______ is to be awarded the highest award at this evening’s meeting.

As I was leaving to meet Lynne，my roommate told me that I’d better take some money，but I didn’t listen to him. I thought that Lynne would pay because she had invited me.

I arrived at the restaurant exactly on time. I’d been told that Americans expect you to be on time. Lynne and I sat at a table in the corner of the restaurant and a waitress came and took our order. The dinner was a great success. I talked a lot about Saudi Arabia and Lynne told me all about herself. After two hours the waitress finally came and asked if we wanted one check or two. Lynne said two. We went to the cashier and Lynne paid her check. I was embarrassed (尴尬) when the cashier gave me my bill. I had no money to pay for my meal. Then I had an idea. I pretended to look for something in my pockets and said，“Oh！I forgot my money! Can I call my roommate，please？” The cashier showed me where the phone was and I quickly called my roommate.

In a few minutes he arrived with some money，but he couldn’t hide how he felt. He laughed all the way home.

Now，I think it’s funny too. But at the time I was terribly embarrassed. I thought that an invitation to have dinner meant the same thing in the United States as in my country. I guess you have to understand that your customs（习俗） are only your customs. When you visit a foreign country，you have to learn about their customs，too.

1.Customs can be ________in different countries according to this passage.

A．close to each other  B．entirely different    C．quite the same     D．very similar

2.The writer’s roommate advised the writer to take some money with him to________.

A．invite Lynne to dinner                    B．pay for the table

C．share the cost of the meal                 D．pay for the restaurant

3.The writer and Lynne________.

A．shared a successful dinner                B．had a talk for three hours

C．traveled to Saudi Arabia together           D．enjoyed their meal without talking

4.Why didn’t Lynne pay the check for the writer?

A．Because she thought it was natural for people to pay their own check.

B．Because she didn’t have the meal.

C．Because she wanted to embarrass the writer.

D．Because she didn’t have enough money with her.

5.The roommate laughed all the way home because the writer________.

A．was embarrassed when he couldn’t pay his breakfast

B．would not listen to him when he left the house

C．telephoned him to bring some books to him

D．hadn’t told Lynne the truth

I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning. So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years, our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, however, would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.

She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background, I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.

1.Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

A．Eating differently from other kids.           B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother

C．Going to bed early and getting up early       D．Letting mother know where they were

2.It can be inferred from the passage that____________.

A．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

B．mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

C．all the other kids studied better than the writer

D．the writer’s family lived a miserable life

3.Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage ?

A．Mother practiced economy in running her home

B．The writer is very thankful for her mother

C．The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up

D．The wrier has a deep hatred for her mother

4.The passage was written in a way of _________ tone.

A．humorous         B．hateful            C．ridiculous         D．critical

I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast，I had to have cereal，eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch，while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess，my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself，just to save money.

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning. So while my friends slept，my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years，our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing，red for failing. My mother, however，would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.

She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background，I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.

1.From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was __________.

2.Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

3.It can be inferred from the passage that____________.

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

B
When I was looking at my railway timetable, I read with satisfaction that there was an express train (快车) to Westhaven. It went to the station in my hometown and the journey lasted only an hour and 17 minutes. When I got on the train, I couldn’t help noticing that a lot of villagers got on as well. At that time I was not surprised at all. I thought that there might be many people besides myself who wished to take the express train to save time. Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Wildly, a small station a few miles along the line. Even an express train can be delayed sometimes. But when the train stopped station after station, I began to wonder. It suddenly struck me that this express was not running down the line at 90 miles an hour, but no more than 30. One hour and 17 minutes passed and we had not covered half the distance. I asked a passenger if this was Westhaven Express, but he said he had not even heard of it. Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven. When he said there was not such an express train, I asked for his copy of the timetable. There was a sign of victory in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white. Looking at the timetable, he told me to look careful. At the bottom of the page it said, “This service has been stopped.”
61. The passage mainly tells us about ______.
A. the writer’s unhappy journey on a train
B. a mistake in the railway timetable
C. a careless mistake made by the writer
D. the reason why the train was delayed
62. An express train should travel at the speed of ______.
A. more than 40 miles an hour
B. no more than 40 miles an hour
C. 90 miles an hour
D. less than 90 miles an hour
63. Which of the following is true according to the story?
A. The writer got a wrong timetable.
B. The writer had wanted to take an express train.
C. The villagers got on an express train to save time.
D. None of the passengers had heard of Westhaven Express
64. The writer didn’t realize he was on the wrong train until ______.
A. he saw a lot of villagers getting on the train
B. the train stopped at a small station
C. he found the train was delayed
D. an hour passed after he got on the train
65. What was the writer’s mistake?
A. He didn’t notice the words at the bottom of the timetable.
B. He didn’t know that Westhaven Express was not in the timetable at all.
C. He got on a train which didn’t go to Westhaven.
D. The express train changed it speed.