When I was told to play for a drama competition, I became nervous. I had never done anything like this before. But after reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, I was excited about what was to come. The story was great and the sentences were so funny. I wanted to give it a go.

I was playing Sir Toby Belch, a very funny old knight(骑士). I had to remember a lot of sentences and very funny old words. I worked hard in order to act well, like a real knight from the old days. But the most different job was to be funny in all my acting. This is quite different from the way I am in real life.

“OK. It’s time to be a different me now!” I said to myself. At first, I couldn’t do anything naturally. I didn’t know what to do when acting in this silly way. But I always told myself that I was Sir Toby now and I should forget who I really was. Even when I was in the bath, I was thinking about Sir Toby’s words and actions and trying to do everything like Sir Toby did.

The competition day finally came. When it was my turn to perform, I took a deep breath and began my part. I tried hard to make my words clear enough to be understood and my actions funny enough to make everybody laugh. When the results were finally read out, I immediately knew we had won first prize. I made it.

From this experience, I’ve come to know that I can be a different person. It’s doesn’t mean I’ve changed my personality, but I can do something I had never imagined possible.

38. When the writer finished reading the story, 　　　　 .

A. he was excited　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. the competition began

C. he became nervous 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. he forgot who he really was

39. The expression “give it a go” in Paragraph 1 most probably means 　　　　 .

A. come on　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 B. give up

C. run away　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 D. have a try

40. The writer thought it was very difficult to be funny in all his acting because 　　　　 .

A. it was an old story

B. it was different from the way he was in real life

C. he was not interested in it

D. his classmates and teachers would laugh at him

41. From the last paragraph, we can learn that the writer 　　　　 .

A. has learned nothing from the experience

B. plans to meet and talk to different people

C. is looking forward to the next competition

D. can do something which seems impossible

根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳答案。
Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.
After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner .And as soon as he finished eating，he went back to his room without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books again. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.
Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an “A” in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “What made you make such great progress ? Was it the nuns (修女)?”
Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”
“Well then,” she asked again. “What was it?”
Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (十字架), I knew they weren’t joking. ”
【小题1】Why did Tommy’s parents send him to a catholic school?

根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳答案。

Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.

After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner .And as soon as he finished eating，he went back to his room without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books again. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an “A” in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “What made you make such great progress ? Was it the nuns (修女)?”

Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”

“Well then,” she asked again. “What was it?”

Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (十字架), I knew they weren’t joking. ”

1.Why did Tommy’s parents send him to a catholic school?

A. Because he could eat well there.

B. Because he could earn more about nuns.

C. Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math.

D. Because his parents didn’t want him to learn math any more.

2.Tommy’s mother felt surprised that his son _______.

A. was still the same as usual       B. ate so much at dinner

C. kissed her hello after school      D. worked hard but said little

3.“Hitting the books” means “_______” in Chinese.

A. 用功 B. 捶书 C. 发泄 D. 振作

4.The last sentence in the passage shows that _______.

A. Tommy felt sorry for the nail

B. Tommy was afraid of being nailed

C. Tommy didn’t like the plus sign

D. Tommy liked playing jokes on others

5.From the passage, we can infer (推断) that _______.

A. we should be strict with ourselves

B. mistaking (误解) might do good sometimes

C. a catholic school is better than other ones

D. nuns are good at helping children with their math