents also help the handicapped children in special ways. They help to dress and feed the children. They help to dress and feed the children. They read to them and tell them stories. They also help with handicapped children’s therapy. Therapy is the treatment of a disease or disorder. It helps the children overcome their handicaps.

   Mr. Ching became a foster grandparent to Lisa when she was nine years old. At first, Lisa was shy. She was afraid because Mr. Ching was a stranger. But he came to see her every day. Gradually, she began to trust him.

   At last Lisa let Mr. Ching do things for her. He came at lunchtime and fed her. One day he handed the spoon(匙子)and guided it to her mouth. He told her she must learn to feed herself.

   “Most of that lunch ended up on us instead of in Lisa’s mouth,” Mr. Ching remembers. “But it was a start for Lisa. She learned to feed herself in a few months.”

   Then Lisa was ready for more therapy, thanks to Mr. Ching. She had learned to do one simple thing. She could learn to do other simple things. Mr. Ching was trained to help with Lisa’s therapy.

   To become foster grandparents, people must be at least sixty years old and in good health. They must be willing to give their time to handicapped children. They are volunteers(志愿者)，so they are not paid. They are given money for expenses such as transportation.

   Mr. Ching speaks for most foster grandparents when he says, “We all benefit (受益). The handicapped children benefit because we help them live more useful lives. And we benefit because we know the children need us and love us. For any person, there’s no greater happiness than that!”

1．Why did Lisa need help?

A. She was a baby.

B. She did not want to do anything.

C. She had brain damage.

D. She was a blind girl.

2．How often did Mr. Ching visit Lisa?

A. Every day　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Every other day

C. Every week　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. Twice a week

3．Which five things do foster grandparents do for handicapped children?

a. love them　　　　　　　　　　  b. dress them

c. live in their homes　　　　　　   d. feed them

e. charge them money　　　　　　  f. read to them

g. tell them stories　　　　　　　　 h.. make fun of them

A. a. b. d. e. f　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. a. c. e. f. h

C. b. c. d. f. g.　　　　　　  　　　　   D .a. b. d. f. g

4．What does the word “foster” mean?

A. Elderly.　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. Related by birth

C. Not related by birth　　　　　　   D. Kind-hearted.

5．How did Lisa first feel toward Mr. Ching?

A. Shy　　　　　　  B. Friendly　　　　   C. Angry　　　　　　 D. Happy

For the first nineteen months of her life, Helen Keller was like other pretty happy babies in every way. Then a sudden illness destroyed her sight and hearing. Because she could not hear what other people were saying, the child could not learn to speak. For the next seven years, she lived in a world of darkness, without sounds or words.

The person who changed Helen’s world was her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who entered her life on March 3, 1887. Miss Sullivan had accepted a job a blind child who had never learned to act like a human being, because no one had ever been able to guide her in any way. No one could control Helen. She acted like a young animal, rushing wildly around, throwing things, and hitting anyone whom she could reach. Who could believe that such a child could be taught?

But Anne Sullivan was a very special kind of teacher. She had been blind during part of her own childhood and had learned to read Braille, system of writing that uses raised dots which can be felt by the fingers of a blind person. She had learned to see again after several operations, but she had never forgotten the experience of being blind.

Miss Sullivan understood Helen. She loved her and believed she could teach her. Anne Sullivan could not teach Helen Keller to speak until some other important things had been learned. The little girl had to learn to control her actions and feelings. She had to learn that she could not always do what she wished to do. She had always been able to get what she wanted by using force. The teacher had to change such habits without breaking the child’s spirit.

Miss Sullivan’s battle began. Sometimes, there was real fighting between the wild child and the strong young teacher. At last, however, the battle was won by Miss Sullivan, who had succeeded in showing Helen that she loved her and wanted to help her. The child and her teacher became friends. They continued to be friends until the teacher’s death, fifty year later.

The day on which Helen finally accepted Miss Sullivan as her friend and teacher was a great day in Helen’s life. After that, the teacher could begin to teach the child language.

