After staying in Beijing, it was time to go to Shanghai. So I decided to take the train to Shanghai and stop
halfway at Tai'an for a day to break up the trip and climb Mount Tai. The train arrived in the city at 10 pm.
It was late and I was tired. I started to walk around the city to look for a hotel, but I couldn't find a reasonable(合理的) one. Something was strange. There were so many Chinese tourists walking somewhere. I finally
followed them to see what all the excitement was about. As it turned out, they were all climbing the mountain
to reach the top by sunrise. What a crazy idea!
     I later found out it was the thing to do, so having no luck with hotels, I decided I had better join them. And
maybe because of the dark, I didn't have to pay for any entry fees (費(fèi)). Of course the first thing was to find if
the mountain had a wall around it. Of course it did. And the second, it had a paved (用磚鋪的) path and road
all the way up to the top. Anyway, I ran up the mountain and made it to the top by about 4:30 am. I relaxed a
little and watched the sunrise. Nothing was special. Everyone was cheering so I guessed it was worth it.

1. The writer took a trip to Mount Tai ______.

A. from Shanghai
B. by plane from Beijing
C. on his way to Shanghai
D. in his dream at night

2. When did he get to the city of Tai'an?

A. 9 pm.
B. 10 pm.
C. 11 pm.
D. I don't know.

3. Why did the writer climb the mountain at night? Because ______

A. he liked to walk at night.
B. he could pay half of the fees at night.
C. the Chinese tourists told him to follow them.
D. he hadn't found a suitable hotel.

4. What does the underlined"a crazy idea" refer to?

A. That the write got to the tain station at 10 pm.
B. That the tourists climbed the mountain at night to reach the top by sunrise.
C. That there were no suitable hotels in such a famous place
D. That people in Tai'an work all the time without sleeping at night.

5. The possible title of the passage is "_______".

A. A trip to Mount Tai.
B. No hotel to stay in.
C. The famous place between Beijing and Shanghai.
D. Why do the tourists climb Mount Tai at night?

     I will always remember my mother's last few days in this world.
     On February 14th, 2000, my teacher told me to go to the headmaster's office. When I got there, I saw
a police officer. Suddenly I realized something was wrong. The officer told me what had happened and we
went to pick my sister up. After that, we went to the hospital and waited. Finally, we got to see our mother.
It was terrible.
     The next day, the headmaster came and told my two teachers what had happened. I knew it had something
to do with my mother. How I wished that she had gotten better! When my teacher took me outside, my sister
ran up to me. She started crying, "Mommy's gone." I couldn't believe it. We jumped into the car and drove
straight to the hospital. Most of my family were there, and I knew I had to say goodbye.
     Today when I look back, I still miss my mother very much. She was a strong mother, who had the
biggest heart. She was an angel walking on the earth. When someone is asked who their hero (英雄) is, they
usually say someone famous. When someone asks me who my hero is, I tell them, my mother. My mother
lives every day. That is what makes her a true hero.

1. Does the writer think her mother is a hero?
    _________________________________________________
2. Where was the writer when she learned her mother was very ill? 
    _________________________________________________
3. What did the writer realize when she got to the hospital the next day?
    _________________________________________________
4. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us about? 
    _________________________________________________
5. What do you think of your own mother? (Use at most 3 sentences) 
    _________________________________________________

      A man went to a fast-food restaurant to buy his lunch."Hi," a worker said."May I help you?"
     "I'd like a hamburger, large chips, and a Coke," the man said.
     "Anything else?" the worker asked.
     "No," the man answered."That's it."
     "Is that for here or to go?" The worker asked.
     "To go," the man said.
     The worker put the man's lunch in a bag. The man took out his money and paid for his lunch.
     "Thank you," the worker said. "Have a nice day."
      The man took the bag and walked to a park. He sat down and opened the bag. He was surprised.
There was no hamburger in the bag. There were no chips. There was no Coke. There was only money
in the bag-a lot of money! The man counted the money. Two thousand dollars! Why was the money in the
bag? Where was the man's lunch?
     The manager of the fast-food restaurant needed to go to the bank. He put two thousand dollars in an
envelope (信封). He put the envelope in a bag and put the bag down. The worker gave the manager's bag to
the man by mistake. So the manager had a hamburger, chips and a Coke, and the man had two thousand
dollars. What should the man do?

