Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn't sure what to do. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake （缘故）, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.     
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
【小题1】Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?

A．To get close to a butterfly.

B．To look over the bad situation.

C．To escape a sudden attack.

D．To avoid getting his shoes dirty.

【小题2】What made the man feel funny?

A．Making the attacker pause.

B．Being attacked by a butterfly.

C．Being stepped on by his mate.

D．Discovering the energetic butterfly.

【小题3】From this experience the man learned       .

A．what he should do when faced with trouble

B．people should show sympathy to the weak

C．how he should deal with attacks

D．people should protect butterflies

【小题4】Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?

A．Careless.

B．Amusing.

C．Courageous.

D．Aggressive.

Each time I see a balloon, my mind flies back to a memory of when I was a six-year-old girl. It was a rainy
Sunday and my father had recently died. I asked my mom if Dad had gone to heaven. "Yes, honey. Of course." she said.    
"Can we write him a letter?"
She paused, the longest pause of my short life, and answered, "Yes."
My heart jumped. "How? Does the mailman go there?" I asked.
"No, but I have an idea." Mom drove to a party store and returned with a red balloon. I asked her what it was for.
"Just wait, honey. You'll see." Mom told me to write my letter. Eagerly, I got my favorite pen, and poured out my six-year-old heart in the form of blue ink. I wrote about my day, what I learned at school, how Mom was doing, and even about what happened in a story I had read. For a few minutes it was as if Dad were still alive. I gave the letter to Mom. She read it over, and a smile crossed her face.
She made a hole in the corner of the letter where she looped the balloon string. We went outside and she gave me the balloon. It was still raining.
"Okay, on the count of three, let go. One, two, three."
The balloon, carrying my letter, darted upward against the rain. We watched until it was swallowed by the mass of clouds.
Later I realized, like the balloon, that Dad had never let his sickness get him down. He was strong. No matter what he suffered, he'd persevere, dart up, and finally transcend this cold world and his sick body. He rose into sky and became something beautiful. I watched until the balloon disappeared into the gray and white and I prayed that his strength was hereditary. I prayed to be a balloon.
【小题1】When the girl asked her mother if they could write to her father, her mother _________.

A．felt it hard to answer	B．thought her a creative girl
C．believed it easy to do so	D．found it easy to lie

【小题2】When the girl was told that she could send a letter to her father, she _________.

A．jumped with joy

B．became excited

C．started writing immediately

D．was worried that it couldn't be delivered

【小题3】In the eyes of the author, what was the rain like?

A．An incurable disease.

B．An unforgettable memory.

C．The hard time her father had.

D．The failures her father experienced.

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

A．An unforgettable experience	B．The strong red balloon
C．Fly to paradise	D．A great father

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia(失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious. My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they)live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
【小题1】Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A．Sad

B．Sorry

C．Regretful

D．Pitiful

【小题2】What does the underlined word “rectify” mean in Para. 3?

A．put…right

B．recite…by heart

C．realize

D．recognize

【小题3】What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

A．Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old.

B．Be good to your parents when you still have the chance.

C．You will regret in your life if you don’t show your kindness to your parents.

D．It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents.

One day when I was driving on the freeway, I noticed all the way there were large dividing walls, which had been built between it and the road running parallel to it, for noise reduction (减少) and a sense of separation. The purpose was to create a sense of privacy (隐私) for people on the other side.
This got me thinking: How often do we put up mental barriers that keep us distant from others? Lifting the artificial barriers that keep us apart can offer opportunities to express our goodwill and create better relationships. If we can do like this, maybe our life will be a little different.
There is a little post office in a nearby town, and since it is closer to me than the post office in my own town, I go there. One day, with many people jammed into the little building, a man came hurrying in to mail a letter, and the girl at the counter saw he had too little postage on it. She told him he needed 2 more cents. Obviously he was a little at a loss. He had hurried over from his office, and didn’t have any money on him or time to stand in line. He was going to run back to get the needed money and wait in line again, but he hurried to get the letter mailed in the first place.
As we were watching him, one woman volunteered a two-cent stamp, and the whole line became very quiet. It was a beautiful moment. The man hesitated for a little while and asked her if she was sure, and she assured him she was fine with giving him the stamp. He offered to go back to his office to get the two cents, and she told him not to bother.
It was a small thing, but it meant something to both of the people involved, and to the rest of us. We aren’t a yard that needs defining or a freeway that needs barriers. We are human beings who can contribute to each other’s wellbeing by taking time to pay attention and interact. After all, we are all parts of a whole living in society.
【小题1】The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________.

