An artist who did not have much money, but was a very kind man, was coming home by train one day. He gave his last few coins to a beggar, but then he saw another one, and forgot that he did not have any money. He asked the man if he would like to have lunch with him, and the beggar accepted, so they went into a small restaurant and had a good meal. At the end, the artist could not pay the bill, of course, so the beggar had to do so.
The artist was very unhappy about this, so he said to the beggar, “Come home with me in a taxi, my friend, and I’ll give you back the money for money.”
“Oh, no!” the beggar answered quickly. “I had to pay for your lunch, but I’m not going to pay for your taxi home either!”
【小題1】The artist in this story was __________.

The new book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood is warmly welcomed by the children in China. It sells well across China. You can see and hear the advertisements about the book here and there.
Why is the book so attractive to children? After reading it, I was attracted by the magic world. I cannot help asking: where is our own Harry Potter?
China has a long history and colorful culture. With a large market of teenagers, China published(出版)many popular books among children. However, why are the present books not as good as those foreign ones?
Firstly, quite a number of children’s books are written for teaching, and they have little interest. Reading them, children often have a feeling of being “educated”. Certainly, they don't like them. Secondly, fewer children like the same stories, but most Chinese books are usually much the same. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. Finally, the writers seldom think about children’s needs.
First-class Reading, for children should be interesting, and written in their language.
【小題1】About the present Chinese children's books, which is NOT right?

I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a major insurance(保險業(yè)) company. I told him honestly why I wanted the job----I needed to keep my family in Boston. My wife recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some of the extreme trauma (精神創(chuàng)傷) and pain of the loss for my 16-year-old daughter. It was important for me to keep her in her high school. I could still hardly talk about the loss of my wife.
Bruce, the interviewer, was politely empathetic, but he didn't probe any further. He admitted my loss and with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of the interview, Bruce took me to lunch with another person. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he, too, had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had three children.
In his sharing, I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had -----a pain that was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a beloved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, if I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call.
Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help. When he had no idea if we would ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of the greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview into a caring support for another person in need.  
【小題1】The writer took part in the interview because __________.

Mr. Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "If anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."
"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn't remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."
The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?"
"Burnt yesterday evening."
【小題1】Mr. Brown told his son that _____.

閱讀短文，根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容判斷正（T）誤（F）。
I take an after-school Spanish class once a week. One day, when the class was over, there weren’t any buses going to my house, and my parents couldn’t pick me up. So, I had to walk home myself.
It was a long walk but I enjoyed it. The wind was blowing (吹拂) gently. And I saw birds flying and trees changing color. A few times I saw something special, like a small snake near the sidewalk (人行道) and two cars very close to crashing (撞車)! Later, I got used to (習(xí)慣) the distance. It became a part of my daily life, like getting dressed.
People always think walking long distances is unimaginable (難以想象的). Cars keep us from nature. But I really enjoy my walk home from school.
【小題1】The writer takes an after-school Spanish class every day.
【小題2】The writer’s parents asked him to walk home.
【小題3】The writer didn’t enjoy the long walk.
【小題4】The writer loves being close to nature.
【小題5】The writer sees a car accident on his way home.

As a father, I always do my best to help my son, Peter. I like to help him with his study. I encourage him to join team sports. I send him to the summer camp if he wants to go. I also teach him to be both a good student and a useful man.
He used to make me feel proud. I often thought he was the best son and I was the best father in the world.
However, things changed two years ago. It was Peter’s 12th birthday. My wife and I bought him a computer as a present. We thought it was necessary for him to learn how to use a computer in the modern world. We knew that some children were addicted (上癮的) to computer games and that they didn’t study or work at all. Someone said that computers and the Internet were bad for children, but I didn’t worry about it. I trusted (信任) my son. I believed that he could control himself. Peter did very well at first. He played computer games, but for only two hours every week. Most of the time he studied or wrote articles on the computer. We felt very happy to see that.
When we finally learned that Peter was also addicted to computer games, it was too late. He didn’t like studying at all. He no longer joined team sports. Sometimes we even couldn’t find him at night. He spent several days and nights at the Internet cafe. We tried everything to help him, but nothing worked. What should we do?
【小題1】Why did the writer think his son was the best in the past?

