A few years ago, I was with a close woman friend in a grocery store in California．As we walked along the aisle (过道), we saw a mother with a small boy moving in the opposite direction and met us head-on (正面的) in each aisle．The woman barely noticed us because she was so angry with her little boy, who wanted to pull items off the lower shelves．As the mother became more and more annoyed, she started to yell at the child and several aisles later had progressed to shaking him by the arm．k+s-5#u 

At this point my friend spoke up．A wonderful mother of three and founder of a progressive school, she had probably never once in her life treated any child so harshly(严厉地)．I expected my friend would give this woman a solid mother-to-mother talk about controlling herself and about the effect this behavior has on a child．Instead, my friend said, “What a beautiful little boy．How old is he?” The woman answered cautiously, “He’s three．” My friend went on to comment on how curious he seemed and how her own three children were just like him in the grocery store, pulling things off shelves, so interested in all the wonderful colors and packages．“He seems so bright and intelligent,” my friend said．

The woman had the boy in her arms by now and a shy smile came upon her face．Gently brushing his hair out of his eyes, she said, “Yes, he’s very smart and curious, but sometimes he wears me out．” My friend responded sympathetically(表示同情地), “Yes, they can do that; they are so full of energy．”

As we walked away, I heard the mother speaking kindly to the boy about getting home and cooking his dinner．“We’ll have your favorite — macaroni(通心面) and cheese,” she told him．

The mother was angry with her baby because 　  　　．

A．the mother was very tired k+s-5#u 

B．the baby asked for more things

C．the baby ran madly in the store

D．the baby was pulling the goods off the shelves

We can learn from the passage that the author’s friend 　　   　．

A．treated her children well only     

B．was probably good to any child

C．liked the boy very much         

D．always wanted to help others

The author’s friend talked with the mother in that way to 　  　　．

A．show her sympathy for the woman

B．know something about the boy first

C．show her anger with the woman k+s-5#u 

D．make the woman realize children’s natural quality

With the story, the author most probably intends to tell us that 　　　  ．

A．we should respect a child’s nature

B．we should never blame a child

C．mothers usually share the same interest

D．mothers should try to be gentle and polite k+s-5#u 

  A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”
  “Forty.”
  “No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”
  “Two months and five days.”
  “Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.
  “Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”
  Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.
  “Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”
  “You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.
  “But I made a note of it.”
  “Well... if you say so.”
  “Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”
  Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!
  “Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”
  “Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”
  I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.
  “Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.
  I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.
  “For the money. ”
  “But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”
  “In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”
  “They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）―to be such a fool?”
  Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”
  I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

  63．While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.
  A. a protest             B. gratitude
  C. obedience           D. an explanation
  64．What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.
  A. nervousness in front of her boss
  B. acceptance of injustice
  C. shyness when talking about money
  D. reluctance to express herself
  65．The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.
  A. to be more aggressive
  B. to be more careful in her work
  C. to protect her right
  D. to live independently
  66．At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.
  A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety
  B. his worry about Julia’s future
  C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people
  D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited
  67．From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.
  A. greedy but honest
  B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted
  C. strict but forgiving
  D. none of the above

B

Mary went out at night. She never forgot the night when she met a robber many years ago.

That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted until two o’clock in the ?morning. Without company Mary walked along the quiet street.

Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her. “Good evening, lady,” the man said in a low voice, “I don’t think you wish to die here.”

“What do you want?” Mary asked.

“Your earrings （耳环）.Take them off!” Slowly Mary’s eyes looked down. She tried to cover her necklace with the collar（领子）of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings, and then she quickly threw them on the ground.

“Take them and let me go.” she said. The robber looked at her only feeling uncertain. He saw the girl didn’t care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace. He realized the necklace would cost more. So he said, “Give me your necklace.”

“Oh, sir. It’s not worth much. Please let me keep it.”

“Stop rubbish. Quick!”

With shaky hands, Mary took off her necklace. As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to one of her friends.

The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds ten shillings.

44. Mary never forgot that night because ___________.

A. she was robbed of her necklace                      B. she was robbed, but she fooled the robber

C. she had a good time at the party              D. she lost her earrings

45. The party ___________.

A. didn’t end at two      B. ended before two     C. lasted two hours      D. was over at two

46. She tried to protect the necklace because ___________.

A. she didn’t want to lose it                        B. it was more important           

C. she liked it better than earrings                     D. she would rather have the necklace lost

47. The story tells us that she was a ___________girl.

A. clever and brave     B. clever and beautiful    C. brave and careful      D. clever and careful

A few days ago I asked my sons' governess（家庭女教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated，Julia,”I said，“Let's settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money，but maybe you're too polite to mention it. Now then，we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

“Forty.”

“No，thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well，um，you've been here for two months，so...”

Two months and five days.”

Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take nine Sundays off... you know you didn't work with Tom on Sundays，you only took walks.And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her fingernail nervously，her face red，but,not a word.

“Three holidays，therefore take twelve dollars off your pay. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons，as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven makes nineteen.Take nineteen off... that 1eaves，hmm... forty-one dollars. Correct?”

Julia's left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled，and she coughed nervously and blew her riose，but still not a word.

“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer；take two dollars off your pay.The cup cost more，because it was a treasure of the family，but forget it. When didn't I take a loss! Then，due to your neglect(疏忽），Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket；take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick's shoes. You ought to watch everything！You get paid for it. So，that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave you ten dollars”.

“You didn't.”sobbed Julia.

“But I made a note of it.”

“Well... if you say so.”

“Take twenty-seven from forty-one, and that leaves fourteen.”

Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose.Poor girl！

“Only once was I given any money，”she whispered，her voice trembling，“and that was by your wife. Three dollars，nothing more.”

“Real1y? You see now，and I didn't know that！Take three from fourteen and it leaves eleven.  Here’s your money，my dear．Three，three，three，one and one. Here it is！”

I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

“Merci（Thanks），”she whispered.

I jumped to my feet and started pacing the floor. I was overcome with anger.“For what，this merci”? I asked.

“For the money”.

“But you know I’ve cheated you—— robbed you！”I have actually stolen from you!Why this“merci？”

“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! 1 played a little joke on you，a cruel lesson，just to teach you…I'm going to give you all the eighty dollars！Here they are in the envelope all ready for you…Is it really possible to be so spineless(懦弱)? Why didn't you protest?Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and laws(爪)—— to be such a fool?''

Embarrassed,she smiled. And I could read her expression，“It is possible”.

I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and， to her great surprise，gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little “merci”serveral times and went out. I looked at her and thought，“How easy it is to crush the weak in this World! ”

67.While talking to Julia.the writer expected ＿＿＿＿＿＿from her.

A. a protest       B.gratitude          C.obedience       D. an explanation

68.What shocked the writer was Julia's＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A. nervousness in front of her boss                          B. acceptance of injustice

C. shyness when talking about money             D. reluctance to express herself

69.The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws(爪)一to be such a fool?” He was actually telling the governess＿＿＿＿＿＿．

A. to be more aggressive                         B. to be more careful in her work

C.to protect her right                                             D.to live independently

70. From the story, we can know that Julia's employer was         

A. greedy but honest                                                B.ill tempered but warm-hearted

C. strict but forgiving                                  D. none of the above

For a long time, a boy wondered why his next-desk-pal was always the first in the class, whereas he could only rank the 21st. At home, he asked his mom, “Am I more stupid than other kids? How come I always lag behind? I just can’t come up with an answer.” Mom was aware that her son’s self-respect had been damaged by the ranking system, but she didn’t know what to say to help.

    She was tempted (想要) to say that intelligence differs and that yes, her son’s friend really was the smarter boy. But that would have so upset her son. Thank goodness she resisted the temptation to say it.

Her son and his friend went on to high school that year, but despite trying as hard as he could, her son’s friend still outdid him. But she was proud of her boy for his hard work, sincerely proud. It was around this time she decided to take him on a trip to the seaside. On the trip, she at last found an answer for him.

    Today her son no longer cares about rankings. He doesn’t have to, for he himself is now the top of the class – at the top national university he attends. Invited to speak to his old high school, he mentioned a valuable childhood experience: “Once, on a trip to the sea, my mother and I were lying on the beach. She pointed to the sea and said to me: ‘Do you see the seabirds fighting for food out there? When a wave comes near, the little birds rise quickly. The “clumsy” seagulls (海鸥) are far less agile (灵活的) and have to struggle to get away from the wave. But these “clumsy” birds prove to have the biggest, strongest wings, which open the widest and allow the bird to travel the furthest. When the season changes, they leave for foreign shores, leaving the little birds behind. Son, I have a feeling that you are one of those seagulls.”

1. From the first paragraph, we could conclude the mother ______.

   A. knew her son was not bright enough

   B. saw the negative effects of the ranking system

   C. decided to help with her son’s school work

D. was troubled by her son’s low rankings

2.The mom was glad she didn’t give an answer at first because ______.

   A. she knew her son would forget his rankings soon

   B. she felt intelligence doesn’t mean everything

   C. she knew he was not strong enough for the truth

   D. she wanted to avoid another blow to her son’s self-respect

3.The story conveys the message that ______.

   a. only rankings show intelligence

   b. hard work and confidence can lead to a change in rankings

   c. parents should see children’s strengths and encourage them

   d. competition between students is good for society

   A. bc                B. cd               C. abc              D. bcd

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the story?

   A. How important are rankings?

   B. Little birds and seagulls

   C. The answer Mom gave

   D. Hard work pays off!