【題目】

To the woman and child who sat at table 9,

My name is Tony Posnanski. I am the manager of the restaurant 【1】_______ you ate a few weeks ago. The guests at a table close to yours asked to talk to me. 【2】______ (obvious), they were angry. They said your child was so loud 【3】______ they couldn’t enjoy their meal.

When I got to your table, you looked at me and asked, “Do you know 【4】______ it is like to have a child with autism(自閉癥)?” You were not rude when you asked the question. On 【5】______ contrary, you were quite polite.

I know what I was supposed 【6】________(say) when I went to your table, but I just wished you a happy meal and promised that your meal tonight was on me. Although I didn’t know 【7】______ to answer your question, as a father of a 5-year-old boy, I do know the feeling of 【8】_______(be) a parent.

I wrote this to you and your beautiful daughter because I wanted to thank you both. You have taught me a 【9】______(value) lesson and given me a great restaurant memory. Nothing can prevent me 【10】________ doing the right thing. Sometimes doing the right thing does not make everyone happy; just the people who need it the most.

Sincerely

Tony Posnanski

【題目】Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.

Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims（聲稱）as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species (物種) are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

【1】Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually __________.

A. an expression of happiness B. a way of greeting

C. an expression of anger D. a way of warning

【2】What is a bird’s “territory”?

A. A place where families of other species are not accepted.

B. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.

C. An area which a bird considers to be its own.

D. An area for which birds fight against each other.

【3】Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

A. Because they want to invite more friends.

B. Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

C. Because they want to find outsiders around.

D. Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.

【4】How does the writer explain birds’ singing?

A. By comparing birds with human beings.

B. By reporting experiment results.

C. By describing birds’ daily life.

D. By telling a bird’s story.

【題目】 詞語運用

When your dream is to become a footballer, nothing should get in your way—even if you are disabled.

Gabriel Muniz, an 11-year-old Brazilian kid, was born without 【1】 . Although his family thought he would have trouble 【2】 a normal life, he started walking before he was one year old. His mother would go after him, expecting him to keep falling, 【3】 he never fell. He took a while to make the jump from walking to playing football. In fact, there' s nothing he loves more than playing football. In his school, Gabriel not only does 【4】 than other players in his school team but also is the captain of his gym team.

He knows that his disability means he will never be able to play for a 【5】 football team. So Gabriel is hoping that football 【6】 a Paralympics (殘奧會) event one day. He proved to everyone there he could go neck and neck with any other boy 【7】 . Watching him play is unbelievable. In the past few years he 【8】 a number of football skills. He does everything he can to copy Messi who he admires most. Luckily, he 【9】 to go to Spain to meet his idol Messi and showed his talent in the Barcelona Football Club last year.

Besides his talent, several achievements of 【10】 were also surprising. His coach said he is proving that the disability only lies inside our heads and he is challenging the social rules.

【題目】As a child, Alain Robert was afraid of heights. When he was 12, he returned home from school. At the front door of his building, he looked for his keys. he didn't have them. It was 3:30 and his parents worked until 6:00 pm. Alain looked at his apartment on the eighth floor. He saw an open window. He closed his eyes and imagined himself climbing the building. When he opened his eyes, he told himself ,"I can do it." Fifteen minutes later, he was in his house and his fear of heights was gone.

Today, Alain still climbs buildings. In 2003 , he climbed a building in London dressed as Spiderman(蜘蛛人) to advertise the movie. In 2004, he climbed Taipei 101 (one of the tallest buildings in the world). To reach the top of a building, Alain uses only his hands and special shoes. He has no rope or other safety tools.

Alain climbs as a hobby. He also does it to make money for charity. When he climbs, he wants to send a message to people. If you have a dream—something you really want to do—it can become real. But you must be brave and keep trying. If something bad happens, don't give up. Close your eyes and tell yourself, "I can do it."

【1】The main idea of this passage is ________.

