I was sleeping soundly last night when I was awakened by someone's groans (呻吟). I listened, and heard
it was from Sam, a student from Africa. I really wanted to go on sleeping, as I had insomnia (失眠) and had
just fallen asleep, but I couldn't because Sam groaned louder and louder, showing he was seriously ill.
     At that time, Robbie, a student from China, also got up to help. We found some pills, got some water, and
helped him sit up to take them, hoping this would make his pain go down a little and get over the difficult time.
If only daytime would come soon, everything would become easier.
     Things went contrary (相反) to our wishes. Sam's condition developed from bad to worse. We telephoned
the emergency service, and in no time an ambulance stopped in front of our gate. We helped the medical (医疗)
workers carry Sam to the vehicle, and then both Robbie and I got in and took Sam to the hospital.
     We helped him go through many medical examinations. After all kinds of tests,we were told that the final
diagnosis (诊断) was appendicitis (盲肠炎). Luckily, Sam didn't need an operation because we brought him to
the hospital in time. He got timely treatment.
     After Sam felt much better, we rushed back to prepare ourselves for the class. We were a little tired, but we
had certainly done something good, something right.

1. Why couldn't the writer go on sleeping that night? 

A. Because he was too excited that day.
B. Because his roommates were watching football games on TV.
C. Because one of his roommates was sick and groaning.
D. Because he was sick.

2. What does "vehicle" in the third paragraph refer to?

A. Car.
B. Ambulance.
C. Taxi.
D. Bus.

3. Why didn't Sam need an operation?

A. Because Sam didn't have enough money for an operation.
B. Because Sam was sent to the hospital in time.
C. Because Sam was much afraid of having an operation.
D. This article doesn't tell us the reason.

4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Sam, Robbie and the writer lived in the same room.
B. Sam was feeling very well after taking some pills.
C. Robbie and the writer also went to the hospital.
D. Robbie and the writer didn't sleep after they came back from the hospital.

     One Sunday, Cody decided to go sailing in his boat with his friend Dane, but Dane happened to be away.
Dane's brother Brett wanted to go instead though he did not know anything about sailing. Cody agreed and
they set out to sea.
     Soon they found themselves in a thick fog. Cody was sure they would be hit by a big ship. Fortunately
(幸运地) he saw a large buoy (浮标) through the fog and decided to tie the boat to it for safety. As he was
getting onto the buoy, however, he dropped the wet rope. The boat moved away in the fog carrying Brett
who did not know how to use the radio. He drifted (漂流) about and was not seen until twelve hours later.
     Cody spent the night on the buoy. In the early morning he fell asleep and was having a bad dream when
a shout woke him up. A ship, the Good Hope, came up and he climbed onto it and thanked the captain. The
captain told him that Brett had been picked up by another ship and the ship's captain had sent out a message.

(     )1. Cody went sailing in his boat with his friend's brother Brett.
(     )2. About sailing, Brett knew a little.
(     )3. Soon they got into trouble because of the thick fog.
(     )4. They drifted about and were not seen until twelve hours later.
(     )5. Brett was saved by the ship, the Good Hope.

     Three rich ladies met every day by the river. They sat there and talked the whole day. Once the three ladies
quarreled. One of them said. "Look, how white and beautiful my hands are!" Another one said, "My hands are
more beautiful." The third one said, "Mine are the most beautiful ones." An old beggar woman came up to them.
"Beautiful ladies," she said, "I'm old and can't work, I'm hungry. Please give me something to eat."
     But the three ladies gave her nothing. They only asked, "Tell me, old woman, which one of us has the most
beautiful hands?"
     A peasant (农民) woman was also sitting by the river. She was poor and her hands were rough be-cause of
hard work. The old woman came up to her and said, "I'm hungry. Please give me something to eat." The peasant
woman took out her only cake she had and gave her a half.
     The old woman ate it and drank some water. Then she took the peasant woman by the hand, brought her
before the rich ladies and said, "Now, I shall tell you whose hands are the most beautiful. The hands of the poor
peasant woman are rough because of work, but they give us food; they are far more beautiful than your hands
which have never done anything."