1. The man went to a restaurant to __________.

A. buy his lunch
B. have a rest
C. sell drinks
D. cook food

2. The man wanted to have his lunch __________.

A. in a hotel
B. in a shop
C. in a restaurant
D. in a park

3. When the man opened the bag, he found __________ in it.

A. food
B. drink
C. money
D. nothing

4. _________ couldn't find his money.

A. The man
B. The manager
C. The worker
D. Nobody

     My first performance (表演) in front of an audience was coming up soon.
     I tried as hard as I could to remain calm, but my heart was racing. I stared down at my sweat-covered,
shaking hands.
     I looked up again at the audience, realizing that these were real people. They were not just my mum and
dad, who would say, "Good job!" even if I messed up the entire piece.
     What if I had the wrong music? What if I played the wrong notes? 
     As it turned out, I was never able to answer these questions because the spotlight (聚光燈) was waiting
for me. I grasped my hands tightly together, drying off the sweat.
     Slowly I walked to the mud-brown piano in the center of the room. It contained 88 demanding keys,
which were waiting impatiently to be played. I swallowed the golf-ball-sized lump (隆起部分) in my throat
and sat down. Slowly, I opened the music. Next, I rested my still shaking hands on the ivory (象牙色的)
keys.
     As my fingers played across the keys, I was becoming more unsure of my preparation for this moment.
But the memory of my years of training came flooding back. I knew that I had practiced this piece so many
times that I could play it backwards if requested.
     Although at one point I accidentally played two keys instead of the intended one, I continued to move
my fingers automatically (自動(dòng)地).
     My eyes burned holes into (were fixed on) the pages in front of me.
     There was no way that I was going to lose my concentration. To keep this to myself, I leaned forward
and focused carefully on the music.
     When I came to the end of the page, a warning went off inside my head: DON'T MAKE A MISTAKE
WHEN YOU TURN THE PAGE!
     Needless to say, I obeyed myself with all my heart and mind. And, proud of my "page-turning" feat (技
藝), I finished the rest of the piece without making a single mistake.
     After the final note died away, a celebration went into action inside my head. I had finished. I had
mastered the impossible.

1. The author was nervous before the performance because _____.

A. her mother and father weren't present
B. the strong spotlight was shining onto the stage
C. she hadn't mastered the entire piece
D. she had never performed in public before

2. The underlined phrase "mess up" in Paragraph 3 probably means _____.

A. put into disorder
B. forget about
C. stop halfway
D. do well in 

3. The author _____.

A. didn't make any mistake in the performance
B. felt better at the beginning of the performance
C. paid all attention to nothing but her performance
D. lost her concentration (注意力) sometimes during the performance

4. What did the author feel about her performance?

A. She thought it was comfortable and successful.
B. She thought it was very difficult but successful.
C. She thought she had never made a mistake during the performance.
D. She thought she played through the piece carefully but light-heartedly.

     One evening after dinner, Mr. and Mrs. William called a family meeting. "We've had to make a difficult
decision." Mr. William announced. "You see, your mother has been offered a post as co-director of a
television in Chicago. Unluckily, the station is not here. After thinking long and hard about it, we've concluded
(下結(jié)論) that the right decision is to move to Chicago."
     Peter looked shocked, while his sister Amy breathlessly started asking when they'd be moving:"It's
surprising, but exciting!" she said. Peter simply said, "We can't go-I can't leave all my friends. I'd rather stay
here and live with Tommy!"
     Mr. and Mrs. William hoped that by the time they moved in August, Peter would grow more accustomed
(習(xí)慣) to the idea of leaving. However, he showed no signs of accepting the news, refusing to pack his
belongings (物品).
     When the morning of the move arrived, Peter was nowhere to be found. His parents called Tommy's house,
but Tommy's mother said she hadn't seen Peter. Mrs. William became increasingly worried, while her husband
felt angry with their son for behaving so irresponsibly (不負(fù)責(zé)任).
     What they didn't know was that Peter had started walking over to Tommy's house, with a faint idea of
hiding in Tommy's attic (閣樓) for a few days. But something happened on the way as Peter walked past all
the familiar landscape of the neighborhood: the fence that he and his mother painted, the tree that he and his
sister used to climb, the park where he and his father often took evening walks together. How much would
these mean without his family, who make them special in the first place? Peter didn't take the time to answer
that question but instead hurried back to his house, wondering if there were any moving cartons (紙板箱) the
right size to hold his record collection.

