Perhaps　the　only　test　score　that　I　remember　is　the　55　when　I　was　in　high　school.

    The　test　was　the　final　for　a　course.　I　remember　waiting　anxiously　as　my　teacher　Mr.　Right　passed　out　our　papers　one　by　one.　It　was　a　rather　difficult　test.　I　heard　my　classmates　groaning,　and　I　could　tel　by　the　groans　that　the　scores　weren’t　looking　good.

    Mr.　Right　put　my　paper　on　my　desk.　There　in　big　red　numbers,　circled　to　draw　attention,　was　my　score,　55!

    I　lowered　my　head,　and　covered　the　score　up　quickly.　A　55　is　not　something　that　you　wanted　your　classmates　to　see.“The　scores　were　not　very　good,　none　of　you　passed,”Mr.　Right　said.　“The　highest　score　in　the　class　was　a　55.”

    A　55.　That’s　me!

    Suddenly　my　sad　look　didn’t　look　so　bad.　I　had　the　highest　score.　I　felt　a　lot　better.

    I　walked　home　alone　that　day　with　the　low　but　high　score.　My　father　knew　that　I　had　a　big　test　that　day　and　asked　me　as　soon　as　I　got　home,　“How　did　you　do　in　your　test？”“I　made　a　55,”I　said.

    A　frown（皱眉）now　stood　on　my　father’s　face.　I　knew　I　had　to　explain　immediately.　“But　Dad,　I　had　the　highest　score　in　the　calss,”I　proudly　stated.　I　thought　that　explanation　would　make　a　difference.“You　failed!”my　father　replied.“But　it’s　the　highest!” I　insisted.“I　don’t　care　what　scores　others　had,　but　you　failed.　What　matters　is　what　you　do!”my　father　firmly　said.

    For　years,　my　father　was　always　that　way.　It　didn’t　matter　what　others　did,　it　only　mattered　what　I　did　and　that　I　did　it　excelently.

    We　often　don’t　understand　the　wisdom（智慧）of　good　parents　until　we　ourselves　stand　in　the　parents’shoes.　My　father’s　words　have　carried　me　throughout　life.

   1.　The　word　groaning　is　the　closest　in　meaning　to　_____.

    A.　singing　　　　B.　laughingC.　complaining　　　　D.　quarreling

    2.　In　class,　to　hide　my　score　from　my　classmates,　I　_____.

    A.　lowered　my　head　　　　B.　covered　my　score　up

    C.　walked　home　alone　D.　explained　immediately

    3.　A　frown　stood　on　my　father’s　face　because　he　thought　_____.

    A.　I　did　a　bad　job　in　the　test

    B.　I　gave　a　good　excuse

    C.　I　became　the　worst　student

    D.　I　stood　in　his　shoes

   4.　We　can　infer　from　the　passage　that　_____.

    A.　the　father　was　strict　with　his　child.

    B.　the　writer　was　always　poor　in　tests.

    C.　Mr.　Right　was　worried　about　the　writer

    D.　the　writer　was　always　happy　with　his　scores

   5.　Which　is　the　best　title　of　the　passage？

    A.　The　Final　Test　　　　B.　That’s　Me!

    C.　My　strict　Teacher　　　　D.　Scores,　Important？

What’s the most important thing for you to have in your life? Somebody mentions hard-work, others suggest knowledge, love and luck.

　　If you arrange the 26 English letters alphabetically(按字母表的顺序)and use numbers to represent each of them, for example, 1 for a, 2 for b, 3 for c…, you can change an English word into a number. So hard-work becomes 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11=98, meaning 98 is its mark; knowledge: 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5=96, while love: 12+15+22+5=54, and luck: 12+21+3+11=47, a small mark. None of these words can give one a full mark. What about money? It can’t , either.

　　Then what else? Don’t be worried. You can always find an answer to a problem in your life, when you change your way of looking at things or doing things, or your attitude. Yes, attitude is the word. See for yourself: attitude:1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5=100，a full mark.

　　Most times people hope for a better life. It is possible if you will have a change for the better after you have changed your attitude. When you change your manner and become friendly to others, you’ll meet more smiling faces towards you.

1.In the writer’s opinion, what is the most important thing in a person’s life?

A. Hard-work.        B. Knowledge.        C. Money.            D. Attitude.

2.Which of the following has the highest mark?

A. Hard-work and knowledge.       B. Knowledge and luck.       

C. Love and hard-work.            D. Hard-work and luck.

3. According to the passage, if you meet with problems, the best way to solve them is to     

A. ask for help from others.                      B. ask your math teacher for help.

C. change your attitude.                      D. ask your parents for help.

4.From the passage, we can learn that        

A. Failure sometimes can bring you good if you take a positive attitude.

B. Nothing is more important than love.  

C. Hard-work has a full mark.

D. Our math teacher can solve the problems easily.

5.Which number can you use to represent “money” according to the passage?

A. 70            B. 72           C. 74.            D. 76.

International students in Christine Rhodes’ English class in Australia share their impressions (印象) of places they have visited in Australia.

Canberra, the nicest city in Australia

I went for a short holiday to Canberra. My uncle lives there. It’s the nicest city in Australia, a little bit similar to Cairns. There’re lots of big rivers and trees around the city.

Siggi Siebold from Germany

The small city of Mount Isa

I went to Mount Isa six months ago. It’s a long way from Brisbane — about 2,000 km. It’s a small city, with a population of 21,000, but it has all the basic facilities such as a base hospital, six schools and supermarkets. Here the weather is hot and gets very little rain. There’re two big lakes to keep rainwater for people in the city to drink.

Indra Ekanayake

Lake Moondarra and a mine (矿)

In Mount Isa, there’s a dam (水坝) called Lake Moondarra. At weekends you can go there with your friends, and it is beautiful. On the lake, there is water skiing. Also, people can go fishing there.

There’s a big mine in Mount Isa. Many people go to work in the mine and earn a lot of money. Mount Isa isn’t a beautiful green place, but many people love it.

Ida Robb from Indonesia

1.Siggi Siebold is from 　　　.

2.What does the underlined word “facilities” probably mean in Chinese?

3.Lake Moondarra is a 　　　.

4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Ida Robb?

5.Which of the following is TRUE?