A Lucky Thing
     About sixty years ago, a child named Borty was playing one day with a group of naughty boys. When
they were playing happily, an incident happened. An elder child picked up Borty and threw him into the sky.
When Borty fell down, the big child did not catch him but rather let him fall on the ground. As a result, Borty's
leg broke.
     He had to wear heavy plaster while lying in bed for several months. The worst thing was that his leg bone
did not heal. It was a terrible thing to a little child. Little Borty screamed in pain and fear.
     This was a tragedy, but now Borty had a new idea that he was now one of the most famous writers in
the world. Maybe you are not familiar with the name of Borty, But when I mention the name Wells, you must
know it. Maybe you have read some books of his. He wrote more than 75 books. Wells thought that breaking
his leg was a lucky thing for him. It made him have to stay home for one year. In the year he read many books,
because he had nothing to do except that. It made him very interested in literature. He became enlightened by
these books. So his staying home was a turning point for him. Later he became the writer in the world whose
income was highest.

1. When was Borty hurt? 
    ___________________________________________________

2. What was wrong with Borty's leg? 
    ___________________________________________________

3. He had to stay in bed for several months, didn't he? 
    ___________________________________________________

4. What was a turning point for Borty? 
    ___________________________________________________

5. Was Borty a famous reader or a famous writer? 
    ___________________________________________________

     When you are ill, you will see a doctor. The doctor will write a note to take to the chemist for some
medicine. Chemists are usually good at reading doctor's notes. But sometimes doctors write too badly and
even the chemists can't read them.
     One day a woman wrote to a doctor to invite him to have dinner with her family in the restaurant. The
doctor wrote an answer, but he wrote too badly and the woman could not read it. "What shall I do?" she
asked her husband. "I don't know whether he is going to come or not. I don't want to call him and say that
I don't understand him."
     Her husband thought for a few minutes and then he had and idea."Take it to the chemist," he said. "He
will be able to read it for us." The woman went to the chemist's shop and gave the doctor's"note" to him. The
chemist looked at it for a long time.
     "Could you wait a moment, Miss?" he said. Then he went to the back of the shop. After a few minutes he
came back, carrying a large bottle (瓶子). He gave the bottle to the woman.
     "Take one spoonful (一匙) every day," he told the woman.

(     )1. The doctor invited the woman to dinner one day.                             
(     )2. The woman couldn 't read the note because the doctor wrote it badly.        
(     )3. The husband asked his wife to go to the chemist's shop and get some medicine.
(     )4. The chemist gave the woman a large bottle of medicine.                      
(     )5. In fact, the chemist didn't know the meaning of the doctor's note at all.   

     My friend Peter was kind and lovely. But as a student, he was bad at maths, English and science because
he didn't have an aptitude (資質(zhì)) for that kind of study.
     One day we were playing football and the bail got stuck in a tree. Peter climbed the tree to get it, and one
of the teachers, John Marston 9 who was looking out of the window, noticed that he was a talented climber.
Mr Marston was an expert (專(zhuān)家) in climbing. He had climbed many mountains.
     One weekend Mr Marston invited Peter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Peter really enjoyed the climbing. Mr
Marston told Peter he was a very talented climber for his age. Peter left school three years later with no
qualifications (畢業(yè)證), but he kept climbing regularly until he became very good at it. In his early twenties, he
became a professional climber. He said," I'll always remember Mr Marston because he showed me I had an
ability which no one else, including me, knew about."

1. Which subject was Peter not good at?
     ______________________________
2. When did Peter and Mr Marston climb Mount Kilimanjaro? 
    ______________________________
3. How did Peter feel about the climbing?
    _______________________________
4. What did Mr Marston say about Peter?
    _______________________________
5. Did Peter know he had an ability to climb at first? 
    _______________________________

    
     Yesterday I was shopping for a few items (物品). With nothing to do at home, my son, who just left
university, was ready to go together with me.
     As I pushed the basket towards the register (收銀機(jī)), I checked my items to see how many I had,
thinking I might go to the Express Line (快速通道) where the sign said "Ten items or 【不能修改】less".
     I started to go to that line and my son said, "Mon, you have twelve items!" I said, "You know, but
they're close." He said, "Why are you in such a hurry to get home? You should go to the Regular Line
because you have over ten items."
     Knowing he was right. I agreed and then pushed the basket to the next line. So I was waiting for my turn
there and I was just removing my items from the basket to pay for them when a young man came up behind
me in line with two items.
     I just left the Express Line because I had too many and now I really wanted to get finished. Again, my son
came up. "Mom, he has only two items and the Express Line is very long now. Won't you just let him go first?" I agreed, and the young man smiled widely and thanked me several times.
     It felt good to be with my son and have him remind me not to live a hurried life. Do what's right and also
be kind. I really take pride in him.

