John was seven. He lived with his grandparents in the countryside before he came to our class
because his parents had to work in the city. They also had no time to take care of him. So he was a new
student in our class. And he knew nothing about the things that happened in big cities. Now he was
standing in the front of the classroom because Mr. Smith, the teacher, was asking John a lot of questions.
But John couldn't answer any of them. Mr. Smith then decided to ask him some easier questions so that
he could answer a few.
     "What was Thomas Edison?" he asked.
     John thought for some time and then answered in a very low voice, "A singer from America."
     "No. Thomas Edison was a great American inventor," Mr. Smith said. He was getting a little angry
now because everyone knows the great man, but he was trying not to let his students see that. Then he
asked again. "Who was the first president (總統(tǒng)) of the United States?"
     John thought for a long time, but said nothing. Mr. Smith shouted, "George Washington!" John turned
back and began to walk to his seat sadly.
     "Come back!" Mr. Smith shouted. "I didn't tell you to go back!"
     "I'm sorry," John said. "I thought you were calling the next student."

1. John lived with grandparents because ______.

A. his parents were busy working in the city
B. he had no school to go to
C. he loved the class
D. he didn't study hard

2. Thomas Edison was ______.

A. a singer
B. a doctor
C. an inventor
D. the president

3. Why did John answer in a low voice?

A. He knew the question well.
B. The question was easy.
C. He wasn't sure about his answer.
D. He didn't want to answer.

4. How many right answers did John give?

A. One.
B. Two.
C. Three.
D. None.

     Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.
     It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away. As a result,
no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone.
     Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk with anyone
about my problems.
     Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual.
At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed me and then turned back.
He looked at me, with a smile.
     Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy, lively and warm. That
smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to
everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
     One day I asked him why he smiled, but he couldn't remember smiling at me!
     It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If
you think it lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at world and it will smile back.

1. When did the writer get the gift?

A. When she was 16 years old.
B. After she made friends with the boy.
C. In her first year at a middle school.
D. After she became closer to everyone in her class.

2. Why was the smile an important gift?

A. Because the writer's old school was far away.
B. Because the writer didn't know who the boy was.
C. Because the smile didn't mean anything to the boy.
D. Because it made the writer feel happy, lively and warm.

3. Where does she now think her feeling of unhappiness came from?

A. From her old school.
B. From her parents.
C. From herself.
D. From her classmate at the new school.

     "For those who have never been to Tibet, Tibet is a 1______ (夢(mèng)想); for those who have ever been there,
Tibet is a memory." said Li Wan, a graduate from Zhongshan University.
     Ms. Li became interested in Tibet after having worked in a company for less 2______ (比……) three
months. 3______ (自從) 1998, Li has been spending 4______ (大部分) of her time on the challenge ---she
has got to almost every 5______ (角落) of Tibet during the 8 years.
     Li's 6______ (第一) trip to Tibet was only out of her loving freedom. She entered Tibet along the
Yunnan-Tibetan road. Although she couldn't say a word of Tibetan language, this did not really 7______
(阻止) her from talking with local people successfully."To me, they are free, 8______ (友好的), happy
and close to nature. People should live in this way, singing while 9______ (工作), dancing while living,"
Li said.
     Li describes Tibet in words and 10______ (照片). "My goal in the next ten years is to make a good
documentary." said Li.

     At three a.m., Jack Mills was sitting at the controls of the mail train. The train was made up of 13 cars.
At the end of the train, 71 mailmen sat sorting the mail. Inside the second car, there were only five mailmen
and 128 bags full of five-pound notes. This train had run more than 100 years without being robbed. At three
minutes past three, Mills and his helper, David Whit by, saw a yellow warning light. They slowed the train,
and then stopped. Whit by went to the telephone beside the track. It was out of order. Then he saw a man
moving between the second and the third car. Before Whit by could give a warning, he was knocked down
by two men. Mills' cars with all the mailmen had been disconnected by the robbers. At the bridge, the bags
of money were unloaded from the train and thrown into waiting trucks. One of the robbers who obviously
knew the schedules (時(shí)刻表) of all the trains kept looking at his watch. At 3:45, he said,"That will have to be
enough." The robbers drove away with more than 2,500,000 pounds.