1. The conflict (分歧) in this story was caused by _____.

A. Peter and Amy's different tempers (脾氣)
B. a quarrel (爭(zhēng)吵) between Tommy and Peter
C. Peter's disagreement with his parents about their move
D. Mr. and Mrs. William's words of Peter's irresponsibility

2. Peter and Amy were both _____ after hearing the move.

A. surprised
B. angry and worried
C. anxious for more details
D. worried about packing

3. The reason for Peter's going home was that _____.

A. he did not want to be left behind
B. he realized his family was essential (重要的) with him
C. he hoped to reach an agreement with his parents
D. He wished to be a more responsible person

4. What would more probably happen next?

A. Peter would bring his records over to the Tommy's house.
B. Mr. and Mrs. William would call the police.
C. Peter would join his family for house moving.
D. Mr. and Mrs. William would start searching for Peter.

     Canada Geese are large blue and white birds. When autumn comes. they have to move to south where
the weather is warmer. The winters are so cold in Canada that the birds will die if they stay there.
     Last spring, Bill and a man found sixteen young Canada Geese on his farm. They had lost their way. Bill
thought, "These young birds won't know what to do in the autumn." He had a small plane and he decided to
teach the birds to follow him. All through the summer, he went on short trips in his plane and the young geese
new after him.
     When the cold weather arrived in the autumn,Bill flew to Virginia in the United States. 600 miles South of
his home in Canada. The geese followed him all the way. Bill left the geese in Virginia and he returned home.
     This spring,Bill was waiting for the birds to come back. They didn't arrive, so Bill flew to Virginia to get
them. He looked for them for two weeks but he couldn't find them. When he arrived back home, he found the
geese waiting for him. They had found their way home without him!

1. What will happen to the geese if they stay in Canada in winter? 
    _____________________________________________________
2. Where did Bill find sixteen young geese last spring? 
    _____________________________________________________
3. Is it 600 Bill far from Bill's home to Virginia? 
    _____________________________________________________
4. How long did it take Bill to look for the geese in Virginia? 
    _____________________________________________________
5. The geese found their way home by themselves, didn't they? 
    _____________________________________________________

     Police in America were looking for a thirteen-year-old boy, Ben. He was a middle school student. He was
lost last Friday night.
     Ben's mother went to bed early that evening because she had a bad cold. She thought Ben was spending
the night with his friend. However, Ben did not appear at the family lunch the next day. She became worried
and called the police.
     That evening, Ben left home to play baseball with two friends. They both said Ben went home after the
game. Some neighbors said to the police they saw a UFO flying over Ben's house that night. So they thought
Ben might be taken away by aliens.
     The police said they would not give up until they found him.

1. When was Ben lost?
    ______________________________________________________________
2. What did Ben do with his friends that evening?
   ______________________________________________________________
3. What might happen to Ben according to his neighbors?
    _______________________________________________________________

      Bob and Jim once worked in the same factory. One day, Bob lent Jim ten dollars, but then Jim left his work
and went to work in another town without paying back the money.
      Bob didn't see Jim for a year, and then he knew from another friend that Jim was in another town and
staying at a hotel. So he went there to see him late in the evening.
     When he got to Jim's room, he saw his shoes near the door. "Well, he must be in," he thought, and knocked
again, and said, "I know you are in, Jim. Your shoes are out here." 
     "I've gone out in my boots," answered Jim.
(     ) 1. Bob and Jim once worked in different factories.
(     ) 2. One day Jim borrowed ten dollars from Bob.
(     ) 3. Jim paid back the money to Bob and went to work in another town later.
(     ) 4. Bob hadn't seen Jim for a year when he learned that Jim was in another town.　