1．Helen Keller acted like a wild animal for she 　　　　.

A. had never had a teacher

B. could not understand any words

C. had never learned to know the world around

D. could not hear anyone speak

2．　　   , Sullivan believed she could teach Helen.

A. Being a blind person herself

B. Having learned Braille when she was young

C. Having been specially trained to be a teacher

D. Knowing how a blind child feels

3．Helen 　　   and so she could neither hear nor learn to speak.

A. lost her hearing at an early age

B. had disease with her ears and tongue

C. lost her ability in hearing and speaking

D. did not know any words

4．The most important thing for Helen was that she should learn　　   .

A. not always to use force

B. to keep her spirit from breaking

C. to tell what was wrong and what was right

D. not to get angry again

5．Sullivan won the battle　　   .

A. because she was stronger than Helen

B. by helping Helen understand why they fought

C. through fighting until she beat Helen

D. through real fighting and beating

Eddie is a handicapped child. He was functionally(官能地)blind and deaf in one ear.

   In spite of his inborn disability, Eddie seems to have a good sense of music. His mother knows that and bought him a toy piano for Christmas.

   At church that day, Eddie listened silently while the rest of the family sang along with the music. As soon as he returned home, be flung himself at the little piano. He seemed angry at it as he produced only noise, so his mother put it in the closet. Two weeks later, returning from a church service once more, Eddie uttered his first words, “Mommy, piano, piano.” This time he started to play every hymn(圣歌)he had heard in church. All his family members looked at each other in surprise. “Eddie plays the piano,” they say.

   Since then Eddie has been taught by a young piano teacher from a university. Now he can perform classic music by Mozart and Schumann. He has learned to read music. He also plays jazz, pop and background music he hears on television shows. “The boy has a bright future,” his teacher says.

1． “A Handicapped child” is a child who 　　  .

A. has no hands　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    B. has a disability

C. is blind in one eye　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. is deaf in one ear

2．The toy piano was given to him　　   .

A. as a birthday present

B. as a Christmas present

C. by his father

D. at the church

3．At church that day Eddie　　   .

A. sang with his family

B. ran about playing

C. listening silently to the music

D. danced with the rest of his family

4．Which of the following is true?

A. After returning from the church, Eddie at once played the piano and he played very well.

B. When Eddie got home, he got angry because he heard nothing at church.

C. After returning home, Eddie shouted and made a lot of noise.

D. Eddie could play the music when he returned from the church the second time.

5．According to what his teacher said, Eddie　　   .

A. will play not better in the future

B. will be successful in the future

C. must go to college for further study

D. must be given a real piano as a present

Millions of years ago dinosaurs (恐龙)lived on the earth. In the days of dinosaurs the whole earth was warm and wet. There were green forests and they could find enough to eat. Later, parts of the earth became cold and dry, and the forests there died. Then dinosaurs could not find enough to eat. This must be one reason why dinosaurs died out.

  We can guess another reason. New kinds of animals came on the earth. Some had big brains and were fast and strong. They could kill dinosaurs.

  There may be other reasons that we don’t know about yet. Scientists are trying to make more discoveries about dinosaurs.

  Dinosaurs were of many sizes and shapes(形状)。Some were as small as chickens, while some were about 90 feet long.

  There were also terrible fights between dinosaurs. They might have happened more than 100 million years ago. Though there was no man to see any of the fights, we can be told by the animal’s footprints(足迹)that fight did take place.

1．According to the passage, dinosaurs did exist (存在) only　　   on the earth.

A. for millions of years

B. millions of years ago

C. more than 100 million years ago

D. when it was warm and wet somewhere

2．One reason why dinosaurs died out is that　　   .

A. there were too many dinosaurs

B. parts of the earth became cold and dry

C. the dead forests there could not supply them with enough food

D. they couldn’t find enough to eat

3．One more reason may be that　　   .

