A girl who graduated from a world-famous university wanted to do translation work for authority leaders. She was so happy when she entered the British embassy(大使馆). She thought it was the greatest happiness in her life as many graduates wanted to get that job while she was one of the few people who got it!

But when she started her new job, she realized that it was just a job of answering calls and recording staff members’ starting and quitting times. It was unappreciated and was supposed to have no future. However, she didn’t feel sad about it. She learnt how to love the job. And she loved it when she was working. The names and phone numbers of the staff members were written down on the notebook so that she could remember them. When the phone calls came in, she picked it up as soon as possible. When someone asked her about who was not in the office, she would answer them the right name and the time when they left. Nobody could do that except her.

Her wonderful performance not only received the compliments from the embassy’s staff, but also the employees from the local government. And a leader of a famous company in Britain was also impressed by it and invited her to work for him. After that she became a personal translator of an important leader from Britain and appreciated by the foreigners.

We cannot choose our destiny(命运), but we can choose the attitude with which we face our life. Maybe the attitude could change our destiny. If we cry to life, life will be gray. If we smile to life, life will smile to us, too.

1.What was once the girl’s greatest happiness in her life?

A．Being a translator for a leader.

B．Graduating from the university.

C．Working in the British embassy.

D．Continuing her study in the university.

2.The girl was invited to work for the company mainly because of her      .

A．excellent work                         B．rich knowledge

C．friendly attitude                        D．excellent English

3.What can we know from the passage?

A．The girl was once asked to leave the British company.

B．The foreigners were impressed by her good pronunciation.

C．People in the British embassy spoke highly of the girl.

D．The girl was famous for her remembering ability.

4.The author wants to tell us that      .

A．everybody has his or her own hard times in life

B．we should take a positive attitude towards life

C．we should be ready to lend a hand to our friends

D．it is important to listen to other’s problems carefully

For Americans, a mosquito bite is an itchy bother. But for many in Africa, a tiny bite can be deadly. One million people die each year of malaria, a disease spread by infected mosquitoes. Most of these people live in Africa, and are under age 5.

Malaria can be prevented and treated. However, many African nations don't have the funds to fight it. Nothing but Nets (NBN) hopes to change that. The United Nations Foundation created the campaign in 2006. The aim is to prevent malaria by covering sleeping areas with nets. Hanging bed nets treated with insecticide(杀虫剂) is the simplest way to stop mosquitoes from biting at night. The chemicals last four to five years. For $10, anyone can send a net to Africa and help save a life.

So far, NBN has raised $19 million and delivered 700,000 nets to seven countries. Families are taught how to use the nets. Kids also get vaccines (疫苗)and vitamins. "Women line up for miles to get the medicine for their kids," says NBN director Elizabeth McKee Gore. "They understand the importance."

So do kids in this country. "They get so excited thinking of ways to raise money," says NBN spokesperson and basketball star Ruth Riley.

NBN's biggest fund-raiser is Katherine Commale, 7. She's been spreading the information about bed nets for the past two years. To show how they work, she and her brother made a video. "We teach that bed nets can save lives," she said.

Katherine has raised $42,000 for NBN. "She just wants those who need a net to have one," says her mom, Lynda. "It's pretty simple to her." To find out how you can help, visit nothingbutnets.net.

We know from the passage that NBN is in fact _________.

   A. a deadly disease                B. an organization

   C. a piece of equipment            D. a game

The purpose of the passage is most probably ___________.

   A. to list the sufferings of the African people

   B. to introduce new ways to avoid mosquito bites

   C. to call on people to offer their help to Africans

   D. to tell people how to buy nets in Africa

By saying “So do kids in this country” in Paragraph 4,the author means that kids in this country also ___________.

   A. know the importance of the bed nets

   B. know how to protect themselves

   C. lack nets to protect themselves

   D. suffer from malaria

What do we know about Katherine from the passage?