1. The robbery took place ______.

A. before 3:03
B. in the early morning
C. after three o'clock in the afternoon
D. after 3:45

2. The robbers ______ before the train stopped.

A. were all in the train
B. forced Mills to stop the train
C. were waiting for the train to stop
D. ordered Mills to go on driving

3. Why didn't the other mailmen help the mailmen in the second car when the robbery happened?

A. Because they were busy sorting the mail.
B. Because they didn't want to help the mailmen in the second car.
C. Because the last eleven cars were separated from the front cars.
D. Because they knew nothing about the robbery.

4. One of the robbers kept looking at his watch because ______.

A. he only wanted to know the exact time
B. he enjoyed looking at his watch
C. he didn't know when another train would come
D. they had to leave before another train came

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The train was out of order.
B. The telephone was put out of order by the robbers.
C. Mills and Whit by were both train drivers.
D. The robbers carried the money away by truck.

     My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could
tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I
knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?" "You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke.
Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if
not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He
always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class; our house was
medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though
once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed (尷尬的) driving
it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
     This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding (寄宿制的) school idea was
to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone
else, if it did not conflict (沖突) with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
     He seemed to have talked to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had
a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought
he might just as well phone them. I remembered my eyes stinging (刺痛) and my hands shaking with the
puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
     "Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this." "It's up to him," said
my father."He can make up his own mind."

1. The writer's house was ________.

A. the best in the local area
B. right for their social position
C. for showing off
D. rather small

2. His father sold his Rolls-Royce because ________.

A. it made him feel uneasy
B. it was too old to work well
C. it was too expensive to possess
D. it was too cheap

3. The writer's father enjoyed being different as long as ________.

A. it drew attention to him
B. it didn't bring him in arguments
C. it was understood as a joke
D. there was no danger of his showing off

4. What was the writer's reaction (反應(yīng)) to the idea of going to Eton?

A. He was very unhappy.
B. He didn't believe it.
C. He was delighted.
D. He had mixed feelings.

5. We can know from the passage that ________.

A. Children who can go to Eton are very famous
B. Children can go to Eton if they will
C. It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton
D. Children don't have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton at all

      Mark Twain, the famous American writer, was travelling in France. One day he was going to Dijon
by train. That afternoon he was very tired and wanted to sleep. He asked the conductor to wake him up
when they arrived in Dijon. He explained that he was a very heavy sleeper, "I'll probably protest (抗議)
loudly when you try to wake me up," he said to the conductor. "But do not take any notice, just keep
pushing me." 　　
       Then Mark Twain went to sleep. Later, when he woke up, it was nighttime and the train was already
in Paris. He realized at once that the conductor had forgotten to wake him up at Dijon. He was very angry.
He ran up to the conductor and began to shout at him."I haven't been so angry in all my life," Mark Twain
said. The conductor looked at him calmly (平靜地). "You are not half as angry as the American whom I
put off the train at Dijon," he said.

1. Mark Twain is a famous ______. 　

A. singer
B. conductor
C. writer
D. Frenchman

2. Mark Twain was very ______ when he got on the train. 　　

A. happy
B. tired
C. sleep
D. heavy

3. He wanted the conductor to ______. 　　

A. wake him up at Paris
B. carry him off the train 　　
C. wake him up at Dijon
D. wake him and another American up

4. —Did the conductor forget his promise? 　　
    —______. 　　

A. No, he didn"t
B. Yes, he did 　　
C. No, but he woke up the wrong American
D. I think so

5. Which of the following statements is right? 　　

A. There was only one American on the train. 　　
B. Mark Twain and his friend, another American, wanted to go to Dijon. 　　
C. Mark Twain woke his friend up.His friend was very angry.
D. When Mark Twain found he was in Paris, he became very angry.