“Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. There was full of thick smoke.

I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.

I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly.

She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby.

1.When the fire arose in the middle of the night, the author was _______.

A．at home          B．sleeping           C．sitting in bed       D．both A and B

2.The author saved the baby _____.

A．because he was very brave.               B．because he liked the baby very much.

C．but he just happened to save it.             D．because it was the Mayor’s baby.

3.He ran in the wrong direction because he _______.

A．was a stranger there                     B．could see nothing

C．was not completely awake                 D．Both A and C

4.He put the bundle over his face and ran in order to ______.

A．save the baby      B．call for help        C．protect his face     D．run quickly

5.Form which group of words, we can learn the fire took place out of people’s surprise?______

A．old and wooden house, a bundle           B．crashed to, fell down

C．terrible, half-awake                      D．bare feet, a borrowed man’s coat

 

Most British parents give their teenagers pocket money．Teenagers get between￡7 and￡20 a week．They spend it on fast food，designed clothes，the cinema，concert，magazines and mobile phones．

    1)Lazy parents?

    37％of parents pay teenagers to clean the living room，66％of parents pay teenagers to take the rubbish out．

    2)Lazy teens?

    51％of teenagers don’t make their beds before they leave home．

    Only 1 3％of teenagers wash the car for money．

    Some parents even pay their teenagers to do their homework．

    3)Equality?Not Yet!

    Boys get more money than girls for most odd jobs．

    For washing the dishes，boys get about￡4 and girls get about￡1．

    4)And if you need some more money?

    Teens get an extra￡250 a year out of their parents on top of pocket money!

    About 50％of teens get gifts or money from their grandparents．

    Go to Mum if you need extra money! She gives more than Dad．

    5)Where you live makes a difference!

    Parents in Scotland and the North of England give more pocket money．

    6)Spending

    51％of teenagers spend their money on clothes．

    39％of teenagers buy cosmetics(装饰品)，jewellery and toiletries(洗漱用品)．

    Less than 30％of teenagers save any money．

    7)Earnings

    Here are some children who tell us about their pocket money：

    Emma：I get￡30 a month．I have to take the rubbish out and tidy my room．

    James：I get￡10 a week．But I have to clean the car，hoover(用真空洗尘器清洗)the house and load and unload the dishwasher．I usually save the money．

    Lain：I get￡7．50 a week．I have to be“good”but I don’t have to do any jobs for the money．

    Richard；I get￡5 a week．But our neighbors go away a lot and they give me￡25 a week for looking after their cats．

1.This passage is mainly about        ．

    A．teenagers everywhere get pocket money

    B．how to spend pocket money

    C．some bits about pocket money in Britain

D．how to get pocket money

2.According to the passage，which statement is true?

    A．Parents are lazy so they let children do housework．

    B．Teens are too lazy to do housework unless they are given pocket money．

    C．The pocket money boys and girls get is not equal．

    D．It is not right for children to ask for pocket money．

3.We can infer from the passage that      ．

    A．boys earn more money at home than girls

    B．girls earn more money at home than boys

    C．only rich parents give children pocket money

    D．most children spend their pocket money

4.Who most probably gets the most money for a whole year according to the passage?

A．Emma    B．J ames    C．Lain   D．Richard

 

By May，after three months，I had lost22pounds and reached my goal of 115 pounds．My friends would say “Alice，you look great！”or“How did you lose so much weight？”Those compliments made me feel good and confident．
Soon I dropped to110 pounds．A few of my friends told me that I needed to stop dieting，because I was starting to look sick. They brought me a present—— a bag of chocolates，which I later gave to my sister．My mother would come to my room，with tears in her eyes，and have long chats about how harmful this diet was and begged me to stop．My dad would leave worried messages on my cell phone at school，telling me that it would do serious harm to my body．
By mid-June，when school was coming to an end，I was down to an only alive state of 95 pounds．All of a sudden，I knew I had to do something．I guessed the number itself scared me．I recalled my doctor．He told me about a girl who was 95 pounds and was at the risk of dying．I knew I was putting my life at risk，but for what？ To make those who love me worried？ Was it worthwhile to be thin？
Now I realize that models in magazines，TV and movies are not realistic．The price to pay for the“perfect body”is living with a dangerous and sometimes deadly eating disorder．And there are more important things to think about than how thin you are．
【小题1】The underlined word“compliments”in Paragraph I probably means_____.

A．questions

B．praise

C．understanding

D．experiences

【小题2】Why did the author's mother come to her room in tears？

A．Because the mother was worried about her daughter's health．

B．Because the mother thought her daughter was brave enough．

C．Because the mother was sorry to have helped her daughter go on a diet．

D．Because the mother was deeply moved by her daughter's friends．

【小题3】The author decided to stop dieting_______．

A．after her parents persuaded her out of it

B．when her weight dropped to 95 pounds

C．after she reached her goal of losing weight

D．after her friends told her to stop dieting

【小题4】From the text we learn that _________.

