B

My House

My mother moved a lot when she was growing up on account of Grandpa being in the army. She hated having to adjust to new schools and make new friends. That’s why I thought she was joking when she put forward the idea of moving. But she was completely serious. “For just the two of us,” my mother said, “an apartment in the city will suit our needs much better.” Personally, I think she’s lost her mind. I guess I can understand why she would want to move, but what about me and what this house means to me?

I suppose if you looked at my house, you might think it was just another country house. But to me it is anything but standard. I moved into this house with my parents ten years ago. I can still remember that first day like it was yesterday. The first thing I noticed was the big front yard. To me it seemed like an ocean of grass—I couldn’t wait to dive in. The backyard was full of gnarled (扭曲的, 粗糙的) and scary trees that talk on windy nights. But I grew to like them and the shadows they cast in my room. My father and I even built a small tree house, where I often go to remember all the wonderful times we had before Father’s death.

This house is special—maybe only to me—but special nevertheless. It’s the little seemingly insignificant things that make this house so special to me: the ice-cold tile floors that make me tremble on midnight snack runs; the smell of my father’s pipe that still exists; the towering bookcases of my mother; the view outside my bedroom window.

This house holds too many memories, memories which would be lost if we gave it up.

59. Why did the author’s mother decide to move?

A. Because she hated the countryside.

B. Because Grandpa was on constant move.

C. Because Dad’s death made her lose her mind.

D. Because she thought a city flat more fit for them.

60. What impressed the author when she first moved into the house?

A. The tree house.                                B. The big trees.

C. The cold floors.                               D. The green grass.

61. How did the author let us feel that the house was special to her?

A. By arguing whether the house was standard.

B. By explaining why the house suited their needs.

C. By describing the small things related to her house.

D. By comparing the differences between country and city life.

62. The author describes the house with ______.

A. affection             B. responsibility              C. commitment    D. enthusiasm

He looked like a pirate.

With his handkerchief tied in a knot behind his little nine-year-old head, he looked like a pirate, a sad pirate. The first time little David came to our camp, he was hairless and worn out from medical treatments. He was also very angry.

Paul Newman's camp counselors (指導老師 ) were hoping to fill David's days with fun and laughter. But David stayed inside himself, wanting to be alone, or in a corner of the cabin. At this camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, we had seen some pretty tough children worn out by cancer recover full of energy despite their illness. But we saw little progress in David no matter what we tried with him. Five days into the eight-day session saw a quiet, sad little pirate.

 Then something happened on that fifth night. Something at camp that we would call "huge".

It was cabin night. That's the time when campers and counselors spend lime together in each individual cabin instead of an all-camp activity. Campers love cabin nights because there's always a bedtime snack. On the cabin table that night were bags of potato chips.

David slowly walked over to the table, leaving his comer to join the rest of us. He took one of the bags of the potato chips and started smashing(弄碎) it with his little fists, as all the other campers looked on in disbelief, I wondered what the cabin counselor would do.

The college-age volunteer counselor positioned a bag of chips on die table in front of himself, and he, too, started smashing it with his fist. The campers went crazy as everyone ran to the table to get in on the fun of smashing potato chips with their fists.

Somehow everyone knew, everyone sensed, that anger within him was now being released.

For the last couple days of the session, David was a different kid. He was a little nine-year-old boy again, trying to fill the hours of each remaining day at camp with as much fun as could be possible.

Several days after the session, David came back again. This time, there wasn't anything he wouldn't try to fit in to his day. He sure was having a great time at camp. David asked me if I needed an altar(祭壇)boy when I celebrated Mass in the woods. Sure enough, he was my altar boy. I remembered how carefully he listened to me when I talked about death. 1 said it's only a doorway. You walk through the door and there's the Lord God and behind God a whole line of people waiting to hug you.

After Mass, he said to me, "Hey Fatha, a door, huh?"

A couple more days of fun passed and tonight was the talent show. The tradition is that campers and counselors dress up in costumes, and everyone gets a standing applause for singing and dancing or simply just acting like fools on stage.

 The show had begun: lights, camera, action.

Unfortunately, the only action taking place in our row of seats was little David making his way from counselor to counselor to say an early good-bye to camp. He had become quite ill and had to go to the hospital because of this new crisis.

When this little nine-year-old pirate stood in front of me, he gave me a hug and a big wet kiss on my cheek. 1 was crying. He was crying. A whole row of counselors was in tears. After the hug and kiss, he put his hands on my shoulders, and tears still in his eyes, said: "See you on the other side of the door, Fatha."

