When I was a girl of 10, I joined the school cross-country team and practiced twice a week, on the
1,8-km course I'd never really run before and I thought the course would be easy. It was a real shock I ran
out of breathe (喘氣) within the first few minutes. I never realized how tiring running could be but I didn't
think about give up.   
     Over time, I did get a little bit faster. However, I was really slow. In races, I would finish close to last.
I'd always have to stop more than once, especially in the longer races, which were 2. 5 to 2. 8 km. After
every race, I'd go home and cry. But 1 still didn't stop running, holding onto that picture of crossing the
finishing line and finally doing well.
     Then one of my friends joined the team, too. She could run easily and even came in the 18th in a big race!
I felt so slow and my confidence (自信) was lower than ever. I became so nervous when I thought of the
races that I wanted to give up badly.
     Still. I refund to. Finally. I realized that the reason I was to nervous was that I was always worried that
I wasn't ready for them. So a few weeks before the next 2. 8-km race. I practiced running almost 3 km every
day. which helped me improve my pace (步伐).
     When the time came for the big race, all that practicing really paid off. I stopped only once and my pace
was so much better.
     I realized that I'd finally gotten happiness with running. But the funny thing was. It didn't come from
doing better, Instead, it came from the fact that I hid tried harder and never given up.

1. Before she took the 1.8-km course, the writer ________.

A. knew a lot about it
B. wanted to be a great runner
C. practiced running every day
D. never thought running so tired

2. The writer was nervous about the race because she _______.

A. had to stop to drink water
B. was worried she wasn't ready
C. run slower than anyone else
D. could find no coach to help her

3. The underlined phrase "paid off" probably mean "______".

A. brought good results
B. coat a lot
C. saved much time
D. came to fail

4. It can be inferred (推斷) from the passage that the writer ______.

A. got angry with her friend
B. wasn't pleased with herself
C. was a person with a strong mind
D. had no Interest In running

     Pat Hogan was traveling around the country in his car. One evening while he was driving along a road
and looking for a small hotel, he saw an old man and said to him, "I want to go to the Sun Hotel. Do you
know it?"
     "Yes," the old man answered, "I'll show you the way."
     He got into Pat's car, and they drove for about twelve miles. When they came to a small house, the old
man said,"Stop here."
     Pat stopped and looked at the house. "But this isn't a hotel," he said to the old man.
     "No," the old man answered, "This is my house. And now I'll show you the way to Sun Hotel. Turn
around and go back nine miles. Then you'll see the Sun Hotel on the left."

1. What is Pat looking for?

A. The Sun Hotel.
B. The Moon Hotel.
C. The Star Hotel.

2. Whom did Pat meet?

A. A policeman.
B. An old man.
C. The owner of the hotel.

3. Where did the old man take Pat to?

A. The Sun Hotel.
B. A supermarket.
C. The old man's house.

4. How far was the hotel from where Pat saw the old man?

A. Twelve miles.
B. Three miles.
C. Nine miles.

5. What is the best title (標(biāo)題) for the story?

A. I'll Show You the Way
B. Twelve Miles
C. How Silly Pat Is

     Mr. Green owned a few shops and was busy with his work. Once his wife had a fall and broke her leg.
She was sent to the hospital and needed someone to look after her. They had several servants, but none of
them could do the job. One of his friends brought a girl to Mr. Green. She looked beautiful and strong.
Mr. Green liked her at once, and wanted to hire her.
     When the girl went out of the room, the friend said, "I hear she's a little foolish. You'd better ask her
some questions. If she answers them well, you can hire her."
     Mr. Green agreed and called the girl in again. He asked, "What would you be a servant for?"
     "My mother is often ill," the girl said, crying, "I have to stop studying and find work. I want to get some
money to buy some medicine for her."
     "Where's your father, then?"
     "He died last year." answered the girl.
     "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said Mr. Green, "And how did he die?"
     "He went to London on business and had a high fever. The doctor couldn't save him and he died in the
capital."
     "How many times had your father been to London?"
     "Three times."
     Mr. Green was happy. He thought that the girl was not foolish at all, but he wanted to have a last try.
So he asked,"Which of the three times did your father die in London?"
     The girl thought for a while and said, "I'm sorry I don't know. When he died there, I was at school."

1. Mr. Green owned some shops in _____.

A. Canada
B. America
C. England
D. Australia

2. The girl cried because _____.

A. she had a hard life
B. she hoped Mr. Green could hire her
C. her mother had broken her leg
D. she wanted to get some money from Mr. Green 

3. Mr. Green's friend wanted him _____.

A. to find out why she wanted to be a servant
B. to test her to see if she was foolish
C. to ask her some difficult questions
D. to know where her father had gone

4. The girl _____ before she came to see Mr. Green.

A. had done some housework
B. had taken care of sick people in hospital
C. had been to London three times
D. had studied in a school

5. From the passage we can see that the girl _____.

A. was very clever
B. could understand all the questions well
C. finally worked for Mr. Green
D. was a bit silly

     Mr. Jackson is a farmer and he lives in a small village. It was the last day of June. He drove to the town
to buy some new clothes for his wife and his children. He got there after twenty minutes. It was Sunday,
and the street was full of people. He couldn't find a place to park his car. At last he noticed there was no car
in front of a building. He parked it there at once and went shopping. Two hours later the farmer went back
to his car with many things in his hands. To his surprise, he saw a policeman standing by his car.
     "Do you know you can't park here, sir?" Asked the policeman.
     "I'm sorry I don't." Answered Mr. Jackson.
     "Look at the sign, please." The policeman said seriously.
     "I did. Doesn't it say 'Fine for parking'? So I parked it here!" Said Mr. Jackson.

