Our three-year-old daughter Becky wanted a dog. But we were too busy to buy one. One day, Becky ran in, shouting, “Mom! Come to see my dog!” Her face was red with excitement.
I followed her to the bush and found a wolf! He was hurt. Seeing me, he stood up suddenly! I could see his teeth! God! My mouth felt dry. “Don’t be afraid. That’s Mom. She loves you, too.” Becky said. Then he became friendly. It was unbelievable!
I rushed to find my husband and told him about the wolf. We should have killed the wolf, but Becky loved him. Besides, he was kind to Becky. So we called the vet(獸醫(yī)) finally.
Becky named the wolf Ralph and she carried food to him every day. Later, Ralph got well. They played together in the daytime. At night, Ralph would return to the mountains. Sometimes he disappeared but came back several days later.
On Becky's first day of school, we could see Ralph’s sadness. After Becky left school, Ralph lay by the side of the road and waited. When Becky returned, he got happy again. This continued throughout Becky’s school years.
Twelve years passed.
One day we heard that a wolf was killed. The other wolf was hurt and ran away. We were worried about Ralph. That night, Ralph returned with a wound. Becky held his head kindly and comforted him. We hoped he could come through. However, he died.
Becky cried. I noticed something strange in the bush—two little yellow eyes! Ralph’s child! Before he died, Ralph brought his child to us! He knew he would be safe here, as he had been. Ralph, Ralph, I was moved.
“Don’t be afraid, little…little Ralphie. That’s Mom. She loves you, too.”
【小題1】The phrase “felt dry” in the second paragraph probably means “______.”

The first English week at our school started on May 4th, 2010. The whole school was filled with an English learning atmosphere(氛圍). A lot of activities were held. There were handwriting activities, story writing, English songs, role playing in English, and so on. All the teachers and students were very happy. They spoke English, sang English songs and enjoyed all the activities.
Handwriting was for the students in lower grades. Although most of them couldn’t write so well, they were all very careful about it. In the show window, there were a lot of colorful handwritten papers. They copied some articles from books or newspapers. And then they decorated（裝飾）them with pictures in different colors, and some even put their own photos on them. How cute and lovely they looked!
Story writing was for students in Grade 7 and Grade 8. These students always like cartoons, so they got interested in this activity. Reading the stories they made up, all the visitors couldn’t help speaking highly of them.
The most important event was the English show on the last day. The students and teachers performed a lot of English songs and English operas. Each program won a lot of applause.
One week is not very long, but all the students and teachers learned a lot. Just as the headmaster said, “It is a helpful week. It will certainly lead us to enjoy and learn more from our English studies.”
【小題1】In this passage, the English week is described as__________.

One morning it was shining brightly when I woke up. I looked at the alarm clock. It said 3:45! It had stopped! What time was it? I climbed out of bed and went downstairs to the kitchen. The kitchen clock said 8:30—I was late! My parents were away. My aunt had gone to work without checking if I was up. The school bus went at 8:00. I had missed it. I rang my friend Tony on his mobile phone.
“Tell the teacher I’ll be in as soon as I can!” I said.
“Come on your rollerblades,” Tony said. “It will be faster than the bus.”
I washed and dressed in a hurry. I grabbed an apple to eat on the way. That was my breakfast! Then I put on my rollerblades and set off for school. It took half an hour to get to the school. I took all the shortcuts I knew. I went across the park — even through some backyards! When I got to school, I was very hot and my legs ached. I had missed math, our first lesson of the morning. But I made it just in time for history, our second lesson. I was very happy because history is my favorite subject.
【小題1】The boy woke up at __________ that morning.

One evening two young men were walking in the street together. They tried to find a chance to steal something. The clock struck twelve. Most of people went to bed. Quietly they came to a house. There were no lights in the house and it seemed that everyone in the house had fallen asleep. Standing at the front door gate, one said in English in a low voice, “You wait here. I’ll go round to the back door and then get into the house…” Suddenly out of the house ran a dog, barking at them. The two men were very frightened and ran away as fast as they could. They dare not stop until they got into a lonely place. The man said: “It’s too bad. I hadn’t expected that the dog could understand English.”
【小題1】The two young men were ________.
A. workers     B. doctors      C. thieves
【小題2】There were no lights in the house because _______.
A. the people in the house had been out
B. nobody lived there.
C. It seemed that everyone was asleep.
【小題3】“One said in English to the other in a low voice.” Here means _______.
A. he knew English
B. he didn’t want to let anyone else understand what they would say
C. both A and B
【小題4】“Did the dog understand English really?” _______.
A. Yes, it did.   B. No, it didn’t.   C. No, but it wanted to understand.
【小題5】The dog ran out of the house and barked at them only because ________.
A. it understood English    B. it heard them talking    C. the two men frightened it

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up（哽咽）and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other and of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
　　Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent –– teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
【小題1】Which of the following has the similar meaning as the underlined word “withdrawn” in the  first paragraph?

