The drug store was closing for the night and Alfred Higgins was about to go home when his new boss approached him.

“Empty your pockets please, Alfred,” Sam Carr demanded in a firm voice.

Alfred pretended to be shocked but he knew he’d been caught. From his coat he withdrew a make-up kit, a lipstick and two tubes of toothpaste.

“I’m disappointed in you, Alfred!” said the little gray-haired man.

“Sorry, sir. Please forgive me. It’s the first time I’ve ever done such a thing,” Alfred lied, hoping to gain the old man’s sympathy.

Mr Carr’s brow furrowed as he reached for the phone, “Do you take me for a fool? Let’s see what the police have to say. But first I’ll call your mother and let her know her son is heading to jail.”

“Do whatever you want,” Alfred shot back, trying to sound big. But deep down he felt like a child. He imagined his mother rushing in, eyes burning with anger, maybe in tears. Yet he wanted her to come quickly before Mr. Carr called the police.

Mr. Carr was surprised when Mrs Higgins finally arrived. She was very calm, quiet and friendly. “Is Alfred in trouble?” she asked.

“He’s been stealing from the store,” the old man coolly replied.

Mrs. Higgins put out her hand and touched Mr. Carr’s arm with great gentleness as if she knew just how he felt. She spoke as if she did not want to cause him any more trouble. “What do you want to do, Mr. Carr?”

The woman’s calm and gentle manner disarmed the once-angry store-owner. “I was going to get a cop. But I don’t want to be cruel. Tell your son not to come back here again, and I’ll let it go.” Then he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins’s hand.

Mrs. Higgins thanked the old man for his kindness, then mother and son left. They walked along the street in silence. When they arrived home his mother simply said, “Go to bed, you fool.”

In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. He felt no shame, only pride in his mother’s actions. “She was smooth!” he thought. He went to the kitchen to tell her how great she was, but was shocked by what he saw.

His mother’s face looked frightened, broken. Not the cool, bright face he saw earlier. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. There were tears in her eyes.

This picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth ending. He saw all the troubles he brought her and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. It was the first time Alfred had stolen anything.

B. Alfred tried to sound big to hide his fear.

C. Mr. Carr set a trap to catch Alfred stealing.

D. Mr. Carr had planned to forgive Alfred from the beginning.

What does the underlined word “disarmed” probably mean?

A. annoyed                   B. made less angry

C. convinced                 D. got over

What was the mother’s attitude toward Alfred?

A. She felt disappointed with him.

B. She was very strict with him.

C. She was supportive of him.

D. She was afraid of him.

What impressed Alfred most about his mother at the drugstore was ________.

A. how angry she was

B. that she didn’t cry

C. that she was able to save him

D. how effectively she handled Mr. Carr

From the last paragraph, we know that Alfred ________.

A. was no longer a youth

B. felt proud of his mother

C. wanted his mother to be happy

D. felt guilty and regretful for his deed

I stood outside New York’s Madison Square Garden and just stared, almost speechless. I was a farm boy from County Kilkenny, a child who some thought would never walk, let alone go as far as I had in the world.

From the day I was born, there was a problem. The doctors at the Dublin hospital told my parents I had phocomelia, a deformity that affected both legs below the knees, which were outward and shorter than normal and each foot had just three toes.

Life was tough. I couldn’t stand, much less walk. I rarely left the farmhouse-and then only in someone’s arms. Mom bundled me up whenever she took me to town, no matter the season.

“The world will see him when he can walk, ” she told Dad. “And he will walk. ”

Mom devoted herself to helping me. She tried everything to get me on my feet. When I was three, she and Dad took me to a clinic in Dublin.

A few weeks later we returned to Dublin with my artificial limbs (假肢). Back home I practiced walking with my new limbs.

“There’s nothing anyone can do but you can’t, ” Mom said. “You and I are going to walk through town. ”

The next day Mom dressed me in my finest clothes. She wore a summer dress and fixed her hair and makeup. Dad drove us to the church. We stepped out of the car. Mom took my hand. “Hold your head up high, now, Ronan. ” she said.

We walked 300 meters to the post office. It was the farthest I’d walked, and I was sweating from the effort. Then we left the post office and continued down the street, Mom’s eyes shining with a mother’s pride.