1. The three ladies _____.

A. had a quarrel every day
B. were rich but unkind
C. had a talk about their hands every day
D. lived by the side of the river

2. The old woman asked for something to eat, _____.

A. but none of the three rich ladies gave anything to her
B. but only one of the three ladies gave her half a cake
C. because she wanted to know whose hands were beautiful
D. because she wanted to know which lady was the richest

3. The peasant woman's hands were not so white as the three ladies' _____.

A. because of the hard work she had done
B. but she was stronger than any of them
C. so she didn't quarrel with the three ladies
D. but she was more beautiful than any of them

4. The old woman said that the peasant woman's hands were more beautiful than the three ladies' because
    _____.

A. she liked dark hands better than white hands
B. the peasant woman gave her half a cake
C. her hands had worked hard to provide food for people
D. the three ladies didn't give her anything to eat

5. Which of the following is the best tide for the passage?

A. Half a Cake
B. A Peasant Woman's Hands
C. The Rich Woman's Hands
D. Smooth (光滑的) Hands and Rough Hands

     In January 1998 two pigs escaped from west of London. The pigs were going to be killed for meat. For
almost a week, they hid in the woods around the town of Malmesbury.  
     When the local police began to look for the pigs, newspaper reporters from all over the country joined
them. Soon people everywhere were reading about the adventures (历险记) of Butch and Sundance with
great interest. The owner of the pigs said that if they were found, he would sell them to anyone who would
give them a home. A number of newspapers tried to buy the pigs, and finally The daily Mail paid a lot of money
for them.
     One rainy night, six days after the escape, a reporter from The Daily Mail and some people from the town
found Butch in the woods. They caught her and put her in a cage. The next day, Sundance was caught, too.
     The pigs were sent to a zoo. They were no longer free, but they were alive!

1. Why did the two pigs escape? 
   ____________________________________________________
2. Where did the two pigs hide for almost a week? 
   ____________________________________________________
3. Who joined the local police in looking for the pigs? 
   ____________________________________________________
4. What's the name of the two pigs?
   ____________________________________________________
5. What do you know The Daily Mail is? 
   ____________________________________________________

     Mr. and Mrs. Brown lived in a house near London. They had only one child and he was very young.
Mr. Brown often came back home from work very late when his wife and child were asleep. He usually
opened the front door with his key and came into the room quietly.
     One night he forgot to bring his key. He had to ring the doorbell (门铃), but his wife didn't wake up.
He rang it again. Again nothing happened. Then Mr. Brown knocked at the bedroom window and even
shouted loudly. Still his wife didn't wake up. He thought for a moment. At last he had an idea. Then he
began to speak like a small child. "Mom!" he said, "I want to drink some water." His wife woke up right
now and opened the door for him.

1. How many children did Mr. and Mrs. Brown have?

A. One.
B. Two.
C. Three.
D. None.

2. Mr. Brown couldn't open the door one night because _____.

A. he came back late
B. his wife and child were not at home
C. he spoke like a small child
D. he forgot to bring his key with him

3. Mr. Brown didn't _____ to wake up his wife.

A. sing a song
B. knock at the window
C. ring the doorbell
D. shout 

4. _____ opened the door at last.

A. Mr. Brown
B. Nobody
C. Mrs. Brown
D. The child

5. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Mr. and Mrs. Brown lived far from London.
B. Mr. Brown opened the back door with his key.
C. Mrs. Brown often opened the door for Mr. Brown.
D. Mr. Brown rang the doorbell twice that night.

    Last summer, 15-year-old Bob had a problem. Like a lot of children. Bob was interested in doing
many things. He liked dancing most and wanted to join the girls' group. And he made it.
    Bob thought his problem was over after he had been one of the dancers in the dancing group. But
a bigger problem was just beginning. The school didn't allow Bob to stay in the girls' group. "If we let
Bob stay in the group," the school said, "other boys will want to join. Soon, there won't be any girls in
the group." They took Bob off the group.
    Bob was very angry about it, so he went to a judge (法官). The judge said it was not a right decision
(决定) and told the school to let Bob go back to the dancing group.

