When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings.

Week by week her list grew: I was very thin; I wasn’t a good student; I talked too much; I was too proud and so on.. I tried to bear all these all these things as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, then he asked, “Are the things she said true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you are really like? Well, you now have the girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half of the things were true.

some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it, “That’s just for you,” he said. “ You know better than anyone else, the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just closing your ears anger and feeling hurt . When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to other people’s opinions, but hear the truth and do you know is right thing to do.”

Daddy’s advice returned to me at many important moments. IN my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A Not an Enemy, but a Best Friend

B The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C My Father

D My Childhood

What does “ week by week her list grew” mean?

A Week by Week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

B She had made a list of shortcomings and kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and point them out.

Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A Because he believed that what her daughter’s enemy said was mostly true.

B Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

What did the father do after he heard his daughter’s complaint?

A He told her not pay any attention to what her “enemy” said

B He criticized her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

A father sat at his desk poring over his monthly bills when his young son rushed in and announced, "Dad, because this is your birthday and you're 40 years old, I'm going to give you 40 kisses, one for each year!" When the boy started making good on his word, the father cried out suddenly, "Oh, Andrew, don't do it now; I'm too busy!"

The youngster immediately fell silent as tears welled up in his big blue eyes．Apologicaliy the father said, "You can finish later．"

The boy said nothing but quietly walked away, disappointment written over his face．That evening the father said, "Come and finish the kisses now, Andrew!" But the boy didn't respond．

Unfortunately, a few days later after this incident, the boy had an accident and was drowned．His heartbroken father wrote．．．

"If only I could tell him how much I regret my thoughtless words, and could be sure that he knows how much my heart is aching．"

Love is not only giving．Any loving act must be warmly accepted or it will be taken as rejection and can leave a scar．If we are too busy to give and receive love, we are too busy! Nothing is more important than responding with love to the cry for love from those who are near and precious to us, because there may be no chance at all as in the case of the little boy．

What does the underlined phrase "poring over" mean?

       A．looking in on                       B．looking out for

       C．looking through                     D．looking around

The boy is going to give his father 40 kisses because ______．

       A．his father is very busy

       B．this is the boy' birthday

       C．the boy wants to play with his father

       D．this is his father' birthday and he's 40 years old

What happened to the youngster later?

       A．His heart was broken．            B．．He died unexpectedly．

       C．He ran away from home．        D．He fell silent all the time．

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

       A．A Love Story                    B．Love Your Son

       C．A Father and a Son                D．Love is a Two-way Street

A young executive was traveling down a neighborhood street．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 children appeared．Instead，a brick smashed into his door! He slammed on the brakes(make his car stop)．The angry driver then jumped out of the car, caught the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car，shouting，“What was that all about and who are you?”

The young boy was apologetic．“Please，Mister．．．Please，I’m sorry…I didn’t know what else to do．I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”

With tears dripping down his face，the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car．“It’s my brother，”he said．“He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up．”

    Now sobbing(crying silently)，the boy asked the executive，“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 driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat．He hurriedly lifted the boy back into the wheelchair，then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed(a light touch) at the fresh scrapes and cuts．A quick look told him everything was going to be okay．“Thank you and may God bless you．”the grateful child told the stranger．

Shaken up for words，the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair—bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home．

   God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts．Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen，he has to throw a brick at us．Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

The executive slowed down because______.        .

A．he saw a boy throw a brick to his car         B．he saw a boy rush out from between cars

C．he was afraid some boys suddenly rushed out  D．a brick smashed into his door

The boy threw the brick to the car in order to_________.

A. disturb the driver on purpose    B．destroy the car of the stranger

C．ask someone to drive him home D．stop someone to help him

Knowing the reason why the boy threw the brick at his car the executive must feel       .

A．sympathized and excited   B．regretful and sympathized

C．ashamed and regretful     D．angry and regretful

After the boy’s brother feIl off his wheelchair,        .

A．the boy threw bricks at several cars  B．the boy tried to stop several cars

C．the boy’s brother was hurt seriously  D．the boy’s brother wanted to stop a car

From the last paragraph we can learn that         .

A．you shouldn’t drive so fast that someone throws at you

B．it is common to throw a brick at a car running too fast

C．you can’t go through your life without a brick throwing at you

D．you should pay more attention to others and help them

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火红的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”

She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on: it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.

    She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said: “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas (睡衣).

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”

The writer describes the beautiful sunset to show Jennifer’s ______.

   A. love of the natural beauty               B. desire of getting back home         

C. intention of becoming independent        D. depression of being alone

What does the underlined phrase “This thought” most probably mean?

A. The idea of going back home.            

B. Her anxiety about her parents.

C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater.

D. The feeling of getting back home safely.

Her father didn’t take care of the garden because ______.

   A. he was busy looking for her

B. he had to look after his wife

C. he was not strict with his job

D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden

What can we infer from this passage?

A. In fact Jennifer’s mother had been sick for several days.

B. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong.

C. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.

D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her.

When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings.

Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A. Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend   B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C. My Father                      D. My Childhood

What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B. She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C. I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D. Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C. Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said.

B. He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C. He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D. He refused to take the list and have a look at it.