A．summarize the main idea

B．give detailed information

C．tell readers the author’s opinion

D．introduce the topic

【小题2】What happened after the man being told he needed two more cents?

A．The man went back to his office immediately.

B．The man turned to a lady for help.

C．A woman offered a stamp to the man.

D．The man waited in line patiently.

【小题3】What can we learn about the author?

A．She pays too much attention to privacy.

B．She believes people should participate in the world around them.

C．She confuses real barriers with false ones.

D．She insists all small things always have the greatest meaning.

【小题4】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Artificial Barriers	B．Unnecessary Separation
C．An Unforgettable Experience	D．The Kindness of People

Once upon a time, a man was walking on a mountain when he found an incredible cave with all kinds of treasure inside it. So he gave up his job, his home, and his friends, and spent all his time guarding the cave.
He was so dedicated to it that he hardly ate or drank, and before long he fell ill. One day, when he could hardly move at all, he decided to share the treasure.
He crawled into the cave to get a handful of jewels, but discovered, to his horror, that it was empty except for a small emerald (绿宝石). The man took it and gave it to the first person to come by, a woman.
Then an old man came by. “What bad luck!” the man said. “Just a moment ago I gave a woman the last of the treasure I was guarding.”
“Are you sure there is nothing left?” the old man asked.
The man took him into the cave, where they found a chest with jewels and some bags of gold. The man was shocked, and the old man explained to him, “At last! At last! At last someone has broken the spell of this cave. This is the Cave of Treasure, and you’re the first to have passed its great test. Many have dedicated their lives to this cave, only to end up realizing there was nothing here …”
“And why does this happen?” the man asked.
“This magic cave has only as many riches as your own heart. When someone discovers it, the cave fills with the treasure they bring with them, but later, when they have devoted themselves to guarding the treasure, their hearts become empty, as does the cave. The only way to fill it is by filling your heart with all that is good, as you did by giving the woman that last jewel.”
From that day on, the man understood that it was better to share than to keep. Thanks to the cave and the old man, he became noble and generous.
【小题1】Why did the man give up his job, home and friends?

A．Because he possessed a variety of treasure.

B．Because he devoted himself to a great test.

C．Because he had to guard the treasure cave.

D．Because he wanted to find the treasure cave.

【小题2】 What did the man find when he showed his cave to the old man?

A．All kinds of treasure.	B．A chest with jewels and gold.
C．A small emerald.	D．A handful of jewels.

【小题3】What do we learn about the people who dedicated their lives to the cave before?

A．They all found the cave empty at last.

B．The old man freed them from its spell.

C．They all filled the cave with the treasure they had.

D．They thought it was better to share than to enjoy the treasure alone.

【小题4】What can we learn from the text?

A．Different people have different views.

B．Treasure only belongs to those who possess it.

C．Some people never learn what is really valuable.

D．Purely material things cannot make us truly wealthy.

My father got his first job at eleven years old. cleaning up the garbage outside of the bowlingalley（保龄球场）． Two years later his dad died. and my fatber worked odd jobs to help put food onthe table during the Depression. Ten years after that. Dad fell in love. married Mom and had ababy girl. Eight more children followed. During those years, Dad slipped into a routine he neverbroke He woke up before six. took the train to work and wouldn't get home until after five thirly.After supper, Dad spent the rest of the evening in the basement making dental parts for extra    
Two years ago, at the age of sixty-four, Dad retired. When I was young, Mom and Dad did well to hide the fact that we were poor. All nine of us attended Catholic schools and we always had plenty of school supplies. We slept in wooden beds, shared one bathroom and watched television from a tiny black-and-white set in the living room. Mom and Dad never bought anything for themselves. They clipped coupons, wore the same pair of sneakers for twenty years and sewed wom clothing together every Saturday afternoon.
At his retirement party. I wanted to thank Dad for all his hard work and sacrifice by buying him the best present I could think of. As I shopped though. l realized there was nothing I could buy for Dad. Dad taught me through his own faith that the greatest gifis come from the heart Finally. I left my present on the kitchen table for Dad to find before he Ieft for his frnal day at work.
【小题1】How did Dad get extra money besides his daytime routine work?

A．Collecting garbage outside the alley.

B．Making dental parts in the basement.

C．Putting food on the table in a hotel.

D．Working oddjobs on the train.