71.The camp counselors failed to fill David's beginning days with fun and laughter, mainly because David     .

A.        behaved like a pirate

B.        remained in a bad mood

C.        was left alone at the camp

D.       was teased by other campers

72.Seeing David smashing the potato chips, the counselor did the same thing in response because he     .

A.        would like David to eat more of them

B.        hoped all the other campers would join

C.        found it possible to help David release anger

D.       wanted to show that he was as angry as David

73.What can we learn from this article?

A.        The camp was intended for those talented in singing and dancing.

B.        The purpose of the camp was to give diseased children caring love.

C.        The camp was popular among the children who enjoyed their vacation here.

D.       Medical treatment could be provided to diseased children at the camp.

74.Which of the following does NOT show the change in David?

A.        David came back to the camp for a second session after the first ended.

B.        David had become quite ill and had to go to the hospital because of this new crisis.

C.        David made his way from counselor to counselor to say an early good-bye to camp.

D.       David stood in front of me and gave me a hug and a big wet kiss on my cheek.

75. What do you think the theme of the story is?

A.        Children with deadly diseases are usually difficult to get along with.

B.        People should have patience with children with life-threatening illnesses.

C.        People should tell children with life-threatening illnesses to care nothing about death.

D.       Love and proper guidance can help people look at something negative in a positive way.

Being beautiful means a lot to teenage girls. Once it did to me too. I was the vainest person in the world, but that all changed one December night.
It was a Thursday, and I was getting ready for the wrestling tournament the following day. I was so excited; it was going to be my first tournament as a cheerleader. I walked past the mirror and stopped to check my appearance. I noticed my eyebrows were a little bushy, and that’s when my vanity kicked in. The brows could be easily fixed with the waxing kit I had purchased. I put the jar of wax in the microwave. But instead of heating the wax for 30 seconds, I pressed too many zeros and heated it for three minutes. As I reached for the jar, I dropped it, spilling it all over myself.
My mother came running when she heard my screams. The hot wax was rolling down my face and arm. My mom took a wet washcloth and tried to wash the wax off my face. This proved to be a bad idea, because the wax was honey based, and it pulled my skin off with the wax.
The 15-mile drive to the emergency room seemed to take hours. When we finally arrived, the nurse didn’t waste any time. They took me straight to a doctor and gave me extra-strength painkillers, so my mind was in confusion. The doctor explained how severe my burns really were: my arm was a combination of first-, second- and third-degree burns, and needed to stay bandaged. My face was first- and second-degree burns. If the wax had gotten any closer to my right eye, I would have lost my sight. I was covered in multi-colored “goop(藥膏)”, wrapped, and sent home to recover.
I got up the next morning and the first thing I wanted to do was wash off the remaining wax. I unwrapped the bandages and “degooped”, letting warm water gently remove the rest of the wax. The next step was to do a self-evaluation of the damage. I couldn’t believe how horrible I looked. A horror-movie monster stared back at me from the mirror. All I could think was, my life is over. For someone as vain as me, this was very true. I thought I was going to be horribly disfigured(毀容的)for the rest of my life! All I could do was cry.
My mom made it worse by forcing me to go out in public. She dragged me to the grocery store and wherever else she felt like taking me. Everywhere we went, people had a million questions, none of which I wanted to answer. Then my mom declared she was going to put me through even more torture—I had to go to school on Monday. School only led to more questions from more people.
Now, two years later, my wounds have healed, leaving a few scars. I still feel self-conscious if I don’t wear make-up, and I’ve discovered that three-quarter length sleeves are wonderful for covering the scars on my arm.
After spending several months adjusting to this injury, I realized how vain I was. I had made beauty important, but it never was or will ever be that important. It took this event to teach me that no matter how much you change on the outside, you’re still the same person on the inside. 

1. 1.

   After the accident, the writer has come to realize that ________.

   1. A.
      teenage girls care too much about their appearance
   2. B.
      loving beauty will necessarily make one disfigured
   3. C.
      we can never judge a person merely by one’s looks
   4. D.
      sometimes being beautiful can cost you something
2. 2.

   Which of the four statements is a fact?

   1. A.
      The severe damage to her sight and face weren’t recovered.
   2. B.
      The mother wished the writer to face her misfortune bravely.
   3. C.
      From the lesson we conclude that “once bitten, twice frightened”.
   4. D.
      The severe burns were caused by her mother’s lack of first-aid.
3. 3.

