BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — An old postcard changed the lives of an eleven-year-old boy and
a very sick woman. The postcard had a picture of the steamship Titanic. The Titanic was the largest
ocean ship in the world. It hit an iceberg (冰山) and sank on April 14,1912. More than 1,500 of the
2,200 people on the ship were killed.
     The postcard was passed from one person to another for more than 80 years: Then it appeared at
a card show for people who liked to collect post cards. An eleven-year-old boy, Joey Russell, came to
the show with his grandfather. His grandfather knew everything about the Titanic and its trip from
England to New York. " Let' s buy that postcard ," he told Joey.  " It will be important someday."
     Two years later, Joey's grandfather took him on a special trip. They went on a trip to the North
Atlantic Ocean to watch as workers pulled the Titanic up from the bottom(底)of the ocean. Joey put his
special postcard in his bag for the trip. On the ship, Joey met Edith Haisman. This woman was on the
Titanic when it sank. She was one of the people who were rescued. Joey pulled the postcard out of his
pocket.  " Please sign this , Mrs. Haisman ." he said. She was happy to write her name on the back of
the postcard.
     When Joey got home, he put the postcard away and forgot about it. Then Kate Shelley, one of
Joey 's friends , told him that her mother was very sick. She needed an operation , but there was a
problem. The operation was very expensive, and the family needed $80,000 to pay for it. Friends and
relatives tried to help. But where could they get so much money?
     Then when Joey went to see the new movie " Titanic" , he had an idea. " Millions of people are
seeing this movie and reading about the Titanic ," Joey thought. He remembered the old postcard with
Edith Haisman 's signature on it.  "Maybe I can sell it for some money. Then I can help Kate 's mom."
     Joey told his mother and father about his idea to help Mrs. Shelley. His parents helped him try to sell
the postcard to the person who would pay the most money for it. Joey's story was on television and in
news papers. Joey and Kate even went to New York to be on a national TV show. After the show,
many people called in to offer money for the Titanic card. Someone bought it for $60,000.
     Joey's kind heart and the old Titanic postcard worked together to save a woman' s life.
1. Joey Russell           .
A. decided to buy the postcard at a shop        
B. showed great interest in collecting postcards
C. took the postcard with him to see Mrs. Shelley
D. asked Mrs. Haisman to sign her name on his postcard
2. What does the underlined word " rescued" mean in the sentence?
A. Be made safe from danger.          
B. Be on an ocean trip.
C. Be working on board.              
D. Be asked to sell the postcard.
3. When did Joey Russell have the idea of selling his old postcard for money?
A. When Kate Shelley told him of her mother' s sickness.
B. When he went to see the new movie "Titanic".
C. When he was reading the new book of Titanic.
D. When he remembered Mrs. Haisman's signature on his card.
4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The Titanic arrived in New York at the end of April, 1912.
B. At the age of 13, Joey Russell got Mrs. Haisman's signature.
C. Joey Russell sold out his postcards on a national TV show.
D. The Titanic card was sold to many people for $60,000.
5. Which of the following is NOT true about the old postcard?
A. The Titanic was the largest steamship in the world in 1912.
B. The steamship Titanic hit an iceberg and sank about a hundred years ago.
C. Over two thousand passengers were killed in the ocean accident.
D. More than eighty years had passed before the postcard belonged to Joey.

     Eleven-year-old Antonin Careme could not believe that his father had ordered a lot of delicious food.
It was an unexpected (意料不到的) dinner b  1    the Careme family was poor. As he was eating
thankfully, his father e   2   to him in a sad voice that this would be a farewell meal. His father could no
l   3   support all his children, so Antonin would have to leave home to make money h   4    .
    After the meal, Antonin walked a   5   the streets, wondering who would take him in. He knocked on
the door of a restaurant where the o   6   happened to need an assistant. In the restaurant, young Antonin
g  7    his first lesson in cooking.
     He was hard-working and his employer (雇主) decided to t   8     him all the skills and secrets of
French cooking. When he was fifteen years old, Antonin trained under the famous cook, Baily.
     One of Baily's customers was s   9   impressed with Antonin's style of cooking that he asked him to
be his p   10  cook, working at his home. Antonin later went on to work for a diplomat, a banker and
even the king.
1._____ 2._____ 3._____ 4._____ 5._____
6._____ 7._____ 8._____ 9._____ 10._____

      A man in a very famous restaurant started to take off his jacket. As soon as he saw this, the head
waiter rushed over to his table and said, "I'm afraid I must ask you to keep your jacket on, sir, because
it is not good manners (禮貌) to do it in such a nice restaurant." 
      "Now, listen," said the man. "I will let you know that the Queen (女王) of England gave me permission (許可) to take off my jacket here." "The Queen of England?" said the waiter in great surprise. "Sure."
replied the man, "When I was in England last month, a friend of mine took me to see the Queen. It was
very hot. I started taking my coat off. The Queen looked over and said, 'You may do that in the United
States, but you may not do it here!' So I got the Queen's permission, right?"

1. We can be sure that the story happened in _____________________________.

2. When the head waiter asked the man not to take off his jacket, the man _________________.

3. The man thought ____________________________ let him take off his coat in the USA.

4. Did the Queen mean that the man could take off his coat on such a formal occasion (正式場合) in
England?  
__________________________________________________.

5. Was the man clever or foolish?   ____________________________________.