A few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.

During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.

She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.

Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.

When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.

Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.

The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.

A. their mother was expecting to have another baby

    B. they didn’t have to move out of their house

    C. they hated their mother remarried

    D. they had a closer relationship with their father

How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?

    A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.

    B. She was getting along well with her studies.

    C. She had some trouble with her studies.

    D. She lacked interest in creativity.

The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.

    A. she needed the love of mother

    B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother

    C. she lived with only men all the time

    D. her English teacher didn’t care about her

What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?

    A. She considered it to be very useful.

    B. She valued it very much.

    C. She kept it very well.

D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.

After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.

   During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for my dreams.

   I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”

   Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:

Dear Dick,

My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.

I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.

                                               Your friend,

                                                   Matthew

The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that_______.

   A. the boy never complained about how unlucky he was to have this disease

   B. the boy never complained about not being able to go to school

   C. the boy never complained why the author had never come to see him before

   D. the boy never complained about not gettig a medal

From the passage we learn that ________.

   A. Matthew was an athlete

   B. Matthew was an optimistic and determined boy

   C. The author used to have the same disease as Matthew had

   D. Matthew became a champion before he died

Matthew didn’t accepted the author’s medal because           .

   A. he thought it was too expensive

   B. he was sure that he could win one in the future

   C. he thought it was of no use to him as he would die soon

   D. he would not be pitied by others

What would be the best title for this passage?

   A. A sick boy.          B. A special friend.

   C. A real champion.     D. A famous athlete.

After a car accident put me into the hospital，I felt angry about the way my life was turning out．The doctors repaired the major damage done to my  41  ．But 1 was lying there feeling pretty sorry for myself．I didn’t care to see anyone or to talk to anyone．

For a week the nurses had been good about leaving my door closed．But one morning 1 was awakened by  42  of people in the hallway．

Since 1 was still feeling  43  for myself．I didn’t wake up in a pleasant mood．As I pushed the button to ca11 the nurse．I saw a little boy in the hallway，holding a teddy bear in one hand．A cast(石膏)completely  44  his other arm，from fingers to shoulder．

I heard his mother telling him to sit and wait．He looked over to me and   45  at me．Then without warning he came running into my room．As 1 was silently complaining of the nurses leaving my door  46  , the smile upon his face widened．

He came right up next to my  47  and held out his big brown teddy bear．It was missing an eye but cute．I stared at him．not knowing what he was wanting from me．

He said．”Teddy is still sick．He needs to stay here．Could you keep him here till he gets better?”

I  48  out and took Teddy from his hand．I promised 1 would take care of Teddy until the time he got better and keep him from  49  afterwards．

Just then the mother called to him．He looked back at me，said  50  and ran out．His mother smiled down at him and the nurse wheeled him away．I sat there hugging Teddy．The nurse responded to my call  51  in time to catch the tears rolling down my cheeks and the biggest smile on my face．

1 will never forget what that little boy gave to me that day．It was so much   52    a well-loved，one-eyed teddy bear．I have kept my promises to that little boy too．

A．car      B．body      C．soul    D. heart

A．sounds     B．voices     C．noises   D．accents

A．guilty        B．happy      C．sorry   D．ashamed

A．surrounded B．covered     C．wrapped   D. tied

A．shook     B．stared     C．glanced     D．smiled

A．closed     B．unlocked     C．open   D．removed

A．bed      B．chair      C．nurse   D．car

A．handed     B．reached     C．stretched   D．spread

A．harm      B．ruin      C．wound   D．hurt

A．hello      B．welcome     C．goodbye   D．wish

A．even      B．already     C．only    D．just

A．rather than    B．less than     C．more than  D．other than

A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

　　“Forty.”

　　“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

　　“Two months and five days.”

　　“Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

　　“Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”

　　Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

　　“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

　　“You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

　　“But I made a note of it.”

　　“Well... if you say so.”

　　“Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

　　Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

　　“Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

　　“Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

　　I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

　　“Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.

　　I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

　　“For the money. ”

　　“But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”

　　“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

　　“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）—to be such a fool?”

　　Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

　　I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

　　A. a protest　　　　　　　　　　　B. gratitude

　　C. obedience　　　　　　　　　　 D. an explanation

What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

　　A. nervousness in front of her boss

　　B. acceptance of injustice

　　C. shyness when talking about money

　　D. reluctance to express herself

The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

　　A. to be more aggressive

　　B. to be more careful in her work

　　C. to protect her right

　　D. to live independently

At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

　　A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

　　B. his worry about Julia’s future

　　C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

　　D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

From the story, we can tell that Julia’s employer was ________.

　　A. greedy but honest

　　B. ill - tempered but warm - hearted

　　C. strict but forgiving

　　D. none of the above

A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice. According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords (声带) can heal.

It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. “It’s a proud moment for all of us,” his wife told DNAIndia.com.

I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity. But his record–singing for 80 hours straight–is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Granted , I’m not qualified to speak on the subject. I’ve got no world records to my name– and I never expect to have any. Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley (混合曲) of pop songs.

But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure. He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades. The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake.

To all of these enterprising (有进取心的) souls I ask, simply, “What was it all for?”

Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you–with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese.

After all, records are made to be broken.

From the text, we can learn that the author         .

      A．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat

       B．feels it is a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures

       C．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless

       D．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords

Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to         .

       A．become an international celebrity

       B．know all about Guinness record

       C．practice a great deal

       D．bear great stress for fear of injury

We can infer from the article that        .

       A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak

       B．Burbure’ wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record

       C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior

       D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health

The author’s attitude to the Guinness world records mentioned in the passage is         .

       A．positive           B．impressed

       C．negative           D．touched

What is the best title for the passage?

       A．What Was the Point?

       B．Records Are Made to be Broken

       C．A New Indian Guinness Record

       D．The Guinness Book Is Boring