1. Bob's favorite was ______.

[     ]

A. singing
B. dancing
C. drawing
D. driving

2. It was difficult for Bob to join the school dancing group because ______.

[     ]

A. the school only had a girls' dancing group
B. the school didn't allow boys to dance
C. the group had enough dancers already
D. he was not a good dancer

3. The school worried that ______ if Bob stayed in the group.

[     ]

A. nobody would watch their dance
B. other boys would join and the girls might leave
C. other schools might laugh at them
D. the parents would be angry about it

4. The judge thought the school's decision was ______.

[     ]

A. useful
B. necessary
C. right
D. wrong

5. We can infer (推断) that Bob felt ______ when he went back to the group.

[     ]

A. hungry
B. sad
C. happy
D. sure

     She has never learned any new words by heart but has a vocabulary of more than 10,000 words. She
(1)______(begin) to learn English when she was five and a half. And the most surprising thing is that she
(2)______ (pass) CET-4 (英语四级考试) before she graduated from her primary school. Her name is Liu
Yinong, a 13-year-old Junior One student in the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China (人大附中).
    Liu (3)______ (ask) to learn English by her mother at the very beginning. Her big success results from her
good learning habits. Since long ago, Liu (4)______(have)the habit of practicing her English listening in the
morning and evening. She usually (5)______(listen) to VAO, BBC, and New Concept English (新概念英语).
As fro her spoken English, she keeps on (6)______(practice)it every Friday at the English Corner. Liu said,
"It's important (7)______(carry) on practicing while learning a foreign language." Now you can understand
why she is so good at English.
    Now, little Yinong (8)______(get) ready for entering Harvard University (哈佛大学). She plans to learn
French and German during her middle school. Then she (9)______(choose) to study another language
(10)______(speak) by smaller group of people. She decides to master (掌握) five languages before studying
in Harvard University.
     "My final goal is to be the Secretary-General of the UN (联合国秘书长). I will make a good preparation
for entering the UN," she said.

     One day a very rich family went on a trip to the countryside. The father wanted to show his son how
poor people lived, so they spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family.
     When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son,"My dear son, how was the trip?""Very good,
dad!""Did you see how poor people lived?" the father asked."Yeah!" "And what did you learn?" The son
answered,"We have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that is in the middle of the garden and
they have a river that has no end. We have very expensive lamps in the garden and they have the stars."
     When the little boy finished, his father was speechless.

1. How long was their trip to the countryside?

A. About 12 hours.
B. About 24 hours.
C. Less than 12 hours.
D. About 48 hours.

2. The father wanted to show his son _______.

A. how rich their family was
B. how poor their family was
C. how the poor people lived
D. where the poor lived

3. The word "speechless" means _______.

A. 毫无兴趣的
B. 寡言少语的
C. 胸无点墨的
D. 无话可说的

     Want to be an astronaut? Then "study hard, stay healthy and have perseverance (毅力)
      This is what Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng said in a talk with some students.
      Students were interested in the astronauts' space lives. They asked questions like"Did you see the Great
Wall from space?" Fei and Nie said they didn't see the Great Wall. But they felt excited when they passed
over China, including Taiwan. The island "looked very beautiful, like a jade (翡翠)".
     Speaking of their lives beyond (在……之外) the earth, the two astronauts said cooperation (合作) with
each other was most important."We are like the left and right hands," they said.
      Young people wanted to know how the astronauts developed their careers (事业).
     "How did you decide to be astronauts when China's space industry (工业) is still at the beginning?" asked
a young woman. The astronauts said it was because of their love of flight and also the need of the country.
      They said their love of flight could be seen from their children's names. Nie's daughter is called "Nie
Tianxiang", which means "flying up high". Fei's son is called "Fei Di", which sounds like "Feidie", meaning
UFO.
     After the success of Shenzhou VI, China plans to put a man on the moon and build a space station in
10~15 years.

1. If you want to be astronauts, what should you do from now on?

A. We should be interested in the astronauts' space life.
B. We should change our names.
C. We should study hard, stay healthy and have perseverance.
D. We should love the flight and our country.

2. When astronauts work in space, they must ______ with each other.

A. shake hands
B. cooperate
C. stay
D. talk

3. In 10~15 years, China could put a man on _______ and build a space station.

A. UFO
B. Shenzhou VIII
C. the sun
D. the moon

4. Which of the following is true?

A. Fei Junlong met UFO in space.
B. Nie Haisheng saw the Great Wall from space.
C. Fei and Nie make a contribution to China's space industry.
D. The astronauts couldn't see Taiwan from space.