Hans Christian Andersen was a poor boy who lived in Denmark. His father, a shoemaker, had died, and his mother had married again.

Andersen’s father liked to read better than to make shoes. In the evenings, he had read aloud from The Arabian Nights. His wife understood very little of the book, but the boy, pretending to sleep, understood every word.

By day Hans Christian Anderson went to a house where old women worked as weavers. There he listened to the tales that the women told. In those days, there were almost as many tales in Denmark as there were people to tell them.

Among the tales told in the town of Odense, where Andersen was born in 1805, was one about a fairy who brought death to those who danced with her. To this tale, Hans Christian later added a story from his own life.

Once, when his father was still alive, a young lady ordered a pair of red shoes. When she refused to pay for them, unhappiness filled the poor shoemaker’s house. From that small tragedy and the story of the dancing fairy, the shoemaker’s son years later wrote the story that millions of people now know as The Red Shoes.

As a little girl, Hans Christian’s mother was sent out on the streets to beg. She did not want to beg, so she hid under one of the city bridges. She warmed her cold feet in her hands, for she had no shoes. She was afraid to go home. Years later, her son, in his pity for her and his anger at the world, wrote the angry story She’s No Good and the famous tale The Little Match Girl.

Through his genius, he changed every early experience, even his father’s death, into a fairy tale. One cold day his father showed him a white, woman-like figure among the frost patterns. “That is the snow queen,” said the shoemaker. “Soon she will be coming for me.” A few months later he died. And years later, Andersen turned that sad experience into a fairy tale, The Snow Queen.

Which of the following is TRUE about Anderson when he was a boy?

  A. His father had remarried before he died.

  B. His mother was struck by The Arabian Night.

  C. He enjoyed listening to stories very much.

  D. He would help old weavers with their work.

What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 imply?

  A. Almost all tales from around the world once had their origin in Denmark.

  B. The people in Denmark were very enthusiastic about telling tales.

  C. The number of tales in Denmark was exactly equal to that of the people living there.

  D. The people in Denmark loved doing nothing but tell stories to each other.

How many of Anderson’s fairy tales are mentioned in the passage?

  A. 5.        B. 6.        C. 3.        D. 4.

It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

  A. The Red Shoes was based on a tragedy of Anderson’s family

  B. Andersen’s genius as well as his early experience made him successful

  C. Andersen was educated at home by his parents because of poverty

  D. Anderson wrote The Snow Queen in memory of his parents

Which is the best title of the passage?

A. Hans Christian Andersen’s Own Fairy Tales.

B. Hans Christian Andersen’s Family.

C. Hans Christian Andersen’s Bitter Experiences.

D. Hans Christian Andersen’s Considerate Parents.

A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald ’ s on one cold winter evening. It seemed that

they didn' t come to the right place with the young families and young couples eating that night.

The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip at the drink and then set the cup down between them.

As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless. You could tell what they were thinking, “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them. ”

As the man began to eat his French fries, one young man stood and came over to the old couple ’ s table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything.

As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin，the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.

After being politely refused again，he finally asked a question of the little old lady，" Ma ’ am, why aren' t you eating? You said that you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?"

She answered, "The teeth.,’

   According to the 1st paragraph, the old couple  .

A.  enjoyed the scene outside the McDonald' s

B.  didn, t look suitable for the surroundings

C.  loved being with young families and couples

D.  liked the food in McDonald' s

   The little old man cut the plain hamburger in half because  .

A.  he couldn' t finish eating it with one bite

B.  he was very careful with his food

C.  he ordered more than he could consume

D.  he wanted to share it with his wife

   The young man who offered to buy the old couple food was    .

A. impolite B. stubborn C. sympathetic  D. doubtful

   From the old lady' s answer, we know that   .

A. she was not interested in the food   B. the couple suffered a terrible toothache

C. the couple did share everything  D. she gave an irrelevant answer

When I was 19 years old, I was at a dance club. As we were walking to my car one cold night, a man walked up to us. Behind him was a woman carrying a small child. The child had a jacket on but it wasn’t buttoned up（扣上）. The man began to tell us he wanted to borrow some money for the night to get his wife and kid into a hotel. He had a job but no place to live in and was waiting for he first paycheck. He said he could get our mailing address and mail the money back.

The guy I was with reached into his pocket to give this man a $20 bill. As the other man was extending his hand out to take the money, I put my hand on my new friends’ hand and said, “ Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I told him that every day people asked my mother for money on her way to work. She said they made more money than she did, simply begging for money. These people were scamming those with soft hearts. And if they were truly worried about their child suffering from the cold, they would have at least buttoned his jacket or covered him with his blanket.

My new friend looked at me with disappointment and said, “Michelle, I know there are people out there that take advantage of others. I also know there are people out there that are one paycheck away from being homeless. If I give $ 20 to 10 people and only one of them really needs it and uses it for the right thing, it is worth it.”

I am now 37 years old and have never forgotten what he said to me. I don’t even remember his name. But I do remember that that experience changed the way I look at different situations.

