It’s 10:30 p.m., and 11-year-old Brandon Blanco is sound asleep at home. Suddenly, a loud noise wakes him up. Naturally, Brandon reaches for his cell phone. He blinks twice, and the message on the screen becomes clear: “R U awake?”
But the late-night text does not annoy Brandon. He gets frequent messages and calls, even after bedtime. And he can’t imagine life without them. “If I didn’t have a cell phone, I wouldn’t be able to talk to my friends or family as often,” he told the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Brandon’s use of technology doesn’t stop there. He also has a computer, a TV and three video-game consoles（控制臺(tái)）in his room. With so many devices, it is no surprise that when he is not at school, he spends nearly every waking minute using one or more of these devices. Brandon is hardly alone. According to a recent study by TFK, kids aged 8 to 18 are spending more time than ever before using electronic devices. How much time? More than seven and a half hours a day on average, the study found. That’s about an hour more than just five years ago.
The jump is the result of a huge explosion in mobile devices, says Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study. “These devices have opened up many more opportunities for young people to use media, whether it’s on the bus, on the way to school or waiting in line at the pizza parlor,” says Rideout.
Often, kids multitask, or use more than one device at a time. “If you’ve got a chance to do something on your computer and take a phone call and have the TV on in the background, why not?” Media expert Cheryl Olson says. Most experts agree technology has much to offer kids. But some worry the kids could be missing out on other activities like playing outside or hanging out with friends. “It’s a matter of balance,” says Olson.
Multitasking while doing homework is another concern. Some kids listen to music, watch TV or use the phone while doing their homework. “It’s important to make sure that you can stop and concentrate on one thing deeply,” says Rideout.
With new and exciting devices hitting stores every year, keeping technology use in check is more important than ever. “Kids should try,” adds Rideout. “But parents might have to step in sometimes.”
小題1:It can be learned from the text that _________.

A．many teenagers lack friends in their middle school

B．kids have too many electronic devices to choose from

C．Brandon feels annoyed about his late-night message

D．Olson is against teenagers’ using mobile phones

小題2:Which of the following is an example of multitasking?

A．Watching TV when using the computer.

B．Talking on the phone when lying on the sofa.

C．Playing video games after having lunch.

D．Listening to loud music while relaxing.

小題3:The underlined phrase “in check” in the last paragraph can be replaced by _________.

A．in order

B．in store

C．in control

D．in sight

小題4:According to the text, Victoria Rideout would probably agree that kids should ______.

A．do homework while watching TV

B．have less homework

C．spend more time on homework

D．do homework in a place without disturbance

The story happened years ago，when my daughter was still little.
I was driving across the country with my daughter to  1 my husband. Since I intended to get to my destination before supper time, I drove   2  for a long time without a stop. Then after driving for many miles, I became tired and needed to stop for a break to get   3 .
I found a rest area. It was mostly deserted, in a quiet area of the highway. I parked the car and carried my  4  into the restroom. When I came out I saw a middle-aged  5   wandering around. Feeling  6  about that, I asked the lady. What   7  me was: they were waiting for us!
The lady told me that she and her husband wanted to see us safely back into our     8  . She explained that sometimes rest areas could be a  9  place for a young lady like me. She told me that she had a daughter almost my age, so they wanted to make sure that I got safely back on my way.
I was very touched by their  10 . Being young, and probably naive to the potential  11  of rest areas, it had never occurred to me that there was any possibility of something going wrong. I  12  them for their kindness. My daughter and I continued our journey and   13  our destination safely.
I never got their names but years have passed and their kindness is still not   14  . Sometimes angels come in make-up and just because you can’t see their   15          it doesn’t mean they aren’t angels.

小題1:	A．desert B．stop C．join D．save

小題2:	A．slowly B．quickly C．safely D．quietly

小題3:	A．excited B．bored C．interested D．refreshed

小題4:	A．daughter B．luggage C．license D．car

小題5:	A．lady B．man C．couple D．a(chǎn)ngel

小題6:	A．a(chǎn)ngry B．curious C．jealous D．terrible

小題7:	A．surprised B．worried C．a(chǎn)nnoyed D．upset

小題8:	A．room B．car C．a(chǎn)rea D．park

小題9:	A．quiet B．noisy C．dangerous D．safe

小題10:

A．devotion B．honesty C．potential D．consideration

小題11:

A．stops B．dangers C．mistakes D．changes

小題12:

A．forgave B．a(chǎn)sked C．thanked D．blamed

小題13:

A．reached B．left C．missed D．passed

小題14:

A．seen B．forgotten C．deserted D．recognized

小題15:

A．kindness B．safety C．faces D．wings

What on earth does happiness mean? I can’t give you its exact definition, but I’m sure if you love and help 16.        , you’ll get it.
I’ll never forget an old lady. She lives in 17.      small house alone. It is said that her husband and her son 18.    （die）in a road accident years ago. Her life is bitter, but she often helps others 19 .    a smile. Whenever it snows, she is always the first to clean the paths. She looks after several children living nearby. I am one of them. I often remember the stories she told us and her kind smile. Perhaps she is unlucky, but I think she is a happy person. Her life is full of 20.     （laugh）and love.
But I’m sad to see some people getting their happiness in bad ways. They talk 21.    （noisy）in cinemas and meeting rooms; they destroy trees to enjoy themselves and they laugh at others’ shortcomings. Perhaps they feel happy at that time, 22.       they will never get true happiness because they 23.      （lose）their personality already.
Now I know what happiness is. 24.     means kindness, love and unselfishness. Above all, I have come to understand that 25.      （bring）happiness to others is getting ourselves happiness.

The writer Margaret Mitchell is best known for writing Gone with the Wind, first published in 1936. Her book and the movie based on it, tell a story of love and survival during the American Civil War. Visitors to the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, Georgia, can go where she lived when she started composing the story and learn more about her life.
Our first stop at the Margaret Mitchell House is an exhibit area telling about the writer’s life. She was born in Atlanta in 1900. She started writing stories when she was a child. She started working as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal newspaper in 1922. One photograph of Ms. Mitchell, called Peggy, shows her talking to a group of young college boys. She was only about one and a half meters tall. The young men tower over her, but she seems very happy and sure of herself. The tour guide explains: “Now in this picture Peggy is interviewing some boys from Georgia Tech, asking them such questions as ‘Would you really marry a woman who works?’ And today it’d be ‘Would you marry one who doesn’t?’ ”
The Margaret Mitchell House is a building that once contained several apartments. Now we enter the first floor apartment where Ms. Mitchell lived with her husband, John Marsh. They made fun of the small apartment by calling it “The Dump ” .
Around 1926, Margaret Mitchell had stopped working as a reporter and was at home healing after an injury. Her husband brought her books to read from the library. She read so many books that he bought her a typewriter and said it was time for her to write her own book. Our guide says Gone with the Wind became a huge success. Margaret Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for the book. In 1939 the film version was released. It won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
小題1:The book Gone with the Wind was _________.

A．first published on a newspaper

B．a(chǎn)warded ten Academy Awards

C．written in “The Dump”

D．a(chǎn)dapted from a movie

小題2:The underlined phrase “tower over” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to_________.

A．be very pleased with

B．show great respect for

C．be much taller than

D．show little interest in

小題3:Why did Ms. Mitchell stop working as a reporter according to the passage?

A．Because she was rich enough.

B．Because she was injured then.

C．Because her husband didn’t like it.

D．Because she wanted to write books.

小題4:We can know about Margaret Mitchell from the passage that _________.

A．her height made her marriage unhappy

B．her interest in writing continued as an adult

C．writing stopped her working as a reporter

D．her life was full of hardship and sadness

小題5:Which is the best title for the passage?

A．A Trip to Know Margaret Mitchell.

B． Gone with the Wind: A Huge Success.

C．An Introduction of the Margaret Mitchell House.

D．Margaret Mitchell: A Great Female Writer.

When I was a kid, I used to spend hours listening to Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky on their Sunday night radio show Loveline. I listened so often that I began to use one of their well-known phrases—“good times”—in my daily conversations. Scientists have a name for this phenomenon: behavioral mimicry.
You’ve probably experienced this before: after spending enough time with another person, you might start to pick up on his or her behavior or speech habits. You might even start to develop your friend’s habits without realizing it. There is a large body of literature concerning this sort of phenomenon, and it regularly happens for everything from body postures to accents to drink patterns. For example, one study found that young adults were more likely to drink their drink directly after their same-sex drinking partners, than for the two individuals to drink at their own paces.
And the effect isn’t limited to real-life face-to-face activities. Another study found that the same you-drink-then-I-drink pattern held even when watching a movie! In other words, people were more likely to take a drink of their drinks in a theater after watching the actors on the screen enjoy a drink. At least I don’t feel so strange anymore, having picked up on Adam Carolla’s “good times”.
New research published today in the journal PLOS ONE indicates that the same sort of behavioral mimicry is responsible for social eating, at least among university-age women of normal weight. That’s right: the young women were more likely to adjust their eating according to the eating pace of their same-sex dining companion.
As with most experiments, these results raise a whole new set of questions. Still, the finding that behavioral mimicry may at least partly account for eating behavior is important, and has real effects on health. The researchers note that “as long as people don’t fully recognize such important influences on intake, it will be difficult to make healthy food choices and keep a healthy diet, especially when people are exposed to the eating behavior of others”.
小題1:The author takes his own example of using “good times” to _________.

