Jodie’s Daddy Is a Garbageman(垃圾清理工)
Mr Swales wanted to find out what his students’ parents did. He had just called Jodie when some girls burst out laughing. Shirley shouted, “Jodie’s daddy is a garbageman!”
Everybody in the class laughed out loud, except Jodie. She felt her face turn red.
“Silence!” Mr Swales said, “Being a garbagemen is a difficult and useful job. We should all be grateful to Jodie’s father.”
Jodie’s father came to walk her home from school as usual, but she didn’t run up to him the way she always did. When they got back home, Jodie went to her room and cried for a long time.
Her father came into her room, “What happened, Jodie? Why are you so sad?”
Jodie told her father what had happened and looked at him. He didn’t seem angry or hurt. “Well,” he said, “they are right. Being a garbageman is a dirty job. Tomorrow’s Saturday. Come to work with me, Jodie.”
The place really smelt too bad. Jodie wrinkled her nose. “Don’t worry, kid. In five minute you won’t smell a thing.” said her father.
Everybody there was working hard, and they seemed to have a good time. Jodie’s father handed her a pair of gloves and told her to get the little plastic bags and throw them into the truck.
It was fun, but also hard work. Jodie’s arms soon got tired. At last, no more garbage was left and Jodie felt very happy.
“Garbage is disgusting, but when we clear it away, everything’s nice and clean. You can make yourself happy only by making other happy. That’s why I like being a garbageman so much.”
Jodie gave her dirty, smelly garbageman daddy a big kiss(吻). She said, “When I grow up, I will be a garbage-girl!”
Now whenever someone asks Jodie what her daddy does, she says, “He’s a garbageman! Everybody makes garbage, but my daddy takes it away!”
【小题1】What happened in Mr Swale’s class?

“Jane, please let me borrow a dollar,” Jenny asked as they stood in the school lunch line. “I have one in my jacket, but I don’t want to   1  and lose my place.”
“OK,” agreed Jane.
Jane waited all day for Jenny to   2  back the dollar she borrowed, but Jenny always seemed to be   3 . “She’s just forgotten,” thought Jane. “I don’t want to make her angry.” Still, her money didn’t go   4 . Some classmates, like Jenny, were   5  five dollars a week.
Weeks went by. At last Jane got up enough courage (勇气) to tell her about the money.
“Oh Jane, I   6 !” Jenny said. “I’ll bring the dollar tomorrow.”
The next day Jenny seemed to have forgotten again. During the noon hour Jane saw her buying sweets for Mary and Ann. Jenny saw Jane looking at her.   7  she said something in a low voice to the other two girls. Jane felt   8  and asked her teacher if she could go back to the classroom.
In the classroom, Jane saw two new pencils in Jenny’s desk. An   9  came to her. “Jenny’s not   10  lately, and anyway, she really owes (欠) me. Besides, she has all money to buy more. A dollar doesn’t mean anything to her, but it means a lot to me.”

短文填空。（每空2分，共16分）根据下面短文内容，在短文的空格处填上一个恰当的词，使短文完整、通顺。

Peter was the best table tennis player in his school and hardly ever lost a match. He hated losing anything. When he 1.  ,he would feel really good. If he lost, he would feel terrible. It seemed to Peter that losing was the   2.  thing in the world .

A new kid, Albert, came to Peter’s school .He was good at table tennis, too. Soon there would be a match     3.  Peter and Albert. Peter worked hard to get ready for the match, but Albert didn’t seem to think   4.  of it. When the match began, Albert was a real player. There was always a   5.  on his face, while Peter looked serious all the time. Peter thought it was so important to win the match that he even wanted to cheat（舞弊） , but he lost in the end.

“ You played very well, Peter. I think we can play again sometime, ”said  Albert.

But Peter didn’t   6. happy and couldn’t fall asleep that night .

One day, Peter saw Albert playing basketball.   7.  he lost again and again, the happy smile never left his face. Peter found Albert was great at table tennis but bad at basketball. However, he enjoyed   8.  of them.

Whether he won or lost the game, Albert enjoyed it. Peter came to realize that enjoying a game was much more important than winning or losing it. He felt happier than ever before.

Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son. Suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna said.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up(依偎) with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a young lady. The problem is finding out which time is which.”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, a writer.
“This completely changes during the teen years,” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are the best to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental(脑力的) break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means that __________.

Last month when I was taking part in a US college interview, I was asked, “ what makes you special ? ” In fact I had answered questions likes this many times since I decided to go to college in the US .college paid special attention to different achievement . For example, a person who is very good at math can go to a famous college but also can be a good football player .

This experience made me think again that I must try to find where my own interests might lead me . To be honest, it was not easy . However, I never felt sorry to choose this way because it helped me understand myself . If I took the College Entrance Examination,as we call it gaokao in China, it could never possibly do .

When I entered high school, I took gaokao seriously because it seemed to me a great way to show how good at my lessons . However,as I grew older, I realized gaokao did make me work hard at my lessons, but the pressure also pushed many other activities out of my life, like guitar―playing . Although I had no time for it, I will still get to it in the future .

No doubt, gaokao provides a way of choosing those who are successful in their studies . But it is really important for all of us to rethink what “ talent ” really is today . This is because we now live in a world in which all of our other human qualities ( 品质）are needed for success, not just the high grade .

Ken Robinson once said, “ the society depends on different kinds of talents . ”  However, gaokao pays too attention  to a person’s grades but little to his other qualities. And it is these qualities that makes life colorful and fun .

As high school students, we can not change the present situation of eduction, but we are always free to think outside of the box . Although good school grade is still useful, I hope one day we will see our education also welcomes the amazing possibilities in different people .

1.The US College pay special attention to ________.

A．students’family background .

B．the different achievement

C．students’ideas about way of life .

D．the school a student is from .

2.When at high school, the writer ________.

A．had a lot of activities .

B．did not work hard at her lessons .

C．did well in gaokao

D．had no time to play the guitar .

3.From the passage, we know that the writer may ________.

A．go to college in America .

B．give up the US college interview .

C．become a good football player in the US.

D．change the present situation of eduction .

4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. My school life abroad.             B. Different exams in the US.

C My view on gaokao           D. The importance of school grades