A. climbing buildings is easy

B. Alain Robert is afraid of heights

C. you can control your fears

【2】When Alain climbs a building, he uses ________.

A. his hands and special shoes

B. special tools

C. his hands only

【3】The underlined word "charity" means "________" in Chinese.

A. 享受 B. 休閑 C. 慈善 D. 消費

【4】Alain climbs for two reasons. They are ________.

A. for fun and for his health

B. for charity and for his job

C. for charity and for hobby

【5】If you feel afraid to do something, what is Alain ' s advice?

A. Practice climbing buildings.

B. Tell yourself "I can do it.”

C. If something bad happens, then stop.

【題目】 “People are ruder today because they are rushed and more ‘time poor’ than ever before，” says Patsy Rowe, “Manners_have_fallen_off_the_radar(雷達)．” Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people don't wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint(抱怨)about the noise. Here are some examples of rudeness.

Some people prefer to do almost everything over the Internet. To them, dealing with an actual human needs more patience. It feels very slow because humans don't work at 4G speeds. When you have dinner with friends, you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone. We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life－changing news, so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with. What is worse, some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的) rude messages by email.

However, rudeness is never acceptable. Don't assume it is OK to be rude if the person you're in touch with won't recognize you. If you have something awful to say, have the courage to face the person and say it, write a letter or email and sign it, or forget it. Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.（令人厭惡的）

We shouldn't blame technology for our shortcomings. Technology is here to help us，but we should not allow it to take over our lives. An important step is acknowledging our shortcomings. People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we'd publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.

【1】What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?

A．People can tell good from bad behavior.

B．Radar is able to observe human behavior.

C．People care little about their behavior.

D．Radar can be used to predict human behavior.

【2】Some people are less willing to deal with humans because ________．

A．they are becoming less patient

B．they are growing too independent

C．they have to handle many important messages

D．they have to follow an evolutionary step backward

【3】The author thinks sending unsigned awful messages is ________．

A．ridiculous

B．disgusting

C．a(chǎn)cceptable

D．reasonable

【4】What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．We should applaud （為喝彩） good behavior.

B．Technology can never be blamed.

C．We should keep pointing out mistakes.

D．Technology will take over our lives one day.

【題目】--Do you still remember when we went to Australia?

--I can’t remember now but ______ sometime last winter?

A. might it be B. could it be

C. could it have been D. should it have been

【題目】His injuries were severe. Five minutes late, _______he would have died.

A. but B. or C. so D. and

【題目】

Seal(海豹) seizes raft

This seal really rocked the boat when he found himself an unusual place to hang out. After the seal came across a boat in the harbor where he lives, he fell inside and wouldn’t budge for four days.

“One morning the seal just pulled himself aboard,” says Ed Stubbings, who owns the boat-turned-bed. Probably thinking the boat was a rock, the seal made himself at home. The seal didn’t move an inch-----not even to eat or drink.

Stubbings was a little worried that the 500-pound animal might sink it. Luckily on the fifth day, the seal fell back into the water and swam off.

Alligator(短吻鱷)gets new tail

When Mr. Stubbs the alligator swims through his pool at the Phoenix Herpetological Society, he looks like any other gator-----except that his tail is made of rubber. Mr. Stubbs is the first alligator known to wear an artificial tail.

Mr. Stubbs was brought to the society nine years ago. “His tail was missing when he arrived,” says President Russ Johnson. Mr. Stubbs couldn’t walk or swim properly. “We showed him how to swim in the water,” Johnson says. “But that hurt his back.” Later, the scientists used rubber to build an artificial tail attached to Mr. Stubbs’s back legs. “Once we put the tail on him, he walked with ease,” Johnson says.

Dog delivers papers

Morgan started her “paper route” when she was young. One day as Morgan and her owner Bill set out on a walk, she spotted a rolled-up paper. To Bill’s surprise, Morgan grabbed the object in her mouth, walked back to the house, and dropped it on the doorstep. Morgan enjoyed the activity so much that she wanted to deliver every paper she saw on her walks.