     Arnel Laparan grew up in Rosario. After his father died in 1970, five-year-old Amel had to work in a
small shop to help his family. The boy insisted on going to school and his mother finally sent him to a nearby
public school. "I was happy to study but my life became harder because I had to wake up earlier to do all my
jobs before I went to school," says Arnel. Worn down by all the work, he was ready to give up by the time
he reached the fifth grade. Then his teacher's words changed his life and made him study harder.
     Arnel finished high school at the top of his class, received a scholarship (獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金) from the Philippine
Normal University in Manila and got a degree in education in 1985. He took a job teaching math at a Manila
private school and did volunteer teaching at the school's adult class in the evening. "The adults were from poor
families and had to work when they were very young," he explains. "It was touching to see how they tried to
get a high school education at their age."
     As time passed, he realized that helping needy students was his true calling. In 2004 he left his well-paid job
and retumed to Rosario. "My goal was to educate street children for free." He began holding classes under a
large tree. Slowly, more and more street children became interested in his teachirig. "I taught them the basics
of reading, writing and math," says Arnel. He worked harder, walking to nearby villages, where he would give
classes in parks or on playgrounds. To make ends meet, he began teaching children from rich families.
     In June this year Arnel borrowed a bicycle with a large sidecar from a neighbour. The sidecar holds a small
wooden desk, textbooks and school supplies, and a black- board set to the front bears Arnel's words:"Education
can be found anywhere. It is a road to progress."
     The bicycle allows Arnel to visit faraway areas. He sets up an outdoor classroom and invites teenagers to
his class three days a week. Many of the children have been out of school for years. Amel also offers adult
education to help out-of-school young people learn high school lessons. He does not receive any money but
accepts school supplies and food for the students. He says, "I want to bring education to as many children and
adults as possible. Everyone should have a chance."

1. Who decided Arnel should go to school at first?

A. His mother.
B. He himself.
C. His teacher.
D. The govemment.

2. Why did Amel retum to his hometown to teach the street children?

A. Because there were no schools in his hometown.
B. Because he didn't want to teach rich children only.
C. Because he considered it's his duty to help the poor.
D. Because the country's education should be improved.

3. How does Arnel make his living?

A. By serving rich families.
B. By accepting school supplies.
C. By receiving his family's help.
D. By offering lessons for adults.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A.Teacher on Wheels
B. Classes for the Poor
C. Road to Progress
D. Students in the Street

     It was a great day for a picnic and a picnic was a great day to start the summer holiday. Fred brought his
classmates John and Betty to a wonderful picnic place. After lunch, John said they should play football. When
the ball came to Fred, he locked it into some long grass. "I'll get it." he said and hurried off to find the ball.
Moments later there was a shout and out came Fred holding his leg,"I've bitten by a snake!" 　　
     As the others rushed over to help. Fred began laughing. "Ha! I'm not really hurt." But Betty didn't laugh, "I
can't believe you did that, Fred. I was really frightened for you." 　　
     The friends then decided to go for a swim. John and Betty jumped into the water. Fred was standing on a
long rock by the riverbank and said, "Watch me jump." They shouted excitedly as he went under the water, but
as the seconds passed he didn't come back to the top. The friends became worried. Suddenly they heard Fred's
laugh, "Won't you ever learn? I swam behind this tree when I jumped." 　　
     "Very funny, Fred?" said John angrily. "Anyway, I'm feeling tired and I'm going for a sleep." Betty joined
him. 　　
     Fred, however, moved to a narrow part of the river and jumped in. Although he was a good swimmer, the
water there was moving much faster and Fred found himself dragged away. He managed to catch hold of a tree,
but he was very tired now and with the water still moving very fast, couldn't pull himself out. 　　
     Back at the picnic place, as Betty and John were preparing to sleep, they heard Fred's cries for help, John
looked at Betty and said, "Does he really think we're so foolish? Wake me up in an hour. It'll be time to go back
home then."

1. What happened when Fred went to get the football?

A. He was bitten by a snake.
B. He fell and cut himself.
C. He called for the others to help him.
D. He let out a frightening shout.

2. At the end of the story, why didn't John and Betty go to help Fred?

A. They didn't believe that Fred was really in trouble.
B. They thought Fred was a good swimmer.
C. They couldn't hear his cries for help.
D. They were too tired and needed to rest.

3. The underlined word "dragged" means "_____".

A. pulled
B. held
C. guided
D. gave

4. What can you learn from this story?

A. It is important for a person to tell the truth.
B. You should know how to swim if toy want to play in the river.
C. You must watch out for snakes in the countryside.
D. Picnics can often be dangerous for children.