A．express his love for radio shows

B．prove the popularity of the show

C．show the influence of the hosts’ words

D．introduce the topic of the passage

小題2:The underlined word “mimicry” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.

A．copying

B．a(chǎn)djusting

C．recognition

D．observation

小題3:Which of the following is NOT an example of behavioral mimicry?

A．A boy eats his popcorn after watching the actor eat.

B．A boy buys a Nike shirt when he finds his desk-mate has one.

C．A girl unconsciously sits straight just as others do.

D．A girl takes on the Yorkshire accent after a month’s stay.

小題4:It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _________.

A．behavioral mimicry is beneficial to our health

B．behavioral mimicry decides our eating behavior

C．there are doubts on the research results

D．there are people always exposed to bad eating habits

小題5:What is probably the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

A．To draw readers’ attention to popular radio shows.

B．To introduce behavioral mimicry and its influence.

C．To appeal to readers not to fall into others’ habits.

D．To advocate healthy food choices among readers.

Emma Hart Willard (1787—1870) was an American pioneer educator. In her time, colleges and universities were open only to men, and women were not permitted to attend.
Emma received advanced education at home from her father and became a school teacher at twenty. She continued to teach at school for several years after her marriage. Then began offer college lessons in her home to women students. Later she founded a school in New York State, which was the first school that offered higher education in the US for women.
Emma Willard also tried to persuade New York State to pass a law to allow women to attend public colleges and universities, though that did not come about until after her death. Some years later people remembered her for her life-long efforts and elected her to the US Hall of Fame (榮譽(yù)) in 1905.
小題1:Emma received advanced education at home because _________.

A．universities were only for men at that time

B．her father did not trust the schools

C．her family was poor when she was young

D．she was too shy to go to a public college

小題2:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．She managed to persuade her state to pass a law allowing women to go to universties.

B．She went on with her teaching after she got married.

C．She received advanced education by teaching herself.

D．She was elected to work in the US Hall of Fame.

小題3:What do you suppose the US Hall of Fame is?

A．It is a grand hall where honoured people receive prizes from the government.

B．It is a place where honoured people in the US are buried.

C．It is a building set up in memory of great American people.

D．It is a house of representatives to which respected people are elected.

小題4:Why was Emma Willard considered an important person?

A．She was the first woman to get college education.

B．She fought for equal rights for women in the US.

C．She was the first American woman to become a college teacher.

D．She was a pioneer in winning higher education for women in the US.

Robert Frost was one of America’s best known and most honored serious writers. But his fame came late in his life.
He was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He lived in California during his early childhood. He was named after the chief Southern general in America’s Civil War. The general’s name was Robert Edward Lee. The poet was named Robert Lee Frost, because his father wanted to honor the general.
Someone once asked another American writer, Ernest Hemingway, how to become a writer. The best thing, he said, was to have an unhappy childhood. If this is true, Robert Frost’s childhood was unhappy enough to make him a very good writer. Robert Frost’s father was a reporter who wanted to be a politician. He often drank too much wine and became angry. Robert was the victim of his anger.
Robert Frost finished high school in 1891. After high school, Robert’s grandfather offered to pay his costs at Dartmouth College. But Robert left the school after a few months. He did not like it. He spent the next few years working at different jobs. At one time, he worked in a factory. Later, he repaired shoes. He was a teacher. He was a reporter. Always, he wrote poetry.
Robert Frost attended Harvard University for two years. After that, he returned to the many jobs he held before. For a while, Frost tried to take care of a farm in the state of New Hampshire. He was not a successful farmer. And he continued to write poetry. He said that until 1930, he earned only about ten dollars a year from writing.
In 1912, he decided to try to make a new start. He took his family to Britain. The cost of living was low. In Britain, Frost found a publisher for his first book of poems. The book was called A Boy’s Will. When it appeared in 1913, Frost received high praise from British readers. Praise was something he had not received in his own country.
Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, read the poems and liked them very much. He wrote a magazine article about Frost. He also helped get Frost’s second book of poems published in America. That book was called North of Boston.
小題1:The followings are writers EXCEPT __________.

