One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried
to figure out what to do. Finally he decided to give up because the animal was old, and the well needed to
be covered up and it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. So he decided to bury the donkey.
     He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel (鏟) and began to shovel
dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly then slowly he became
quiet.
     A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was surprised at what he saw: With
every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take
a step up.
     As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a
step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily
got out!   
     Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get
out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!

1. The farmer _______ and decided to give up getting the donkey out at last.

A. couldn't get the donkey out
B. thought the donkey was old
C. knew the well was useless
D. All of the three

2. The donkey cried again because it _______.

A. didn't like the dirt.
B. knew it was being killed
C. was angry
D. felt uncomfortable

3. The donkey _______ so it became quiet.

A. found a way to save itself
B. was killed by the farmer
C. felt hopeless
D. was too tired to cry

4. The donkey saved itself by _______.

A. making the trouble a stepping stone.
B. asking the neighbors for help.
C. thinking of something worse.
D. learning to forget.

5. We can learn some simple rules from the story, they are: _______.

A. Free your mind from worries.
B. Free your heart from hated. (憎恨)
C. Give more and expect less.
D. all the above.

     Mike was thirteen years old. He was not a very good student. He did not like doing his homework. He
liked playing football, watching TV and so on. Sometimes he did not do his homework on time. When he did
it, he always made a lot of mistakes.
     One day, his maths teacher looked at Mike's homework and saw that he did all his exercises right. He was
very glad, but he was also very surprised. He called Mike to his office and said to him,"You got all your
homework right this time, Mike. Why? Did your mother help you?"
    Mike's mother usually helped him with his homework. But the day before yesterday his mother was not at
home. So Mike answered,"No, sir, Mother was busy yesterday. So I had to do it myself."

1. How old was Mike? 
    ______________________________________________
2. What did Mike Like? 
    ______________________________________________
3. Mike often made few mistakes in his homework, didn't he?
   ______________________________________________
4. How did the teacher feel when he looked at his homework?
    ______________________________________________
5. Who often helped Mike do his homework? 
    ______________________________________________

     One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his schooling by selling gods door to door found that he
only had one dime (一角硬幣) left. He was hungry so he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he didn't beg when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a
drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of hot milk. He drank it
slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe (欠) you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied.
"Mother has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness." He said, "Then I thank you from the bottom
of my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but it also increased
his confidence in God and the human race. He was about to give up before this point.
     Years later the young woman became seriously ill. They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists
can be called in to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly, who was a famous doctor now was also
invited for the consultation (會診). When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light
filled his eyes. At once, he went into her room. He recognized her. He went back to the consultation room
and decided to do his best to save her life. From that day on, he gave special attention to her illness.
     Finally the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked
at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because
she thought that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and read these words,
"Paid in full with a glass of milk. Dr. Howard Kelly" Tears of joy came into her eyes as she prayed (祈禱)
silently: "Thank you, God. Your love has spread through human hearts and hands."

1. When Howard Kelly was a boy, he was very _____.

A. rich
B. poor
C. strong

2. The young woman gave Kelly _____.

A. a glass of milk
B. a glass of water
C. a meal

3. Why didn't Howard Kelly give up at last? Because _____.

A. he loved the young woman
B. he wanted to pay tie woman the money for the milk
C. the woman's kindness gave him the confidence in God and the human race 

4. Which is right according to the text?

A. The woman paid the bill with a glass of milk.
B. The woman was afraid to see the bill because it would take all her life to pay it off.
C. Dr. Kelly paid the bill instead of the woman.

5. Which is the best title for the text?

A. Howard Kelly.
B. A Glass of hot Milk.
C. The Woman and Dr. Kelly.

     Mr Read lived in a city. He wrote a lot of novels and the young men liked to read them. And he was often
visited. It took him much time to meet them. Some visitors talked much with him and at last he didn' t like it.
He told his servant (小說) to stop the strangers from troubling him.
     One morning he was writing a novel when the door was knocked at. He hoped to finish writing it as soon
as possible and he had no time to meet anybody. He told the servant he did not want to be troubled. The
servant opened the door and found it was Mr Baker, one of Mr Read's old friends.
     "Is Mr Read at home, Mabel?" asked Mr Baker.
     She wanted to let him in but suddenly ( 突然 ) remembered what she was told.
     "Sorry, Mr Baker," said the servant. "He's gone out."
     "Where has he gone?"
     "I don't know."
     "When will he come back?"
     "Sorry, he didn't tell me about it."
     Mr Baker understood his friend wouldn't see him. He got mad and left. That afternoon Mr Read finished
his novel. He felt sorry for Mr Baker and wanted to apologize to his old friend. He got there and shouted, "Is
Mr Baker at home?"
     Mr Baker heard it was his friend. He remembered what happened that morning. He didn't open the door
and answered," Sorry, I' m not in." "I have heard it's you, Mr Baker."
     "I believed your servant this morning," said Mr Baker."But you don't believe your friend now!

1. According to the passage, Mr Read was ___________.

A. a waiter
B. a writer
C. a worker
D. a servant

2. What does the underlined word "apologize" mean in Chinese?

A. 道歉
B. 挑戰(zhàn)
C. 回答
D. 邀請

3. From the story we can guess Mr Baker felt _______ because his old friend didn't let him in.

A. happy
B. surprised
C. sorry
D. angry

4. Which statement is true?

A. Mr Read lived in a small town.
B. The servant didn't know Mr Baker so she didn't let him in.
C. Mr Read didn't want to be troubled while he was writing novels.
D. Mr Baker wasn't at home when Mr Read came to his house that afternoon.

     A poor boy became a rich and famous singer. He married and had two sons and two daughters. One day
he said to his wife, "Our children mustn't have a hard life as we had. We must help them more than our parents
helped us." The wife agreed.
     So they sent their children to fine schools. They enjoyed expensive sports. They were given everything in
life except this: they were not taught how to work. Later the parents bought businesses for their children. The
sons, at 21, became the owners of banks. The girls were given shops. But soon all these businesses failed.
Because the young owners knew nothing of business or of work.

1. The singer was ______.

A. rich and famous
B. poor
C. not rich
D. not famous

2. The parents wanted their children ______.

A. to be singers
B. to have a happy life
C.to have a hard life
D. to be teachers

3. The parents bought ______ for all their children.

A. fine schools
B. shops
C. banks
D. businesses

4. The singer's sons ______.

A. did well in their work
B. were good managers
C. knew nothing of business or of work
D. didn't like their banks

5. Where did parents go wrong? They didn't ______.

A. buy businesses for their children
B. send their children school
C. give their children much money
D. teach their children how to work

     A young passenger was looking everywhere for his ticket because the conductor was coming to punch
(打孔) the ticket. He was looking for it in all the pockets of his coats and trousers. What surprised the other
passengers most was that they found he had the ticket in his mouth. The conductor quickly pulled the ticket
out of his mouth, punched it and gave it back to the young man. When the conductor moved on, all the other
passengers couldn't help laughing. One of them said to him at last,"I'm sure you felt foolish just now sitting
there looking everywhere for your ticket when it was right in your mouth all the time." "Foolish?" answered
the passenger."I was chewing (嚼) the date off."

1. Where was the young passenger?
    _____________________________________________________________
2. What was the passenger looking for?
    _____________________________________________________________
3. Why did all the other passengers laugh? 
    _____________________________________________________________
4. Didn't the conductor know why the young man was looking for his ticket?
    _____________________________________________________________
5. What might the conductor and other passengers think of the young man? 
    _____________________________________________________________