Once upon a time a man became a great archer(射手).He asked the king to declare him as the greatest archer of the country. The king was about to do so when an old servant of the king said，“Wait，sir.I know an old man who lives in the forest. He is a much greater archer. Let this young man go to him and learn from him for at least three years.”
The man could not believe that there could be a greater archer than him，but he went and found the old man and he was! For three years he learned from him.Then one day，when he thought he had learned everything，the thought arose in him：“If I kill this old man，then I will be the greatest archer.”
The old man had gone to cut wood and he was coming back carrying wood on his shoulder. The young man hid behind a tree,waiting to kill him. He shot an arrow(箭). The old man took a small piece of wood and threw it.It struck the arrow and the arrow turned back and wounded the young man.The old man came，took out the arrow and said.“I knew that some day or other you were going to do this. That’s why I have not taught you this secret. There is no need to kill me. My master is still alive,and I’m nothing before him. You must be with him for at least thirty years. And he is very old，So go fast! Find the old man!”
【小题1】The underlined word in the 1st paragraph is closest in meaning to “_______________ ”.

A．崇拜

B．建议

C．宣布

D．夸奖

【小题2】The young archer wanted to kill the old man because____________.

A．he had nothing more to learn from him

B．he could then become the greatest archer

C．the old man refused to teach him everything

D．the king’s old servant ordered him to do so

【小题3】What do you think would most probably happen next?

A．The young archer died from the wound soon after.

B．The king declared the young man the greatest archer.

C．The young archer found the old man’s master and killed him.

D．The young archer set off to look for the old man’s master.

【小题4】What lesson can you learn from the story?

A．There’s always someone better than you in this world.

B．You must never try to become better than your teacher.

C．The older a man is,the better archer he usually becomes.

D．Always use a piece of wood to protect yourself from an arrow.

On the first day of school our professor introduced himself and asked us to get to know someone we didn’t know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. “Hi, girl! My name is Rose, I’m 87 years old.”
“Why are you in college at such a young age?” I asked jokingly.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”she replied.  Rose became a college symbol(象征) this year and she easily on her from the other students.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football party. I’ll never forget what she taught us.
“We do not stop playing because we are old, we grow old because we stop playing. There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humour every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose you dreams, you die!” she said.
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do anything, you will turn 20 years older. If I am 87 years old, and stay in bed for a year, and never do anything, I will turn 88. Anybody can grow older. But every minute counts for young men,” she added.
She ended her speech by singing The Song of Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live then out in our daily lives.
At the year’s end, Rose finished the college education she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose did peacefully in her sleep.
【小题1】Rose went to college because she_________.

A．wanted to live longer	B．loved to stay with the young
C．wanted to realize her dream	D．planned to enjoy her life there

【小题2】From the story we can see that Rose was _______during her stay in college.

A．outgoing and popular	B．brave and hard-working
C．honest and athletic	D．calm and creative

【小题3】Which of the following is included in Rose’s speech?

A．People won’t grow old if they stop playing.

B．The more you laugh, the younger you will be.

C．People easily become old if they do more things.

D．Time is especially important for young people.

【小题4】At the end of her speech, Rose asked each of her classmates _______.

A．to sing along with her	B．to sing one’s own song
C．to recite the lyrics	D．to do as the lyrics said

【小题5】Which of the following can best describe the story?

A．Live with your dream.	B．Find secrets of staying young.
C．Learn wherever you are.	D．Be happy every day.

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what “keeping up with the Joneses” is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses” because “Jones” is a very common name in the United States. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
【小题1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbours

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don’t want others to know they are rich

D．want to be happy

【小题2】It can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to ________.

A．live outside New York City	B．live in New York City
C．live in apartments	D．have many neighbours

【小题3】Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ________.

A．an important name	B．a popular name in the United States
C．his neighbour’s name	D．not a good name

【小题4】If a person who keeps up with the Joneses, he would _________.

A．do as the poor persons around him do

B．do everything he likes to do

C．do as his neighbours do

D．do as the rich people around him do

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童) was walking around a shining car. “Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.
Paul answered,“Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.”The boy was surprised.“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything. Boy, I wish…” He hesitated(犹豫).
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
“I wish,”the boy went on,“that I could be a brother like that.”Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again,“Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh, yes, I'd love that.”
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said，“Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again,“Will you stop where those two steps are?”the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little diabled brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
“There she is. Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it...then you can see for yourself all nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about.”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.
【小题1】The street urchin was very surprised when_______.

A．Paul received an expensive car	B．Paul told him about the car
C．he saw the shining car	D．he was walking around the car

【小题2】From the story we can see the urchin _______.

A．wished to give his brother a car

B．wanted Paul's brother to give him a car

C．wished he could have a brother like Paul's

D．wished Paul could be a brother like that

【小题3】The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house_______.

A．to show his neighbors the big car

B．to show he had a rich friend

C．to let his brother know about his wish

D．to ask his brother a car like that

【小题4】The best name of the story is ______.

A．A Christmas Present	B．A Street Urchin
C．A Brother Like That	D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride