Kenyon Scudder once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame (羞恥) on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.

When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信號) for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven (原諒) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (絲帶) in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.

As the train neared his hometown his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict’s shoulder. "There it is," he said, his eyes filled with sudden tears. "It’s all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."

1.For which of the following reasons might the young man be worried?

A. His family might not allow him to go home.

B. His family would not remember him.

C. His family hadn’t written to him frequently.

D. His family hadn’t visited him for a long time.

2.According to the passage, the white ribbon in the big apple tree means ________.

A. pleasure B. forgiveness

C. happiness D. education

3.The word "suspense" underlined in the last paragraph can best be replaced by ________.

A. pain B. interest

C. worry D. happiness

4.Why did Michael cry at the end of the story?

A. The young man couldn’t live with his family.

B. There were many white ribbons on the apple tree.

C. He was moved by the young man.

D. The young man was very sad.

The best way to cure sadness is not shopping, according to a recent study. The so-called shopping method has become common practice these days, but that can put your wallet under a lot of pressure. So if you are sad and feel like shopping, don’t!

According to the recent study, sadness leads to self-focus (自我為中心的) thinking. In other words, sad people are willing to spend more money on the same thing than calm people.

"It is the result of sadness and self-focus, and it turns out that sadness leads to an increase in self-focus," said Cynthia Cruder. "What we think is that sad and self-focused people are feeling pretty bad about themselves, and one way to deal with this is buying material goods."

In a perfect situation, when you know you are sad, you should avoid(避免) making decisions and spending money. Sounds simple? Sadly, it is not. Most people don’t even know they’re sad, the study shows, and they are not aware that their feelings influence their decisions.

What to do? The study showed that those who watched a tragedy(悲劇) were more likely to spend three times more money for a simple bottle of water than those who watched a comedy. The solution: well, for starters, don’t go shopping! If you can’t help it, it is probably better to see a doctor.

1.When you can’t help shopping after feeling sad, you’d better _______.

A. talk to your friends

B. go to the store directly

C. go to bed and rest

D. go to hospital and get checked out by a doctor

2.We can learn from the passage that________.

A. sad and self-focused people are poor

B. sad people make important decisions easily

C. tragedies may make people buy more expensive goods

D. sad people are less confident than calm people

3.What would be the best title for this passage?

A. The Loss of Money Caused by Sadness

B. Shopping is Not the Best Way to Cure Sadness

C. A Study About How to Stay in a Good Mood

D. How to Make Decisions When You Are Sad

My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard. 1. Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. 2. She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

3. Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. 4. She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! 5. This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A. She enjoys listening to classic music.

B. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C. She loves her students and cares for them.

D. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.

F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.

G. Can you tell us something about your mother?

Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.

Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda eats only one particular type of bamboo (竹子). Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly (蝴蝶) will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet (多樣化飲食). The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.

Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.

1.We can infer from the text that humans and animals .

A. depend on one sense in choosing food

B. are not satisfied with their food

C. choose food in similar ways

D. eat entirely different food

2.Which of the following eats only one type of food?

A. The white butterfly. B. The small bird.

C. The bear. D. The fox.

3.Certain animals change their choice of food when _________.

A. the season changes

B. the food color changes

C. they move to different places

D. they are attracted by different smells

4.We can learn from the last paragraph that .

A. food is chosen for a good reason

B. French and British food is good

C. some people have few choices of food

D. some people care little about healthy diet

Everyone loves Adventureland! The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore（探索）, enjoy, and admire their wonders. Every visit will be an unforgettable experience. You will go away enriched, longing to come back. What are you going to do this time?

The Travel Pavilion

Explore places you have never been to before, and experience different ways of life.

Visit the Amazon jungle（叢林）village, the Turkish market, the Tai floating market, the Berber mountain house and others. Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives and things they make. You can try making a carpet, making nets, fishing…

The Future Tower

This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives. It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then. Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator（模擬裝置）for the Journey to Mars!

The Nature Park

This is not really one park but several.

In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers: see lions, giraffes, elephants in the wild. Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales. And then there is still the Aviary to see…

The Pyramid

This is the center of Adventureland. Run out of film, need some postcards and stamps. For all these things and many more, visit our underground shopping center. Come here for information and ideas too.

1.The Travel Pavilion is built to help visitors .

A. realize the importance of traveling

B. become familiar with mountain countries

C. learn how to make things such as fishing nets

D. learn something about different places in the world

2.If you are interested in knowing about what people’s life will be, you may visit .

A. the Travel Pavilion B. the Future Tower

C. the Safari Park D. the Pyramid

3.If you want to get a toy lion to take home, where will you most likely go?

A. The Pyramid. B. The Nature Park

C. The Future Tower. D. The Travel Pavilion.

It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.

The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries (食品雜貨), saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.

I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that，several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, and then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity (人性) as a whole. And it has influenced us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting.

1.Why was the bike so important to the couple?

A. The man’s job was bike racing.

B. It was their only possession.

C. It was a nice Kona 18 speed.

D. They used it for work and daily life

2.We can infer from the text that__________.

A. the couple worked 60 hours a week

B. people were busy before Christmas

C. the stranger brought over the bike

D. life was hard for the young family

3.How did people get to know the couple’s problem?

A. From radio broadcasts. B. From a newspaper.

C. From TV news. D. From a stranger.

4.What do the couple learn from their experience?

