D

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person.

When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.

The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled (宠坏)them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.

He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots, and the trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important.

So he never watered his trees. He’d planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he’d beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They’re very big and strong now.

I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray(祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won’t be beaten down.

1. We know from the reading the doctor _________.

2. When Dr. Gibbs said, “...pick out the weaker trees early on.” he means that ______.

3.The passage tells us that the writer _______.

4. The writer wants to change his prayer, hoping that ________.

5.Which can be the best title of the reading?

My friend Peter was kind and lovely. But as a student, he was bad at math, English and science because he didn't have an aptitude(资质)for that kind of study.
One day we were playing football and the ball got stuck in a tree. Peter climbed the tree to get it, and one of the teachers, John Marston was looking out of the window, noticed that he was a talented climber. Mr Marston was an expert (专家)in climbing. He had climbed many mountains.
One weekend Mr Marston invited Peter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Peter really enjoyed the climbing. Mr Marston told Peter he was a very talented climber for his age. Peter left school three years later with no qualifications (毕业证)，but he kept climbing regularly until he became very good at it. In his early twenties, he became a professional climber. He said, “I’ll always remember Mr Marston because he showed me I had an ability which no one else, including me, knew about."
【小题1】Did Peter know he had an ability to climb at first?
_____________________________________.
【小题2】Which subject was Peter not good at?
_________________________________.
【小题3】When did Peter and Mr Marston climb Mount Kilimanjaro?
_________________________________.

阅读理解

I have a friend called Mark. Last Sunday it was a beautiful day. When it got too hot, Mark rolled up his sleeves. I was very surprised to see that he had a tattoo! Then he told me he has lots of tattoos. He has tattoos on his arms, legs, chest and back. So of course I asked him lots of questions about the tattoos!

“It was ten years ago,” he said, “I remember I was on an island in the middle of the sea. I chose a dolphin tattoo because I wanted to have something about the sea.”

“I liked the idea of doing more designs about the sea. So after the dolphin I had an octopus, and then a starfish. These are on my left leg. Then, over my left arm I had lots of fish swimming together. They took a long time to do. I also have a crab and a lobster too!”

“Most recently I got a mermaid. It was finished two weeks ago. I saw a painting of a beautiful mermaid in a museum. I took a photograph and then decided to get a tattoo. I made the design a little simpler.”

“People ask me if getting a tattoo hurts. It depends. If you feel relaxed then it’s OK. But if you’re tired or nervous then you feel it more. It also depends where on the body the tattoo is done.”

1.Where did the writer find the tattoo?

A. On Mike’s sleeves.   B. On Mike’s arms.  C. On Mike’s body.

2. When was the mermaid done?

A. Ten years ago.   B. Last Sunday.   C. Two weeks ago.

3. Where did he get the idea for the beautiful mermaid?

A. From the sea. B. From a painting. C. From the cinema.

4. We can learn from the last paragraph that _______.

A. it’s not good to feel nervous when getting a tattoo

B. people can do anything they like with their tattoos

C. people have different feelings about their tattoos

5. What does “tattoo” mean?

A. 烟草   B. 图片      C. 文身

When I was leaving to meet Lynne, my friend Tony told me that I’d better take some money. But I didn't listen to him. I thought Lynne would pay because she had invited me. I arrived at the restaurant on time. I know Americans expect you to be on time. Lynne and I sat at a table and a waiter brought us some delicious food.

The dinner was a great success. We talked a lot while eating. After two hours, the waiter finally came and asked if we wanted one check (账单）or two, Lyrme said two. We went to the cashier and Lynne paid her check. I was embarrassed when the cashier gave me my bill. I had no money to pay for my meal. Then I had an idea. I said，“Oh! I forgot my wallet! Can I call my friend, please?" The cashier showed me where the phone was and I quickly called Tony. In a few minutes, he arrived with some money, and paid my check. He laughed at me all the way home. Now, I think it's funny too, but at that time I was very embarrassed. I thought an invitation to  have dinner in America meant the same thing as that in China. Now 1 think you have to understand thai your customs are only your customs. When you visit a foreign country, you have to learn about their customs, too. They can be quite different.

Fill in the blanks according to the passage. Only one word for each blank.

One day I got an invitation to dinner from Lynne. Before I left, my friend Tony told me to take some money, bul 1 didn’t take his1.______. 1 reached the restaurant on time because I know being late is thought to be 2.______    . Lynne and I enjoyed the dinner very much. But two hours3._______, 1 got into trouble 4._______my check. I thought Lyrme would pay 5.________of the checks. In fact I was wrong. I had to call Tony for help. After the problem was solved, I realized the importance of learning about different customs.

When I was about 12, I had an enemy (敌人), a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings (缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much;  I was too proud (骄傲), and so on. I tried to hear all these as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

     He listened to me quietly. Then he asked, “Are the thing she said true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever think about what you are really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

     I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could --- and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a very clear picture of myself.

     I brought the list back to Daddy. He wouldn’t like to take it. “That is just for you,” he said, “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you will find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do the right thing.”

      Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important periods. In my life, I have never had a better piece of advice.

1.Which do you think would be the best title (标题) for this passage?

A. Not An Enemy, But the Best Friend             B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C. My Father                                  D. My Childhood

2.Why did the writer’s father listen to her quietly? Because__________.

A. he believed that most of what his daughter’s “enemy” said was true.

B. he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping quiet for some time

C. he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment

D. he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth

3.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said.

B. He criticized(批评) her and told her to overcome (克服) her shortcomings.

C. He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D. He wouldn’t like to take the list and have a look at it.

4.What does “I got a very clear picture of myself” mean?

A. I had my picture taken and this time it was a very clear one.

B. I asked someone to draw a very clear picture of myself.

C. The picture I got this time was clearer than those I had got before.

D. I came to know myself very clearly this time.