It was a warm April day when a big fat envelope came in the mail from the only college I had ever imagined attending. I tore open the packet. My eyes were fixed on the word “congratulations. ”I don’t remember ever smiling so wide.
Then I looked at my financial（财政的）package.
The cost of Dream School’s tuition（学费）, room and board was around $ 40,000- an impossible sum! How could I afford to attend? What good reasons did I have to go there when three other fine colleges were offering me free tuition? My other choices were good, solid schools even if they weren’t as famous as my first choice.
In my mind, attending my dream university would be the only way to realize my dream of becoming a world-class writer. My parents understood how I felt. They told me that even though it would be a financial problem, I could go wherever I would be happiest. But as I was always careful with money, I wasn’t sure what to do.
One of the schools that offered me a full ride had an informational dinner one night in the spring. Considering my parents’ financial difficulties, I decided to drive the 45 minutes and attend. At first, all I had planned to do was smile politely, eat free food, listen quietly. But I surprised myself.
At dinner the president of the university talked about the wonderful activities on campus （校园）including guest lectures and social gatherings. He also made it perfectly clear that free food would be offered at all future events. He continued with explanations of professors, class sizes, activities, and sporting events on campus. As he spoke, I began to realize that this school, though not as good as my first choice, might be the best one for me. It seemed small yet with many great programs. It seemed challenging yet caring.
As the president ended his speech, we clapped politely and pushed back our chairs. As I walked out that door, a feeling of comfort washed over me. Looking at the campus that night, I realized that I would be spending the next four years right there.
In all honesty, my university is not as well-known as my “dream”university. However, it turned out to be the right choice of schools for me.
【小题1】How did the author feel when he started to read the letter?

A．He was lost in his dream.

B．He was full of joy.

C．He was worried about the money.

D．He was uncertain which school to go to.

【小题2】We can learn from the passage that the parents were _________.

A．honest

B．supportive

C．strict

D．decisive

【小题3】In Paragraph 5, “offered me a full ride”can be replaced by “_______”.

A．would charge me nothing for tuition

B．would pay for transport to the school

C．would show me around the campus

D．would offer free meals at all events

【小题4】What does the author mainly want to say?

A．You should consider comfort in your choice of schools.

B．You should try your best to attend your dream school.

C．Your second-choice college may actually by your best fit.

D．Your choice of schools should be based on their fame.

Dear Alice,
You really have two different questions here, so we’ll discuss them one at a time. Your problems at school may be a result of a number of things . You don’t say much about how these classmates get along with each other. It’s possible that all the students are feeling a little cautious(谨慎的) in the first term.
It’s also possible that the others are unkind. If this is so, you have to find out why you are the class “outsider”.
In your letter you say you often offer to help others with their work. Is it possible that your classmates don’t understand your offers? Could it seem that you were trying to “ buy” friends with these offers?
Is it possible that you took no notice of your classmates when you had your good friends near you ? They may have felt hurt at that time. It may take a time for them to believe in you if so. Try to ask one classmate directly what the problem is. If you hear a negative answer, at least you’ll know what to do.
Yours truly,
Shelia
【小题1】From the letter we know that Alice was very _______.

A．lucky

B．unkind

C．clever

D．unhappy

【小题2】 From the letter, we can conclude that ______.

A．Alice wasn’t pleased with her teachers .

B．Alice’s parents made her study too hard.

C．Alice didn’t get along well with her classmates

D．Alice didn’t want to go to school any more

【小题3】Which of the following is NOT true according to the letter?

A．Alice felt her classmates weren’t kind to her.

B．Alice was very warm-hearted to help her classmates

C．Alice didn’t want to get along well with her classmates.

D．Alice asked two questions in her letter

In a spelling contest (竞赛), an 11-year-old girl was asked to spell a certain word. But with her     voice the judges were not sure if she spelled the word with the letter A or E. They talked it over and finally decided to     ask her what she had said. By then, the girl knew she had     the word, but instead of lying, she told the truth that she had said the     letter—so she lost the contest.

As the girl walked off the    , the entire audience stood to their feet, clapping to praise her    . Later, dozens of newspaper reporters wrote about this girl’s honesty.     she lost the contest, she     the biggest contest that day: the contest of her     .