56. What do we know about the stranger according to the passage?

A. He had been begging for a long time near the dance club.

B. He would spend the cold night at an expensive hotel.

C. He was careless and didn’t take good care of his child.

D. He might be just lying in order to get some money.

57. Why did the author put her hand on her new friends’ hand?

A. She wanted to tell him to give some more money to the stranger.

B. She believed her mother had already given the stranger some money.

C. She wanted to warm him not to be cheated by the stranger.

D. She asked her friend to pay more attention to the baby instead.

58. Which of the following can take the place of the underlined word “ scamming ” in the 3rd paragraph?

A. cheating                     B. respecting            C. disappointing                D. understanding

59. We can safely say that the author’s friend was_________.

A. funny                           B. kind                         C. rich                         D. brave

 

Robert Fredy was general manager of a large hotel in Ashbury park. New Jersey. One cold day two years ago when he stopped his car at a traffic light, Stephen Pear man, an out-of-work taxi and truck driver, walked up to Fredy’s car hoping to earn some change by washing his windshield．Like many motorists who try to keep the beggars off, Fredy turned on the wipers to show he wasn’t interested．

       Pearman put his head close to the window．“Come on, mister．Give me a chance．I need a job,” he said．Something in Stephen Pearman’s voice moved Robert Fredy．In the seconds before traffic started moving again, Fredy handed a business card and told him to call if he was serious．

       “My friends told me he was just pulling my leg, ”said Pearman．“But I said, “ No, he’s a

businessman．I need to give it a shot．”

       Two days later,29-year-old Pearman appeared in the manager's office of the big hotel．Fredy gave him a job and housing and lent him pocket money while training him．

       Today, Pearman works full time setting up the hotel's dining halls for business meetings．In the past two years, he has found a flat, married and repaid Fredy’s loans．

       “Mr．Fredy gave me a second chance, “says Pearman, ” And I took advantage of it．I could have just come here a while, eaten up and left．But there is no future in washing windshields．”

       Ordinarily, Fredy keeps away from the street people．“But Pearman seemed so honest and open, asking for a chance rather than just money,” Fredy says, “I don’t hand my business card to just anybody．But I’m glad I did in this case．”

1.When Pearman first appeared before Fredy, ．

       A．Fredy took him as a beggar

       B．Pearman was told to do it later

       C．Fredy gladly agreed to let him do it

       D．Pearman knew Fredy was a kind man

2.When Fredy told Pearman to call if he was serious, he meant if          .

       A．Pearman was really hardworking

       B．Pearman was really looking for a job

       C．Pearman’s conditions were truly scrious

       D．Pearman was really interested in washing windshields

3.By saying “he was just pulling my leg (paragraph 3)”, Pearman’s friends meant.

       A．Fredy knew Pearman intended to ask for a job

       B．Fredy was making fun of Pearman

       C．Fredy wanted to help the poor

       D．Fredy was tired of being stopped

4.Pearman is now            .

       A．in charge of Fredy’s loans

       B．still washing car windshields

       C．full – time employed at the hotel

       D．arranging dinner parties for the hotel

5.What can we learn about Fredy?

       A．He helps those who will work hard themselves．

       B．He likes to give his help to anyone in need．

       C．He always gives help to the unemployed．

       D．He is easily moved by poor people．

 

All of my students I taught at Saint Mary’s School in Morris, Minnesota were dear to me, but Mark was one in a million. His happy­to­be­alive attitude made even his occasional naughtiness   31  .

Mark talked   32   in class. I had to remind him again and again that talking without   33   was unacceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving, “Thank you for correcting me, Madam!” I didn’t know what to make of it at first, but before long I became   34   hearing it many times a day.

However, one morning my patience was   35   when Mark talked once too often. I warned Mark, “If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth   36  !”

It wasn’t ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out（脱口说出）, “Mark is talking again.” I hadn’t asked any of the students to help me   37   Mark, but since I had stated the   38   in front of the class, I had to act on it.

Taking out a roll of masking tape from the drawer of my desk, I walked to Mark’s desk,   39   two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the   40   of the room.

As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me naughtily. That he did so funnily! I started   41  . The entire class   42   as I walked back to Mark’s desk,   43   the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, “Thank you for   44   me, Madam!”

Several years passed until one cold rainy day when my father broke the news to me that Mark was killed in Vietnam War, I broke down and cried in my heart, “Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world   45   you could talk to me!”

1.A. delightful                      B. attractive                       C. striking                           D. annoying

2.A. happily                                   B. constantly                       C. quickly                             D. immediately

3.A. hesitation                             B. permission                       C. delay                            D. trouble

4.A. curious about             B. unbearable of                 C. accustomed to               D. fond of

5.A. growing out                           B. working out           C. going out                         D. running out 

6.A. close                             B. firmly                              C. shut                                   D. closely

7.A. watch                                    B. criticize                           C. overlook                         D. inform

8.A. opinion                       B. view                                  C. punishment                    D. evidence

9.A. put up                                    B. tore off                   C. cut into                          D. took out

10.A . back                                   B. centre                            C. entrance                         D. front

11.A. laughing                    B. screaming           C. complaining           D. criticizing

12.A. disturbed                            B. protected                        C. froze                     D. cheered

13.A. stuck                                   B. recovered           C. removed                         D. fastened

14.A. praising                                B. correcting                        C. encouraging           D. hurting

15.A. as if                                     B. in case                             C. if only                               D. even if