A. Strangers are usually of little help.

B. One should take care of their bike.

C. News reports make people famous.

D. An act of kindness can mean a lot.

A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that most students considered understanding spoken English to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking, Writing increased as a problem as students discovered difficulties in writing papers that they were now expected to hand in. Reading remained as a significant（顯著的）problem.

The information gained helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation（動(dòng)機(jī)）, we considered it important to note what seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching in their own country. To use the same method would be self-defeating because it might reduce motivation, especially if it has failed in the past. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.

Variety of activity was also seen as a way of maintaining（保持）or increasing motivation. Several years ago we had one timetable that operated throughout, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest by about halfway through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, so finally we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students.

1.What is the text mainly about?

A. Foreign students have more problems.

B. There are many ways to improve English.

C. Teaching should meet students’ needs.

D. English learning problems should be studied again.

2.Writing became a bigger problem when foreign students .

A. became less interested in reading

B. became better at speaking

C. had to write their papers

D. had fewer problems with listening

3.We may infer from the last two paragraphs that .

A. grammar-based teaching seems to be encouraging

B. different teaching methods should be used

C. English courses are necessary for foreign students

D. teaching content should be changed halfway

4.The word “it” underlined in the last paragraph refers to“ ”.

A.re-think B. activity

C. motivation D. timetable

It’s important for you teenagers to know how to save money. You know that the money you save can be for rainy days and be used to pay through your college education. If you think it’s a difficult task and don’t know how to do it, please do as the following.

1.

My dad always tells me that if one doesn’t respect money, it will never respect you. Hence, it’s important that you keep a record of your daily expenses. Make it a habit to write down all that you have spent. And when you find out the total expenses at the end of the month, you will realize what you have spent more money in doing. 2.

Open a savings account.

Opening a savings account is a better way to save money. You can set a goal; say (for example), the money is for a new notebook or for college, and then save, until you have enough money to buy a notebook or until you go to college. 3.

Do not carry much cash.

Do you have the habit of not leaving a store without buying anything? The only way to stop that is carrying less money around with you. Go to the store with the minimum amount of money, which will not even help you buy a drink. 4.

Save the changes.

Save the changes that you get back. If you have gone to a shop to buy something and get back some changes, then do not spend them. 5. And you’ll be surprised at the huge amount of money after days.

Follow these tips above, and thus you can save a lot of money. And surely, they’ll help you to be more responsible in your life.

A. Keep a record of your daily expenses.

B. After a few days, you’ll get rid of this habit.

C. Instead, you can save them in your piggy bank.

D. By that time, you will realize the importance of saving money.

E. Saving money builds your financial power and personal freedom.

F. Next month, you will automatically try and save more in that part.

G. Nowadays in the developed and developing countries, people are all working for the sake of earning money.

“My name’s Jim Shelley and I am an addict (有癮的人) …”

With these words I began to the problem, the problem of my telephone addiction. I used to call people , from the moment I woke up to the time I went to sleep. I to be phoned, I wanted to phone. Just one more call.

It started socially—a few calls each day. It seemed , just a quick chat. Gradually though, the got worse. Soon it was use, until, finally, addiction.

And it began to affect my . During the day I would disappear for call. If I couldn’t make a call, I spent the whole time waiting for the phone to ring. Getting more and more , in the end, I would ring someone, then someone else, myself just one more call.

I was phoning people and messages to make sure calls would see me through the day. I used to arrive at friends’ homes and before the door was closed, go straight for the phone with the “Is it OK if I just use the phone…?” At work, I became when my fellow workers tried to me from using the phone. And one day I hit my boss (with the phone). Finally the police caught me a phone box that had taken my last one pound coin, and I was to see a psychiatrist(心理醫(yī)生).

I haven’t a phone in the house for three weeks now, and it’s several days I used a phone box. I try not to watch TV because there are people on it making phone calls. My name is Jim Shelley and I am an addict.

1.A. face B. find C. accept D. notice

2.A. now and then B. all the time C. at home D. at work

3.A. tried B. asked C. waited D. invited

4.A. polite B. important C. fine D. special

5.A. condition B. situation C. result D. effect

6.A. frequent B. regular C. unusual D. particular

7.A. friends B. study C. family D. work

8.A. a quick B. a secret C. an expected D. an extra

9.A. hopeful B. delighted C. frightened D. anxious

10.A. forcing B. telling C. giving D. limiting

11.A. leaving B. taking C. passing D. recording

12.A. long B. immediate C. enough D. surprising

13.A. saying B. demands C. wish D. words

14.A. careful B. mad C. determined D. helpless

15.A. save B. reduce C. protect D. stop

16.A. destroying B. using C. stealing D. emptying

17.A. offered B. guided C. ordered D. reminded

18.A. missed B. had C. received D. fixed

19.A. as B. when C. if D. since

20.A. always B. just C. more D. different

Every student will 1. (face) with the question when he 2. (pass) the college entrance examinations: Should we choose a good major(專業(yè)) or a good university first?

Some students prefer to consider majors first so that they can learn 3. they are interested in. It will also make 4. possible for them to take their favorite jobs in the future. However, those who think 5. (different) believe that the environment is important to one's 6. (develop) and that graduates from leading universities are often more likely 7. (find) a good job.

In my opinion, the best choice is a good major at a good university. If we cannot obtain 8. , the first thing to consider is a good major, because no matter 9. we study, we can still achieve a lot in 10. certain field if we try our best.