Probably the biggest test of our character is what we should do if we knew we would never get    . This young girl could easily have     and nobody would have known it    herself. However, that’s just it: she would know she did wrong. It’s been said, “If you cheat, you make yourself    .” This young girl was strong and smart enough to value her own character more than the     from a spelling contest. Her     for herself was more important than any respect others might give her for winning a contest. She knew she would have to     with herself and the     she made at that moment would have a long-lasting influence.

It’s so true that the choices you make today make     you are tomorrow. Our children will follow our behavior. So if we want them to     to be honest, we must be honest ourselves. Remember, our kids are     what we do even when we don’t know.

1.A. loud             B. sweet              C. deep           D. soft

2.A. rarely            B. simply             C. occasionally           D. totally

3.A. forgotten   B. mispronounced C. misunderstood       D. misspelled 

4.A. correct     B. wrong             C. different      D. same

5.A. hall                B. building            C. stage         D. classroom

6.A. bravery          B. courage           C. honesty           D. cleverness

7.A. Though           B. Unless             C.If                    D. Since

8.A. defeated       B. broke              C. won           D. achieved 

9.A. character      B. knowledge          C. life                   D. ability

10.A. paid            B. caught           C. welcome        D. injured

11.A. asked           B. lied         C. explained              D. replied

12.A. except for        B. but             C. besides       D. as well as

13.A. cheap         B. expensive            C. priceless              D. brave

14.A. prize          B. gift          C. skill            D. review

15.A. sense          B. pride          C. respect             D. love

16.A. live        B. work           C. study          D. agree

17.A. plan       B. conclusion             C. discovery       D. choice

18.A. which           B. that                 C. what           D. how

19.A. grow up          B. bring up      C. pick up               D. come up

20.A. recording         B. watching        C. correcting     D. accepting

 

In a national spelling contest in America, an 11-year-old girl was asked to spell a certain word. But with her soft voice the judges were not sure if she spelled the word with the letter A or E. __61__ At that time, the girl knew she had misspelled the word. But instead of lying and telling the judges she had said the correct letter, she told the truth that she had said the wrong letter. __62__.
As the girl walked off the stage, the entire audience stood on their feet clapping to applaud her honesty. Later, dozens of newspapers wrote about this 11-year-old girl’s courage and honesty, even when it cost her the contest. __63__
Probably the biggest test of our character and honesty is what we would do if we knew we would never get caught.
This young girl could easily have lied, and nobody would have known it but her. But that’s just it: She would know she did wrong.  __64__
This young girl was strong and smart enough to prize her own conscience and character more than the prize from a spelling contest. Her respect for herself was more important than any respect others might give her for winning a contest. She knew she would have to live with herself and the choice she made at the moment.
__65__

A．So she won the contest.

B．As a result, she lost the contest.

C．The judges wanted to give her another chance.

D．It’s been said, “If you cheat, you make yourself cheated.”

E. It’s so true that the choices you make today make what you are tomorrow.
F. They talked it over and finally decided to simply ask her what she had said.
G. But the fact is that she won the biggest contest that day: the contest of her character.

I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention. Finally, the driver, a man about 60, looked up from behind the wheel and apologized, “I’m sorry, but I was reading a letter.” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough.
Since I was in no hurry, I told him to finish his letter. He shook his head, explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart. Curious, I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild. “This isn’t family,” he replied. “Though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family, Old Ed and I grew up together.”
They were always friends. But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago, it’d generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them. A couple of weeks ago, Ed died. “I should have kept in touch.” He repeated this, more to himself than to me. To comfort him, I said sometimes we just didn’t seem to find the time. “But we used to find the time,” he said. “Take a look.” He handed the letter over to me.
The first sentence “I’ve been meaning to write for some time, but I’ve always delayed it.” reminded me of myself. It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together. When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me, more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that”, I found myself nodding in agreement.
We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph: “So I thought you’d like to know that I was thinking of you.” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom.”
“I thought your friend’s name was Ed,” I said.
“I’m Tom,” he explained. “It’s a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he’d died. I never put it in the mailbox. I guess I should have written it sooner.” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away. I had to write a letter and post it.
【小题1】From Paragraph 4, we learn that the author _______.

A．often fails to write to his friends

B．doesn’t want to write to his friends

C．had many great moments with his friends

D．was good at expressing his feelings to friends

【小题2】Who wrote the letter?

A．Old Ed	B．The driver’s grandchild
C．The author	D．Tom

【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that the driver regretted_____.

A．missing Ed’s funeral

B．moving away from his neighborhood

C．forgetting to send Ed Christmas cards

D．not being able to keep in touch with Ed