When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, pretended（假装） not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has realized the disadvantages of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker（股票经纪人）. I said in a voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan.” And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he doesn’t send me the check. It’s already two weeks late.”
And then, in perfect English I said: “I’m getting rather anxious .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.” Then she talked more loudly. “What does he want? I’ll come to New York and say it in front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t accept any more excuses. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English. When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed (使困窘) me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is clear and direct. It was the language that helped me form the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
【小题1】Why was the author’s mother poorly treated?

A．She was unable to speak good English.

B．She was often misunderstood.

C．She was not clearly heard.

D．She was not very polite.

【小题2】From Paragraph 2, what can we know about the author?

A．She was good at pretending.

B．She was rude to the stockbroker.

C．She was ready to help her mother.

D．She was unwilling to phone for her mother.

【小题3】Even after the author made the phone call to the stockbroker,__________.

A．they forgave the stockbroker

B．they failed to get the check

C．they moved to New York immediately

D．they wrote to their boss at once

【小题4】What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

A．It’s hard for her to understand.

B．It embarrasses her.

C．It helps her understand the world.

D．It helps her forgive rude people.

Passage 4

 Mr Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."

"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn't remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.

Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.

The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, “Where is your father?” The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, “No more.”

The man was very surprised. He asked, “No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?”

"Burnt yesterday evening."

1. Mr Brown told his son that _____.

A. he would be away from home for four days

B. he would be back in seven days

C. he would be back in a month

D. he liked a cup of tea

2. Mr Brown wrote the words down on ________.

A. the wall    B. the door    C. a piece of paper    D. his son's pocket

3. A man came to visit the boy's father on ________.

A. the second day   B. the third day   C. the fourth day   D. the fifth day

4. The man was very surprised because _________.

A. he thought the child's father was dead

B. the child didn't ask him to sit down

C. the child gave him a cup of tea

D. he couldn't find that piece of paper

5.What was burnt? ___________.

A. The piece of paper B. Mr Smith C. The visitor D. The boy

 

Jess really felt very happy. When he arrived at his seat in the classroom that morning, he found an invitation（请柬）on his desk. It was from some of his classmates asking him to join their camping trip. This was the first time he was asked to join in an out-of-school activity. Why were they asking him now? Nobody seemed（似乎）to like him. In fact, he had been so lonely (孤独) that he ate a lot to make himself feel less lonely. As a result, he had put on a lot of weight, and this gave the children something more to make fun of him.
Cindy, who was standing near Jess when he read the invitation, went out quickly to tell the others that the trick had worked. Everyone was happy that Jess thought that was true. But there was no camping trip. The whole thing was made up.
At first, Cindy thought it was fun. But later, when Jess told her that he was going to buy a sleeping bag with his pocket money, Cindy had a second idea. She knew that Jess’s family had little money, and she hated to see him spend his pocket money on something he would never use. Cindy also hated to tell Jess the truth (真相). Her close friends would be unhappy with her.
What could she do now?
【小题1】What would happen if Cindy told Jess the truth?

A．Jess would go on the camping trip himself.	B．Jess’s family would be unhappy with Cindy.
C．Cindy might have trouble with her friends.	D．Jess would be grateful to his classmates.

【小题2】If Jess really bought a sleeping bag, _________.

A．everyone else would also buy one	B．He would have it for no use
C．Cindy would pay for it	D．it would be the best in the class

【小题3】From the story we know _________.

A．everybody would go camping in the class	B．Jess had no friends in the class
C．everybody liked Jess in his class	D．Jess joined in many out-of-school activities

【小题4】Which is the best title for this passage?

A．Jess and His School	B．Jess and His Friends
C．An Invitation for Jess	D．Jess and His Camping Trip

My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.

Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n)   1   from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.

The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many   2   were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this   3  , the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.

I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to   4   the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I   5   my biggest weakness: public speaking.

After I finished, I met with the chairman and   6   what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very   7  . He suggested that I should come again the next week.

I   8   a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I   9   I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.

For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.    

I learned that everything is   10   if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.

1.                A．letter          B．call            C．card D．email

 

2.                A．topics          B．regrets         C．thoughts D．words

 

3.                A．man           B．group          C．stage D．chance

 

4.                A．read           B．spell           C．see  D．recite

 

5.                A．had            B．forgot          C．realized  D．improved

 

6.                A．asked          B．checked        C．explained D．wondered

 

7.                A．useful          B．successful       C．difficult   D．common

 

8.                A．wrote          B．prepared        C．gave D．finished

 

9.                A．knew          B．felt            C．believed  D．hoped

 

10.               A．easy           B．great          C．helpful    D．possible

 

 

At midnight Mr. King coughed again. He got up and took some medicine. Before he lay down again, he smoked. And he couldn’t go to sleep any longer. He found the medicine book and began to read it. He was afraid he had lung cancer. He seemed to see death was waiting for him. Tears(眼泪) ran down his face. He didn’t see his wife was standing by him.

“What’s wrong with you, dear?” asked the woman.

“Nothing,” the old man answered and covered his face with his hands.

The old woman opened the book and understood at once. She said, “You must stop smoking right now.”

“I began to smoke when I was nine, you know. How can’t I do that?”

“But I think health is more important.”

Mr. King coughed again and his wife said, “Go to see a doctor tomorrow. He will be able to help you, I think.”

The doctor told Mr. King to have an Xray examination of his lungs. And then he looked at the Xray carefully for a long time.

“Tell me the truth, doctor.”said Mr.King, “Do you see any shadows(阴影)in my lungs?”

“No, I don’t see anything.”

“Yes?” the old man said happily. “Really?”

“Yes. Your lungs are turning black. How can I see any shadows?”

1.Mr.King got up to      .

A. smoke again

B. talk with his wife

C. read the medicine book

D. take some medicine

2.Mr. King coughed because      .

A. he couldn’t go to sleep

B. he was afraid to die

C. he smoked too much

D. he was too old

3.     , so tears ran down his face.

A. Mr. King thought he had lung cancer

B. Mr. King couldn’t understand the book

C. Mr. King was too sad to go to sleep

D. The doctors refused to help Mr. King

4.The doctor told Mr. King to have an Xray examination because      .

A. he was sure the man would die soon

B. he wanted the man to stop smoking right now

C. he wanted to know if there was something wrong with his lungs

D. he was sure the man would soon be all right

5.Which of the following is true?

A. There was nothing serious with Mr. King.

B. Smoking too much caused Mr. King’s lungs to turn black.

C. The doctor found some shadows in Mr. King’s lungs.

D. Mr. King decided to stop smoking at once.