Now three-year-old Morgan brings the paper to her owner and neighbors, even in bad weather. “Morgan has a natural instinct(本能) to carry things with her mouth,” dog behaviorist Pat Miller says. “And she feels rewarded by the activity, so she keeps it up.”

【1】The underlined word “budge” can be replaced by________.

A. move B. change C. swim D. sleep

【2】It can be learned that Mr. Stubbs_______.

A. injured his back

B. lost his tail and back legs

C. quickly got used to his new tail

D. was found by Ed Stubbings

【3】What made Morgan deliver papers?

A. Her owner Bill’s praise.

B. Her neighbors’ rewards.

C. Pat Miller’s encouragement.

D. Her natural ability.

【題目】Do you want to have a nice place to spend your weekend？Here are some places for you ,which are probably a mere walk away from your college.

King's Art Centre

A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.

You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint—free of charge.

The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.

The Botanic Garden

The Garden has over 8,000 plant species；it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.

The multibranched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above bluegreen leaves，and is not one to miss.

Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula，a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.

The Garden is also a place for wildlife enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.

Byron's Pool

Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805，he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”．However，it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms.He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.

It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake，which is now known as Byron's Pool. A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside，the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don't trust me，then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf—over a century after Byron，she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.

【1】“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ______.

A. common insects

B. impressive plants

C. rarely seen snakes

D. Wildlifeenthusiasts

【2】We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ______.

A. to fear pet bears

B. to like walking

C. to be a heavy drinker

D. to finish university in 1805

【3】In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake ______.

A. surrounded by fields

B. owned by Lord Byron

C. located in Grantchester

D. discovered by Virginia Woolf

【4】What is the passage mainly about?

A. Some places for weekend break.

B. A way to become creative in art.

C. The colorful life in the countryside.

D. Unknown stories of Cambridge University.

【題目】The cold and icy land that is the Eskimo's home is a dangerous one. The Eskimo once believed that to be safe from danger he had to obey taboos(禁忌). Taboos were rules that told him what he must do and must not do.

The Eskimo had taboos connected with almost everything he did. He had to keep them in mind at all times. He believed that to break one would bring disaster. For the Eskimo, it was taboo to store reindeer（馴鹿） and seal (海豹) meat together. He could not even eat them on the same day. He believed the Goddess Sedna had separated the land animals from the sea animals. He thought bringing them together would cause the hunting to be bad.

There were other taboos concerning animals. When a dead seal was brought into the house, the women had to stop working. They had to give its spirit a drink of water. If they did not, the spirit would be angered. It would keep other animals from being caught.

When the Eskimo broken a taboo, he believed a black cloud formed around his head. He had to tell the others in the village what he had done. He thought that if he did not tell his neighbors, they would catch the black cloud. Then the whole village would have bad luck.

【1】This passage mainly tells us about ________.

A. the way the Eskimos treated their neighbours

B. the things that the Eskimos could and could not do

C. how the Eskimos store their seal meat

D. how the Eskimos got along with others

【2】Why did the Eskimos separate reindeer and seal meat?

A. They went bad easily if they were kept together.

B. They thought keeping them together caused bad hunting.

C. The Eskimos did not like to eat reindeer or seal meat.

D. They did not have big enough rooms to store them.

【3】From the third paragraph we can see that ________.

A. the spirit of the dead seal enjoyed drinking water

B. the spirit of the dead seal would be angry if he was not given water

C. the seal was dead, but its spirit was still alive

D. the Eskimos believed that animals had spirits

【4】Which of the following is true?

A. There are many black clouds where the Eskimos live.

B. The Eskimos like land animals better than sea animals.

C. Taboos are of great importance to some people.

D. The Eskimo taboos are about everything on earth.