A. new kinds of animals came on the earth

B. some fast and strong animals with big brains could kill them

C. some dinosaurs were as small as chickens

D. some big dinosaurs died in the fights

4．We can see from this passage　　   .

A. scientists are trying to make some dinosaurs

B. dinosaurs are dangerous enough

C. dinosaurs are worth studying

D. scientists know nothing about dinosaurs

5．That terrible fights can be explained by　　   .

A. footprints of the animals

B. imagination (想象)

C. rocks and forests

D. dinosaur’s eggs

Music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own. Poland has its folks. Hungary has its czardas. Argentina is famous for the tango. The U.S. is known for jazz, the type of music that has gained worldwide popularity.

Jazz is American contribution to popular music. While classical music follows formal European tradition(传统)，jazz is rather a free form. It is full of energy, expressing the moods, interests, and emotions (感情) of the people. It is breaking and exciting with a modern sound. In the 1920s jazz sounded like America. And so it does today.

The origins (起源)of the music are as interesting as the music itself. Jazz was invented by American Negroes, or blacks, as they are called today, who were brought to the Southern states as slaves. They were sold to farm owners and forced to work long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields. This work was hard and life was short. When a Negro died his friends and relatives would gather and carry the body to have a ceremony before they buried him.

There was always a band おwith them. On the way to the ceremony the band played slow, solemn music suitable for the situation. But on the way home the mood changed. Spirits lifted. Everyone was happy. Death had removed one of their members, but the living were glad to be alive. The band played happy music, this music made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz.

Music has always been important in Negro life. The blacks, who were brought to America from West Africa, had a rich musical tradition. In the fields, they made up work songs. Singing made the hard work go faster. And when they got to Christianity, they made lovely spirituals, which have become an everlasting part of American music.

1．From the passage, we can see that jazz　　   .

A. is a kind of African music

B. started from Africa but is popular in America

C. was started by blacks working in Africa

D. was started by blacks in America

2．Jazz is a kind of music　　   .

A. almost the same as classical music

B. quite different from classical music

C. popular only in America

D. quite different from Africa music.

3．Generally speaking, Jazz is mostly a kind of　　   .

A. American music

B. African music

C. classical music

D. popular music played at funerals

4．Usually we may feel 　　   moods when we listen to jazz music.

A. sad and sorry

B. tiring and hard working

C. exciting and happy

D. lonely and sad

5．Jazz will always be connected with　　   .

A. American blacks

B. slavery in the United States

C. modern times

D. quick development of music

As you explore (探索) music, you will find much that is familiar to you. You will find music which tells of interesting places and exciting things to do, you will find music which expresses feelings that are often your own.

   Music is an expression of the people. As you explore, you will find music of people at work, and in worship(做礼拜). You will find music expresses love of country, love of nature, and love of home.

   Music is also an expression of the composer(作曲家)。

   As an artist the composer expresses his own musical ideas. He studies the materials of music and discovers ways of using them. He looks for new kinds of musical expression.

   Music can suggest activities (活动) and feelings, which we all share. We can enjoy playing and singing music, dancing and listening to the music of the people and the artists of different times and places.

1．The title of this passage is　　   .

A. Let’s Enjoy Singing and Dancing

B. Let’s Explore Music

C. Music—An Expression of Composers

D. Music—A Suggestive Feeling

2．In the first paragraph, the author appeals (呼吁)to us, saying　　   .

A. “Try to write music”

B. “Be friendly to music”

C. “Express your feeling in music”

D. “Discover the things and places in music.”

3．From the second paragraph, we know that　　   .

A. music is mainly of country, nature and home

B. if we love music, we will love the country , mature and home

C. you may listen to music at work or at play

D. music can express how people live, work, and think

4．By means of music, the composer wishes that   　　.

A. you would study with him

B. you could share his feelings and ideas

C. you would express your own feelings

D. you would help discover ways of using music and new kinds of musical expression

5．The last paragraph observes that music makes it possible　　   .

