I have a neighbor we call “Happy”. I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh word to anyone or about anyone.
Happy and her husband Ben, 70, have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbors watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben’s beans, we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market, Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard.
Last month, Happy and Ben invited most of the neighborhood over for an “all-day food festival”. We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn’t know what was about to take place.
By 9:00 am, there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes, beans, okra, and squash. By 10:00 am, there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o’clock, everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner, we played games. As we were leaving, Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty of the day, already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift!
Well, the point wasn’t so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another’s company. None of it would have happened if it had been for Happy and Ben’s garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decided to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants!
【小題1】According to paragraph 2, people wished they also had a garden so that                  .

A．they could spend happy times together with their family in it

B．they could grow vegetables and sell at the market

C．they could invite their neighbors and hold parties in it

D．they didn’t have to spend so much money on food

【小題2】 Which of the following is the same as the underlined word “bounty”?

A．Present.

B．Kindness.

C．Laughter.

D．Happiness.

【小題3】For what purpose did Happy and Ben invite the neighbors to their garden?

A．To ask them to attend a birthday party

B．To help them get to know each other.

C．To let them enjoy what they grew in the garden.

D．To ask them to share some interesting stories.

【小題4】What did the writer most probably think of the time he spent in the garden?

A．He thought it was too short but enjoyable.

B．He thought it was wonderful.

C．He thought it was not as good as he thought.

D．He thought it was too terrible.

【小題5】We can infer that                     .

A．Happy and her husband Ben don’t like spending time with others

B．Happy and her husband Ben sometimes quarrel with each other

C．Happy and her husband Ben are a generous and warm-hearted couple

D．Happy and her husband Ben live on the food they grow in their garden

The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. “My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly,” said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis. She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come home for dinner more than a month ago. The next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.
When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.
A bell went off. “Is Clyde your child or your pet?” the officer suspiciously asked. “Well, he’s my cat, of course,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS,” said the sppeadeotoned policeman. “Well, who can I report this to?” she asked. “You can’t. You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyers,” replied the officer.
Mrs. Brown figured that a billboard would work a lot better than an 8”x11” piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the interstate（州際公路） highway. The billboard had a phone number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a picture of Clyde (from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put it on the billboard for all to see.
“But how can people see it when they whiz（快速移動(dòng)） by on the interstate?” she asked. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am, they only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters that no one moves.” They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took most of the money out of her savings account and rented the billboard for a month.
The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.
【小題1】How long has the cat been missing?

A．More than a month	B．More than two months
C．More than three months	D．It’s been back.

【小題2】Who did the old lady finally turn to for help?

A．A billboard company	B．The police
C．The phone company	D．The interstate telephone line

【小題3】How is the old lady like?

A．Stupid

B．Loving

C．Smart

D．Decisive(有決斷力的)

【小題4】The underlined word was mistyped（打錯(cuò)了）. But we can still guess it’s most probable meaning:____________.

A．a(chǎn)ngry

B．surprised

C．happy

D．excited

【小題5】What’s the best title for this passage?

A．An advertisement	B．A missing cat
C．A pet’s story	D．Life without cat

Once there was a little girl who lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill. From there she could see across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill on the other side. This house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. She wanted to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.
When she got to an age and got enough skill and sensibility to go outside, she asked her mother if she could go for a ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she should keep close to the house and not wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.
As she arrived, she focused on the path that led to the house and then on the house itself. She was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were ordinary and rather dirty, reflecting(反映出) nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that was derelict(廢棄的).
So sad she didn't go any further and turned, and heart broken. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.
She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the “golden house”. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose! 
【小題1】Which sentence is True according to the passage?

A．The girl’s mother finally allowed her to go to the golden house alone.

B．The golden house was on the hill where the girl lived.

C．What disappointed the little girl was that the house was locked.

D．Actually, the windows of the golden house were common and covered with dirt.

【小題2】What can we infer from the passage ?

A．The girl didn’t love or care for her parents

B．The girl had no idea where she was heading after leaving home

C．The mother thought that she needn’t keep an eye on her daughter

D．The girl made up her mind to go to the golden house at the beginning

【小題3】The passage is intended to tell us that_____.

A．not all dreams will come true

B．girls often have amazing imagination

C．what we dream of may be just around us

D．nothing is impossible to a willing heart

People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In the 12th century, the royal palaces of Iraq and Syria included pigeon houses so the kings could be kept informed of their generals’ victories and defeats on the battlefield. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through World War II.
Many countries, such as the United States, England, France, Germany, and Italy, in both World War I and World War II, used carrier pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released (釋放) from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. Pigeon Service.
Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as England’s Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany during battle. He was taken to America, where he lived to the age of 32. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”
Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed (品種) from the kind of pigeons you see on city streets. They are much thinner and taller, with longer legs. Many people find carrier pigeons ugly because of their big wattle, a bent buildup of skin on the beak（鳥嘴）; however, people who raise pigeons often enjoy this strange appearance and consider carriers the best of their breed.
Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons—especially those that served in the military—have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonel’s Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.
【小題1】Many countries used carrier pigeons in the war because_______.

