A soldier came home after having fought in Vietnam （越南）. He called his parents from San Francisco.

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I have a friend with me.”

“Sure,” they replied, “We’d love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know,” the son continued, “he was hurt badly in the fighting. He lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to live with us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

“Son,” said the father. “You don’t know what you’re asking. The young man’s handicap （残疾） will create such a terrible burden that we can’t afford. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this become a part of our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone. A few days later, the parents received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building. The police believed it was suicide （自杀）.

The sad parents flew to San Francisco to see the body of their son.

They recognized （认出） him, but to their surprise, they also discovered something they didn’t know before: their son had only one arm and one leg.

1. The soldier called his parents _____.

A．before going on a trip to Vietnam        B．after having fought in Vietnam

C．while serving in the army                D．on his way home from Vietnam
2. The soldier called his parents to _____.

A．tell them how he became badly hurt

B．see if they would look down upon his “friend”

C．tell them how he missed them

D．ask if everything was going well in his family

3. The son killed himself because ________.

A．he was suffering from great pain from his wound

B．he didn't want to be a burden to his family

C．he was fired from the army

D．his parents didn't like his friend

4. The expression “live on his own” in the passage means ____.

A．taking care of himself                  B．living alone and being lonely

C．living a free and happy life               D．living in a house he owns

5. Which is Not True according to the passage?

A．The soldier wanted to bring home a friend to live with his family.

B．The soldier was disappointed when his parents refused to receive the injured person.

C．The soldier was actually talking about himself.

D．The parents probably felt sad and regretful when they saw their son's body.

Reading comprehension. 阅读理解.

Dear sister:

　　I've been happy here in New York. But when holidays are coming near, I really feel “There's no place like home,” just like the English proverb says, “East, west, home is the best.

　　You must be doing well in English class. The letter you sent to me was written in good English.

　　Well, I want to bring my friend Diana to our home. I dare not tell Mama directly. If Dad and Mum say that will be all right, please write to me as soon as possible.

　　Diana is a poor girl whose parents died last month in a terrible accident. She has to spend the holidays alone. She wants to see China and try everything that we Chinese do. She has learned Chinese for two years and can speak a little. She has great curiosity about our family life and will ask you many questions about it. Isn't it a good chance to understand each other? I'm sure you'll learn many things from her.

　　Please give my love to our father and mother!

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Your sister,

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    Mei

Choose the best answer. 选择最恰当的答案, 用A, B, C或D表示, 填入括号内.

(1) Where is Mei's family?

[　　]

A．In New York.

B．In China.

C．In England.

D．In Beijing.

(2) Why does Mei write this letter to her sister?

[　　]

A．To tell her sister that she will come back for holiday.

B．To tell her family that she will not come back this holiday.

C．She wants to bring Diana home. She wants her sister to ask her parents whether they agree.

D．To tell her family that she will bring Diana home.

(3) What happened to Diana?

[　　]

A．Her parents died last month.

B．Her mother died last month.

C．She lost her grandmother last month.

D．She lost her father.

(4) Does Diana want to see China?

[　　]

A．No, she doesn't.

B．Yes, she does.

C．Yes, she is.

D．No, she isn't.

(5) How does the writer feel when she writes the letter?

[　　]

A．She misses her family.

B．She doesn't want to go back.

C．She wants to stay in New York.

D．She misses her family a little.

One night I was sitting in my room half-listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy fought with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. I didn’t pay attention when Kevin rushed up the stairs with the hurt on his face.
About 20 minutes later, as I was walking upstairs I heard Kevin crying inside the bathroom. I knocked on the door and asked, “Hey Kevin, do you want to talk?”
No answer.
I tried again, “Why don’t you come out of there?”
Again, no answer.
So, joking around, I grabbed a stack of （一摞）cards and a pencil and wrote, “If you don’t want to talk, we can write notes to each other.”
An hour later I was still sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with two stacks of cards in front of me. One was blank and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his yucky feelings into words for me. As I read one of Kevin’s notes, tears came to my eyes. It said, “Nobody in this family cares about me. I’m not the youngest, and I’m not the oldest. Tommy thinks I’m silly and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he’s better at basketball. And you’re never around to even notice me.”
Tears came to my eyes as I wrote back to him. “You know Kevin, I really do love you and I’m sorry I don’t always show it. I am here for you and you are loved in this family.”
There was no answer for a while, but then I heard a tearing sound coming from inside the bathroom. Kevin, who had run out of cards wrote on a torn paper cup. “Thanks.”
I wrote back “For what?” it returned to me with “Loving me” on it.
Since then, I try my best to never only half-notice my family members any more. Kevin and I have a closer relationship now. And sometimes when one of us notices that the other is upset, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a paper cup.”
【小题1】The underlined word “yucky” most probably means ____.

A．upset

B．exciting

C．terrible

D．amazing

【小题2】What could be the reason that Kevin’s Dad doesn’t like him?

A．Kevin is not as clever as his brother.

B．He is neither the youngest nor the oldest.

C．Kevin doesn’t like to make friends with others.

D．Kevin is not good at playing basketball.

【小题3】What do we know about the writer?

A．She has two children in her family.

B．She didn’t pay enough attention to Kevin before.

C．She used to show her love to Kevin.

D．She has a closer relationship with Tommy after that.

【小题4】What does the writer want to tell us?

A．Everyone should show how they love their family members.

B．It’s hard to get on well with family members.

C．It’s important to keep peace in the family.

D．We should try our best to stop our children from fighting.

One night I was sitting in my room half-listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy fought with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. I didn’t pay attention when Kevin rushed up the stairs with the hurt on his face.
About 20 minutes later, as I was walking upstairs I heard Kevin crying inside the bathroom. I knocked on the door and asked, “Hey Kevin, do you want to talk?”
No answer.
I tried again, “Why don’t you come out of there?”
Again, no answer.
So, joking around, I grabbed a stack of （一摞）cards and a pencil and wrote, “If you don’t want to talk, we can write notes to each other.”
An hour later I was still sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with two stacks of cards in front of me. One was blank and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his yucky feelings into words for me. As I read one of Kevin’s notes, tears came to my eyes. It said, “Nobody in this family cares about me. I’m not the youngest, and I’m not the oldest. Tommy thinks I’m silly and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he’s better at basketball. And you’re never around to even notice me.”
Tears came to my eyes as I wrote back to him. “You know Kevin, I really do love you and I’m sorry I don’t always show it. I am here for you and you are loved in this family.”
There was no answer for a while, but then I heard a tearing sound coming from inside the bathroom. Kevin, who had run out of cards wrote on a torn paper cup. “Thanks.”
I wrote back “For what?” it returned to me with “Loving me” on it.
Since then, I try my best to never only half-notice my family members any more. Kevin and I have a closer relationship now. And sometimes when one of us notices that the other is upset, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a paper cup.”
【小题1】The underlined word “yucky” most probably means ____.

A．upset

B．exciting

C．terrible

D．amazing

【小题2】What could be the reason that Kevin’s Dad doesn’t like him?

A．Kevin is not as clever as his brother.

B．He is neither the youngest nor the oldest.

C．Kevin doesn’t like to make friends with others.

D．Kevin is not good at playing basketball.

【小题3】What do we know about the writer?

A．She has two children in her family.

B．She didn’t pay enough attention to Kevin before.

C．She used to show her love to Kevin.

D．She has a closer relationship with Tommy after that.

【小题4】What does the writer want to tell us?

A．Everyone should show how they love their family members.

B．It’s hard to get on well with family members.

C．It’s important to keep peace in the family.

D．We should try our best to stop our children from fighting.