Waller was a liked-by-all fellow full of fun who often went to coffee houses to tell people interesting stories, of which some even brought him some money. One day, asked by an office secretary who told Waller that hid boss was a never-seen-before serious man and he never even smiled. Waller would tell a most funny story. “Well, sir,” Waller said before he began the story, “what will be given in return of mine succeeds?” “$100,”replied the secretary. “I haven’t seen him have a bright face since I worked in his office”.

  “Then let’s make it.” Waller went to the man’s table and whispered to him, “Please tell your boss that the funny man Waller’s hen gave birth to a baby.”

  Three days later a letter reached Mr. Waller in which were $100 and a piece of yellow paper with the words, “Mr. Waller, you have succeeded—When I repeated your %100—worth sentence, my boss burst into frightening laughter,用saying that who ever has managed to make him laugh during the business hours will get dismissed(解雇)”！

1．Waller often went to coffee houses to tell people interesting stories in order to　　   .

A. make money　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. practice telling stories

C. enjoy himself　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. draw the secretary’s attention

2．The secretary asked Waller for a most funny story because he　　   .

A. was tired of his boss’s seriousness

B. tried to please his serious boss with it

C. wanted to improve his working conditions

D. wanted to  see his boss’s laughing face

3．Saying “Let’s make it”. Waller　　   .

A. was sure of his success

B. thought of nothing but the 100-dollar return

C. knew that he could make fun of the secretary

D. wondered whether he could make the boss smile or not

4．Which of the following ends is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The boss was never so strict with the secretary from then on.

B. the secretary lost his job in the office

C. the secretary dare not make his boss laugh any longer..

D. Mr. Waller was dismissed at last.

5．The best title for the passage is　　   .

A. Things Went Opposite to Wishes

B. Satisfying Both Sides

C. Killing Two Birds with One Stone

D. Either Is in His Proper Place

At two o’clock a bank robber stole in.“This is a holdup,” the man said loudly. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George.“Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part-close to six thousand dollars. The robber took them and turned to leave.

　　Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.

　　The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted（暈倒）.

　　As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.

　　The next morning, while the others were examining the bank's records, George was called into Mr Burrow's office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.

　　“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed too. I have retired（退休）, but I’m always thinking of our bank. That's why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes（趾）. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box all six thousand.”

This passage tells us ______.

A. a serious case            B. one part of a play

C. a humorous story          D. a meaningful story

Which of the following do you think is true?

A. George wanted to protect the money for the bank.

B. George had been thinking of taking money away.

C. This bank had been robbed several times.

D. Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day.

Why was George called into Mr. Burrow’s office?

A. His stealing money was disclosed.

B. Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him.

C. Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him.

D. Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back.

In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means “______”.

A. to make everyone work hard

B. to keep everyone standing straight

C. to make everyone do a kind of exercise

D. to keep everyone paying attention to the coming danger

Which sentence can be used to end the story?

A. George turned cold with fear.          B. George turned red with anger.

C. George was pleased with the end.       D. George was disappointed with the end.

Haisong Jiang, who slipped (偷偷溜進) past a security checkpoint(安全關(guān)卡) on Jan. 3, causing a shutdown of Newark Airport, tried to apologize for his mistake.
" I feel guilty about this serious mistake. At that moment, I was very excited with my girlfriend, and I didn't think too much," Mr. Jiang, 28, said Tuesday in his first interview since causing the six-hour shutdown at the airport.
On Tuesday, Newark Municipal Court judged that besides the community service, he must pay a $500 fine (罰金) and $158 in court fees. In an agreement between the court and Mr. Jiang's lawyer, Mr. Jiang will pay off his money punishment all by community service instead.
　　Haisong Jiang, a native of China, about a year ago moved to the United States in 2004 to study and met his girlfriend, also Chinese and 26. She has since moved to California.
The lovebirds did the town over the Christmas holidays: shopping in SoHo, visiting the tree at Rockefeller Center, celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square - the works. On Jan. 3, he watched her pass through security, but he wanted to spend more time with her. When he noticed the officer leave his post, he saw his chance, he said. He slipped under the rope and kissed her and, arm in arm, walked her to her Continental Airlines gate and saw her onto the jetway. "And immediately I left," he said.
　　Three days passed. "Friday, the police found me," the future scientist said. He was at the gym when his roommate called to say two police officers were at their home. "It's not right to enter the airport. Immediately I know the police want to ask me this thing."
　  He expects to serve half of his community service in a soup kitchen - "I like to cook" - and the other half in a hospital. He plans on moving to California to be with her and work in a laboratory after completing his degree in May or June.
He never types his name into search engines on the Net: the number of hits is shocking.
What’s the best title of the passage?
A. A moving love story  B. An escape from security check
C. A kiss causing great trouble      D. When a man loves a woman
How much did Mr. Jiang finally pay for his mistake?
A. nothing      B. $ 500  C. $158   D. $ 658
Which of the following sentences is true?
A. Mr. Jiang was sent to the police station right after he went out of the airport.
B. The lovebirds spent their Christmas holidays in California.
C. Mr. Jiang caused so much trouble on purpose.
D. On Friday, the police didn’t find Mr. Jiang at his home at first.
What can you infer from the passage?
A. Mr. Jiang is an American-Chinese.
B. Mr. Jiang and his girlfriend’s love story has finally ended.
C. Many people have known about Mr. Jiang on the net.
D. Mr. Jiang will become a scientist with certainty.

—Where is your brother?

—At________ .

A. the Mr Green's　　　　  B. Greens　　　　　　　　　　  C. the Greens　　　　　　    D. Mr Green's

James’s New Bicycle　

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully __1__ the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! __2__ on earth was he going to get the __3_ of the money?　

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was __4__ to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no __5__ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to __6__.　

There was only one way to get money, and that was to __7__ it. He would have to find a job. __8__ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had __9__ on most things.　

“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr. Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”　

That was the _10__ of James’s odd-job（零工） business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the __11__ of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the __12__ of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the __13__ increased and he knew that he would soon have __14__ for the bicycle he longed for.　

The day __15__ came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He __16__ no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode __17__ home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard __18__ for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more __19__ he had bought it with his own money. He had __20__what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.　

難易度：難

1. A. cleaned　　　 B. covered　　 C. counted　　　　 D. checked　

2. A. How　 B. Why　 C. Who　 D. What　

3. A. amount　 B. part　 C. sum　 D. rest　

4. A. brave　 B. hard　 C. smart D. unfair　

5. A. point B. reason　 C. result　 D. right　

6. A. split　 B. spend　 C. spare　 D. save　

7. A. borrow B. earn　 C. raise　 D. collect　

8. A. Or　 B. So　 C. For　 D. But　

9 A. decisions B. experience 　C. opinions D. knowledge　

10. A. beginning B. introduction　 C. requirement　 D. opening　

11. A. similarity B. quality　 C. suitability　 D. variety　

12. A. brand　 B. number C. size　 D. type　

13. A. effort　 B. pressure C. money D. trouble　

14. A. all　 B. enough　 C. much　 D. some　

15. A. finally B. instantly C. normally D. regularly　

16. A. gave　 B. left　 C. took　 D. wasted　

17. A. patiently B. proudly　 C. silently　 D. tiredly　

18. A. applying　 B. asking　 C. looking　 D. working　

19. A. since B. if　 C. than　 D. though　

20. A. deserved B. benefited C. achieved D. learned