A Tchaikovsky concerto（协奏曲）is what made Romel Joseph fall in love with the violin.

He learned how to play in Haiti, where he was born, but a Fulbright scholarship brought him to the United States, and he finally earned a master’s degree, reports CBS News reporter Katie Couric. Music had changed his life. He wanted to do the same for the children of Haiti.

Joseph built a school in Port-au-Prince nearly 20 years ago. He was on the third floor when suddenly “It was like boom boom boom and everything just opened,” Joseph said. “And the next thing I knew I was on the ground.”

Blind since birth, Joseph tried to feel his way out, but was pinned（夹）beneath heavy concrete（混凝土）. He remained trapped for 18 hours. He prays that his new wife, seven months pregnant（怀孕的）, will be found.

He is now being treated at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital for two injured legs and an arm.

Joseph wonders if he’ll ever play the violin again. He can feel sensation（知觉）in his fingertips. He said, “If you were to give me a violin and if I didn’t have to fold the fingers, I would be able to play.”

Joseph’s daughter Victoria spent three terrifying days unsure of her father’s fate. For her, having him home is the sweetest music.

“Can you imagine your dad not being able to play the violin?” Couric asked.

“No, I can’t,” Victoria Joseph said. “But I will love him all the same if he can’t.”

Romel doesn’t know how many of his 300 students died in the quake. As he waits for news about his wife, Romel Joseph is already planning a return to Haiti to rebuild the school and continue teaching there.

“We can save two children, 20, 200, 300, 500 through education and music, and these children will make a difference,” Romel Joseph said.

54．Romel began to like music ________.

A. because he was blind since birth

B. after he had listened to a famous piece of music

C. when he got a scholarship to study in America

D. since he was born in Haiti

55．From what Romel said in Paragraph 6, we can infer that he was ________.

A. upset        B. fearful          C. excited          D. optimistic

56．To Victoria, the best thing is ________.

A. to see her father recover from the injury quickly

B. to listen to her father playing the sweetest music

C. to play the violin as well as her father

D. to be sure that her father could play the violin

57．Why does Romel want to go back to Haiti?

A. To save his students from the earthquake.

B. To change the life of children by teaching music.

C. To find out how seriously his school was damaged.

D. To look for his wife who is pregnant.

58．Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Music education: keep your creativity alive

B. A great blind musician and his students

C. Haiti earthquake: a story of a music teacher

D. How did some Haiti earthquake victims survive

When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing  person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.　
One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone! Quickly, I called “Information Please" and told her what happened.  She told me to open the icebox and hold a little piece of ice to my finger.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my pet bird died, I told
"Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “How do you spell ‘grateful’? ". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was 9, we moved to Boston.
A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an
hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please."    　　
Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on
this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?"  
There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have
healed by now."   I laughed. "So it's really still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."  I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."　　
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally
passed away five weeks before.   　　
Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me—“Tell him I still say
there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.”  I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched
today?　
【小题1】
What does “Information, Please” refer to in the passage?

A．An amazing girl.

B．A special kind of telephone.

C．A communication system.

D．A service that helps telephone users.

【小题2】
What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone? 

A．He was amused by the telephone.

B．He hurt his finger with a hammer.

C．He found an amazing telephone.

D．He got a piece of ice from an icebox.

【小题3】
What did “Information, Please” give the little boy whenever he was in trouble? 

A．Information and conversation.

B．Good memories and happiness.

C．Sympathy and information.

D．Friendship and cheers.

【小题4】
When did the author get in touch with “Information, Please” again after he moved to
Boston?  

A．When he was in trouble on his way to college.

B．When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.

C．When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.

D．Three months later after he moved to Boston.

When I was quite young, I discovered that somewhere inside the telephone lived an amazing

person - "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know.　

One day while my mother was out, I hit my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but

there was no one home to give me any sympathy. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone! Quickly, I called “Information Please" and told her what happened.   She told me to open the icebox and hold a little piece of ice to my finger.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. When my pet bird died, I told

"Information Please" the sad story. She tried to comfort me, she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “How do you spell ‘grateful’? ". All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was 9, we moved to Boston.

