It was the first snow of the winter---an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up to now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, Ontario, had been through best snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.

? I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear the ugly clothes. At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots.

? In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of the winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that it was more a statement of hope than of confidence.

? I handed her my boots and stuck out my feet. Like most children, I expected the adult to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get the first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.

? I announced, “They are on the wrong feet.”

? She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.

? “They are my brother’s boots, you know, I hate them.”

? Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying little girl. She struggled with me. She asked “now, where are your mittens(手套)?”

? I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots.”

1.The little girl was more satisfied with her __________.

A. trousers???????? B. jackets????????? C. boots?????? D. hat

2.Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the little girl’s boots mainly because________.

A. the girl got them from her brother

B. the girl put something in them

C. they were on the wrong feet

D. they did not fit the girl well

3.Why does the author say Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?

A. Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes.

B. Because it was the most exciting day of the winter.

C. Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf.

D. Because the little girl played a trick on her.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that Miss Finlayson _______________.

A. was losing confidence in the little girl

B. was gradually losing patience with the little girl

C. became disappointed with the little girl

D. got curious about the little girl

In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.

My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to leave college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.

Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic—and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed Son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.

You can imagine how busy I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo—a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each term.

The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to give up, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!

I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.

1.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be ______.

A．a writer           B．a teacher          C．a judge           D．a doctor

2.The author quit school in her second year of college because she ______.

A．wanted to study by herself

B．fell in love and got married

C．suffered from a serious illness

D．decided to look after her grandma

3.What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A．She was busy yet happy with her family life.

B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.

C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.

D．She was too confused to make a correct choice.

4.What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Failure is the mother of success.

B．Little by little, one goes far.

C．Every coin has two sides.

D．Well begun is half done.

5.Which of the following can best describe the author ?

A．Caring and determined.                  B．Honest and responsible.

C．Ambitious and sensitive.                  D．Innocent and single-minded.

When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me. I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. Clark wouldn’t let that happen.

Mr. Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact, the scores of our whole class rose. One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down.

Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names, Mr. Clark said, “You’re all going.”

On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn’t want his class to end. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch. He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55. In 2003,

Mr. Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit the orphanages (孤儿院). It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.

1.Without Mr. Clark, the writer           .

A. might have been put into prison          B. might not have won the prize

C. might have joined a women’s club     D. might not have moved to Atlanta

2.The Essential 55 is           .

A. a show           B. a speech         C. a classroom rule     D. a book

3.How many students’ names were finally drawn out of a hat by Mr. Clark?

A. None     B. Three        C. Fifty-five.          D. All.

4.What can we learn in the short reading?

A. It was in Harlem that we saw The Phantom of the Opera for the first time.

B. Mr. Clark taught us not to talk with our mouths full, and we did.

C. Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year in Los Angeles.

D. In 2003, Mr. Clark moved to Atlanta, and he always kept in touch with us.

5. In the passage, the writer intends to tell us that           .

A. Mr. Clark went to South Africa because he liked traveling

B. Mr. Clark helped to set up a group of women’s clubs

C. a good teacher can help raise his or her students’ scores

D. a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“None.”

“Where did you go?”

“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“What did you do?”

“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“You just stood there?”

“Didn’t sell a single one.”

“My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

A．He wanted to be famous in the future.

B．The job was quite easy for him.

C．His mother had high hopes for him.

D．The competition for the job was fierce.

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A．excited           B．interested         C．ashamed          D．disappointed

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A．She forced him to continue.               B．She punished him.

C．She gave him some money.                D．She changed her plan.

4.What does the underlined word “nickel” most possibly mean?

A．a note that is worth ten dollars

B．a bill signed in acknowledgement of debt

C．a list showing how much you have to pay

D．a coin that is worth five cents

5.What is the text mainly about?

A．The early life of a journalist.

B．The early success of a journalist.

C．The happy childhood of the writer.

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

句型转换与完成句子(共5小题；每小题3分，满分15分)

1. “Did you write your diary?” Tom asked Mary.

  Tom asked Mary ___________ she ___________  ___________ her diary.

2. The boy was punished because he was late for school. His bicycle was broken.

The boy ___________ bicycle was broken was punished ___________  ___________being late for school.

3. 就是他坚决要求她去劝说玛丽努力学习吗？

Was it he ___________ insisted ___________ ___________Mary to study hard?

4. 这是他第一次嘲笑别人，所以我们都感到很震惊。

  It was the first time that he ___________ ___________at others, so we felt ___________.

5. 即使我不喜欢他对我说话的方式，但为了提高英语口语，我还是充分利用时间与他交流。

___________  ___________I don’t like the way___________ he speaks, I make full use of time to ___________ ___________ him in English.