．——The English teacher spoke so fast that I couldn't ________ what he said.

　　——He said there would be a discussion ________ the lecture.

．——The English teacher spoke so fast that I couldn't ________ what he said.

　　——He said there would be a discussion ________ the lecture.

A. understand; being followed by　 B. follow; following

C. catch; to be followed　　　　　 D. hear; followed by

．——The English teacher spoke so fast that I couldn't ________ what he said.
　　——He said there would be a discussion ________ the lecture.

Anita’s New Start

       Even though it was a beautiful spring day, Anita felt sad as she walked along the beach after school. Her family had moved to the USA three weeks earlier for her father’s new job. Anita missed her old home in Mexico. She wanted to eat her grandmother’s bread and play with her cousin.

       Anita thought about her new life in Texas. She thought she would never learn this new language—everyone spoke so fast. How could she make new friends if she couldn’t even talk to people? “I’m too shy to make new friends anyway,” she thought, feeling disheartened. Anita decided to try something her mother had taught her. Her mother had said, “Anita, whenever you’re sad, take a few deep breaths and think about something that makes you happy.” Then Anita took a deep breath.

       Suddenly a seagull(海鸥) called overhead. She remembered that she had saved some biscuits from lunch. She quickly threw a biscuit into the air. As the gull caught the biscuit in its mouth, she laughed. Just then, another gull landed near her and stood frozen. Anita noticed its wing was injured. She wanted to help, but didn’t know what to do.

       At that moment Anita saw a man and a group of children in the distance. She recognized the man as Mr. Turner, a teacher at her school. He was pointing to something and all the children in the science club were listening to him. Anita decided that this was no time to be shy. She began walking toward the group. Anita took a deep breath. “Hello,” she said quietly. When Mr. Turner looked up, she pointed toward the gull and begged, “Come, please!” “Hello, Anita. What’s wrong?” Anita pointed again toward the bird. Mr. Turner gestured to the group. “Come on, everyone, Let’s see what Anita has found.” As the group followed Anita, she noticed a girl from her class. Anita smiled at the girl and spoke carefully, “What is your name?”

1．What was one problem that Anita faced in the story?

       A．She didn’t like her new friends.

       B．She didn’t speak English very well.

       C．She didn’t have free time after school.

       D．She didn’t get attention from her teacher.

2．In the story, what led Anita to making up her mind to speak to others?

       A．The seagull.         B．Mr. Turner.          C．Her mother.         D．Her classmate.

3．Which of the following shows the order in which the events happened in the story?

       a．Anita thought about her mother’s words.

       b．Anita walked up to Mr. Turner for help.

       c．Anita saw a seagull with a hurt wing.

       d．Anita missed her old home.

       A．a—d—c—b         B．a—b—d—c         C．d—c—b—a         D．d—a—c—b

4．How did Anita change by the end of the story?

       A．She worried more about her new life.

       B．She became eager to know the girl’s name.

       C．She overcame her shyness to help a hurt bird.

       D．She decided to join the science club in the school.