A few years later, on my way to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an

hour or so between planes. Without thinking, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, please."

Surprisingly, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, "Information." I hadn't planned on

this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell ‘grateful’?" 

There was a long pause. Then came the soft-spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have

healed by now."   I laughed,  "So it's really still you," I said, "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."  I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again. "Please do," she said, "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered me. I was told that Sally

passed away five weeks before. 

Before I could hang up she told me that Sally left a message for me—“Tell him I still say

there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.”  I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched

today?

1．What does “Information, Please” refer to in the passage?

A．An amazing girl.

B．A special kind of telephone.

C．A communication system.

D．A service that helps telephone users.

2．What happened to the little boy one day when he was at home alone? 

A．He was amused by the telephone.

B．He hurt his finger with a hammer.

C．He found an amazing telephone.

D．He got a piece of ice from an icebox.

3．What did “Information, Please” give the little boy whenever he was in trouble? 

A．Information and conversation.

B．Good memories and happiness.

C．Sympathy and information.

D．Friendship and cheers.

4．When did the author get in touch with “Information, Please” again after he moved to

Boston?  

A．When he was in trouble on his way to college.

B．When his plane stopped in Seattle for half an hour.

C．When he went back to Seattle to visit his sister.

D．Three months later after he moved to Boston.

阅读理解

　　It was late afternoon. Farmer Lum was walking home from his fields. His feet sank deep in the thick dust. A dry, hot wind blew dust across the brown fields. The raining season was late this year. Everything needed rain. Even the water in the village well was getting low.

　　Every morning Farmer Lum stepped from his house and looked at the sky. But there were no clouds. And every night before he went to bed, he looked at the sky. Even a small cloud might bring rain by morning. But no rain fell.

　　Early one morning several days later Farmer Lum was woken up by a heavy rain. He got up quickly, went to the door, and stepped outside. He held out his hands to catch the cool drops of rain. He breathed deeply. How good the rain smelled!

　　After a few days of rain, the ground was soft enough to be ploughed. Every morning Farmer Lum got up early to drive his ox to the fields. Soon the seed-bed in the corner of the field was ready for planting. He took the grains of rice from the bag carefully because he did not want to lose a single one. Then he planted them in the soft, wet soil.

　　While Farmer Lum planted the rice, his wife planted vegetable seeds in the garden by the house.

　　After a few days Farmer Lum and his wife began to pull the young seedlings(幼苗) from the wet soil and took them to the field to plant. Several months later the rice was ready for harvesting. Again Farmer Lum and his wife went to the field. This time they cut the long yellow stalks(梗), then put them in the sun to dry. Later Farmer Lum dove the ox back and forth over the stalks to loosen(使松开) the grain from them. Then he and his wife tossed (抛) the stalks high in the air, and the grains of rice fell off the stalks onto the ground. Before they finished, they had gathered every grain of rice.

　　When evening came, Farmer Lum sat in front of his house. He smiled, because the rice crop was good. In fact, it was the best rice crop he had ever had. He would have enough to feed his family and there would be some left over to sell. Maybe he would be able to buy a colour TV set.

1．Every morning Farmer Lum stepped from his house and looked at the sky because ________.

[　　]

A．he had been looking forward to rain

B．he liked to count the stars in the sky

C．he liked the clouds in the sky

D．he liked to breathe the fresh air outside the door

2．One morning when Farmer Lum found it was raining heavily, ________.

[　　]

A．he felt afraid

B．he was surprised at it

C．he felt very happy

D．he felt very sad

3．Farmer Lum took the grains of rice from his beg carefully because ________.

[　　]

A．his beg was broken

B．he wanted to choose some good seeds

C．he was very old and he had to take the seeds out of his bag slowly

D．he did not want to lose a single one

4．After several months Farmer Lum and his wife began to ________.

[　　]

A．harvest rice

B．drive their ox to the field

C．plant vegetable seeds in the garden by the house

D．plan to buy something in town