A. to express activities and feelings at the same time

B. to bring understanding between people of different times and places

C. that people can enjoy playing and singing music, dancing and listening to music at the same time

D. that people of different times and places can get together

Alice Walker makes her living by writing. And her poems, short stories, and novels have won many prizes for her. She was born in Eatonton, Georgia, she went to public schools there, and then to Spelman College in Atlanta before coming to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College, from which she graduated in 1966. For a time she lived in Jackson, Mississippi, with her lawyer husband and small daughter. About Langston Hughes, American Poet , her first book for children, she says, “After my first meeting with Langston Hughes, I promised I would write a book for children someday. Why? Because I, at twenty-two, knew next to nothing of his work, and he didn’t scold me; he just gave me a pile of his books. And he was kind to me; I will always be thankful that in his warmth he fulfilled my deepest dream (and need) of what a poet should be.”

   “To me he is not dead at all. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think of him or speak of him. Once, just before he died, when he was sick with the flu, I took him a basket full of oranges .The joy I felt in giving that simple gift is undiminished (没有减弱) by time. He said he liked orange, too.”

1．What is the main topic of the passage?

A. Langston Hughes’ books about Alice Walker

B. The childhood of Alice Walker and Langston Hughes.

C. Langston Hughes, American poet.

D. Alice Walker’s reflection (印象，评论) on Langston Hughes.

2．In the passage, Alice Walker is　　   .

A. a researcher at Sarah Lawrence College

B. a professor at Sarah Lawrence College

C. a prize-wining writer

D. a writer of plays for children

3．Before attending college, Alice Walker went to school in　　   .

A. Atlanta, Georgia

B. Eatonton, Georgia

C. Jackson, Mississippi

D. Lawrence, Massachusetts

4．Form the passage we can conclude that Alice Walker was twenty-two years old when　　   .

A .she moved to Jackson, Mississippi

B. she moved to New York

C. she first met with Langston Hughes

D. Langston Hughes died

5．What did Alice Walker mean when she says Langston Hughes “is not dead at all”?

A. Langston Hughes believed in eternal life (永生)

B. She hadn’t been told of Langston Hughes’ death.

C. For her, Langston Hughes had never really existed.

D. Langston Hughes is still present in her thoughts.

6．According to the passage, what did Alice Walker give Langston Hughes before he died？

A. A job　　　　　　　　  　　　　　　　　B. A prize

C. Some oranges.　　　　　　　　　　　　   D. Pile of books

To me, life without music would not be exciting. I realize that this is not true for everybody. Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, or listening to the record. But music plays an important part in everyone’s life, whether he realizes it or not. Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music. Would the feelings, the moving plot(情节)，and the greatest interests, be as exciting or dramatic(戏剧性)？I’m not sure about it.

   Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning—the kind of music we hear in the concert hall. But if we look at some parts of music more closely, we discover them in  our everyday life too—in the rhythm(旋律)of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on. So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other. And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music.

   It is well said, “Through music a child enters a world of beauty, expresses himself from his heart, feels the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong.”

1．  What does the writer say more about in the passage?

A. Life full of music.

B. Life without music.

C. Importance of music.

D. Development of music.

2．From the text, we know that many people　　   .

A. don’t realize the importance of music

B. get along quite well without music

C. go to the concert instead of enjoying films

D. think music would be less exciting than films

3．In the writer’s opinion, if there was no music in films or TV plays, 　　   .

A. the cinema and theatre would be quiet

B. we would lose some of the audience

C. everything would be as exciting as before

D. it would be hard to imagine the result

4．What does the underlined word “melody” mean in the text?

A. Flying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. Looking

C. Singing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Living

  A higher reading rate, with no loss of comprehension (理解), will help you in other subjects as well as in English, and the general principle (原则) apply to any language. Naturally, you will not read every book at the same speed. You would expect to read a newspaper, for example, much more rapidly than a physics or economics textbook—but you can raise your average reading speed over the whole range of materials you wish to cover so that the percentage (百分比) gained will be the same whatever kind of reading you are concerned (有关的) with.

