My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent(缺席) 95 times from classes and has six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate(毕业), I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged(乞求) him. Nothing worked.

One night o felt so powerless that I got down on my knees(膝盖) and pleaded(恳求) for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope(绳子). I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

  I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. “For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.

Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll .In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1. Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “withdrawn”?

A. Quiet and lonely.                                         B. Relaxed and excited.

C. Active and lively.                                          D. Happy and easy-going.

2.When the mother said “It’s out of my hands” to the headmaster, she meant that she ______.

A. didn’t know what to do about her son       

B. would drive her son away from the house

C. had no money to support the family               

D. would have to hang up

3.Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

A. The headmaster                                          B. The school adviser

C. Karl himself                                       D. The passage doesn’t tell us

4.From the passage we can learn that ______.

A. children in single-parent families always have mental problems

B. mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life

C. parents should give their children everything that they need

D. school education still works well without the support from parents

 

As a girl, I've spent a great deal of my time on earth concerned about my weight. So I do know something about exercise. Let me tell you about the calorie-burning activities I've tried or will try.
Salsa (萨尔萨舞)
I try to maintain my weight through dancing. Dancing improves my coordination and sense of rhythm in addition to burning calories. I'm personally interested in salsa, which I find sexy and expressive(有表现力的). But I have not yet to start classes, because classes are very expensive, and I cannot find a dance partner.
Ping-Pong
Ping-pong is the national sport of China, so how could I know nothing about it?
My father is a ping-pong fan, and a really good player. He's won several informal (非正式的) matches. My relationship with ping-pong has always been on-and-off. I'll get into it for a while, and then lose interest. The reason is because I can’t find a good partner. Some stronger can depress you, while someone weaker (or just as weak) can make the game boring.
Tae Kwon Do （跆拳道）
I've recently decided to try tae kwon do as my regular exercise activity. There’s a story behind this choice: A few weeks ago, I was sitting on a bus, concentrating on a book. Suddenly, the bus became very quiet except for the sound of a woman’s crying. I looked up to see what had happened and overheard whispers that she had just quarreled with a man, and the man slapped(拍打) her face. No one on the bus dared say anything because the man looked really strong. Even now I feel ashamed I was among the silent.
That’s why I've made up my mind to learn something that will help me protect others and myself.
【小题1】We can guess that the girl is _____ according to the passage.

A．too thin

B．a little fat

C．careful

D．brave

【小题2】Why doesn’t the girl want to go to learn salsa?

A．The dance is too difficult to learn.

B．Nobody wants to dance with her.

C．She has no time to join the classes.

D．She finds it sexy and expressive.

【小题3】She is interested in ping-pong because ________.

A．she can play it well

B．it is the national sport

C．her father plays it well

D．she finds a good partner

【小题4】She has made up her mind to learn Tae Kwon Do mainly because______.

A．she wants to lose weight

B．she wants to protect others and herself

C．she wants to win some matches

D．she wants to beat a strong man

【小题5】We can learn from the passage that________.

A．the girl has learnt salsa for a long time

B．the girl has played ping-pong many times

C．the girl was brave enough to beat the man

D．she has learnt tae kwon do well

My teenage son Karl became withdraw after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent(缺席) 95 times from classes and has six falling grades for the year. At this rate he would never graduate(毕业), I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged(乞求) him. Nothing worked.
One night o felt so powerless that I got down on my knees(膝盖) and pleaded(恳求) for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope(绳子). I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. “For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he even made the honor roll .In his fourth year, I attended a parent-teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
【小题1】 Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “withdrawn”?

A．Quiet and lonely.	B．Relaxed and excited.
C．Active and lively.	D．Happy and easy-going.

【小题2】When the mother said “It’s out of my hands” to the headmaster, she meant that she ______.

A．didn’t know what to do about her son

B．would drive her son away from the house

C．had no money to support the family

D．would have to hang up

【小题3】Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

A．The headmaster	B．The school adviser
C．Karl himself	D．The passage doesn’t tell us

【小题4】From the passage we can learn that ______.

