When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has realized the disadvantages of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker. I said in a voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan.” And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he doesn’t send me the cheek. It’s already two weeks late.”
And then, in perfect English I said: “I’m getting rather anxious .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.” Then she talked more loudly. “What does he want? I’ll come to New York and say it in front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t accept any more excuses. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English. When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is clear and direct. It was the language that helped me form the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
【小题1】Why was the author’s mother poorly treated?

We were doing the best to control the fire of the burning garage. Outside, I heard the sounds of cats crying. I couldn’t stop- I would have to look for the cats after the fire was put out.
It took a long time to finally bring the big fire under control. No one inside was hurt. At that point I was free to find out where the cat noises were from. There was still a lot of smoke and heat coming from the building. I followed the meowing to the sidewalk in front of the garage. There, crying and huddled together, were five frightened kittens . They must have been inside the building, as their fur was badly hurt.
I wanted to find the mother cat. It was obviously that she had gone into the burning garage and carried out all her babies, one by one----unbelievable.
We finally found her. Her paws and face were blackened, and her fur was burned all over. You could even see her reddened skin under the burned fur. She could hardly move. I picked her up, and she relaxed in my arms as much as her pain would allow. I was determined to save this brave little cat and her family.
The veterinarian told me they would watch the kittens and their mother for the night, but they weren’t confident about the about the mother’s chances.
About a week later, I found out she was going to live. We named her Scarlet because of her reddened skin.
I was happy to see Scarlet get together with the kittens again. She touched each of them, nose to nose. She had risked her life five times-and it had paid off. All of her babies had survived.
As a firefighter, I see heroic acts every day. But what Scarlet showed me that day was the kind of bravery that can only come from a mother’s love.
【小题1】Which f the following is TRUE according to the story?

One day Tom borrowed a pot（罐） from his neighbour, Ali. The next day he brought it back with another little pot inside.
“That’s not mine,” said Ali.
“Yes, it is.” said Tom, “While your pot was staying with me, it had a baby.”
Some time later, Tom asked Ali to lend him a pot again. Ali said yes, hoping that he would once again get two pots in return. However, days passed and Tom still did not give the pot back. Finally Ali was angry and went to ask for it.
“I am sorry,” said Tom, “I can’t give it back to you because it died.”
“Died!” cried Ali, “How can a pot die?”
“Well,” said Tom, “you believed me when I told you that your pot had a baby.”
【小题1】Who was the owner of the pot?

When I was seven years old my mom was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer. The doctors told us my mom might be saved with surgery(手术). But it could also kill her. She chose to have it.
The day before the surgery I was off school, and my mom planned the best day of my life, everything I loved at seven and everything that would put a smile on my face. The day began with her waking me up saying, “Kate, I have a surprise for you. Come and see.” The surprise was a doll I had wanted for the longest time. Throughout the day, she told me everything that she thought I would need to know to grow up and be a good person; she told me to be the best I could be and that I would always make her proud. We had a picnic in the park, and it was so cold that we moved to the car. The day was filled with laughter. For the first time in a long time I could see she was really happy. I would never forget her smile, or the way her eyes shone as if we were the same age. It was the best day of my life, and I will never forget the conversations we shared.
My mother managed to live through the surgery. Now when I look back, I realize that the best day of my life could be her last and this could be the last day I would remember with her, the last one we shared. I also understand how unselfish a mother is.
【小题1】 Who made the decision to have the surgery in the story?

One day, a tiger saw a frog(青蛙)． He had never seen a frog before． He said,“I want to eat you． But first tell me who you are．”
The frog said,“I’m the king(国王)of the frogs! I can do all kinds of wonderful things．”
“Really?” said the tiger．“Can you show me what you can do?”
“All right． Let’s jump across the river． I can jump longer than you．”answered the frog．
They came to the river, The tiger jumped across it． He was surprised to see the frog was in front of him．
“I’m waiting for you, Mr Tiger．”said the frog, laughing．
While the tiger was ready for his jump． the frog held(拉)the tiger’s tail(尾巴)and got some tiger’s hair in his mouth． But the tiger didn’t know．
“Why do you have some tiger’s hair in your mouth?”asked the tiger．
“Oh”．said the frog,“Yesterday I killed(杀)a tiger and ate him．”
After hearing that, the tiger ran away quickly．
【小题1】 What did the tiger want to do at first? He wanted to       ．
A． jump over
B． run a race(比赛)with the frog
C． eat the frog      
【小题2】 –What was the frog good at?        ．
A． Running．                   B． Jumping．              C． Eating．
【小题3】Why was the tiger surprised? Because       ．
A． he found the frog was the king of the frog
B． the frog wanted to kill him
C． the frog also jumped across the river
【小题4】 How did the frog jump across the river? By    ．
A． waiting for the tiger
B． holding the tiger’s tail
C． eating the tiger’s hair
【小题5】Who do you think is cleverer?
A． The tiger                 B． The frog              C． Neither