A．they could be believed in

B．they were easily raised

C．they could reach the enemy lines

D．they could hardly be found by airplanes

【小題2】Which is the best example to show the bravery of carrier pigeons?

A．Carrier pigeons could fly to places where radios and telephone lines were useless.

B．For his extraordinary service, Cher Ami was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre”.

C．In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers were needed to care for and train the pigeons.

D．In the 12th century, kings in Iraq were kept informed of the victories and defeats by pigeons.

【小題3】From the passage, we can learn _________.

A．how carrier pigeons developed in history

B．how to train carrier pigeons to get victory

C．carrier pigeons played an important role in the wars in the old days

D．pigeons inspired soldiers to fight before high-speed Internet invented

Have you heard of Chen Binqiang in Zhejiang Province? Over the past six years, he has taken care of his mother who got Alzheimer’s disease.
Chen’s mother, 64-year-old Chen Yueguang, has been ill since 2007. The illness became very serious quickly and she has lost the ability to speak and can not look after herself. None of Chen’s other family members, however, could take care of their sick mother. Chen’s father died in a traffic accident when he was eight, his two sisters married far away and his wife has a 92-year-old grandmother to look after. 
Chen taught Chinese in Central School of Lengshui town, which is about 30 kilometers away from his home in Pan’an. So he spent five days at school and only went home on weekends. When he said he would take his mother to work, even his wife was doubtful and worried. She really doesn’t think it is a good idea for him to take care of his mother in school. She worries what if he lost his job because of this.
But Chen has made the decision. Soon he was putting a safety hat onto his mother’s head and helping her sit on his electric bike’s back seat. He thinks that his mother used to take him around and now he should take her.
These days, things got a little easier for him. With the help of Pan’an government, Chen got a new job in Pan’an Middle School in October 2012. The new school is only five minutes’ ride from his home, which means he can take care of his mother more conveniently.
Chen feels happiest when his mother is looking at him. She must have forgotten who he is, and she even can’t call his name. But she surely knows that Chen is kind to her. He feels that is enough.
On February 19^th, 2013, Chen got the prize for Touching China, held by China Central Television to honor those whose performances have moved the people.
【小題1】 What does Chen Binqiang do? He is ___________,

A．a(chǎn) farmer

B．a(chǎn) driver

C．a(chǎn) postman

D．a(chǎn) teacher

【小題2】The word “doubtful” in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A．疑惑

B．明白

C．預(yù)料

D．支持

【小題3】 How did Chen take her mother to his school?

A．In his car.	B．In a taxi.
C．By electric bike.	D．On foot.

【小題4】 The passage mainly tells us _______.

A．people will live a very hard life if our parents become seriously ill

B．it should be allowed to take care of our mothers at work places

C．a(chǎn) man who shows loving care for his mother and his great spirit

D．Touching China honors people whose performances move us

Zhang Heng was a famous scientist in the history of China. His invention Hou Feng Seismometer was a great success and it helped us understand the world better.

(AD 78-139)	It was invented. Zhang Heng was born in Nanyang in the eastern Han Dynasty. At that time, there were many earthquakes every year. People thought they were from ghosts. Zhang Heng, however, didn’t believe it. He tried to find ways to study earthquakes for many years and in 132 he invented the first seismometer in the world.
	It was used. But at first, people didn’t believe it and all laughed at him. In February, 138, Zhang heng’s seismometer told there was an earthquake in the west of Luoyang. After four days, three earthquakes really happened in Luoyang area. It was believed to be useful from then on. However, it was lost 1700 years ago.
	It was reproduced. Scientists have been trying to reproduce one like that. In 2012, the latest reproduced seismometer was successfully listed in Shanghai museum. It was reported to have been a little helpful during the earthquakes in Tangshan, Yunnan and Sichuan. It is hoped to be improved better soon and be able to predict coming earthquakes one day.

 
【小題1】When was the first seismometer in the world invented?

A．In 78.

B．In 132.

C．In 138.

D．In 139.

【小題2】 Where can we visit the latest reproduced seismometer?

A．In Henan.

B．In Luoyang.

C．In Shanghai.

D．In Nanyang.

【小題3】 We probably read this passage from a (an) ______________.

A．a(chǎn)dvertisement	B．story book
C．travel guidebook	D．science magazine

A young man and a young girl get married (結(jié)婚). The man has much money, and he likes reading very much in his spare (空閑的) time. The woman is very beautiful, but she doesn’t have anything to do because the servant(仆人)does everything for her every day. She isn’t happy, either. Do you know the reason? Her husband is busy reading his books and has no time to stay with her every day.
One day, she says to her husband: “I would like to be a book!” “Why, dear?” the husband asks. “Then you will love to read me very much” “But I don’t think so, dear. After I read one book, I usually read the next one soon,” the husband answers.
【小題1】The young man is ________.

A．Cute

B．poor

C．rich

D．tall

【小題2】Who does the housework in the family?

