A

Gladys Holm was a secretary(秘书). She worked in an office all his life. Gladys made about $15,000 a year. She died when she was 86 years old. And she left a big surprise—$18 million! She gave the money to a children’s hospital.

Gladys Holm never got married or had any children. But she always liked children, and she wanted to help them. When her friend’s daughter was ill in hospital. Gladys brought her a toy bear. After that, she visited the hospital many times. Every time she visited, she brought toy bears for those children. After that, people started to call Gladys the “Toy bear Lady.”

Gladys always gave toys and presents to her friends and family but no one knew she had a lot of money. She lived in a small house outside Chicago. Everyone was very surprised when they learned she was a millionaire. A family friend said, “She always gave us nice presents and things, but we didn’t know she was rich.”

How did Gladys get so much money? She asked her boss how to make more money, and she listened to what he said. She brought the stocks(股票) that he told her to buy, and she got very rich. Before she died, she talked to her friends about “giving something to the children’s hospital.” No one knew that the “something” was $18 million!

1. Gladys Holm often visited the hospital and gave children toy bears because______.

A. she had too much money B. she had a lot of toy bears

C. she had never got married and had no children D. she liked children very much

2. People started to call Gladys the “Toy Bear Lady”_______.

A. after she visited the children in hospital many times B. after she died

C. before her friend’s daughter was ill B. before she worked with his boss

3. Everyone was surprised that________.

A. Gladys lived such a long life B. Gladys lived in a small house outside Chicago

C. Gladys had so much money D. Gladys always gave her friends nice presents

4. ________, so she got rich.

A. Gladys made $15,000 a year as a secretary B. Gladys did what the boss told her to do

C. Gladys got the money from the boss D. Gladys did another job in the hospital

5. When Gladys Holm became a millionaire,________.

A. she spent most of the money on nice presents and things B. she stopped working

C. she still lived in the same way D. she could hardly wait to tell her friends and family

B

In 1638, John Harvard donated some money and about four hundred books to a new university. This was the beginning of the library at Harvard University. The gift was so important that the university was named for John Harvard.

Thomas Bray began the first free lending library in the late 1600s. He set up more than 30 or these libraries in the American colonies. However, the idea for this kind of free library ended when Bray died in 1730. In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and some friends started the first subscription library in the United States. In a subscription library people pay money to become members, but they may borrow the books without paying again.

In the United States, every child had a free education. This idea soon led to free libraries. One of the first libraries that used tax money to buy books was a library in Peterborough, New Hampshire. This library was set up in 1833.

6.The main idea of paragraph 2 is________.

A.      Franklin started the first subscription library

B.      in a subscription library people pay money to become members

C.      Bray and Franklin were important in the history of public libraries

D.     Bray died in 1730 and Franklin died in 1833

7.The underlined word “borrow” means_______.

A.      read and write with no help from another person

B.      use for a short time and then return

C.      like very much

D.     lend

8.The reading does not say it, but we can guess that_______.

A.      there were free schools in the United States before there were free libraries

B.      free schools and free libraries in the United States began at about the same time

C.      the library in New Hampshire also had a free school in it

D.     there were free libraries in the United States before there were free schools

9.Havard University began_______.

A. in 1731 B. in 1730 C. in 1833 D. in 1638

10.At the library that Franklin started, ________.

A.      children could use books for no money at all

B.      people paid a little money in the beginning but none after that

C.      people paid a lot of money in the beginning but none after that

D.     both A and B

One summer evening as I was cooking dinner, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and saw an old man. But his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I come to see if you have a room for just one night. I live far away from here, and there's no bus till next morning. ”

I told him we would find him a bed, but it was not comfortable. I went inside and cooked dinner. When we were ready, I asked him if he would like to join us. “No, thank you. I have plenty.” When I had finished the dinner, I went out to talk with him. He told me he fished for a living to help his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was ill and too weak to do anything.

At bedtime, we put a bed in the children's room for him. On his next trip, as a gift, he brought a big fish and some fresh vegetables. In the years he came to stay overnight with us, and there was never a time he did not bring us some fish or vegetables from his garden.

 I know it was thankful for our family to know him, from whom we learn what was to accept the bad without a complaint(抱怨) and the good with thanks.

1Why did the old man go to the writer's house?

A. To give a fish to the writer.                   B. To stay for the night.

C. To sell some fish.                             D. To ask for some money.

2 How many people were there in the old man's daughter's family?

A. Two.           B. Four.                 C. Six.           D. Seven.

3 Which of the following is true?

 A. The old man stayed for the night with the writer only once.

 B. The old man came to the writer's house to ask for some food.

 C. The old man came to stay with the writer for the night many times.

 D. The old man felt lonely because he had no son or daughter.

British people are famous for drinking tea. But brother and sister, Sarah and Bobby Green, became young millionaires(百万富翁) when they opened a chain of American-style coffee shops in the UK.

Having the idea: It started when Sarah took a weekend trip to New York to visit her brother Bobby. One evening, in a Thai restaurant, Sarah told Bobby how much she wished she could buy American-style coffee in London. Bobby suggested they started their own coffee shop. Sarah fell in love with the idea.

Doing the research: Back in London, she spent a whole day on the London subway, getting off the train at different stations to taste the coffee. “It was terrible, and I knew there was a gap (空缺) in the market.” In 1995, they opened their first Coffee Republic shop in the center of London.

Making it work: The first year was very difficult. British people were not used to the names of American coffees, like latte and macchiato. But being successful was their dream and they were not going to give up. Today, there are over 100 Coffee Republic shops all over the country and the company has ￡30 million a year.

Advice for others: Sarah has now written a best-selling book about their experience, called Anyone Can Do It! She hopes it will help other young people to start their own businesses. She says, “If you think you have the energy, then get out and follow your dream.”

4What kind of company do they run?

A. A fast-food restaurant.                                B. A tea shop.   

C. A coffee shop.                       D. A big hotel.

5 Where are their Coffee Republic shops?

A. All over the UK.                        B. All over the US.

C. In the center of London.                D. In New York.

6Which information is mentioned in the passage?

A. Sarah was not interested in Bobby’s idea.

 B. British people never drank coffee before 1995.

 C. Sarah’s best-selling book is about how to make coffee.

 D. Sarah found a business chance while doing the research.

Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1,500 B. C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed.

  Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain(脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person's hands and eyes work together, controls(控制) the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(伤害) when they are born. However, this doesn't happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因)for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-handed or left-handed according (根据)to the chance and the people they work or live with.

  Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don't have to.

7 After studying works of art made at different times in history, the scientists

found ____________.

A. the art began from 1,500 B. C.

B. the works of art ended in the 1950s

C. most people shown in the works of art are right-handed

D. most people shown in the works of art are left-handed

8 How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A. Less than one sixth.                 B. More than a half.

C. About 40%.                             D. The passage doesn't tell us.

9 According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed.

B. Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed.

C. Today children are not made to use their right hands only.

D. Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness.

10 What is the best title for this passage?

A. Left-handed People                           B. Scientists' New Inventions

 C. Which Hand                         D. Different Brains, Different Hands