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to (指著) a little boy in a red sweater.
“He’s a fine looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter: “We have to leave for home now, Melissa.”
“Just five more minutes, Dad,” Melissa said. “Please? Just five more minutes.”
The man nodded (點頭) and Melissa went on riding her bike happily. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter, “Time to go now?”
“Five more minutes, Dad,” Melissa said again. “Just five more minutes.”
The man smiled and said: “OK.”
“Oh, you really are a patient father,” said the woman.
The man smiled and then said: “Her older brother Tommy died (死) in a traffic accident last year while he was riding his bike near here,” the man said. “I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed (發(fā)誓) not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”?
【小題1】The man’s daughter and her brother were playing at the park.
【小題2】The man felt sorry that he didn’t give more of his time to his older son.
【小題3】Melissa wanted to stay longer when her father asked her to go the first time.
【小題4】Melissa agreed to go home when her father called her the second time.
【小題5】The man learned a lot from Tommy’s death.

A young man went to the local expert(專家) on gems and said he wanted to become a gemologist(珠寶家). The expert turned him down because he feared the youth would not have the patience to learn. The young man asked for a chance. Finally, the expert told the youth, "Be here tomorrow."
The next morning the expert put a jade(玉) stone in the youth's hand and told him to hold it. The expert then went about his work, cutting, weighing and setting gems. The boy sat quietly and waited.
The following morning the expert again put the jade stone in the youth's hand and told him to hold it. On the third, fourth and fifth days, the expert asked the young man to do the same thing. On the sixth day, the youth held the jade stone but he could no longer stand(忍受) the silence. "Master, when am I going to learn something?" he asked.
"You will learn." the expert said and went about his business.
Several more days went by and the youth almost lost his patience. But one morning as the master put the stone in the youth's hand, the young man said without looking at his hand, "This is not the same jade stone!"
"You have begun to learn." said the master.
Practice makes perfect. The experience we learned from practice teaches us and develops our abilities. Experience is the best teacher. Even the most successful person had no absolute confidence once. It is experience that gives people confidence. The truth is: if you do the work and gain the experience, you'll have more confidence because you'll actually know what you're doing.
【小題1】The phrase "turned ... down" probably means _______.

Jerry was a manager in a restaurant. He was always in a good mood(脾氣）and always had something positive to say. This really made me curious, so one day I asked him, "It's hard to be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'' Jerry replied ,"Each morning I wake up and say to myself, "Jerry, you can choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood," and I choose to be in a good mood. Life is all about what you choose. And what you choose leads your life."
Several years later, I heard that Jerry left the back door open one morning and was robbed(搶劫）.While trying to stop the thief ,he was shot. I went to see him in the hospital. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins." "Weren't you scared when you were in danger?" I asked. "Yes. The doctors kept telling me that I was going to be fine, but in their eyes, I read. "He's dead." I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" "Well. there was a big nurse asking me if I was allergic(過敏的）to anything. "Yes,' I replied ."Bullets(子彈）!Everyone laughed and I told them: I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive." Jerry lived thanks to the great doctors ,and also because of his amazing attitude(態(tài)度）.Attitude ,after all ,is everything.
【小題1】What kind of person was Jerry?

George liked flying a plane. Once he bought a small plane and learned how to fly it. He soon became so good that he could make his plane do all kinds of tricks（技巧）.
George had a friend. His name was Peter. One day George said to his friend, “ Peter, would you like to have a trip in my plane?” Peter thought, “ I’ve traveled in a big plane several times, but I’ve never been in a small one, so I’ll go.”
They went up, and George flew around for half an hour and did all kinds of tricks in a shaken voice（顫抖的聲音）, “ Well, George, thank you very much for these two trips in your plane.”
George was very surprised and asked, “ Two trips? ”
“Yes, my first and my last.” Answered Peter.
【小題1】Peter ______ his friend’s plane.