1. The writer ________ when she was pushing the basket towards the register.

A. lost something she liked best
B. found her favourite item
C. checked her handbag
D. counted the items she had

2. The writer went to the Regular Line because ________.

A. she had 2 items
B. she had 12 items
C. she was in a hurry to get home
D. she wanted to wait for her son

3. Of the following, which order is right according to the story?
①prepare to remove the items from the basket
②let the young man behind go first
③walk towards the Express Line
④return to the Regular Line

A. ②①④③　　　　　　
B. ④②③①　　　　　
C. ③④①②　　　　　　
D. ①③④②

4. If you pay for your items at the Express Line, ________.

A. you need to help others
B. you must wait for a long time
C. you can get finished more quickly
D. you should buy more than ten items

5. What did the writer learn from her son that day?

A. Enjoy your life and be kind.
B. Don't buy too many at a time.
C. Try to be friendly to your family.
D. Never waste time waiting in line.

    
     A young girl called Ida in Sweden decided to travel to a place she hadn't seen for 22 years. She had a
happy life until some kids asked, "Why don't you look like your room?" Ida was sent to her adopted (收養(yǎng))
family in Sweden right after she was born.She really didn't know anything about her birthplace, Korea, except
for some information she recently heard about her birthparents.
     During her schooldays, she was often questioned about her looks. Ida considered herself a normal Swedish
person. She tried to be part of the group in her school, but she found it hard. She was still seen as an outsider.
     As she grew older, she accepted (接受) who she was. Still, she wanted to find the missing piece of the
puzzle (困惑). After finding out the place of her birthparents, Ida went to Korea in 2008. When she first
arrived, she was surprised to see so many people who looked like her. However, apart from her looks, not
much could be shared (分享) with others. She knew little about the culture, food, especially the language.
Being in Korea wasn't always easy for her. 
    Perhaps Ida can never truly fit in either culture, but it's worth visiting her birthplace because she finally
realized how special and different she is. She has two loving families, and most of all a better understanding
of who she is. This helps her to have a positive view of her life.

1. Where was Ida born?

A. In Japan.
B. In Sweden.
C. In England.
D. In Korea.

2. Why was she seen as an outsider in Sweden?

A. Because of the culture.
B. Because of her looks.
C. Because of the food.
D. Because of the language.

3. What does the phrase "apart from" in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. except
B. as for
C. as well as
D. besides

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Ida hadn't seen her birthparents for at least 22 years.
B. Ida found it easy for her to get used to living in Korea.
C. Ida still couldn't accept who she was after she went back to Sweden.
D. Ida realized she can't live a happy life either in Sweden or in Korea.

      Lots of people make it as their aim to get to the top of Mount Everest. Mark is one of them. The
difference between Mark and other climbers is that he lost both his legs when climbing. New Zealand's
highest mountain, Mount Cook. He was caught in a big ice hole and he had to have his legs cut below the
knees after he was saved. But that couldn't make Mark lose heart, who has become the first person with
man-made legs to reach the top of Mount Everest.
     From the top of the world's highest mountain, Mark called his wife to say he made it. His wife, Anne
got the phone when she was sleeping. She couldn't hear him clearly on the phone. She was unable to say
when he reached the top but thought it was around mid-day. She also said his "legs" didn't work well
sometimes, so her husband was carrying a spare leg and repair tools.
     Mark used to be a mountain guide before his accident. He said it was not important that no one like
him had ever reached the 8850-meter mountain.
     "I'm not doing this to be the first. I have been climbing most of my life and I just feel Mount Everest is
really a great aim. I want to send a message that I can do-anything better."

1. What was the difference between Mark and other climbers?

A. He went mountain-climbing with his wife.
B. He climbed mountains with man-made legs.
C. He was the first to climb Mount Everest.
D. He was the best guide of the world.

2. Mark's wife thought is was ________ on Mount Everest when Mark reached its top.

A. noon
B. morning
C. mid-night
D. evening

3. Which of the following is the correct order in Mark's story?
a. Losing both of his legs.
b. Working as a mountain guide.
c. Falling into an ice hole on Mount Cook.
d. Reaching the top of Mount Everest.

A. c a b d
B. c a d b
C. b c a d
D. b a c d

4. Mark's story makes us believe that he is a ________ man.

A. polite
B. brave
C. kind
D. clever

5. Mark told us that he cared much about ________.

A. being the first
B. climbing higher
C. keeping healthy
D. being a guide