   The underlined sentence in the last paragraph is closest to ________.

   1. A.
      beauty is not everything
   2. B.
      a student shall not make up
   3. C.
      beauty is not important
   4. D.
      loving beauty will spoil you
4. 4.

   The author develops her composition by ________.

   1. A.
      offering accurate facts
   2. B.
      giving contrast and comparison
   3. C.
      using logical arguments
   4. D.
      representing own experiences
5. 5.

   Which of the following can be the best title?

   1. A.
      The Price of Vanity
   2. B.
      An Unexpected Ending
   3. C.
      A Disfigured Girl
   4. D.
      Beauty Ruins Everything

We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes，’’our teacher told US as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing，“The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster. ”
We studied the board critically. Some of US looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard，rocking the sheets to the fight or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten—dollar grand prize，each and every one of US. I'm going to spend mine on candies，one hopeful would announce，while another practiced looking serious，wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins，while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of US used big designs，and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one comer of our poster and let the space draw the viewer's attention to it. Some of US would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the soil they seemed especially fond of。making all of US believe we had a fair chance，and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat，but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize，and then someone distracted me，and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk，thinking，What poster? When the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.
46. What was the teacher's requirement for the poster?
A. It must appear in time.
B. It must be done in class.
C. It must be done on a construction sheet.
D. It must include the words on the blackboard.
47. The underlined phrase in paragraph 3 most probably means _____________.
A. formed an idea for
B. made an outline for
C. made some space for
D. chose some colors for
48. After the teacher’s words，all the students in the class _________.
A. 1ooked very serious
B. thought they would be rich
C. began to think about their designs
D. began to play games
49. After seeing the good students’ designs，some students _________.
A. 1oved their own designs more
B. thought they had a fair chance
C. put their own designs in a comer
D. thought they would not win the prize
50. We can infer from the passage that the author ______________.
A. enjoyed grown-up tricks very much
B. 1oved poster competitions very much
C. felt surprised to win the competition
D. became wise and rich after the competition

B
We once had a poster competition in our fifth grade art class.
“You could win prizes，’’our teacher told US as she wrote the poster information on the blackboard. She passed out sheets of construction paper while continuing，“The first prize is ten dollars. You just have to make sure that the words on the blackboard appear somewhere on your poster. ”
We studied the board critically. Some of US looked with one eye and held up certain colors against the blackboard，rocking the sheets to the fight or left while we conjured up our designs. Others twisted their hair around their fingers or chewed their erasers while deep in thought. We had plans for that ten—dollar grand prize，each and every one of US. I'm going to spend mine on candies，one hopeful would announce，while another practiced looking serious，wise and rich.
Everyone in the class made a poster. Some of us used parts of those fancy paper napkins， while others used nothing but colored construction paper. Some of US used big designs，and some of us preferred to gather our art tidily down in one comer of our poster and let the space draw the viewer's attention to it. Some of US would wander past the good students’ desks and then return to our own projects with a growing sense of hopelessness. It was yet another grown-up trick of the soil they seemed especially fond of。making all of US believe we had a fair chance，and then always—always—rewarding the same old winners.
I believe I drew a sailboat，but I can’t say that with any certainty. I made it. I admired it. I determined it to be the very best of all of the posters I had seen，and then I turned it in.
Minutes passed.
No one came along to give me the grand prize，and then someone distracted me，and I probably never would have thought about that poster again.
I was still sitting at my desk，thinking，What poster? When the teacher gave me an envelope with a ten-dollar bill in it and everyone in the class applauded for me.
51.. What was the teacher's requirement for the poster?
A. It must appear in time.
B. It must be done in class.
C. It must be done on a construction sheet.
D. It must include the words on the blackboard.
52. The underlined phrase in paragraph 3 most probably means _____________.
A. formed an idea for        B. made an outline for
C. made some space for      D. chose some colors for
53. After the teacher’s words，all the students in the class _________.
A. 1ooked very serious                 B. thought they would be rich
C. began to think about their designs       D. began to play games
54. After seeing the good students’ designs，some students _________.
A. 1oved their own designs more
B. thought they had a fair chance
C. put their own designs in a comer
D. thought they would not win the prize
55. We can infer from the passage that the author ______________.
A. enjoyed grown-up tricks very much
B. 1oved poster competitions very much
C. felt surprised to win the competition
D. became wise and rich after the competition