【小题2】What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．Dad retired after sixty-four years of hard work.

B．Dad and Mom could afford their children good education.

C．Parents made every effort to save for chcir children

D．The family was once poor but became well off later.

【小题3】After reading the text. what would be the author's present for his Dad?

A．A big-screen television.

B．A vacation schedule.

C．A letter of grateful words.

D．A great retirement party.

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Thank You. Dad.	B．Dad's Expenence.
C．A Hardworking Dad.	D．Dad. a Breadwinner.

There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process. People have generally viewed personal growth as an external(外部的) result or product that can easily be identified and measured. The worker who gets a promotion, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language--- all these are examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts.
By contrast, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since by definition it is a journey and not the specific signposts (路标)or landmarks along the way. The process is not the road itself, but rather the attitudes and feelings people have, their caution or courage, as they go through new experiences and unexpected obstacles(阻碍). In this process, the journey never really ends; there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept.
In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to be faced with the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may “fail” at first. How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is essential(基本的) to our ability to grow.
These feelings of insecurity and self – doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow. If we do not face and overcome these internal(内部的) fears and doubts, if we protect ourselves too much, then we cease（停止) to grow. We become trapped inside a shell of our own making.
【小题1】．A person is generally believed to achieve personal growth when______..

A．he has given up his smoking habit

B．he has made great efforts in his work

C．he is interested in making anything new

D．he has tried to determine where he is on his journey

【小题2】．In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would______.

A．judge his ability to grow from his own achievements

B．succeed in climbing up the social ladder

C．face difficulties and take up challenges

D．aim high and reach his goal each time

【小题3】．When the author says “a new way of being” (para. 3), he is referring to _____.

A．a new way of taking risks

B．a new approach to experiencing the world

C．a new system of adapting to change

D．a new method of finding ourselves

【小题4】．For personal growth, the author may not support __________.       .

A．curiosity and more chances

B．being quick in self – adaptation

C．open – minded to new experiences

D．avoidance of internal fears and doubts

A
This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.
It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend(超越) it. Once we truly know that life is difficult--once we truly understand and accept it--then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problems and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation.
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one.  Problems, depending on their nature, cause us sadness, or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are uncomfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, those things that hurt, instruct. It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
【小题1】From the passage, it can be inferred that ______.

A．everybody has problems

B．we become stronger by meeting and solving the problems of life

C．life is difficult because our problems bring us pain

D．people like to complain about their problems

【小题2】 The writer probably used just one short sentence in the first paragraph to ______.

A．save space	B．persuade readers
C．make readers laugh	D．get readers’ attention

【小题3】The main idea of Paragraph 3 is that ______.

A．most people feel life is easy

B．the writer feels life is easy

C．the writer likes to complain about his problems

D．most people complain about how hard their lives are

【小题4】 According to the passage, we give school children difficult problems to solve in order to______.

A．encourage them to learn

B．teach them to fear the pain of solving the problem

C．help them learn to deal with pain

D．teach them how to respect from problems

【小题5】The saying from Benjamin Franklin “Those things that hurt, instruct” suggests that ______.

A．we do not learn from experience

B．we do not learn when we are in pain

C．pain teaches us important lessons

D．pain cannot be avoided

Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family,and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.
However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And,in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time,time that most people won’t put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success,you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent,but thinking that way does you no good,and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.
Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.
【小题1】Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.

A．the reasons for success	B．the meaning of success
C．the standards of success	D．the importance of success

【小题2】In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “that “refers to ______.

A．being good at something	B．setting a practical goal
C．putting in more time	D．succeeding in life

【小题3】What is the main theme of the passage?

A．Having a goal is vital to success.

B．Being good is different from being great.

C．One cannot succeed without time and practice.

D．Luck,talent and family help to achieve success.

Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen…
At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful. I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places; maybe I’ll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don’t live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.
【小题1】Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of ______.

A．observing her school routine

B．expressing her satisfaction

C．impressing her classmates

D．preserving her history

【小题2】What caused a change in the author’s understanding of keeping a diary?

A．A dull night on the journey.

B．The beauty of the great valley.

C．A striking quotation from a book.

D．Her concerns for future generations.

【小题3】What does the author put in her diary now?

A．Notes and beautiful pictures.

B．Special thoughts and feelings.

C．Detailed accounts of daily activities.

D．Descriptions of unforgettable events.

【小题4】The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is_____.

A．to experience it

B．to live the present in the future

C．to make memories

D．to give accurate representations of it