A．there are no models with a perfect body in real life

B．it is too expensive for people to lose weight

C．you will be healthy as long as you stop dieting

D．an unhealthy diet can lead to serious health problems

Every night, my mother would come to my room, lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead．

I don't remember when it first started     me --her hands pushing my hair that way. But it did make me annoyed, for they felt work - worn and     against my young skin．Finally, one night, I shouted at her: “Don' t do that any more --your       are too rough！” She didn’t say anything in    ．But never again did my mother close out my day with that     expression of her love．

Time after time, with the     years, my thoughts returned to that night．I'm not a little girl any more．Mom is in her mid - seventies, and those hands I     thought to be so rough are still doing things for me and my         

Now, my own children are   . Mom no longer has Dad. It was late on that Thanksgiving Eve, as I went to sleep in the bedroom of my youth, a familiar hand     before stealing across my face to brush the     from my forehead. Then a kiss, ever so      touched my brow．In my    , thousands of times, I     the night my young voice complained.     Mom's hand in my hand, I said how     I was for that night. I thought she'd remember, as I did,     Mom didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten — and      —long ago.

That night, I fell asleep with a new     for my gentle mother and her caring hands. And the     I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found．

1.A. surprising            B. hurting           C. annoying                 D. amazing

2.A. rough              B. gentle                   C. smooth                 D. strong

3.A. noises             B. words                    C. feelings                D. hands

4.A. anger               B. silence                  C. reply                     D. fear

5.A. healthy             B. familiar               C. popular                D. perfect

6.A. coming             B. remaining    C. following     D. passing

7.A. often                 B. even             C. never                 D. once

8.A. family                 B. neighbor             C. husband              D. home

9.A. developed      B. grown                    C. moved               D. forgotten

10.A. imagined                  B. hesitated              C. regretted            D. trembled

11.A. hair                           B. tears                     C. dirt           D. kisses

12.A. quickly                     B. roughly                 C. gently                    D. slowly

13.A. memory         B. opinion                 C. history                  D. diary

14.A. chanced                  B. missed                   C. hated                     D. recalled

15.A. Beating                    B. Picking                  C. Catching                D. Stopping

16.A. happy             B. sorry            C. annoyed     D. amused

17.A. and                           B. while                      C. because                D. but

18.A. remembered          B. faded                       C. forgiven             D. apologized

19.A. hope               B. appreciation        C. thought              D. approval

20.A. guilt                 B. pride            C. sorrow                D. Failure

 

As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his oldest son   36   a severe stomachache and died suddenly. To make matters worse, his wife left him a short time later,   37   him alone with his six-year- old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were _ 38 _ Al could handle, and he _ 39   to alcohol. Al began to lose everything he possessed---his home, his land, his art objects, everything.   40   he died alone in a San Francisco motel room.

When I heard of Al’s death, I reacted with the same disdain（蔑视）the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing   41 _ left. “What a complete failure!” I thought. “What a totally   42__   life!”

As time went by, I began to re-evaluate my earlier _ 43   judgment. You see, I knew Al’s now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most   44   most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free   45   of the love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had to come   46   somewhere.

I hadn’t heard Ernie talk much about his father. It is so hard to   47   an alcoholic. One day I get up my   48   to ask him. “I’m really puzzled by something,” I said. “I know your father was basically the only one to   49   you.   50   on earth did he do that you became such a special person?

Ernie sat _ 51 _ and thought for a few moments. Then he said, “From my  _52    memories as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a __53   and said, “I love you, son.”

Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to   54   Al as a failure. He had not left any material possession behind,   55   he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.

1.A. obtained         B. developed      C. cured            D. recovered

2. A. taking          B. locking            C. finding      D. leaving

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

4. A. got             B. turned         C. loved            D. changed

5.A. Luckily          B. Suddenly          C. Eventually       D. Jokingly

6. A. material        B. expensive      C. real         D. special

7.A. happy            B. thoughtful     C. deserted     D. wasted

8.A. angry            B. sharp          C. actual           D. proper

9.A. handsome         B. rich             C. caring            D. ordinary

10.A. flow            B. rise              C. fly               D. move

11.A. out             B. from           C. up           D. down

12.A. defend          B. become        C. discuss           D. argue

13.A. confidence          B. courage           C. belief            D. strength

14. A. feed           B. love              C. care          D. raise

15.A. How                 B. What              C. Why           D. Which

16. A. angrily      B. comfortably         C. quietly          D. excitedly

17.A. earliest      B. nearest         C. best         D. hardest

18.A. pat           B. lesson          C. kiss         D. present

19.A. judge     B. say             C. remember     D. respect

20.A. so            B. and             C. but          D. or