A．Robert Edward Lee	B．Robert Lee Frost
C．Ernest Hemingway	D．Ezra Pound

小題2:The passage wrote about Hemingway in order to show that __________.

A．he had great influence on Frost’s poetry and life

B．Frost’s poetry style was the same as Hemingway’s

C．Frost was unhappy because he was the victim of his father

D．Frost spent his childhood unhappily

小題3:What can we learn from the passage?

A．Once Frost’s first book was published he gained great praise in his country.

B．After leaving Harvard University, he began to learn to write poetry.

C．Frost was found lo have a gift in poetry while he studied in high school.

D．Robert Frost’s father was angry and drank a lot because he didn’t realize his dream.

小題4:What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Robert Frost’s unhappy childhood.

B．Robert Frost’ s first and second book.

C．Robert Frost’s family and jobs.

D．Robert Frost’s life and poetry.

On the Iraq­Syria border，a pack of wild dogs circled American soldiers for food．The leader of the pack was a gray­and­white dog．The soldiers called him Nubs．Nubs was shaking and __36__ able to stand．Marine major Brian Dennis looked closer and saw that there was a knife wound __37__ his chest．
Dennis couldn’t stand seeing the dog __38__．He and his men immediately treated the wound，and gave Nubs medicine．Nubs__39__but was still in pain．The next day，the team had to__40__．Ten days later，Dennis’s unit was back，and so was Nubs．He was still___41__，but the men fed him and played with him．
Before long the unit once again__42__an outpost (前哨) 70 miles away．Nubs，slowly but determinedly，__43__them far into the trackless wasteland until the men lost__44__of him．Two days later，beyond Dennis’s__45__，he saw Nubs just outside the outpost．The dog had tracked him across 70 miles of frozen desert to__46__with the friend who had saved his life．From then on Nubs and the men slept in the same place，and ran around in the same ruins．
Until an order came down from above that they were not__47__to have pets，Dennis__48__to make sure the dog would continue to live the__49__life．So he quickly raised $4,000 from his family and friends to fly Nubs to__50__．
A month later，when Dennis and the dog were__51__in California，at first Nubs didn’t recognize the guy．__52__within minutes，the dog jumped into Dennis’s arms，jumping up again and again to__53__ his friend’s face．
A little__54__and concern in the middle of war will not save a violent world．But small stories，like the story of a soldier and a dog，hold a promise of a(n) __55__world．

小題1:	A．mostly B．certainly C．hardly D．never

小題2:	A．in B．on C．a(chǎn)t D．behind

小題3:	A．stand B．starve C．bleed D．suffer

小題4:	A．pulled through B．fell asleep C．woke up D．fell down

小題5:	A．leave B．rest C．pass D．remain

小題6:	A．hungry B．tired C．dirty D．weak

小題7:	A．took up B．took over C．left for D．returned from

小題8:	A．watched B．followed C．a(chǎn)ccompanied D．barked

小題9:	A．touch B．sight C．footprint D．smell

小題10:

A．a(chǎn)bility B．surprise C．imagination D．understanding

小題11:

A．part B．fight C．meet D．break

小題12:

A．a(chǎn)sked B．suggested C．required D．a(chǎn)llowed

小題13:

A．decided B．a(chǎn)greed C．a(chǎn)ccepted D．proposed

小題14:

A．moving B．good C．safe D．interesting

小題15:

A．London B．America C．Iraq D．Syria

小題16:

A．found B．interviewed C．linked D．reunited

小題17:

A．So B．And C．But D．Though

小題18:

A．lick B．touch C．bite D．clean

小題19:

A．pity B．mercy C．care D．contribution

小題20:

