What makes 15,000 men and women run for hours, and what makes them run through the streets on a cold day without coats? I was one of those runners.  The race is called marathon (马拉松).

I had never run more than eight miles before, and here I was training.  Since the race is in April, I had to run throughout the winter, and in Boston, winters are cold. For most people, just putting on their shirts, sweaters, jackets, and hats is exercise enough. I found myself out on the dark streets, running along ice sidewalks (人行道). Even in gloves, my fingers got so cold that they looked like red carrots. My nose didn't get warm until lunchtime !

Finally, the big day arrived. The weather was cold, with ice and rain. Bang! The gun sounded, and we started. I didn't go anywhere at first because I was standing behind so many people. I had to wait for them to move.

At first, the running was easy.  The other runners just seemed to pull me along. Somewhere around the 20-mile mark I even said to myself, "This is nothing, why did I train so hard?"

Then I hit "the wall". "The wall" is what marathon runners call the special point. I knew my body reached the point and I thought I couldn't go any more. I was out of breath and my legs turned into pieces of wood.  I was almost falling down.  I can't remember anything about the last five miles of the race.

I kept running though. At last, I heard a voice at the finishing line.

"You look good," my friend Ted said. "How did it feel?"

"Wonderful !" I replied.

For everything, if you devote yourself into it, there will be a way. I finished the race, at least, in my heart, I was the winner.

1.Which one best describes the weather on the race day?

2. How did the writer feel about the race during the first 20 miles?

3. According to the article, what must someone do to prepare for a marathon?

4.Then I hit "the wall". What do you think "hit the wall" means here?

 When Kyle walked into Ernie's Pet World, he looked very worried. He walked quickly to the front counter（柜台）. The owner of the shop, Ernie, jumped out to greet Kyle. He was the shop's first shopper of the day.

    "Good morning, sir!" Ernie said. "What can I help you with?"

    "Well, I...," Kyle started to say.

    "Wait, don't tell me," Ernie interrupted (打断) him. "You're looking for a … a little dog... for

your daughter 's birthday.  Right?"

     "No T really, l just..."

     Ernie didn't let him finish. "Ah, I've got it, You just moved into a new house, and you want some fish for it. I have some very nice tanks over here."

     "In fact, I..." Kyle was starting to look very nervous (紧张的). His face had a strange expression（表情）on it.

     "No fish? Ah, a cat! You look like a cat person. At Ernie's Pet World, we have the best kinds. Take a look at this Persian — long, white hair, and look at that cute expression. She's looking at you. She's thinking, ‘Take me home. Take me home.’ Would you like some cat food and toys as well?"

    "No, thank you," Kyle said. By this time, he was walking up and down. He had a pained (痛苦的) look on his face. "Really, I'm not interested in cats or fish or little dogs."

     "What do you want, then?" Ernie asked.

     Kyle looked like he was going to cry. "I just want to know if I can use your bathroom!" he finally said.

1. What does the writer want to tell us?

    A. A good pet owner.                      B. A funny story.

    C. A wonderful shopkeeper.                 D. A strange pet shop.

2. What was true about Ernie's Pet World?

    A. The shop was not busy.                  B. Kyle went there often.

    C. The shop was about to close.              D. Kyle knew the shop owner well.

3. What do you think of Ernie?

    A. He is careful.                          B. He is helpful.

    C. He likes talking.                        D. He is clever.

4.Why did Kyle look anxious and pained?

     A. He wanted to get a cat very much.          B. He didn't like animals.

     C. He was late for work.                    D. He was not comfortable.

Once upon a time there lived an old man. He had three sons. One day, he called them together and said, "Sons, I will die soon. To my oldest son I give half my camels, to my second, one-third(三分之一), and to my youngest, one-ninth (九分之一)." Soon after that he died.

Now, the old man had seventeen camels, and the three brothers didn't know how to do as their father said. They thought a long time about the problem, and it seemed that they must either kill some of the camels and cut them into pieces, or disobey their father. At last they went to their father's old friend and asked for his advice. As soon as he heard their story, he said, "I will help you. I was a good friend of your father's. I am old. I have only one camel, but take it-it is yours."

The three sons thanked the old man and took his camel. Now they found it was easy to do as their father wished, The oldest took half- that was nine camels; the second took one-third, that was six; and the youngest took one-ninth, that was two.

After each had got his camels, they found that there was still a camel there. So, to show their thanks to their father's friend, they gave the camel back to him.

(   )11. "Once upon a time" means " ________".

A. long long ago B. not very long ago

C. at once D. sometimes

(   )12. The meaning of "disobey" in the second paragraph is" ________".

A. 服从 B. 违背 C. 听从 D. 嘲笑

(   )13. The meaning of "asked for his advice" in the second paragraph is " ________".

A. 向他请教 B. 问他数量 C. 批评他 D. 劝告他

(   )14. The second old man ________the three brothers.

A. was good to B. was not good to C. didn't like D. cheated(哄骗)

(   )15. Both the two old men in the story were ________.

foolish B. clever C. poor D. rich

Nathan Sawaya's childhood was a lot of fun. He drew cartoons, wrote stories, and played with plastic toy bricks (积木). His grandparents bought his first set of toy bricks when he was five years old and he's been building with toy bricks ever since. He even took his building bricks to college with him! Instead of books and a computer, he had a model of Greenwich Village made of bricks on his desk.

     Nathan started as a lawyer but gave up His highly-paid (高薪的) job to become an artist that uses toys in his art. He uses toy bricks to build everything from the Statue of Liberty(自由女神像) to Superman! He has more than 1.5 million colored bricks in his working room in New York which he uses to make pieces of art. He started by building small models but then decided to do something big and created a self-portrait (自画像). It took him two days just to build the eyes.

     Nathan's work has appeared in museums around the world. Children love his art because it is made out of the same toys that they play with at home and adults love his work because it is fascinating. Since it began in2007, Nathan's exhibition "The Art of the Brick" has been very popular with museum visitors everywhere.

     "I'm proud that I took a dream I had as a child, to become an artist, and I have actually made a job out of it," says Nathan. "To do what you love in life is the most important thing."

1.What did Nathan put on his desk at college?

A. The Statue of Liberty.

B. Superman.

C. His serf-portrait.

D. A Greenwich Village modal.

2.Why did Nathan give up his job as a lawyer?

A. Because he made little money out of a lawyer.

B. Because he wanted to make toys for the children.

C. Because he decided to become an artist of toy bricks.

D. Because he was going to work in the museum instead.

3.What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Nathan's work.                 B. Nathan's exhibition.

C. Nathan's art.                   D. Nathan's self-portrait

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Brick Artist                B. The Brick Exhibition

C. Toy Bricks for Adults           D. The Artist's Childhood

Linda loves her dog Davy. They went to New York City last Saturday.

 While Linda was buying a newspaper at the train station, the dog got out of his box and ran away. The station was crowded and Linda couldn't see Davy anywhere. When Linda shouted his name, some people looked at her but Davy didn't come. Then she called the police. While she was talking on the telephone, Davy met another dog outside the station. While the police were coming,Linda walked around the station and called Davy' s name. She didn't think about looking outside the station. Finally, a little boy said to her, "Did you look outside? I saw a big black dog when I came in. "When Linda finally saw Davy, he was jumping and running with another dog. There was a police officer next to them. The police officer said to Linda, "I think my dog found your dog."

1.What was Linda doing when Davy ran away?

2.How was the station?

3.What did Linda do when she couldn't find her dog?

4.Who gave Linda the tip (???) to find Davy?

5.Who found Davy finally?