That night, back on our farm, I lay exhaustedly on my bed. It meant nothing, though, compared to what I’d done on my walk.

Then I began to pursue my dream of singing. And at every step Mom’s words came back to me-Ronan, you can do anything anyone else can do-and the faith she had in God, who would help me do it.

I’ve sung from the grandest stages in Europe, to music played by the world’s finest musicians. That night, I stood at the Madison Square Garden, with Mom’s words chiming in my ears, the same place where Mom’s promise lived. Then I began singing. I couldn’t feel the pulse of the music in my feet, but I felt it deep in my ears.

61. What was the problem with the author as a baby?

A. He was expected unable to walk.

B. He was born outward in character.

C. He had a problem with listening.

D. He was shorter than a normal baby.

62. The underlined word “deformity” in the second paragraph most probably means________ .

A. shortcoming                                                B. disadvantage

C. disability                                                      D. delay

63. Why did Mom dress him and herself?

A. To hide their depressed feeling.

B. To indicate it an unusual day.

C. To show off their clothes.

D. To celebrate his successful operation.

64. From the story we may conclude that his mother was________ .

A. determined                                                  B. stubborn

C. generous                                                     D. distinguished

65. According to the writer, what mattered most in his success? 

A. His consistent effort.

B. His talent for music.

C. His countless failures.

D. His mother’s promise.

—Thank you very much for everything ．You've been so helpful               .

—_        _．Just let me know if there is anything else I can do for you．

    A．With pleasure                        B．The pleasure is mine．        

    C．Please don't say so                  D．No, thanks

When I was a teenager, my dad did everything he could do to advise me against becoming a brewer (造酒人). He’d   36  his life brewing beer for local breweries only to make a living, 37   had his father and grandfather before him. He didn’t want me   38  near a vat (酿酒用的桶) of beer. So I did as he asked. I got good   39 , went to Harvard and in 1971 was accepted into a graduate program there that   40  me to study law and business at the same time.
In my second year of graduate school, I began to realize that I’d   41  done anything but go to school. So, at 24 I decided to drop out.   42 , my parents didn’t think this was a great idea. But I felt strongly that you can’t   43  till you’re 65 to do what you want in life.
I packed my stuff into a bus and headed for Colorado to become an instructor at Outward Bound. Three years later, I was ready to go back to   44 . I finished Harvard and got a highly-paid job at the Boston Consulting Group Still, after working there five years, I   45 , “Is this what I want to be doing when I’m 50?”  At that time, Americans spent good money on beer in   46   quality. Why not make good beer for   47 ? I thought.
I decided to give up my job to become   48 . When I told Dad, he was   49 , but in the end he   50  me. I called my beer Samuel Adams,   51  the brewer and patriot (爱国者) who helped to start the Boston Tea Party.   52  I sold the beer direct to beer drinkers to get  the   53  out. Six weeks later, at the Great American Beer Festival, Sam Adams Boston Lager (淡啤酒) won the top prize for American beer. In the end I was destined (注定) to be a brewer. My   54  to the young is simple: Life is very   55 , so don’t rush to make decisions. Life doesn’t let you plan.

We supply the bike, panniers, all the support gear, easy to follow maps, cycle routes and either the accommodation or several accommodation suggestions depending on the tour.

All you need to do is bring your cycle gear. Book your accommodation off the detailed list  if required, and you are all set for a cheap, environmentally friendly holiday in New Zealand.

We do all the hard work of sorting routes and where to stay — you just relax and enjoy the riding! Too easy.

There are more tours to come so if you don’t see a tour that suits your needs let us know!

If you learned how to ride bike only a week ago, you should choose _______.

   A. 2 Day Self Guided Road Tour                  B. 3 Day Self Guided Road Tour

   C. 5 Day Self Guided Road Tour                  D. 8 Day Self Guided Road Tour

Where can we mostly see the passage?

   A. Newspaper          B. TV                          C. Internet                    D. Magazine

What do you have to do when you want to enjoy your cycle tour?

A. Bring your cycle gear.                                 

B. Bring your support gear and book your accommodation.

C. Book your accommodation.

D. Bring your bike gear and do some hard work.