Question

Do you remember we agreed to circulate our ideas for our school project this year? Well, here is our suggestion and we in our school hope you will join us to develop it.

    The idea came to us in the autumn of 2004. We were sitting in our class when our head teacher made an announcement. “There’ll be a new boy starting school tomorrow. He comes from the circus so he’ll be with us for a while.” Immediately there was whispering around the classroom. I heard remarks like “Those are dirty people”; “They eat raw meat”; and “Watch out for your bags”. The teacher must have heard them because she stopped the talking and said in a very serious voice: “Jake is our guest for as long as he stays here. Make sure you treat him well. I don’t want to hear any complaints about your behaviour to him.”

I was curious because it was the first time I had met anyone from a circus. Fortunately for me, the next morning, after being introduced to the class he sat in the only spare seat next to me. Of course I didn’t want to be nosy（管閑事的） but I couldn’t help looking at him sideways as I began my mathematics task. I noticed Jake was smaller than me and had dirty finger nails. His shirt was clean but had been repaired in many places and his trousers were helped up by a wide, leather belt. As he seemed to have no handkerchief and was sniffing loudly, I passed him one of mine. Immediately the boys began to whisper “What did you do that for? Leave him be!” I concentrated on my work. From my left a slight movement showed that Jake must have heard the remarks too. He seemed to be having great difficulty with his work and was struggling to hold his pen correctly. He looked around as if for help. I looked around too. The teacher was busy so I leaned over and offered to explain the problems to him. As he listened his mouth split into a smile. His eyes lit up as if a light had been turned on and he returned to the exercises with enthusiasm.  He finished them quickly and proudly presented them to the teacher. “Well done, Jake,” she approved. Jake smiled and was soon busy sorting out information and adding more of his own.

I thought about how Jake’s life would be. I remembered seeing the campsite and thinking how poor the facilities （設(shè)施）were. So I decided to help. As it was my turn to suggest a project for our grade, I put forward this idea. Our head teacher accepted it and so we began to prepare our plans to improve the campsite. Hope you will join us.

56. Why did the students dislike Jake even before they saw him?

A. They must have heard bad stories about circus people.

    B. They always judged a person by what he looks like.

    C. The teacher hadn’t introduced Jake to them beforehand.

    D. A newcomer was not welcome at that time.

57. What’s the author’s attitude towards Jake?

    A. He copied the other boys’ behavior.

    B. He was distant about what Jake’s life was like.

    C. He couldn’t ignore what other people said about Jake.

    D. He had sympathy for the poor and disadvantaged.

58. The author mentions how Jake did maths to show that _______.

    A. the teacher was helpful and friendly    B. the maths problem was too hard for him

    C. Jake was courageous and determined   D. the author was better at maths

59. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

    A. To argue circus people should be treated fairly.

    B. To ask the reader to join in their project.

    C. To call on more people to help Jake.    D. To show what is in need for a circus.

Answer 1

ADCB