1. Mr. Jackson went shopping _____.

A. on June 30th
B. on June 31st
C. in June 30th
D. in June 31st

2. Mr. Jackson parked his car _____.

A. at a parking lot
B. next to a restaurant
C. behind a house
D. in front of a building

3. Two hours later _____ was beside Mr. Jackson's car.

A. a shop assistant
B. his wife
C. a policeman
D. a policewoman

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

A. That was a place for parking.
B. Mr. Jackson didn't see the sign.
C. Mr. Jackson may park his car there.
D. Mr. Jackson couldn't park his car there.

5. The underline word "fine" in the passage means "_____".

A. 晴朗
B. 罰款
C. 合適
D. 好的

     The day was like any other day in his life. After school, Bob passed by a shop on a street comer. He
stopped to look at the shoes in the shop window, and felt sorry for himself. He really wanted to have a pair
of them for his birthday.
     He sadly walked away and thought how to tell his mother. He knew she would give anything he liked if
she could. But he also knew very well she had little money. He decided not to go home at once, as he looked
worried his mother would notice it. So he went to the park and there he sat on the grass. Then he saw a boy
in a wheel chair. The boy moved the wheel with his hands. Bob could see it was hard for the boy to move
around the park. Bob looked at him carefully and was surprised to see the boy had no feet. He looked down
at his own feet. "It is much better to be without shoes than without feet," he thought. There were no reasons
for him to feel so sorry and sad.

(     )1. Bob wanted to have a pair of new shoes on his birthday.                  
(     )2. Bob felt sorry for himself because he couldn't afford a pair of new shoes.
(     )3. Bob asked his mother to buy new shoes for him, but she refused.          
(     )4. Bob saw a boy in a wheel chair without hands.                            
(     )5. Bob didn't feel sorry for himself after he saw the boy in the park.      

     Mrs Smith is the owner of a house. She keeps one room for herself and rents the other rooms. Since
her house is near a college, many students want to rent her rooms.
     Now Mrs Smith has to be careful about the use of the phone, water, and everything else, because she
worries that the renters (租房人) will keep the bill (賬) high. Last month's phone bill was very high. She
wants to know if someone in the house makes long distance (長途) calls and doesn't tell her. So she decided
to find out who it was.
     She has waited behind the door for several nights. Just now she was glad to hear someone coming near
the telephone desk. She couldn't hear what the person was saying, but she was sure it was a man's voice.
"Why does this person speak in such a low voice?" thought Mrs Smith. She decided that he was trying to
hide something. She went to the room quickly so that she could catch the man right then.
     But when she suddenly opened the door, she saw only the back of a man with his hand on the telephone
desk. He was saying something in a low voice to a girl beside him. So Mrs Smith still doesn't know who made
the phone bill very high.

1. Mrs Smith _________ a house of _________ rooms.

A. has; two
B. rents; several
C. has; several

2. Mrs Smith can _________ rent the rooms to others, for her house is near a college.

A. easily
B. hardly
C. only

3. Mrs Smith pays attention to the use of the phone, water and other things, because _________.

A. she worries someone often makes long distance calls
B. she is afraid to pay more for the phone, water and other things
C. she has paid more for the phone, water and other things

4. Mrs Smith waited behind the door to find out _________.

A. who made long distance calls
B. who used more electricity
C. who took the expensive things away

5. The man in the room _________ with a girl in a low voice.

A. was phoning
B. was talking
C. was singing

     Alex Smith, a fifteen-year-old boy, studied in an American boarding school (寄宿學(xué)校). In this school,
students could go into town after school in the afternoon.
     1_____ One afternoon, Alex walked to the town. He looked about at the shops and then went to a cinema.
2_____ It was eight o'clock. He was a little worried, He walked back to the school as fast as possible.
     When he arrived, he ran quickly to the main entrance (入口). It was locked. He looked up at the window
of his dormitory. It was on the third floor. The window was open. 3_____ But the door was also locked.
Then he saw another open window on the first floor. It was the window of the teachers' office. 4_____ Alex
quickly climbed into the room. Just then, he heard someone opened the door. He had to hide under the sofa
at once. One minute later, a teacher came in. 5_____ Under the sofa Alex had to lie on the floor.

A. He looked into the room-no one was there.
B. After the film was over, he looked at his watch.
C. But they must go back to the school before six o'clock.
D. The teacher turned on the light, sat down on the sofa and began to read a book.
E. But it was quite dark and he went round the school building to another door.