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（假装） 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（股票经纪人）. 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 check. 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 (使困窘) 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.

1.Why was the author’s mother poorly treated?

A. She was unable to speak good English.

B. She was often misunderstood.

C. She was not clearly heard.

D. She was not very polite.

2.From Paragraph 2, what can we know about the author?

A. She was good at pretending.

B. She was rude to the stockbroker.

C. She was ready to help her mother.

D. She was unwilling to phone for her mother.

3.Even after the author made the phone call to the stockbroker,__________.

A. they forgave the stockbroker

B. they failed to get the check

C. they moved to New York immediately

D. they wrote to their boss at once

4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

A. It’s hard for her to understand.

B. It embarrasses her.

C. It helps her understand the world.

D. It helps her forgive rude people.

 

On the terrible day, father took me to school. When he stopped in front of the school, I didn’t want to get out of the car. I looked at the students outside the building and suddenly felt sick. I slowly opened the car door and slowly got out. The body brace(支架) I wore made it hard for me to move and made me feel ugly. How I wished I were still in my school with all my friends. I didn’t know anyone here. I could feel that everyone was looking at me. I was sure that I would be the ugliest and strangest person they had ever seen. Tears fell on my new dress.

I struggled(奋力) to get through that day, and all the day for the following three days. I feel ugly for most of the time. I could hardly wait to take off the brace.

That day finally arrived on a rainy Thursday in Spring. I was so surprised and excited when the doctor said that I could take off the brace. From that day on, I began to love rain. I was free at last.

I danced up the stairs to the school building the next morning. I wanted everyone to see me, but to my surprise, no one said a word about my brace for the whole day, even Danielle, my best friend. I couldn’t wait to ask her, “Danielle, don’t you notice anything different about me? It’s the brace. The brace is gone.”

Danielle just looked at me and said, “ I know the brace is gone, but I don’t think it’ll make much difference. With or without it, you are still my friend.”

1.How did the girl feel when she first went to the school?

A. She was surprised

B. She was upset.

C. She was angry.

2.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The girl’s classmates didn’t like her because she was strange.

B. The girl was always unhappy while she was wearing the brace.

C. The girl’s classmates changed their ideas after she took off the brace.

3.The girl took off her brace ___________.

A. The following three days

B. the next day

C. on a rainy Thursday

4.The girl _____________ in that school before she wore the body brace.

A. had never studied

B. had already studied

C. had known some friends

5.What do we learn from the passage?

A. Danielle was quite different from the others in the class.

B. It was not ugly to wear a brace.

C. Few of the girl’s classmates thought that she was ugly.

 

When I was 16 years old, a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.
It was the early autumn of my first year at a junior high school, and my old school was far away. As a result, no one knew who I was. I was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone.
Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk about anyone with my problems. And I didn't want my parents to worry about me.
Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment, a boy came into the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed me and then turned back. He looked at me, without a word, only a smile.
Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy, lively and warm.
That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
One day I asked him why he smiled, but he couldn't remember smiling at me!
It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it lonely, you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back.
11. Why was the smile an important gift?
A. Because the writer's old school was far away.
B. Because the writer didn't know who the boy was.
C. Because the smile didn't mean anything to the boy.
D. Because it made the writer feel happy, lively and warm.
12.The writer didn't talk to anyone in her new school about her problem because  .
A. she was always unhappy
B. she didn't have any friends there
C. she was in the first year at the junior high school
D. she didn't want her parents to worry about her
13. How did the smile change her life?
A. She started to make friends.
B. She became the best friend with the boy.
C. Her parents didn't worry about her any more.
D. She realized that she was lonely.
14. Where does she now think her feeling of unhappiness came from?
A. From her old school     B. From her parents.
C.. From herself.          D. From her classmates at the new school.
15. Who has become the writer’s best friend now?
A. The writer herself            B. The writer’s parents
C. The writer’s classmates     D. The boy with the smile

Last year when Tom graduated from school, he came to Taibei. He didn't like to work on his father's farm and hoped to find a job in a big city. He went from one company to another but no one wanted him. With little money left, he got to the station, sad and tired. All he wanted to do was go back to his small town. It was very late at night and the station was full of people. They were waiting to buy tickets of the last train. He bought the last ticket, and he was very happy.

At that time, a woman with a crying baby walked to him and asked him to sell her the ticket. He gave her the ticket because he thought they needed it more than he did. After the train left, he sat on the bench and didn't know where to go. Suddenly, an old man came and said, "Young man, I have seen what you did to the woman. I am the owner of a big company. I need a good young man like you. Would you like to work for me?

1.Tom came to the station to _______.

A. find a job        B. take the train home

C. sell the ticket       D. take the train to Taibei

2.The woman walked to Tom because _______.

A. she was Tom's old friend    

B. her child wanted to talk to Tom

C. she needed to take the train 

D. she had no money to buy a ticket

3.Tom didn't take the train because _______.

A. he didn't take a train ticket   

B. he missed the train

C. he wanted to talk to the old man

D. he gave his ticket to the woman

4.The old man wanted to _______.

A. lend Tom some money     B. give Tom a job

C. say "Thank you " to Tom   D. sit on the bench with Tom

5.What can we learn from this story?

A. Many people find job in a train station.

B. Don't buy the last ticket of the train.

C. If we try our best to help others, others will help us.

D. We should not give our ticket to others in a train station.