Word travelled quickly in the small fishing village of Port Washington, Wisconsin. So when McCarty wanted to build a playground for kids with special needs. 2,800 people ? a third of the town ? rolled up their sleeves(衣袖)and helped her.
"A lot of learning comes through play," said McCarty, 52, a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She'd seen the traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks.
On September 16, 2008, the first day of the project, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s took part in the job. Children came and gave a helpful hand. Many were volunteers. They all worked very hard.
Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children can play shoulder to shoulder. There is special equipment(裝置) in different parts. Here, you see all the kids on the same playground having fun.
"People used to ask. 'Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?' " McCarty said. "They didn't get it. It's only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children."
【小題1】What's McCarty?

One day when some government officials were rebuilding a barn(谷倉(cāng)), they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing（擠）out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away at once. Instead, one chased after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to escape.
After seeing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.
One serious American official said: “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard.” The others thought for a while and said: “That was why!”
A smart French said: “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife.” Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense.
A Japanese said: “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son.” Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement another time.
At that moment, one Chinese asked: “Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?”
Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and remained speechless. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to answer.
In fact, the true love is not built on friendship, loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship.
【小題1】“it made sense” probably means ______.

It was Mother’s Day, but the young mother was a little unhappy, because she was 800 miles away from her parents. In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs(丁香花)in the garden.
Later that day, when she told her husband about the lilacs, he said, “I know where we can find all that you want. Get the children and come on.” So they went, driving down the country roads. There on a small hill, they saw a lot of beautiful purple lilacs. The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers. Carefully, she picked a few here and there. On their way home there was a smile on her face.
When they were passing an old people’s home, the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair. They stopped the ear and the young woman walked to the old woman, put the flowers in her hands, and smiled at her. The old granny thanked her again and again. She smiled happily, too.
When the young mother came back to her car, her children asked her, “Who is the old granny? Why did you give our flowers to her?  I don’t know her,” their mother said. “But it’s Mother’s Day, and she has no children. I have all of you, and I still have my mother. Just think how much those flowers meant to her.”
【小題1】The young woman was a little unhappy on Mother’s Day because________.

Chairman Mao once said: “It is not hard to do one good deed. It is hard to do good deeds all your life.” Guo Mingyi, 52, a worker in Anshan, Liaoning, did just that. Over the past 20 years, Guo has donated 60,000 milliliters(毫升) of blood. That is the blood of 10 people put together.
　　 Once, on a cold winter of 2009, Guo got a call from the hospital. The doctors told him that a patient needed a blood donation. Guo didn’t have time to eat lunch. He travelled in the snow to get to the hospital. When he finished donating the blood, he was so tired that he fell asleep on the hospital bed.
　　 Guo and his family live a simple life. He and his wife and daughter live in a house of only 40 square meters. They don’t have a lot of money, but Guo saves money to support poor children. In the past 16 years, he has donated over 100,000 yuan to more than 180 poor students. When the parents met him, many cried. “He looks poorer than us,” they said.
　　 Guo has also offered hands to thousands of workers, friends and strangers. His warm heart has moved many people. They call him a “Modern-Day Lei Feng”.
　　 Recently, Chinese leaders called on people to learn from Guo. They say young people especially should learn his selfless devotion(無(wú)私奉獻(xiàn)).But Guo said he did these things in order not to get famous. “It’s just that some people need some help, and there should be someone standing out to give them a hand,” he said.
【小題1】When was Guo Mingyi born in Anshan, Liaoning?

Jane Scott is fourteen and the year before last she began to study in a middle school. She likes dancing and singing and spends a lot of time on them. But she hates math and does not work hard at it. She thinks it difficult to learn. She falls behind her classmates and once failed the math exam. She decides to drop it. Her father is angry with her when he knows about it.
It was Sunday. Mr Scott gave a call to his sister, who teaches math in another school. He hoped she would come and tell his daughter how to learn math. The woman came quickly and said. “You’re a clever girl, Jane. I’m sure you’ll soon do well in math if you work hard at it.”
“I’m afraid I can’t, Aunt,” said Jane, “Girls can’t be good at math.”
“I don’t think so,” said the woman. “I was good at it when was a girl. You must do more exercises and practice a math problem again and again until you master it. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Well, it’s a math problem. Think about it and practice it again, and you’ll work it out.”
“OK,” said the girl, “Let me try.”
About an hour later, Jane took the exercise book to her aunt and said, “I’ve done the problem ten times.”
“Well done!” her aunt said happily, “What result did you get?”
“Ten answers.”
【小題1】Jane has difficulty in learning ______.