Arthur sat at the desk in his room, pencil in hand. He had to write a story for his English class by Friday. “I don’t know what to write about,” he complained to his dog Toby, who was asleep at his feet. Arthur was talkative when speaking to his friends, yet he had trouble finding words when he had to write.

By bedtime Arthur had drawn a picture of Toby smiling. He had drawn a tree with its branches blowing in the strong wind. He had also written a note asking his friend Lee to go to the movies on Saturday. But he had not written a single word of his story.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Solomon, Arthur’s English teacher, asked the class to turn in the first draft of their stories. His heart sinking, Arthur turned in the only work he had—the page with his name, the drawings and the note.

Arthur wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Solomon asked him to stay after class the next day. But he was surprised by what she said to him. “This is an attractive story, Arthur. The dog, the movie, the tree in the wind—I can’t wait to find out how they all fit together.”

“That isn’t my story, Mrs. Solomon,” Arthur admitted. “I haven’t been able to think of one yet.”

“Oh, I think you have the seed(种子of a story there,” Mrs. Solomon replied, “Look at your note and the pictures and see if a story comes to you.”

That night Arthur sat at his desk, and this is what he wrote: “One Saturday Mike went downstairs to meet his friend Julio at the cinema. It looked as if it might rain, so Mike carried his umbrella. Suddenly a big storm blew in, bending the trees. The noise of the wind sounded like the barking of Mike’s dog Toby. Toby really hated storms and barked whenever he wanted to be let inside. Then Mike realized that it wasn’t the sound of the wind. It was Toby. The dog was running after him down the busy street, barking. The sound was filled with blame. Mike felt guilty because he had left Toby outside. He turned and headed home with Toby running beside him. Mike let Toby in the door just as the rain started to pour down.”

Arthur had a story in the end. The last thing he did was to write his name proudly at the top of the page.

1.Why did Arthur turn in the page with only his name, the drawings and the note at first?

A.Because he had no time to fit them together.

B.Because he had difficulty in writing a story.

C.Because he wasn’t willing to do his homework.

D.Because he wanted to show his talent for drawing.

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A.Toby is an imaginative and lovely dog.

B.The small tree will grow into a big one.

C.His friend Lee can give him a lot of support.

D.He can develop his story based on the first draft.

3.What kind of teacher do you think Mrs. Solomon is ?

A. She is a strict teacher                     B. She is a wise teacher

C. She is an honest teacher                   D. She is an energetic teacher

4.What can we infer(推断from the story?

A. Arthur is a shy and quiet student

B. Arthur isn’t very satisfied with his story

C. There will be a storm on Saturday

D. Encouragement is important in teaching

Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.

There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.

This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel（铲子）one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.

One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor（肿瘤）. She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us. 

And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden.

1. Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?

   A. Because it was hot in the afternoon.

   B. Because someone picked them away. 

   C. Because someone took them into houses.

   D. Because the writer passed them in the morning.

2. Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?

   A. The writer’s sister died of lung tumor.

   B. The writer was regretful when she heard her sister’s death.

   C. The writer planned to dig the flowers to give them to her husband.

   D. The writer’s husband planned to plant some flowers in the garden. 

3. The writer wrote the passage to tell us ________.

   A. to enjoy what we have now

B. to value now and not to lose chances

C. to protect the beautiful flowers we see

D. to love those who are your close relatives

I live on the twelfth floor of a building. One afternoon I was coming home from a friend’s house. It was just after four o’clock. I got quickly into the lift and pressed Button12.

The lift started to go up, but very slowly . And then, half way up, it suddenly stopped between two floors. I couldn’t understand it. I pressed all the buttons from 1to 14. I called for help very loudly. But nobody answered.

Then suddenly the light went out, and I was alone in the dark. I started to cry and beat the walls of the lift. I cried and cried until I had no voice left. Then, I felt hopeless, and pressed all the buttons with my open hands. And all at the same time, there was a bell far away . It rang and rang. It was the fire alarm(火灾警报). I thought the whole building was on fire. I said to god quietly, “Just get me out of here. I’ll never be bad again.”

Just then, I realized the lift was moving very slowly . On the ground floor it stopped, and the doors opened. A man was standing there. “How long have you been there? It is good that you pressed the alarm bell. But haven’t you learned to read at your school?” He pointed at a small piece of paper on the wall beside the lift. It said: “Attention: This lift will be stopped for repairs between 4pm and 5pm on Thursday March 13.”

1.What happened to the lift?

A．It had a fire accident.

B．It stopped half way.

C．It was turned off by the writer.

D．It moved fast up to the top floor.

2.As the situation went on , the writer became________________.

A．more and more sacred.                   B．calmer and calmer.

C．more and more bored.                   D．clearer and clearer.

3.Why did a bell ring from far away.

A．The lift was to start again.

B．The repair worker rang the lift alarm.

C．The building was on fire.

D．the writer pressed the lift alarm bell.

4.Who most probably made the lift move again and go down to the ground to the ground floor?

A．The writer.                            B．The writer’s friend.

C．The man.                              D．The writer’s father.

5.After reading the paper, the writer realized that he/she had _______.

A．escaped from a fire accident

B．made a silly mistake.

C．visited a dishonest friend

D．pressed a wrong button.

A jobless man wanted very much to have the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the form to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.” “I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you are not living. And anyone who isn’t living cannot have the job.”

The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he had 20 dollars. He repeated the operation three times, and started to go early every day, and returned home late. Shortly, he bought a cart , then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles(运货车队). Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商)  in the US.

One day, one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said, “I haven’t got one.” His friend couldn’t believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”

根据材料内容选择最佳答案，并将其标号填入题前括号内。

1.What did the man do for the test?

A．He sent e-mails.                        B．He did the cleaning

C．He sold computers.                      D．He filled in forms.

2.The man didn’t get the job because he_____________.

A．disliked such a job

B．didn’t pass the test

C．didn’t have an e-mail

D．knew nothing about computers

3.The man ______after he left Microsoft.

A．went to look for another job

B．asked for food from door to door

C．thought of an idea to make monkey

D．bought a computer and got an e-mail

4.“office boy” means            in Chinese.

A．勤杂工           B．学徒             C．男职员           D．男程序员

5.Why could the man become one of the biggest food retailers in the US?

A．Because he had many friends to help him.

B．Because he was smart and worked very hard.

C．Because he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.

D．Because he wanted to show Microsoft he was living.

A jobless man wanted very much to be an “office boy” at Microsoft. The manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test.” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the form(表格) to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied. “But I don't have a computer, neither an e-mail.” “I'm sorry,” said the manager. “If you don't have an e-mail, that means you are not living. And anyone who isn't living cannot have the job.”

??? The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he had 20 dollars. He did this again and again for three times, and started to go early every day, and returned home late. At last, he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles(运货车队).Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商) in the US.

?? One day, one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said, “I haven't got one.” His friend couldn't believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?”The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!”

1. What did the man do for the test?

A. He sent e-mails.???????????????????? B. He did the cleaning

C. He sold computers.????????????????? D. He filled in forms.

2.The man didn't get the job because he???????? .

A. disliked such a job??????????????? ? B. didn't pass the test

C. didn't have an e-mail??????????????? D. knew nothing about computers

3.The man???????? after he left Microsoft.

A. went home directly???????????????? B. asked for food from door to door

C. thought up an idea to make money?? D. bought a computer and got an e-mail

4.What does the story want to tell us?

A. Computers are very important in our daily life.

B. Everyone can make a lot of money with only $10.

C. The manager didn't like the man.

D. Nothing in the world is impossible if we work hard.