A．equal B．harmonious C．prosperous D．a(chǎn)mazing

Once there was a very brilliant, creative and learned man. He gained much ____36_____while traveling throughout the world. Unfortunately he lost his legs and left arm in a traffic accident, leaving only a finger and thumb on his right hand. He became so ____37_____ that he was afraid he would spend his life _____38_____ and would no longer be able to use his life in a(n) ____39_____way.
One day, he remembered how he had always loved getting ____40_____. He realized that he still had partial ____41_____ of his right hand and could write with  ____42_____. Then, he had an idea. “Why not write to other people who need encouragement?”
He ___43___ where he could find those who could be encouraged if they read his letters. He thought of people in ____44___. Many of them had hope of regaining their ____45___ . Others would keep feeling depressed and remain put away for the rest of their lives. He decided that he must try to __46____ them. So he wrote to a prison ministry about sending letters to the prisoners. The prison minister replied that writing to the prisoners would be  ____47____. However, it would be against prison rules for the prisoners to write back.
____48_____with the intention, the man began sending   49   messages of God’s love, hope, strength, and encouragement. He wrote twice a week, testing his strength and ability to the ___50____. He poured his heart and soul into his words,  ___51_____ his experience, sense of humor, optimism, and faith.
It was difficult to write those letters, especially without hope of any ___52___. Frequently, he felt discouraged, wondering if anyone  ___53____read his letters. However, this was his ___54____chance，so he determined to continue.
At last, he received a letter from the prison officer, which said, “Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell (牢房) to cell until they almost fall to ____55___!”
We all have unique experiences, abilities and talents. We can discover ways to reach others in need of encouragement and strength.

小題1:	A．wealth B．faith C．experience D．confidence

小題2:	A．depressed B．embarrassed C．a(chǎn)shamed D．thrilled

小題3:	A．writing B．suffering C．weeping D．wandering

小題4:	A．a(chǎn)bnormal B．regular C．comfortable D．meaningful

小題5:	A．presents B．e-mails C．letters D．prizes

小題6:	A．sense B．strength C．shape D．function

小題7:	A．a(chǎn)ffection B．caution C．difficulty D．confidence

小題8:	A．estimated B．doubted C．a(chǎn)ssumed D．wondered

小題9:	A．hospitals B．churches C．prisons D．charities

小題10:

A．families B．letters C．freedom D．conscience

小題11:

A．release B．reach C．defend D．know

小題12:

A．a(chǎn)cceptable B．reasonable C．forbidden D．considered

小題13:

A．Faced B．Filled C．Satisfied D．Impressed

小題14:

A．holy B．daily C．one-way D．round-way

小題15:

A．point B．worst C．degree D．limit

小題16:

A．sharing B．learning C．gaining D．enriching

小題17:

A．success B．reply C．help D．progress

小題18:

A．curiously B．patiently C．carefully D．a(chǎn)ctually

小題19:

A．only B．better C．extra D．lost

小題20:

A．ruin B．pieces C．the ground D．the bottom

Last Friday my brother and I were driving home together after doing some shopping and gave our attention to an interesting conversation. Because of this distraction (分心)my brother took a wrong turn.
Unfortunately, the wrong turn took us towards a bridge and we had no way to turn back. Unwillingly, my brother paid the bridge fee and drove on. He was clearly frustrated by the mistake and the needless waste of $4.
We eventually reached an exit and, as we took it, my brother noticed a young fellow pulled over to the side of the road. He came out of his car and tried to phone someone. I was busy trying to figure out which way we would go next but my brother pulled over and asked the guy if he needed any help. And he did. He had a flat tire and needed a tool to get it off.
My brother gave him a wrench, and then began to help him change the flat. The young man said that this had been a bad week for him: earlier he had gotten into a minor car accident, and now this flat on his way home from work. But he called us “a breath of fresh air” and kept thanking us because he really would have been stuck if we hadn’t come along.
After we finished the job he thanked us again and pulled out $20 from his pocket and tried to give it to us. “No,” I said. “We were never supposed to even get on that bridge,we took a wrong turn. But now we know why we did. It was to help you. Thank you for turning our mistake into an opportunity to serve.” 
What I loved most was that my brother was able to see a chance to help. His reaction in the situation is a lesson for everyone and we felt so good the rest of the day.
小題1:When did the author and his brother notice the young man who had a flat tire?

A．Before they arrived at a bridge.

B．When they were passing through an exit.

C．When the young man stopped them for help.

D．After they came back to the right road.

小題2:We can learn from the text that the writer’s brother ________.

A．didn’t know the roads well

B．was a warm-hearted young man

C．made the turn to help the young man

D．regretted making a wrong turn all the way home

小題3:What did the young man mean by calling the writer and his brother “a breath of fresh air” ?

A．He had been in the hot sun waiting for help for so long.

B．His car’s air conditioner was broken.

C．They calmed him down by offering him a cold drink.

D．They changed his bad luck and the bad mood he was in.

小題4:Which of the following sentences best describes the writer’s experience?

A．It’s no use crying over spilt milk.

B．God helps those who help themselves.

C．Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it.

D．If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.