   A. She set up the website nothingbutnets.net.

   B. She is the youngest money-raiser for NBN.

   C. She raised money by making and selling videos.

   D. She started working for NBN at the age of 5.

四、阅读理解（2分×15=30分）阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。
Talk about a real-life hero! Ten-year-old Larry Champagne from St. Louis，Missouri, hit the brake (刹车) on a runaway school bus. He saved himself and 20 other kids on board from disaster.
It all happened in one terrible accident. On the way to school, the bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, suddenly fell ill. Seeing the car was running away, the other kids started to scream, but Larry ran to the front and stopped the bus.
“At first I thought, ‘We’re going to die,’” says Larry, “but after I pressed the brake, I felt safe.”
Larry’s speedy reaction made news all over the country. He appeared on TV shows as a hero. The bus company gave Larry a big gift. His school hung a medal of honor around his neck.
“My grandmother always tells me to do what’s right,” says Larry. He thanked his brother, Jerrick, 9, who “helped me get the bus driver up” during the emergency（紧急情况）. How did he know how to stop the bus? Larry is something of a mechanic（机械师）. He helps his grandfather work on his old truck. “He gets his hands dirty,” says his grandfather. One thing is for certain: Larry knows where to find the brakes.
1. What did Larry do to save the runaway bus?
A. He parked it for the sleeping bus driver. 
B. He helped all the kids climb out through the windows.
C. He dialed 911.              D. he pressed the brake.
2. When did Larry finally feel safe?
A. When the kids finally stopped screaming.        B. When the police officers arrived.
C. Once he pressed the brake, and the bus stopped.   D. When the bus driver started driving again.
3. Larry got the following as praise for his hero action Except            .
A. appearing on TV shows                         B. a scholarship from his school
C. a big gift from the bus company                    D. a medal of honor
4. Larry thanked his brother Jerrick for             .
A. helping him get the bus driver up                  B. helping him work on his old truck
C. teaching him how to find the brake         D. teaching him how to stop the bus
5. The underlined sentence“Larry is something of a mechanic” tells us that               .
A. Larry’s job is a mechanic                       B. Larry knows something about machines
C. Larry is a robot                                     D. Larry knows nothing about machines

—Does he know how to work out the problem?
—Yes, he has _______ a good idea to solve it.

Ms Tan，you've referred to your new novel as your eighth book.

That's because it took me six or seven attempts at a second novel before I started and completed this one.

●Why do you think you had so many false starts?

I would say that my reasons were wrong：I was trying to prove that I wasn't just a mother-daughter storyteller，or I was trying to prove that I didn't just have to write about things that were strictly Chinese or Chinese-American.Those were never the right reasons for writing those early stories.And I could never come up with other，better reasons for continuing them.

●What kept you going on this book?

This book was different because it was based on my mother's real life.The reason for writing it became more personal and emotional.After The Joy Luck Club came out，my mother was always explaining to people that she wasn't any of the mothers in that book.And at one point she said to me，“Next book tells my true story.”And then she started telling me things I never knew before.She also told me many，many stories，because my mother doesn't generalize.The book really grew out of that.

●Have you ever visited China?

Yes.I've been there twice：about three years ago and then again last November，both times with my mother and my husband.

●Was it difficult to capture the Chinese-American dialect without sounding like a parody(拙劣的模仿)?

No，because it's the language I've heard all my life from my mother.She speaks English as it's direct translation from Chinese.But it's more than that：Her language also has more imagery than English.

●Can you think of an example?

Somebody might say to me，“Don't work so hard.You'll kill yourself.”My mother will say to me，“Why do you press all your brains out on this page for someone else？”So it's very vivid.That's the way she talks.

●Have many readers told you that the Chinese mother in your book reminded them of the typical Jewish(有癖好的)mother?

Many people have told me that.I think the mother-daughter relationship is very intense in both cases.Culturally there is an acceptance that mothers have the power to tell their children，especially their daughters，how to conduct their lives—not simply up until the time they are 18，but for the rest of their lives.However，when children grow up in a different culture from their parents'，they tend to keep more secrets from their parents.The children think，“They just wouldn't understand that I had to do this.”And that can really create a gap，and it can grow as the number of secrets grows.

1．Based on the questions in this interview，what do you think Ms Tan's profession is?

A．A journalist.　　　　　　     B．A storywriter.

C．An interviewer.                    D．An interviewee.

2．What's TRUE about Tan's second book?

A．It's about her real life in America.

B．The name of the book is The Joy Luck Club.

C．It is the result of many times of careful thought.

D．It includes many works of her mother.

3．Which question is NOT answered in the interview?

A．How does she think of her mother's language?

B．How many books does she plan to write?

C．When did she visit China?

D．How is generation gap created?

4．The last paragraph mainly talks about ________.

A．how to keep secrets from parents

B．how to deal with the mother-daughter relationship

C．how to conduct the lives

D．how the generation gap comes about