Midas was a powerful king, both rich and greedy. Once he did a great favor for Bacchus, the god of wine. Bacchus offered Midas his choice of a reward. Midas answered at once. He asked that whatever he touched be turned into gold. Bacchus agreed, though he was sorry that Midas had not made a wiser choice.
Midas was eager to put his newly gained power to the test. He pulled a branch from a tree. The branch became gold in his hand. He picked up a stone; it turned to gold. He touched the grass, it, too, turned to gold.
Midas was overjoyed. Returning home, he ordered his servants to prepare a magnificent meal. But when he picked up some bread, it turned to gold. He lifted a glass of wine to his lips. But before he could taste it, it turned to gold.
Midas wished to free himself of his power. He hated the gift he had so recently hoped for. He raised his arms and begged and prayed for Bacchus to take away his deadly gift.
Bacchus showed pity. “Go,” he said. “to the River  Pactolus. There dip yourself in. Wash away your greed and its punishment. ”Midas did so. Hardly had he touched the waters, before the gold-making powers passed into them. The river sands changed into gold. And they remain golden to this day

1. 1.

   What is the moral of this story?

   1. A.
      There is more to life than riches
   2. B.
      Gold is more important than food
   3. C.
      You can’t trust your friends
   4. D.
      You must make a wiser choice
2. 2.

   When everything he touched turned to gold, Midas felt ______

   1. A.
      happy and joyful
   2. B.
      sad and disappointed
   3. C.
      excited and angry
   4. D.
      powerful and satisfied
3. 3.

   What was Midas’ wish after he could have nothing to eat?

   1. A.
      To have a big meal
   2. B.
      To gain power to turn things to gold
   3. C.
      To have his power taken away
   4. D.
      To wash himself in the water
4. 4.

   Today when we say that a person has the “Midas Touch”, we mean that ______

   1. A.
      the person is very poor
   2. B.
      gold is the most important thing to that person
   3. C.
      everything that the person does makes money
   4. D.
      the person has the power to do everything

(陕西)Brave Frenchman Found Half?way Around the World

(NEW YORK)A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two?year?old girl in Manhattan said he didn't think twice before diving into the freezing East River.

　 Tuesday's Daily News said 29?year?old Julien Duret from France is the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.

　 He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum.He handed the girl to her father，David Anderson，who had dived in after him.

　 “I didn't think at all，”Duret told the Daily News.“It happened very fast.I reacted very fast.”

Duret，an engineer on vacation，was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头)when he saw something falling into the water.He thought it was a doll，but realized it was a child when he approached the river.In an instant，he took off his coat and jumped into the water.

　 When he reached the girl，she appeared lifeless，he said.Fortunately，when she was out of the water，she opened her eyes.

　 Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera.An ambulance came later for her，said Duret，who was handed dry clothes from onlookers.Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.

The rescue happened on the day before he left for France.Duret said he didn't realize his tale of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.

　 “I don't really think I'm a hero，”said Duret.“Anyone would do the same thing.”

67．Why was Duret in New York?

A．To meet his girlfriend.

B．To work as an engineer.

C．To spend his holiday.

D．To visit the Andersons.

68．What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?

A．He was interviewed by a newspaper.

B．He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes.

C．He went to the hospital in the ambulance.

D．He disappeared from the spot quickly.

69．Who dived after Duret into the river to save the little girl?

A．David Anderson. B．A passer?by.

C．His girlfriend. 　　　 D．A taxi driver.

70．When was Duret most probably found to be the very hero?

A．The day when he was leaving for home.

B．A couple of days after the girl was rescued.

C．The first day when he was in New York.

D．The same day when he was interviewed.

Many years ago there lived a young couple in a small town. The husband was out of job for a long time and the wife   36 make a living by sewing for others. They were so poor that there was almost nothing in the house but a jar under a  37 table, in  38 was a little rice  39 from their neighbor for the coming New Year. 40 New Year’s Eve, the wife had already fallen asleep, but the husband was  41  in bed, worrying about the life. Suddenly he heard something. In the darkness he saw a man breaking into the room.

“It  42   be a thief.” He thought, “but it  43   matter, there is nothing that can be 44 .” So he  45  to be asleep and kept watching over the thief.

The thief began to 46 the room. At last he found the rice in the jar.

“But  47 can I take it away?” the thief thought hard. Then he had an idea. He 48 his coat and spread it on the ground between the bed and the table. After that he turned round to take the jar.

Now the husband realized what the thief 49 . He picked up the coat quickly and 50 himself with it while the thief was turning around.

The thief 51 the jar, poured the rice out on the place where he had just spread his coat and squatted (蹲) down to feel it. But to his surprise, his coat had  52  .

“Hey”, he couldn’t help 53  out. The   54  woke up the wife. She asked her husband, “Did you hear any sound? Maybe there is a thief in the room.”

“ Nonsense(胡说)!” replied her husband. “Go back to sleep. There is no thief in the room.”

“No, that’s   55  ,” the thief shouted loudly. “If there isn’t a thief, then, where’s my coat?”

1.                A．was able to      B．wanted to       C．had to    D．would

2.                A．good           B．old            C．nice D．broken

3.                A．it              B．which          C．where    D．that

4.                A．borrowed       B．asked          C．lent  D．taken

5.                A．During         B．At             C．In   D．On

6.                A．working        B．sewing         C．lying D．thinking

7.                A．will            B．must           C．can  D．may

8.                A．isn’t          B．wasn’t        C．doesn’t D．didn’t

9.                A．lost            B．carried         C．destroyed D．stolen

10.               A．pretended      B．tried           C．decided   D．started

11.               A．look into        B．search         C．discover   D．examine

12.               A．what           B．when          C．why  D．how

13.               A．used           B．took off        C．put on D．brought

14.               A．had done       B．did            C．would do  D．could do

15.               A．hung          B．covered        C．studied    D．dressed

16.               A．shook          B．laid            C．lifted D．touched

17.               A．lost            B．missed         C．left   D．disappeared

18.               A．to cry          B．crying          C．to jump   D．jumping

19.               A．sound          B．voice          C．noise D．saying

20.               A．right           B．all right         C．nothing   D．impossible

About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.

He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and—WHUMP! —it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, “What was that all about and who are you? That’s my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it? ”

“Please, mister, please. . . I’m sorry!  I didn’t know what else to do! ” begged the youngster. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop! ” Tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother, mister” he said. “He rolled off the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. ”Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman, “ Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me. ”

Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the black, shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE—a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.

1.The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because _____ .

A．the businessman drove at a high speed

B．he envied the brand-new car very much

C．he wanted to get help from the driver

D．he wanted to ask for some money

2.Which of the following is the right order of the story?

a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car.

b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.

c. The younger brother begged Josh for help.

d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair.

e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.

A．a, c, b, e, d                            B．a, c, d, b, e

C．b, a, c, e, d                             D．b, a, e, c, d

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Josh would accept the money from the kids.

B．Josh was a kind-hearted man

C．The two kids were Josh’s neighbors.

D．Josh’s new car broke down easily.

4.According to the passage, the last sentence means _____ .

A．trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble

B．driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous

C．trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life

D．protecting oneself from being hurt