  The reading passages which follow are all of an average level of difficulty for your stage of instruction. They are all about five hundred words long. They are about topics of general interest which do not require a great deal of specialized knowledge. Thus they fall between the kind of reading you might find in your textbooks and the much less demanding kind you will find in a newspaper or light novel. If you read this kind of English, with understanding at four hundred words per minute, you night skim (浏览) through a newspaper at perhaps 650-700, while with difficult textbooks you might drop to two hundred or two hundred and fifty.

  Perhaps you would like to know what reading speeds are common among native English-speaking university students and how those speeds can be improved. Tests in Minnesota, U.S.A., for example, have shown that students without special training can read English of average difficulty, for example, Tolstoy’s War and Peace in translation, at speeds of between 240 and 250 words per minute with about seventy percent comprehension. Students in Minnesota claim (自称) that after twelve half-hour lessons, once a week, the reading speed can be increased, with no loss of comprehension, to around five hundred words per minute.　　　　

1．According to the passage, the purpose of effective reading with higher speed is most likely to help you　　   .

A. only in your reading of physics textbook

B. improve your understanding of an economics textbook

C. not only in your language study but also in other subjects

D. choose the suitable material to read

2．Which of the following does not describe the types of reading materials mentioned in the second paragraph?

A. Those beyond (超越) one’s reading comprehension.

B. Those concerned with common knowledge.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 

C. Those without the demand for specialized knowledge.

D. Those with the length of about five hundred words

3．The average speed of untrained native speakers in the University of Minnesota is　　   .

A. about three hundred words per minute

B. about two hundred and forty-five words per minute

C. about sixty words per minute

D. about five hundred words per minute

4．According to the passage, how fast can you expect to read after you have attended twelve half-hour lessons in the University of Minnesota?

A. You can increase your reading speed by three times.

B. No real increase in reading speed can be achieved.

C. You can increase your reading speed by four times.

D. You can double your reading speed.

5．Where do you think the passage is taken from?

A. The introduction to a book on fast reading.

B. A local newspaper for young people.

C. A school newspaper run by students.

D. The introduction to an English textbook.

Dear Irene,

   Many thanks for your letter of 20th December to Waiming and me. Waiming’s mother sent it to us here in England. I thought I had better reply myself since, as you know, your brother is not very good at writing letters.

   You asked whether Waiming’s application (申请) for a scholarship (奖学金) had been successful. Well, as you can see by now, it was. He is doing a one-year postgraduate course in world history here at Lancaster University. The little house we live in is near the university. We have to buy a used car which is necessary because the bus service here is poor.

   We arrived in England at the beginning of September, and stayed in London for three weeks with my cousin Kwok, who owns a large restaurant there. This was the first time he had met my husband. Then we went to Cambridge for a week, where Waiming had to attend a meeting, and after that we came  up to Lancaster and had two weeks to find somewhere to live and generally got organ iced before Waiming’s course began.

   The weather has been quite a change from home. Last week we had some snow, the first we had ever met.

   We get on very well with most of the English people we have met, although we had some difficulty at first understanding the northern accent.

   Well, that’s about all our news. Waiming’s course is going well, and if he passes his exams we will be free to return home in July.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  Love,

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   Sally

1．Which of the following refers to different person from the other three?

A. Waiming　　　　　　　　　　    B. Irene’s brother

C. Sally’s cousin　　　　　　　　    D. The writer’s husband.

2．We can infer (推论) from the first paragraph that Irene　　   .

A. does not like writing letters very much

B. does not live with her mother now

C. was in England when she wrote her letter

D. does not particularly like Sally

3．When Irene wrote the letter she knew that　　   .

A. Waiming and Sally were in England

B. Waiming had applied for a scholarship

C. Waiming’s application for a scholarship had been successful

D. Waiming was doing a one-year postgraduate course in would history

4．When Sally wrote her letter. Waiming had been living in Lancaster for about　　   .

A. three months　　　　　　　　 B. three weeks

C. five months　　　　　　　　    D. five weeks