A．The woman.

B．The man.

C．The servant.

D．The man’s mother.

【小題3】The man likes ______ in his spare time.

A．fishing

B．swimming

C．reading

D．sleeping

【小題4】What does the underlined word “husband” mean?

A．妻子

B．丈夫

C．傭人

D．爺爺

【小題5】Why does the woman want to be a book?

A．Because she likes books very much.	B．Because the man has lots of money.
C．Because she wants the man to read her.	D．Because she wants the man to love her.

Jackie Chan was born on 7th April, 1954 in Hong Kong. His parents left the mainland（大陸） for Hong Kong a short time before he was born. His parents named him Chan Gangsheng, which means “born in Hong Kong”. When Jackie was 7 years old, his family moved to Australia. Later that year, they got back to Hong Kong and Jackie’s father sent him to Beijing to study and work. When Jackie was 17, he began to do dangerous performances（表演） in films. In the early 1980s, Jackie went to Hollywood, but he wasn’t successful there. He went on to make films in Hong Kong and had great success. Finally, in 1985, Jackie Chan became a movie star in the United States. Today Jackie Chan has fans all over the world.
【小題1】Where was Jackie Chan from?

A．Sydney.

B．Hollywood.

C．Hong Kong.

D．Beijing.

【小題2】Which name means “born in Hong Kong”?

A．Chan Gangsheng.

B．Jackie Chan.

C．Cheng Long.

D．Chan Yuanlong.

【小題3】When did Jackie’s father send him to Beijing to study?

A．In 1954.

B．In 1961.

C．In 1971.

D．In 1980.

【小題4】What did Jackie begin to do when he was seventeen?

A．Study films.	B．Sing songs.
C．Do performances in films.	D．Make films in Hollywood.

【小題5】Which of the following is the same meaning with the underlined word “finally”?

A．On the end.

B．As a result.

C．Right now.

D．At last.

Li Shizhen was born in 1518. His father was a poor doctor. Li Shizhen often saw that people fell ill. He decided to study medicine so that he could be able to help people.
Li Shizhen read many books about medicine. He found many of the old medical books to be full of mistakes. So his wish was to write a new one.
He did his best to study medical science. He studied not only the herbs（草藥）in his own garden, but also the wild ones. He set out many times on long journeys to collect herbs and talk with old peasants. He learned a lot from the working people.
After many years of hard work and study, Li Shizhen finished his great work “Ben Cao Gang Mu”（本草綱目）. At that time he was sixty. His book is now one of the greatest contributions（貢獻(xiàn)）of the Chinese people to the medical science of the world.
【小題1】Li Shizhen’s father was _________ 

A．a(chǎn) soldier

B．a(chǎn) doctor

C．a(chǎn) teacher

D．a(chǎn) peasant

【小題2】Li Shizhen decided to study medicine because he wanted to _________ 

A．making a living

B．become famous

C．help the people who fell ill

D．get more money

【小題3】Li Shizhen wanted to write a new medical book because _________ 

A．he was a doctor	B．he liked writing books
C．many medical books were full of mistakes.	D．he was a writer

【小題4】“Ben Cao Gang Mu” is

A．a(chǎn) medical book

B．a(chǎn) medical worker

C．a(chǎn) herb

D．a(chǎn) dictionary

【小題5】Li Shizhen collected a lot of       on his long journeys.

A．flowers

B．living things

C．plants

D．herbs

Little Tom likes cartoons (動(dòng)畫片) very much .When the cartoons begin on TV, he does nothing until they’ re over. Sometimes he’d rather wait for a long time and go to bed late. In the morning his mother has to wake him up, or he will be late for school.
Yesterday Tom heard there would be an interesting cartoon today. This morning, as soon as he got up, he turned on the television, but didn’t receive the programme. He had to have breakfast and then went to school. After school he ran home while his mother was cooking supper in the kitchen (廚房). He hurried to the sitting room and turned on the television again, but he couldn’t find the cartoon. He rushed into the kitchen and asked his mother to help.
“It’s only five now,” said the woman. “Your programme will be after supper.”
“Well, let’s have supper right now!”
【小題1】Tom goes to bed late sometimes, so______ .

A．he’s late for school	B．he goes to school by bus
C．he can’t wake up himself in the morning	D．he has to go to school without breakfast

【小題2】Tom spends much time _____ when he is free.

A．playing football	B．watching football matches on TV
C．doing his homework	D．watching cartoons on TV

【小題3】Tom _____,so he turned on the television after getting up this morning .

A．thought he had some time left	B．didn’t know when the cartoon would begin
C．wanted to know the important news	D．hoped to watch TV play

【小題4】Tom was afraid _____, so he ran home.

A．to miss the interesting cartoon	B．to miss the last bus
C．he would be hungry	D．he had little time to finish his homework

【小題5】Tom thought _____.

A．supper should be ready	B．his mother’s watch was slow
C．the cartoon would be as soon as he finished supper	D．his mother cooked super too late