My father was in the navy, which meant that my mother was married to both my father and the sea. As was often the case, we had to pack our belongings into boxes and   36   those we had grown to love. We would arrive at our new home and find ourselves once again   37  at the pier（码头）waving good-bye to my father as his   38   pulled him away from us. My mother would turn my brother and me around before the ship was out of   39 , wipe our tears, and take us back home to start the process of   40   in the new environment again.

Throughout the years of changing   41  , schools and friends, there remained one constant in my childhood — my mother. For both my    42  and me, she was the cook, maid and teacher. She played these roles while   43  some type of part-time job. Leaving a promising career is just one of the   44  which my mother made for my family as we moved around the world with our father every three years or so.   45  she had to deal with only a small budget, my mother   46  managed to make each house to be the very home that is safe and   47 .

This probably sounds like a depressing way to live,   48  with two small children: “single” parenthood, short-term friendships, and the inability to   49   a career or establish a home. But it was not for my mother. She turned this   50  into adventure for us all! Each relocation was a chance to   51  another part of the world. My mother greeted each new culture, climate and neighborhood. Each new house was a   52  to rearrange furniture, make curtains and   53  pictures. Every part-time job was an opportunity to learn something new and work with interesting people.

No matter how difficult the life was, she was always having a   54  attitude. She always had strength in the face of struggle and change. My mother was so   55  all those years of my childhood — she was my island in a sea of change. She is my hero.

1.                A．leave behind    B．leave out        C．leave off  D．leave for

 

2.                A．living          B．staring          C．standing  D．going

 

3.                A．car            B．ship            C．train D．plane

 

4.                A．range          B．shape          C．sight D．control

 

5.                A．adapting        B．suiting          C．matching  D．fitting

 

6.                A．names         B．jobs            C．addresses D．directions

 

7.                A．father          B．classmates       C．brother   D．relatives

 

8.                A．performing      B．seeking         C．waiting   D．applying

 

9.                A．programs       B．sacrifices        C．contribution   D．cooperation

 

10.               A．Once          B．While          C．When D．Unless

 

11.               A．somewhere     B．somewhat       C．sometime  D．somehow

 

12.               A．romantic       B．comfortable     C．mysterious D．wealthy

 

13.               A．generally       B．actually         C．especially  D．unfairly

 

14.               A．desert         B．pursue         C．affect D．limit

 

15.               A．lifestyle        B．value          C．journey   D．opportunity

 

16.               A．acquire        B．explore        C．occupy    D．realize

 

17.               A．load           B．sadness        C．result D．challenge

 

18.               A．hang           B．draw           C．take  D．sell

 

19.               A．changeable      B．cautious        C．positive   D．negative

 

20.               A．experienced    B．brave          C．ordinary   D．annoyed

 

 

My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can’t be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying, “What do you want? Take my wallet,” but at the time I thought of nothing.

I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house --- Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen’s voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy’s head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy, and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn’t crouch(蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.

I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help!” at eight o’clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in!” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy’s screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.

The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely, “Please go and eat. We’re OK.”

I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn’t change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?

People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were ill-tempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the gunmen. “Typical,” said one policeman when we couldn’t even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn’t think that would be much help.

The policemen were matter-of-fact about the whole thing. The thin one said, “That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you’re told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.

Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys,” he said. “If you had gone into the house with them…” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” --- he twisted his head toward me --- “and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look,” said the fat policeman kindly, “there’s no right or wrong in the situation. There’s just luck.”

All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time --- no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There’s only luck. The next time I might end up dead.

And I’m sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they’re fooling themselves.

1.When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window, ________.

A. she felt very annoyed  

B. she lost consciousness

C. she felt very much nervous  

D. she lost the power of thinking

2.What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?

A. Jeremy’s fighting                                                  B. The author’s screaming   

C. Their neighbour’s brave action                             D. The police’s arrival

3. When the author called for help, the neighbors didn’t come out immediately because ________.

A. they were much too frightened

B. they were busy preparing dinners

C. they needed time to find baseball bats

D. they thought someone was playing a trick

4.The author was happy to see the neighbors go because ________.

A. she hated to listen to their empty talk

B. she did not want to become an object of pity

C. she was angered by their being late to come to her help

D. she wanted to be left alone with Jeremy to get over the shock

5.The police were rather angry because ________.

A. the author was not hurt and gave a false alarm

B. they thought it was a case of little importance

C. the author and Jeremy could not tell the police anything

D. the gunmen had already fled when they arrived on the scene

6.What the author wants to tell us is that ________.

A. neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty

B. the police are not reliable when one is in trouble

C. security is impossible as long as people can have guns

D. preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice

 

With two children _____ middle school, the parents are working hard.

A．attended

B．being attended

C．having attended

D．attending

 

French novelist Jules Verne (1828—1905) is often called the father of science fiction. Although he was not a great traveler himself, his characters travelled to the moon (in From the Earth to the Moon), under the sea (in Twenty thousand leagues under the sea), into a volcano (in A journey to the centre of the earth), around the world (in Around the World in Eighty Days) and to many other places.

　　Jules Verne was born in the French city of Nantes in 1828. When he was a boy he ran away from home to work on a ship. However, his father soon found him and brought him home. After that he decided that any future travel he did would be in books. In 1847 his father sent Jules to Paris to study to be a lawyer. Even though he was busy writing, Verne passed his exams in 1849 with high marks.

　　When Jules told his father he did not want to be a lawyer, his father was very angry. He stopped sending his son any money, so Jules had to earn a living by his writing. Over the next few years he wrote many stories and plays, which brought him only a little money. Then, in 1856, he met Honorine de Viane, a rich, young widow with two children. The couple married the next year.

After his marriage, Verne worked as a businessman in Paris. However, he was not very successful at his job and spent most of his time writing books and doing research for the next one. In 1863 he published his novel Five Weeks in a balloon and the following year he published A Journey to the centre of the earth which made him famous. His books became so popular and earned him so much money that he was able to leave his job and work full time on his writing.

In his Lifetime, Jules Verne wrote more than 50 books and he became a rich man. Many of this imaginative novels have been turned into films.

1.When Jules Verne was brought home by his father, he decided that ________.

A．he would devote himself to writing

B．he would go on more travels in the future

C．he would stop writing about future travels

D．he would do what his father required

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．He was not good at his schoolwork.

B．He went to Paris because he wanted to be a lawyer.

C．His early stories and plays didn’t bring in much money.

D．He got married in 1856.

3.Jules Verne became rich mainly because of his ________.

A．family            B．marriage          C．business          D．writing

4.Which book can be considered as a turning point in Jules Verne’s life?

A. From the Earth to the Moon.

B. Five Weeks in a Balloon.

C. A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

D. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

5.Which can we infer from the passage?

A．Jules Verne’s stories and plays were liked by film makers.

B．Jules Verne was not clever enough to learn law.

C．Jules Verne’s wife helped him a lot in his writing career.

D．Jules Verne’s stories and plays made him famous in the 1850s.

 

DEAR AMY: Last year I got a full-time job as a baby-sitter for a wonderful family with two amazing kids. They have come to treat me as one of their own. But my boyfriend and I are attempting to save much more money for the life we want to build, including marriage, a house and kids. Much as I love my “babies,” I’m looking forward to beginning a challenging career in a big company. Should I tell the family that I am looking for a new job? I don’t want to find one that requires me to begin work immediately, leaving them without child care, but I also don’t want them to assume that I’m leaving right away.              

Up-in-the-Air Au Pair

DEAR AU PAIR: Whatever your arrangement, it is reasonable for them to expect you to be honest and to keep them in the loop. They see that you are making changes in your life, and surely they will also understand your desire to advance in a career. Tell them frankly and they should be happy to employ you as long as you are available.

                                                           Amy

DEAR AMY: I am a freshman in a high school. Last summer my best friend was diagnosed with skin cancer. It isn’t very serious, but she seems to be becoming more and more depressed. How can I help her be happy again?

                                                           Best Friend

DEAR FRIEND: Your best role is to prop up and encourage your friend when she seems down, and to be supportive and kind to her. You're doing a great job with that, and your friend is lucky to have you in her life.

                                                           Amy

1.What is Au Pair’s problem according to the first paragraph?

A. She has no idea whether to tell the family her plan or not.

B. She has no idea whether the family will hate her or not.

C. She has no idea where to find a new good job.

D. She has no idea how to save more money.

2.From the underlined phrase“ to keep them in the loop”, we can infer that Amy advises Au Pair_____.

A. to keep it secret to the family

B. to cheat the family for the time being

C. to tell her true impression of the family

D. to let the family know what’s going on

3. In which column of a newspaper can we probably find the passage?

A. Jobs             B. culture          C. Life             D. Entertainment