In the middle of the first term of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods.

One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve! Pay attention!” Steve turned to look at her, fixing his eyes on Miss White, as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.

“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, her eyes searching his face. “...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!” She just stared at Steve. Steve dropped his eyes.

After that, it was war! Steve still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn.

“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” He was unmoved.

“You’re smart enough! You’ll see a change!” Nothing touched him.

“Give yourself a chance! Don’t give up on your life!” Nothing.

“Steve! Please! I care about you!”

Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it! Someone cared about him? Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, both parents were out. He, quickly, gathered up a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks.

?? The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all smiles! God, she was beautiful!

Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Miss White’s face was in total shock! The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test!

From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed. He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at it!

He discovered that he could understand knowledge and translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to go ahead!

1.Steve used to be bad at his lessons because _______.

A．the teacher blamed him from time to time?????

B．he was not a smart boy in his class

C．the test for the seventh grade challenged his confidence???

D．he hadn’t put his heart into his studies

2.The underlined word “stubborn” in the passage probably refers to “_______”.

A．completely unchanged????????? ????????????? B．severely punished

C．careless with the homework????????? D．lost in the test

3.It was the _______that made Steve begin to work hard at his lessons later.

A. his parents??????? ????????????? B．his classmates

C. the teacher????????? ????????????? D．failure in the test

4.Which of the following descriptions is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Steve often helped his parents work in the woods instead of going to school.

B．The teacher punished Steve for his failure in the test for the seventh grade.

C．Steve not only made progress but finally became a good student of the class.

D．Steve was actually a clever boy, but Miss White hadn’t realized it at first.

5.Which of the following words best describes Steve’s teacher?

A. Hardworking.????????????? ????????????? B. Caring.????????????? ????????????? C. Outstanding.????????????? ????????????? D. Strict.

Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a  spring in every step.
Tom appeared with a bucket of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence around the garden. It was thirty yards long and nine feet high. He felt very depressed.
Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work.
Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended（假装）not to see Ben.
“I’m going swimming,” said Ben. “Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can’t. You have to stay and work, don’t you?”
“Work?” Tom said. “This isn’t work. I’m enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?”
Ben  thought  about  this.  Tom  continued  painting  carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager to have a try himself.
After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said,
“No, Ben, I can’t. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care.”
“Oh, please, Tom,” begged Ben. “I can do it. I’ll be really careful. Just let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple. Well, I’ll give you all of it!”
“Well, all right, Ben,” said Tom. “You must be very careful.”
He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben’s apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him twelve marbles, and so on.
By late afternoon Tom had gained all sorts of toys, and the fence had gained three  coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom’s work that she gave Tom a large cake!
【小题1】Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben when he came and watched him painting?

用括号内所给的词的适当形式填空。

8. A year _______________________(divide) into four seasons.

9. All the students like ______________________(humour) teachers.

10.Mrs Rainbow _____________________(practise) colour theraphy since she left college.

11.The man looked at his dog with __________________(sad).

12. How stubborn he is! You can’t make him give up ________________(easy).

13. It is silly of you _______________ （not forgive）others for their mistakes.

14. The policemen _______________ (look) for the lost boy this time last night.

15. Simon kept ________________(make) phone calls to someone during the trip.