A．children in single-parent families always have mental problems

B．mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life

C．parents should give their children everything that they need

D．school education still works well without the support from parents

“I believe you’re the right person to write an advice column (专栏) for the students called Dear Amy!” Jenny, editor of the school newspaper, said to Andy, who finally agreed to accept the job if Jenny promised not to tell it to anyone else.

At first it wasn’t too bad. Most of the letters he received were interesting and quite easy to answer. Then came a letter from a person named Joe.

“Dear Amy,” it began, “I’m in real trouble. I’ve wanted to be a songwriter all my life, but my parents don’t even let me take music lessons. I have a guitar, but they both get angry if I play. I’ve tried explaining, but they didn’t listen. I feel sad. Should I run away from home? Maybe that will make my parents agree.” The letter signed “Joe”.

Andy thought about this letter for a long time. Should he advise someone to run away from home? Probably not. But didn’t Joe have a right to be a songwriter if he wanted to? Andy thought hard, but couldn’t think out a good answer. Andy couldn’t sleep. He just worried about poor Joe.

At a bar a few days later, Eleanor, a girl in Andy’s maths class, sat down next to him and asked, “ What’s wrong with you? You look a little worried.”

“I guess I do,” said Andy.

“If you get a problem, why don’t you try writing to Dear Amy about it?” asked Eleanor.

Andy sighed. But Eleanor continued, “In fact, I guess Dear Amy is rather busy with other problems. She still hasn’t answered the phony letter I wrote her last week. You’d better read it — it may even make the most hard-hearted person cry! It was supposed to be from a songwriter named Joe.”

1.Andy might be ______.

A．an editor of the school newspaper

B．a songwriter

C．a maths teacher

D．a doctor in the school

2.It’s clear that Dear Amy ______.

A．helps students who want to run away from home

B．answers letters from the students

C．writes songs for the students

D．meets readers at a bar

3.It seemed to be easy for Andy to do the job until _____.

A．he changed his name

B．he received a letter signed “Joe”

C．he met Eleanor at a bar

D．his name was well-known

4.In the letter Joe says that ______.

A．his parents don’t know about music

B．his classmates don’t understand him

C．he would stay away from his parents

D．he would obey his parents

5.The underlined word “phony” means “______”.

A．unreal            B．boyish            C．popular           D．favourite

 

“I believe you’re the right person to write an advice column (专栏) for the students called Dear Amy!” Jenny, editor of the school newspaper, said to Andy, who finally agreed to accept the job if Jenny promised not to tell it to anyone else.
At first it wasn’t too bad. Most of the letters he received were interesting and quite easy to answer. Then came a letter from a person named Joe.
“Dear Amy,” it began, “I’m in real trouble. I’ve wanted to be a songwriter all my life, but my parents won’t even let me take music lessons. I have a guitar, but they both get angry if I play. I’ve tried explaining, but they won’t listen. I feel sad. Should I run away from home? Maybe that will make my parents agree.” The letter signed “Joe”.
Andy thought about this letter for a long time. Should he advise someone to run away from home? Probably not. But didn’t Joe have a right to be a songwriter if he wanted to? Andy thought hard, but couldn’t think out a good answer. Andy couldn’t sleep. He just worried about poor Joe.
At a bar a few days later, Eleanor, a girl in Andy’s math class, sat down next to him and asked, “ What’s wrong with you? You look a little worried.”
“I guess I do,” said Andy.
“If you got an problem, why don’t you try writing to Dear Amy about it?” asked Eleanor.
Andy sighed; but she continued, “in fact, I guess Dear Amy is rather busy with other problems. She still hasn’t answered the phony letter I wrote her last week. You’d better read it – it may even make the most hard-hearted person cry! It was supposed to be from a songwriter named Joe.”
【小题1】

【小题2】It’s clear “Dear Amy” ______.

A．helps students who want to run away from home	B．answers letters from the students
C．writes songs for the students	D．meets readers at a bar

【小题3】

【小题4】

【小题5】The underlined word “ phony ” perhaps means ______.

A．unreal

B．boyish

C．popular

D．favourite