In Xinjiang, most people knew the stories of Avantis (阿凡提). Avantis was a very clever man. People
liked him because he not only spoke for the poor but also was always ready to help them.
     One day Avantis saw two men arguing with each other. A lot of people stood around them. One of the
two men was the owner of the eating house in the town and the other was a young man. The young man
just passed by the eating house. The owner of the eating house told the young man to pay him money. The
young man explained (解釋) that he hadn't taken anything from the eating house. But the owner said that the
young man had taken the smell of the nice food from the eating house, and he must pay for it. So Avantis
went up to the owner and said, "I'll pay you the money." Avantis took out some coins from his pocket and
put them into his own bag. He shook (搖動(dòng)) his bag, and people heard the sound of the coins. Then Avantis
said to the owner. "I have paid you the money."

1. People liked Avantis because _____.

A. he was clever and disliked helping the poor
B. he was rich and liked helping the poor
C. he was clever and liked to help the poor

2. One day Avantis saw two men _____.

A. arguing about the eating house
B. arguing about the payment
C. laughing at the people around them

3. The owner of the eating house told the young man _____.

A. to pay the enough money for his food
B. to pay the money for broken bowls
C. to pay for the smell of the food

4. Avantis wanted to help the young man, so _____.

A. he helped die young man out of the trouble
B. he would pay the money instead of the young man
C. he asked the young man to make friends with the owner

5. Avantis paid the owner of the eating house _____.

A. enough money
B. some coins
C. the sound of the coins

     John lived with his mother when he was young. He didn't know who his father was. The woman did some
washing for the rich and could buy only some bread for her son. So the boy was short and thin.
     One cold morning there was much snow in the streets. A car knocked the woman down and the policemen
took her to the hospital. She didn't tell John that his father deserted her before he was born until she died. She
left her son the name and address of his father.
     John found his father, Mr. Brown, in another city. He was one of the richest shopkeepers and he had to
receive his son. From then on, the boy lived a rich life. He ate all kinds of delicious food and wore beautiful
clothes. But He didn't go to school and could not read or write.
     Once his father took him to a party. He saw a newspaper lying on the floor and picked it up while others
were talking about a film. He had a look at it and found a car's wheels (輪子) were upward (朝上). He called
out, "Oh, dear! An accident happened!"
     All the people were surprised and began to read the newspaper. But soon they all began to laugh. Do you
know why?

1. John was short and thin because _____.

A. he didn't like sports
B. his parents were short
C. he was often hungry when he was young

2. John's mother told him who his father was _____.

A. until she was knocked down by a car
B. before she was in hospital
C. before she died

3. After John found his father, _____.

A. he was angry with the man
B. he started a rich life
C. he found a job at a party

4. The word "desert" in this passage means _____.

A. 拋棄
B. 告別
C. 離婚

5. People at the party laughed at John because _____.

A. he held the paper upside down
B. the accident happened long ago
C. his father was reading the paper

     This is a very old story, but it teaches us something that is still true today.
     One day, a father said to his young son, "Come with me and I will show you something." The father got
onto his donkey (毛驢) and told his son to walk behind him.
     On the road, some people pointed at the man and said, "Look at that man! Why doesn't he let the boy ride
the donkey?" The man and the boy heard this, and so they changed places. The boy rode and the man walked.
     A few minutes later, they passed some other people. The people pointed and said, "Look at that boy! How
can he ride while his old father walks?" So the man got onto the donkey with the boy.
     Then they passed some other people, who said, "That poor little donkey can't carry two people. They're
much too heavy." So they got off the donkey and they both walked.
     They walked through a village, and people laughed at them, saying, "Look at those two fools! Why do they
walk when they have a donkey?"
     The man thought and then said, "We've tried walking and we've tried riding. Let's try carrying it." So they
carried the donkey, and all the people in the village laughed at them, saying, "Look! They're carrying the donkey!
They're mad."
     Finally, they put the donkey down, and the man said to his son, "This is a lesson for you, my son. In this
life, you can never please (使......滿意) everyone."

1. At first the father told his son to _____.

A. walk behind him
B. ride the donkey
C. run quickly
D. carry the donkey

2. The first group of people thought that the boy _____.

A. was mad
B. should ride
C. was lazy
D. should walk

3. When the father and the son both walked with the donkey, the people thought they were _____.

A. fools
B. clever
C. tired
D. heavy

4. The father wanted to show that _____ can please everyone.

A. donkeys
B. he
C. nobody
D. his son

5. This story _____.

A. is about a boy and a donkey
B. makes people sad
C. is new
D. teaches us a lesson

     A small man goes to a cinema. He buys a ticket and goes in. But after two or three minutes, he comes
out and buys a second ticket. Two or three minutes later, he comes out again and asks for another ticket.
But the girl says to him,"why are you buying all these tickets? Are you meeting your friends in the cinema
all the time?" "No, I'm not doing that." The small man says,"but a big woman always stops me at the door
and tears (撕) my tickets up."

