Little Tommy Was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything-tutors(家庭教師),
cards , special learning centers-in short , everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to
catholic(天主教的)school.  
     After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't kiss his
mother hello. Instead , he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread(鋪開)out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called
him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating,he went back to his room、without a word. In no
time he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening .
     Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his
room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise,little Tommy got all A in math. She
could no longer hold her curiosity(好奇心). She went to his room and asked , "Son, what was it? Was
it the nuns(修女)?"
     Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head,"No."
     "Well then,"she asked again. ''WHAT was it?"
     Little Tommy looked at her and said , "Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed
(釘)to the plus sign(加號), I knew they weren't joking."

1. Why did Tommy's parents send him to a catholic school?

A. Because he could eat well there.  
B. Because he could earn more about nuns.  
C. Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math.  
D. Because his parents didn't want him to learn math anymore

2. Tommy's mother felt surprised that his son    ___    .

A. was still the same as usual              
B. ate so much at dinner
C. kissed her hello after school            
D. Worked hard but said little

3. " hitting the books " means "______" in Chinese?

A. 用功
B. 捶書
C. 發(fā)泄
D. 振作

4. The last sentence in the passage shows that       ___ .

A. Tommy felt sorry for the mail
B. Tommy was afraid of being nailed
C. Tommy didn't like the plus sign
D. Tommy liked playing jokes on others

5. From the passage , we can infer(推斷)that    ___    .
A. teachers should be strict with their students
B. mistaking(誤解)might do good sometimes
C. a catholic school is much better than other ones
D. nuns are good at helping children with their math

     David Brenner came from a poor family. When he finished his school, he was given a wonderful
present. "Some of my friends got new clothes and a few rich boys even got new cars. "he remembered,
"My father reached into his trousers pocket and took something out, I held out my hand, and he let my
present drop into it —— a nickel!"
     "Dad said to me, Buy a newspaper with that. Read every word of it. Then turn to the classified section
and get yourself a job. Get into the world. It’s all yours now!" 
     "I always thought that was a great joke my father had played on me until a few years later when I was
in the Army, sitting in a foxhole, and thinking about my family and my life. It was then that I came to know
that my friends had got only new cars, or only new clothes. My father has given me the whole world.
What a great present!"

  1. What did David get as a present when he left school?
    A. New clothes
    B. A new car
    C. Something nice
    D. A nickel.
  2. David's father asked him to read the newspaper to _____. 
    A. find interesting stories
    B. find himself a job
    C. know what happened in the world
    D. learn more things in it
  3. Some years went by and David became a _____.
    A. doctor
    B. teacher  
    C. soldier
    D. driver
  4. In the end David understood the present his father gave him was _____.
    A. great
    B. unimportant  
    C. beautiful
    D. useless

     My aunt is an engineer in America. She (1)________(work) in the Company of Microsoft since 1996.
Last month she (2)________(come) back to China. We were happy to see her on Thanksgiving Day. After
lunch, we showed her around our hometown.
     "This hotel (3)________(build) last year. Look, the workers (4)_______(put) up another one over there."
     "What a great change!" she said.
     "We (5)________(plant) more trees and flowers in the town soon. And we'll do something to stop the
factories from (6)________(pour) the waste into the river." I told her.
     My aunt was very pleased with what she had seen. When we asked her (7) ________(stay) longer, she
answered."No, I can't. I must (8)________(fly) to Beijing tomorrow. I have an important lecture to give.
If I (9)________ (have) time, I'll certainly come back again. Though I Live in America, I'll always be
Chinese. I should do something for our hometown. Let's (10)________(make) contribution to it together.

    A young man once asked Albert Enstein, the great scientist, what the secert of success is. The scientist told
him that the secret of success is hard work. A few days later the young man asked the same question.
    Enstein was very angry. He did not say anything, but wrote a few words on a piece of paper and handed it
to the young man.
    The young man looked at the piece of paper. On it was written: A=X+Y+Z. 
    "What does this mean?" asked the young man. "A means success," explained the old scientist, "X stand for
hard workand study,Y stands for good methods, and Z…Z means to stop talking and get down to work."
(     ) 1. Once a small boy asked Albert Enstein, the great scientist, a question.
(     ) 2. Albert Enstein didn't answer the question at first.
(     ) 3. The answer of the secrect of success is A=X+Y+Z.
(     ) 4. "X" means hard work and study.
(     ) 5. "Y" means good methods of work and study.

     Robert lives in a small town. Five years ago, when he was nineteen, he finished middle school. He didn't
like any subjects except playing when he was at school. Of course he learned nothing and the bosses wouldn't
use a man like him. He has to stay at home, but doesn't do any housework, only watches TV or lies on bed. It
makes his parents angry. They want him to study something, he always think it difficult and doesn't listen to
them.
     One day Robert was walking near a bookshop while some young men were talking about the writers. He
heard the publishing house pays the writers a lot. He became interested in it. As soon as he got home, he began
to write. But he couldn't write anything. At last he bought a book and copied a story. Then he posted it to the
publishing house. He waited for nearly half a year, but didn't get any answers. He had to ask an editor on the
telephone,"Have you read my story yet, sir?" "Yes," said the editor, "I had read it before you were born!"

1. ________, so he learned nothing at school.

A. Robert had a lot of housework to do
B. Robert didn't study hard at all
C. Robert hoped to be a writer
D. Robert wasn't clever enough

2. The bosses wouldn't use Robert because ________.

A. he couldn't do anything
B. he likes nothing except playing
C. he doesn't go to work on time
D. he isn't friendly to his workmates

3. His parents are angry with Robert because ________.

A. he wouldn't find any work
B. he didn't study hard before
C. he's too lazy to do any housework
D. he isn't polite to them

4. Robert posted the story to the publishing house to ________.

A. be a famous man
B. surprise his friends
C. win a prize
D. get much money

5. The editor didn't answer Robert because ________.

A. they were very busy
B. the story wasn't interesting
C. the story was taken from a book
D. the young man wasn't famous enough