One year our family decided to have a special celebration of Mother’s Day, as a token of appreciations for all the sacrifices that Mother had made for us. After breakfast we had arranged, as a surprise, to hire a car and take her for a beautiful drive in the country. Mother was rarely able to have a treat like that, because she was busy in the house nearly all the time.

    But on the very morning of the day, we changed the plan a little, because it occurred to Father that it would be even better to take Mother fishing. As the car was hired and paid for, we might as well use it to drive up into the hills where the streams are. As Father said, if you just go driving without object, you have a sense of aimlessness, but if you are going to fish there is a definite purpose that heightens the enjoyment.

So we all felt it would be nicer for Mother to have a definite purpose . Father had just got a fishing rod the day before, which he said mother could use if she wanted to. Only Mother said she would much rather watch him fish than try to fish herself.

    So we got her to make up a sandwich lunch in case we got hungry, though we were to come home again to a big festive dinner.

    Well, when the car came to the door, it turned out that there was not as much space in it as we had supposed. It was plain that we couldn’t all get in.

    Father said that he could just stay home and put in the time working in the garden. He said that there was a lot of rough dirty work that he could do, like digging a trench for the garbage, which would save hiring a man, and so he said that he’d stay home; he said that we were not to let the fact that he had not had a real holiday for three years stand in our way. He wanted us to go right ahead and not to mind him.

    But of course we all felt that it would never do to let Father stay home, especially as we knew he would make trouble if he did. The two girls, Anne and Mary, would have stayed and helped the maid get dinner, only it seemed such a pity,for the two girls were eager to show their new hats on a lovely day like this. But they said that Mother had only to say the word and they’d gladly stay home and work. Will and I would have dropped out, but unfortunately we wouldn’t have been any use in preparing the dinner.

1.The author’s family decided to celebrate Mother’s Day specially to _______.

A. show love for their mother                     

B. show gratitude to their mother

C. show respect for their mother                  

D. to make up for a previous appointment

2.According to Paragraph 2, we know that the plan was changed because________.

A. Father proposed to go fishing out       

B. we thought that driving out is boring

C. we failed to hire a car to go out         

D. the car was not big enough

3.What problem did we find when the car arrived?

A. The car was too old to drive on mountain roads.          

B. The car was larger than we expected.

C. The car was too small to accommodate us all.                 

D. The car was too plain looking.

4.Why didn’t the author drop out of the activity?

A. Because his sisters didn’t join in.                                       

B. Because he needed to have dinner.

C. Because he couldn’t cook the dinner.                                                 

D. Because he hadn’t had a real holiday for three years.

5.Which of the following proverbs describes the text best?

A. Everything comes to him who waits.                        

B. Changes always go beyond plans.

C. Better late than never.                                         

D. Once on shore, one prays no more.

 

My wife Julie and I were out on the road that runs around where we live, when we saw an old worn-out dog stumbling (蹒跚) painfully up the road. We stopped, bent down, talked gently to the dog and patted it. I checked and there was a collar with a phone number. I called but no one answered.

The dog was painfully thin. So Julie ran home to get some of our dog’s food while I tried to encourage the dog. After Julie came back, we sat down on the sidewalk while our new friend made short work of the food. Eventually we got her home.

After trying for many times we got a response from the number. A lady came around with a bunch of flowers for us. She explained that Tara had been her father’s dog. She was very old and got lost that morning. So, Tara was safely returned home.

Here is the truth of the story:

Actually Julie and I were out that morning because I was leaving. She was trying to persuade me to come back, but I wasn’t hearing anything that made that sound likely.

I was about to turn and go when an old black dog walked between us and almost fell down. Suddenly we had something more important than our problem to worry about. There was a creature in need right before us and we had to work together to help it.

We did help it. And here I am writing the story in my own home, in my own family.

In the song “Love Is Not a Fight” Warren Barfield talks about marriage. At one point he sings, “And if we try to leave, may God send angels (天使) to guard the door.”

Sometimes angels come disguised (伪装) as dogs.

1.How was the dog when found?

A. Too weak to walk.                                       B. Thin and worn out.        

C. Unable to eat food.                                             D. Homeless but gentle.

2. We can infer from Paragraph 2 that         .

A. the dog didn’t go with the writer                    

B. the writer had his own pet dog

C. Julie bought some food for the dog                

D. the dog didn’t eat any of the food

3.The underlined part “our problem” in the passage refers to the fact that         .

A. the writer didn’t want to take Julie’s advice

B. an old black dog appeared in front of them

C. Julie disagreed with the writer’s travel on business

D. the couple had some trouble with their marriage

4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. An Angel Dog        B. A Helpful Couple   C. Saving the Dog                D. A Famous Song

 

It was Andria Baker's high school graduation party, and the time had come for her father to make good on a promise that he had made her years ago, when she was a fourth-grader. “After you started on your first day of kindergarten and continue it through your last day of high school, and I'll buy you a car.” Tim Baker had told the child.

Through the years, Andria Baker kept up her end of the bargain, willing herself to go to school on those days even when she felt under the weather. She did carry out her 13th year of uninterrupted coming to the class-room with her final day at Constantine High School even when she was ill.

At Sunday's party, her father gave the young woman the keys to a new, $17,000 Pontiac G6. Tim Baker, who teaches seventh grade at Constantine Middle School, said he has no regret about the deal. “Without a doubt, it was worth every penny I spent.” he said. The look on his daughter's face when she saw the car was great. Baker said, “When she turned around after seeing the car, she did not know what to do. We got her into the car and she just sat there. Then she ran into the house to get her driver's license, and she and her best friend got in the car and drove down the road.”

Andria Baker, 19, said she thinks she would have gone ahead with that even if a new car had not been promised her. “A lot of my friends thought I was crazy, but I just kept going.” she said. Baker plans to go after an education degree at Alma College.

“In my sophomore year I hurt my ankle in a basketball game, and it was really painful,” she said. “Also that day I caught a cold and the teacher looked at me and said, ‘I'm not the teacher who's going to send you home.’ ”

56. How old did Andria Baker begin her kindergarten?

A. Four years old.                     B. Six years old.          C. Thirteen years old.        D. Nine years old.

57. What does the phrase “site felt under the weather” mean?

A. She felt that the weather was very cold.               B, She didn't feel good.

C. Her body changed with the weather.                            D. She liked the weather very much.

58. When Andria Baker saw her present, she felt_____

A. surprised and excited          B. sad and crazy          C. frightened and worried       D. upset and angry

59. From the text, we can know that ______.

A. both Andria Baker and her father stayed in the same school

B. her father made the promise from the day when she began her school

C. her father didn't regret having bought her a new expensive car

D. Andria Baker is now studying at Alma College for a degree

60. Andria Baker could come to school every day because________.

A. she was helped by all of her friends                       B. she wanted to get a new car

C. she never got ill                                                       D. she lust wanted to keep on doing that