1. The small man goes to the cinema to _______.

A. see a film
B. buy tickets
C. meet his friends
D. watch TV

2. The small man ______ a ticket all the time.

3. After a few minutes, the small man ______ again and buys a third ticket.

A. gets up
B. tears up
C. comes out
D. goes in

4. "No, I'm not doing that." Means ______.

A. he is not seeing a film
B. he isn't meeting his friends
C. he wants to buy the tickets for the big woman
D. the big woman doesn't let him in

A. The small man is the first time to see a film.
B. The big woman doesn't like the small man.
C. The small man is very clever.
D. The woman shouldn't tear his tickets.

    Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a bunch (束) of white flowers was put to my
house. No cards came 1.            it. Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped
trying to find 2.            sender's name and just delighted in the beautiful white flowers in soft pink paper.
    But I never stopped thinking 3.            the giver might be. Some of my 4.            (happy) moments
were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged my thinking. She'd ask me 5.            
there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. 6.            a girl, though, I had more fun thinking
that it might be a boy I had run into.
    One month 7.            my graduation, my father died. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested
in my graduation dance, 8.            I didn't care if I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own
sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In 9.            (true), my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the flowers with perhaps a
bit of mystery.
    My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the 10.            the white flowers
stopped coming.

     The sign on the bridge says, "Danger! Low bridge." But the driver of the van (貨車) did not see the sign.
So he drove the van under the bridge. There was a terrible noise, and the van suddenly stopped.
     The driver tried to go back, but he could not move the van. Some men tried to help him. They pushed and
pushed, but they could not move the van back.
     The driver telephoned a garage. And a few minutes later, a truck arrived from the garage. The man from
the truck tied the van to the truck. Then he tried to pull the van out. The truck pulled and the men pushed, but
the van did not move.
     The men were tired and stopped pushing. Other people were angry because they could not move their cars.
Nobody knew what to do. Then a little girl pulled the truck driver's arm and said something.
     The truck driver did not listen, but the girl pulled his arm again. This time the truck driver listened, and the
little girl said something in his ear. The truck driver smiled. And two minutes later, the van was out. What did
the little girl say?
                                                      

1. The van driver _____ before the van hit the bridge.

A. drove on the bridge
B. didn't see the sign
C. made a terrible noise
D. phoned the garage

2. The truck and the men _____ the van.

A. pushed
B. could not move
C. tried to drive
D. pulled 

3. People in cars _____ at that time.

A. were tired
B. thought of a new idea
C. were angry
D. stopped pushing

4. The little girl's idea must be _____.

A. helpful
B. not good
C. very funny
D. not useful

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The truck driver had a good idea
B. The van wasn't out at last
C. Children's ideas are always good
D. It's important to find a good way to get out of trouble

     Once Mark Twain wanted to borrow a certain book from a friend. The friend told him that he never
allowed anyone to take books from his library. He said if Mark Twain wanted to use the book, he must use
it in his library. He could not take it home with him.
     A few days later, this same friend wanted to borrow Mark Twain's lawn mower (割草機(jī)) in order to
cut his grass. Mark Twain then told him that he never allowed anyone to take his lawn mower from his home.
If the friend wanted to use the lawn mower, he must use it on Mark Twain's own grass.
     Here is another story about the famous American writer. One morning, when Mark Twain was dressing,
he found that his shoes were covered with mud (泥). He called his servant (仆人) and said to him,"My shoes
are covered with mud. Why didn't you clean them last night?"
     "I thought it was useless to clean them in such bad weather," the servant said. "They will only get dirty
again in a short while."
     Later that day, when the servant came for his dinner, there was no food on the table for him. He went
to Mark Twain and asked the reason for this.
    "I thought it was useless for you to eat," said Mark Twain,"because you will only get hungry again in a
short while."

1. What is Mark Twain?

A. A teacher.
B. A writer.
C. A worker.

2. Why didn't Mark take the book home?

A. If he took it out, his friend would never get it back.
B. The book was quite special.
C. Mark liked reading in his friend's library.

3. Why couldn't his friend borrow Mark's lawn mower?

A. Mark had no lawn mower.
B. Mark could not borrow his friend's book home.
C. His friend didn't want to return the machine.

4. The servant didn't clean Mark's shoes, because _______.

A. it was bad for the shoes
B. there was no food for him
C. the weather was bad

5. According to the story, which one is true?

A. Mark was a good master.
B. Mark liked joking.
C. The servant shouldn't have his dinner.