When I was a teenager growing up in France, I wanted to leave school and have my own life. The only way I could   1  this was to work in the local paper factory in my town, or get married. I was very nervous when I told my   2  I wanted to leave school. I thought he would say, “  3  You are going to college (大学).” I was very   4  when he said, “OK. Let’s go to the paper factory.”

Two days later,   5  took me to the factory. I imagined everyone to be friends   6 together and having fun. I even imagined there would be music and singing. I   7  I had watched too many movies as a teenager.

When we   8  the factory gate, my father spoke to the guard (门卫) and one minute later we were   9 . I walked around the factory looking at the building, the workers, and listening to the noise. It was   10 . I ran back to my father and said, “I want to go home.”

He asked me, “What do you think of the   11 ?”

“Too bad,” I answered.

“And marriage(婚姻) is even  12 !” he said.

I went back to school the next day thinking about studying hard   13  I could get into a good college. I   14  studying English so I decided to major in languages at college. Thanks to my father and our   15  to the paper factory, I now work at the United Nations and my father is very proud of me. I married a very good man and my life is much better than it would have been working in the factory!

1.                A．say            B．do             C．receive   D．find

2.                A．teacher        B．friend          C．father    D．husband

3.                A．Yes!           B．No!            C．Really?   D．OK?

4.                A．angry          B．tired           C．nervous  D．surprised

5.                A．he            B．she            C．it    D．they

6.                A．working        B．studying        C．singing   D．farming

7.                A．guess          B．mean          C．say  D．hope

8.                A．looked at       B．returned to      C．arrived at D．left for

9.                A．outside         B．inside          C．back D．away

10.               A．terrible        B．wonderful      C．funny D．special

11.               A．workers        B．guard          C．building   D．factory

12.               A．better         B．harder         C．worse D．easier

13.               A．but            B．if             C．so    D．or

14.               A．enjoyed        B．stopped        C．disliked   D．minded

15.               A．way           B．idea           C．plan  D．trip

“Homestay is a form of study abroad program. It allows the visitor to rent a room from a local(当地的) family to better understand the local lifestyle. It also helps to improve the visitor’s language ability,” said a teacher during a school meeting last term.” Students who wish to learn more about foreign cultures or to get foreign experience should join this kind of holiday. I am sure you won’t be disappointed(失望的).”
After this special meeting, I always thought about this kind of holiday. Last month, I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London, a place where I had wanted to go since years ago.
As we were still young, we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us. After we got to London, we went to stay with different families. I was lucky that my host family(寄宿家庭) was a white couple who had a daughter about my age. They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there. They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them, too.
The holiday was filled with activities every day. After breakfast, a local teacher would come to take us in his car. Then we would have classes or go on a sight-seeing trip to different places of interest like the Big Ben, the London Bridge, and the Buckingham Palace. We would go back to our own homes after the activities.
The holiday was a valuable experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. Yet, time really flew fast. Three weeks later, we had to leave “home” for Hong Kong.
【小题1】In the “homestay” program, a visitor can _____.

In front of my daughter, Shelly, was a bowl filled with cabbage. She hated cabbage. She only sat there in silence with tears in her eyes.
“Shelly, my dear, why don’t you eat a little? If not, your mum will shout at us.”
Shelly didn’t feel happy. “OK, dad. I will eat, just a little.” Then Shelly said, “Dad, if I eat it all, will you give me what I want?”
“Yes.”
Slowly she began to eat. It took her almost half an hour to finish all the food in the bowl. Then she came up to me and said, “Dad, I want to have my hair cut off!”
“Shelly, why don’t you ask for something else? If we see your head like that, we’ll feel very sad,” I said.
“But Dad, you promised! Now you’re going back on your words. ”
I had to keep my promise. Shelly had all her hair cut off. She smiled.
On Monday morning, I took Shelly to school. Just when I arrived, a boy got out of a car and shouted, “Shelly, please wait for me!”
Guess what? The boy had no hair, either.
“Sir, your daughter is great!” a man got out of the car and said, “This boy is my son, Harish. He has cancer. He lost his hair when he got ill. Shelly cut hers off so Harish felt less different. She is a special girl.”
I stood for a while, “My little daughter, you teach me how selfless real love is!”
【小题1】 Shelly _____________ before she ate her meal.

When I was a teenager growing up in France, I wanted to leave school and have my own life. The only way I could   1  this was to work in the local paper factory in my town, or get married. I was very nervous when I told my   2  I wanted to leave school. I thought he would say, “  3  You are going to college (大学).” I was very   4  when he said, “OK. Let’s go to the paper factory.”
Two days later,   5  took me to the factory. I imagined everyone to be friends   6 together and having fun. I even imagined there would be music and singing. I   7  I had watched too many movies as a teenager.
When we   8   the factory gate, my father spoke to the guard (门卫) and one minute later we were   9 . I walked around the factory looking at the building, the workers, and listening to the noise. It was   10 . I ran back to my father and said, “I want to go home.”
He asked me, “What do you think of the   11 ?”
“Too bad,” I answered.
“And marriage(婚姻) is even   12 !” he said.
I went back to school the next day thinking about studying hard   13  I could get into a good college. I   14  studying English so I decided to major in languages at college. Thanks to my father and our   15  to the paper factory, I now work at the United Nations and my father is very proud of me. I married a very good man and my life is much better than it would have been working in the factory!

When I was young, I wanted to be a model, so when a national competition was nearby, I asked my parents to take me for an audition(试演) and they agreed, I was selected and told I had potential. They said that for only $900 I could attend a weekend event that a number of the most famous modeling agenies(中介) from around the world would attend. At 13, my hopes of fame and fortune(名利) clouded my judgment and I begged my parents to let me go. We have never been rich, but they saw my enthusiasm and at last they agreed.

I imagined being signed by some famous model companies. For .months, any boredom or disappointment that I faced disappeared because I knew I would soon have the chance to be a real model. I thought I would appear in the covers of famous magazines!

Of course, I wasn't signed, but what hurt the most was being told that if I grew to 5'9' (about 1.75 meters) I could be a success. I sprayed for a growth spurt(冲刺) because I could not imagine giving up my dream. I met with a local modeling agency and the agent required $500 for classes, $500 for a photo shoot(拍摄), and $300 for other fees. My parents only agreed after hours and hours of my begging.

The agency sent me out on a few auditions but with every day I did not receive a call, I grew more disappointed. The final chance came in July after I had decided to focus on commercial modeling. There was an open call(公开挑it) in New York City. We spent hours driving and spent another few hours waiting, only to be told that I was too short, I could hardly stand it.

Years later, I realize that the trip to New York was good as it made me notice I didn't actually love modeling, just the idea of it.1 wanted to be special and I naively(天真地)decided to reach an impossible goal. The experience has made me stronger and that will help me in the future.

1.The author wanted to be a model, because_______.

A．she won a national contest

B．she wanted to be famous and rich

C．she was urged by some modeling agencies

D．she had full potential to be a successful model

2.The author's parents' attitude toward her dream is_______.

A．encouraging       B．doubtful          C．worried           D．excited

3.The author finally stopped dreaming to become a model mainly because_______.

A．her parents were strongly against it

B．she realized that it was impossible for her.

C．even a local modeling agency turned her down

D．she realized that she didn't actually love the idea of modeling

4.From her experience of struggling to be a model, the author learned that

A．where there is a will there is a way

B．being a model is not so easy

C．we should have our own judgment and should not just follow others

D．we might set unpractical goals but the experiences can help us grow.