I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.

My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (體操運動員). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.

I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.

   If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.

   During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.

   At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. “Alice, you won the contest!” she said loudly.

 “Really?” was all I could reply.

“Yes,” Ms. White said. “They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.

That night I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.

1.Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

A. she had been good at sports                  B. her sister’s show was perfect

C. she hated drawing and painting               D. her parents wanted her to do so

2. How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last?

A. Satisfied.           B. Worried.             C. Hopeful          D. Regretful.  

3. From the story, we can infer that ________.

A. Alice’s parents disagreed with her choice of gymnastics

B. Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at first

C. Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the town

D. Alice couldn’t believe the news that she got the prize for painting

4. What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?

A. We should value our own gifts.           B. It takes time to find one’s gifts.

C. We could develop different gifts.        D. It’s never too late to show our gifts.

 

As Sam slowly woke, he got a funny feeling in his stomach. He knew he would have to do something that he had been afraid to do for a long time.
The school bus came on time, and he sat with his friend, Billy. They chatted about baseball. It was a great way to get his mind off what he had to do later. As they got close to the school, he could feel his heart beating. His hands were starting to sweat. He hated this!
He entered Mrs. Owen’s class. She was smiling, and saying hello to all her students as she did every morning.
“Hi, Sam!” she said as he walked in.
“Hi,” he said and quickly sat in his seat. Then the class began to take their spelling test. He looked at the clock. The time was near. He hoped he was not first! Mrs. Owens said it was time to begin their special day.
“Sam, you’ll be first.” Mrs. Owens said to the class, “Sam has worked very hard on his report on Hawaii, and I know it is very interesting.”
Sam nervously greeted his class. Then, he thought about the fun things he had read about surfing, volcanoes, and pineapples in Hawaii, and he started to talk. He talked in front of the whole class, and it was fun. The class clapped as he finished and Mrs. Owens was smiling. It wasn’t terrible at all and he knew he would do better the next time.
【小題1】 How did Sam feel after he woke?

A．Excited.

B．Nervous.

C．Happy.

D．Hungry.

【小題2】What did Sam have to do that day?

A．To have a baseball match.	B．To take a reading test.
C．To go to a new class.	D．To do something special.

【小題3】What does the underlined word “sweat” probably mean?

A．觸摸

B．鼓掌

C．出汗

D．指點

【小題4】 Which could be inferred (推斷) from this passage?

A．Sam hated chatting about baseball.

B．Sam learned about Hawaii by travelling.

C．Mrs. Owens is unfriendly to her students.

D．The class enjoyed Sam’s talk very much.

【小題5】 Which is the best title for this passage?

A．A special day	B．An interesting lesson
C．A nice teacher	D．A professional report

閱讀下面短文，用括號內所給動詞的適當形式填空（必要時可加助動詞或情態(tài)動詞）

The largest problem among teenagers is that they are too stressed. Mary, a 16-year-old girl, 1.      .(worry) about her exams very often. Although she2.     .(study) English for three years, and is good at it, she is still afraid of English exams. Last night, after3.     .(come) back home, she 4.  (begin) to get ready for her English exam. While she5.        (read) English books, her mother said to her, “Come on, dear! It’s time6.      (.have) supper!” But Mary 7.      (not listen) to her mother. She went on reading. Her mother went on, “Mary, I believe you. You can pass your exam tomorrow.” But Mary still went on studying. At 11:30 the light in her room 8.       ( be )still on. Her mother said to her, “I think teenagers 9.        (go) to bed earlier before exams than usual.” Mary agreed, but she 10.       .(not fall)asleep. She was too nervous. Maybe it is time to solve the teenagers’ problems.

 

閱讀下面短文，用括號內所給動詞的適當形式填空（必要時可加助動詞或情態(tài)動詞）

  The largest problem among teenagers is that they are too stressed. Mary, a 26-year-old girl,          

1.(worry) about her exams very often. Although she        2.(study) English for three years, and is good at it, she is still afraid of English exams. Last night, after       3.(come) back home, she      4.(begin) to get ready for her English exam. While she         5.(read) English books, her mother said to her, “Come on, dear! It’s time          6.(.have) supper!” But Mary                                                  

  7.(not listen) to her mother. She went on reading. Her mother went on, “Mary, I believe you. You can pass your exam tomorrow.” But Mary still went on studying. At 11:30 the light in her room          8. ( be )still on. Her mother said to her, “I think teenagers           9.(go) to bed earlier before exams than usual.” Mary agreed, but she          10.(not fall)asleep. She was too nervous. Maybe it is time to solve the teenagers’ problems.

 

As Sam slowly woke, he got a funny feeling in his stomach. He knew he would have to do something that he had been afraid to do for a long time.

The school bus came on time, and he sat with his friend, Billy. They chatted about baseball. It was a great way to get his mind off what he had to do later. As they got close to the school, he could feel his heart beating. His hands were starting to sweat. He hated this!

He entered Mrs. Owen’s class. She was smiling, and saying hello to all her students as she did every morning.

“Hi, Sam!” she said as he walked in.

“Hi,” he said and quickly sat in his seat. Then the class began to take their spelling test. He looked at the clock. The time was near. He hoped he was not first! Mrs. Owens said it was time to begin their special day.

“Sam, you’ll be first.” Mrs. Owens said to the class, “Sam has worked very hard on his report on Hawaii, and I know it is very interesting.”

Sam nervously greeted his class. Then, he thought about the fun things he had read about surfing, volcanoes, and pineapples in Hawaii, and he started to talk. He talked in front of the whole class, and it was fun. The class clapped as he finished and Mrs. Owens was smiling. It wasn’t terrible at all and he knew he would do better the next time.

 

1. How did Sam feel after he woke?

   A. Excited.      B. Nervous.     C. Happy.       D. Hungry.

2.What did Sam have to do that day?

A. To have a baseball match.            B. To take a reading test.

C. To go to a new class.                D. To do something special.

3.What does the underlined word “sweat” probably mean?

   A. 觸摸          B. 鼓掌         C. 出汗         D. 指點

4. Which could be inferred (推斷) from this passage?

   A. Sam hated chatting about baseball.

   B. Sam learned about Hawaii by travelling.

   C. Mrs. Owens is unfriendly to her students.

   D. The class enjoyed Sam’s talk very much.

5. Which is the best title for this passage?

   A. A special day     B. An interesting lesson

   C. A nice teacher        D. A professional report