During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours

閱讀理解

　　The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where, most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.

　　The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.

　　By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.

　　Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.

　　The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.

　　After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect; wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifty churches, among them new St Paul's.

　　The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place－a city for the future and not just of the past.

1．The fire began in ________.

[　　]

2．The underlined word “family” in the second paragraph means ________.

[　　]

3．It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.

[　　]

A．some people lost their lives

B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire

C．many famous buildings were destroyed

D．the King's bakery was burned down

4．Why did the writer cite(引用) Samuel Pepys?

[　　]

A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.

B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.

C．To show that poor people suffered most.

D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.

5．How was the fire put out according to the text?

[　　]

A．The king and his soldiers came to help.

B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.

C．People managed to get enough water from the river.

D．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down.

6．Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread of the big fire?

(a) There was a strong wind.

(b) The streets were very narrow.

(c) Many houses were made of wood.

(d) There was not enough water in the city.

(e) People did not discover the fire earlier.

[　　]

用所給詞的適當形式填空(15分)

1.How many ___________(tooth) does a lion have?

2.－What beautiful presents! Are they for ________(we)? －Yes, they’re yours.

3.We always have fun on ___________(child) Day.

4.Millie __________ (enjoy)the full moon with her family on Mid-autumn Day.

5.Mo Yan is the _________(one) Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.（諾貝爾文學獎)

6.－What are you doing now? － We ___________(plan) the fashion show.

7.There’s nobody in the __________(swim) pool.

8.―What do you get as birthday presents?―Many __________(toy) trains.

9.____________(health) food is good for us.

10.Where’s your cousin? She_________(lie) in bed and watching TV.

11.－What about__________ (collect)some stamps? －Good idea.

12.Welcome to my ____________(twelve) birthday party.

13.We need money ___________ (buy)books and clothes for the children in poor areas.

14.Thank you for__________ (show) the photos to us.

15.－Are you interested in the horse-ridingdance(騎馬舞)－Gangnam Style？－Yes, it’s __________ (real) interesting.