How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups, and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains(痛苦), and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets(后悔).

Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities(责任) to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. What’s more, life is always giving new things to the child--- things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is repeatedly being told not do something or being punished for what he has wrongly done.

When a young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society(社会) as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he worked hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the greatest happiness of building up for himself his own position(地位) in society.

1.What is the happiest person according to the passage?

A．A child who can do whatever he likes.

B．An old person who lives in a comfortable life.

C．A grown-up who no longer expects other to pay for him.

D．A person who never wastes his time in his whole life.

2.Which of the following is true, according to the second paragraph?

A．Life for a child is fairly easy.

B．A child is always loved whatever he does.

C．If much is given to a child, he must do something in return.

D．Only children are interested in life.

3.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Life is not enjoyable since each age had some pains.

B．Young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard.

C．Childhood is the most enjoyable time in one’s life.

D．One is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life.

4.What will the fourth paragraph most probably discuss following this passage?

A．Examples of successful young men.

B．How to build up one’s position in society.

C．Joys and pains of old people.

D．What to do when one has problems in life.

One day,a poor boy,who was selling newspapers from door to door in order to pay for his schooling,found he had only ten cents left,and he was  1 .He decided to ask for a meal at the next house.However,he changed his mind when a young woman opened the door.
Instead of a  2 he asked for a drink of water.But as he looked so hungry，she
3   him a large glass of milk.He drank it,and then asked.“How much do I owe(欠)you?”
“My mother teaches me never to accept money for any   4 ,”she replied,“so you don’t owe me anything.”
Many years later,the  5 became seriously ill.Then she was sent to a famous  6
in London.
Dr Kelly was called in to study her illness.When he 7 the name of the town which she came  8 ,a strange light filled his eyes.As soon as he walked into her room,he recognized(认出)her at once.
He did his best to 9 her.Then he gave special attention to her.After some time she got  10 .
Dr Kelly asked for her final bill  11 she left hospital.He looked at it,then
12   something on it before it was sent to her.She was  13  to open it,for she
believed it would take the rest of her life to   14  for it all.But finally she opened it,and read these words on it:Paid in full with one glass of  15 .
(    )

James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves(奴隶). His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.

“J.C.,” he replied.

She thought he had said “Jesse”, and he had a new name.

Owens ran his first race at the age of 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time in order to pay for his education. As a second year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.

A week before the Big Ten games, Owens fell down when he went downstairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he was helped in and out of the car that drove him to the games. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he should give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.

The stage was set for Owens’ success at the Olympic Games in Berlin(柏林) the next year, and his success would come to be considered as not only athletic but also political(政治的). Hitler(希特勒) did not give congratulations to any of the black American winners.

“It was all right with me,” he said years later. “I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway.”

After returning from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.

Owens’ Olympic success made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and racing against cars and dogs.

“Sure, it worried me,” he said later. “But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat.”

In the end, however, his gold medals changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years,” he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”

1.In the Big Ten games, Owens         .

A．hurt himself in the back

B．was successful in setting many records

C．tried every sports event but all failed

D．had to give up all events

2.We can infer from the text that Owens was treated unfairly in the US at that time because         .

A．he was the grandsonof black slaves

B．he was the son of a poor farmer

C．he didn’t shake hands with Hitler

D．he didn’t talk to the US president on the phone

3.When Owens says “They have kept me alive over the years”, he means that the medals          .

A．have been changed for money to help him live on

B．have made him famous in the US

C．have encouraged him to face difficulties in life

D．have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A．Jesse Owens — A Great American Sportsman B．The Big Ten Games

C．Making a Living As a Sportsman             D．How to Be a Successful

Sam lived in a small village. His mother was often ill and he had to spend much money on medicine. And when he was twenty-eight, he borrowed some money from his friends and married. His wife was beautiful but came from a poor family. So she could not help him. She had to tell her husband to find work in the town. She hoped he would get much money to pay for his debt(债). They young man thought she was right and had to say goodbye to her and left.

The young man could neither read nor write. Of course nobody would employ (雇用) such a man like him in the town. He had to go to an island and planted trees for a farmer there. The island was small and there were only three men on it. They lived a hard life and Sam missed his mother and wife very much. He wanted to write to them, but he couldn’t. Luckily, Charlie, who was in school for five years, helped him. Sam asked the farmer to post the letter for him. From then on he waited for the answer every day. About two months later the farmer brought his wife’s letter to the island. He was very happy but he didn’t read it. He had to ask Charlie to help him again.

The farmer came out of the house and found Sam was stopping Charlie’s ears while he was listening to the young man reading it. It surprised the farmer and he asked, “What are you doing it for, Sam?”

“I can’t let him hear my wife’s letter!”

1.Sam’s wife was a _____________ woman.

A. nice and rich????? ????????????? ????????????? B. beautiful but poor??? ????????????? C. kind and strong

2.Sam had to go to the town to find work because _________.

A. the town was a good place????????????? B. he could read and write??? C. he had to pay for his debt

3.The life on the island was ______________.

A. difficult??????????? ????????????? B. easy?????????????? ????????????? C. relaxing

4.Who posted the letter for Sam?

A. Charlie.???????????? ????????????? B. The farmer.??????? ????????????? ????????????? C. Sam himself.

5.From the story we know Sam was a ___________.

A. rude man???????? ????????????? ????????????? B. kind and hard-working man?????? C. cruel husband

A beautiful and very successful actress was the star for a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn’t want to go back there every night, so she bought an expensive house in the center of the city, got some beautiful furniture and got a man to paint the rooms in new colour.
It was very difficult to get tickets for her show in the evening, because everyone wanted to see it. So she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of month, when she got the painter’s bill. At the bottom of it were these words: “Four hours from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. watching Miss Hall sing and dance: 3 pounds,” with this note: “Before 5:00 p.m. I get 10 shillings (先令)an hour and after 5:00 p.m. 15 shillings.”

1. 1.

   The actress bought a house in the center of the city because        .

   1. A.
      she liked to live in the busiest place
   2. B.
      she didn’t like to live in the country
   3. C.
      she wanted to work harder than before
   4. D.
      she didn’t want to live in old house
2. 2.

   In order to make the painter work better for her, the actress        .

   1. A.
      gave him two tickets for her show
   2. B.
      sang and danced for four hours
   3. C.
      decided to give him 3 pounds
   4. D.
      invited him for a big dinner
3. 3.

   The actress got the painter’s bill        .

   1. A.
      to ask for the money of his painting work
   2. B.
      to ask her to pay for his watching her show
   3. C.
      in which he showed his thanks for the tickets
   4. D.
      in which he expressed his dissatisfaction
4. 4.

   It can be learned from the text that one pound is         shillings.

   1. A.
      10
   2. B.
      12
   3. C.
      15
   4. D.
      20
5. 5.

   What kind of man was the painter?

   1. A.
      He was a careful man.
   2. B.
      He was a poor man.
   3. C.
      He was not friendly to others.
   4. D.
      He knew little about music and dance.