I'll be a photographer．I'm going to bring bits of Australia back home with me．I told myself this before, yet I feel so doubtful on this plane that's flying me thousands of miles away．I was so confident yesterday．But today I don't belong to this plane where men sit with briefcases reading newspapers．They're all adults．
I've never been out of the US．And now ,I'm traveling into Australia alone, a world I know nothing about．A part of me recognizes it as home．
I remember little about my mother, but I remember she had an Australian accent and golden hair．She wan fun and she would often take us to New Jersey beaches, where we would spend the whole day taking walks along the shore．My mom told me that in Australia, Christmas was always spent on the beach with friends and family, and everyone wore Santa hat with their bathing suits．It never got cold and bitter there．My mom was different and I was proud of her．
I don't know how she met my father．but after they met several years, they got married and moved into an apartment in New Jersey．Then I was born and we were a perfect family of three who went out to dinner and watched movies in the dark and loved each other．
I know things have been hard on my father since my Mom died years ago．It's hard for me, too, and I have to experience the wonderful place my mom grew up in and loved．My mom talked about Australia so much and now I have to see this place．
This is an adventure．
(1)
How did the author feel when he was on the plane?
[ ]
A．
Confident
B．
Foolish
C．
Doubtful
D．
Childish
(2)
The author traveled to Australia alone mainly because he wanted to _________．
[ ]
A．
search his fortune there
B．
find more about his mother
C．
look for his grandparents there
D．
find more about this wonderful place
(3)
The third paragraph is mainly concerned with _________．
[ ]
A．
the author's first impression of Australia
B．
the author's brief impression of his mother
C．
the reason why the author loved his mother
D．
the difference between his mother and father
(4)
What can we learn from the passage?
[ ]
A．
The author writes this passage to honor his mother．
B．
The author decides to learn taking photos in Australia．
C．
The author had a good time when his mother was still alive．
D．
The author didn't like to live with his father after his mother died．
(5)
Where did the author most probably write this passage?
My topic today is the Internet．It was prompted(引出)by the first letter, which I am unable to answer fully for the reasons given!
Dear David,
I am a middle school student．Now I am preparing for a writing competition．Could you please check the mistakes in my article about using the Internet and give me some advice? Thank you．
No name
David writes：I am very sorry to say that I think it would be very unfair for me to help you win a competition－unfair to the other competitors!
But I will say that your article is very interesting and I wish you good luck．Your article makes some good points that deserve talking about in this column!
Dear David,
I’m now learning English by myself．Can you introduce some useful websites where I can make friends with foreigners? Please help me．
Moonlight
David writes：Well, dear Moonlight, I bet you made a good choice by using the Net in your self-studies．Two very good websites I would suggest to you are：
www．britishcouncil．org．cn and www．britishcouncil．org/learnenglish．
By the way, for those readers interested in the teaching of English, there is an Internet discussion group called ELTCSChi-L(English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme China List)．
And also, a healthy warning to all my readers：If over-used, the Internet can be a WOMBAT－A Waste of Money, Brains and Time!
(1)
David is probably a ________．
[ ]
A．
language expert
B．
computer expert
C．
college student
D．
club chairman
(2)
What is the reason why the first letter is unable to be fully answered?
[ ]
A．
David is unable to think out good advice．
B．
David thinks it is expected to play fair in the competition．
C．
David is going to talk on another topic－Internet．
D．
David finds no mistakes in that article．
(3)
“www．britishcouncil．org．cn”
is a(an)________．
[ ]
A．
website where one can make foreign friends
B．
website where one can join a discussion group
C．
newspaper column for answering readers’ questions
D．
English newspaper for students and language teachers
(4)
Which of the following is NOT David’s opinion of the Internet?
[ ]
A．
English teachers can exchange opinions on the Net．
B．
The Internet is of much help to English learners．
C．
Using the Internet is a waste of money and time．
D．
We should make a proper use of the Net．
阅读理解
My topic today is the Internet．It was prompted(引出)by the first letter, which I am unable to answer fully for the reasons given!
Dear David,
I am a middle school student．Now I am preparing for a writing competition．Could you please check the mistakes in my article about using the Internet and give me some advice? Thank you．
No name
David writes：I am very sorry to say that I think it would be very unfair for me to help you win a competition－unfair to the other competitors!
But I will say that your article is very interesting and I wish you good luck．Your article makes some good points that deserve talking about in this column!
________
Dear David,
I’m now learning English by myself．Can you introduce some useful websites where I can make friends with foreigners? Please help me．
Moonlight
David writes：Well, dear moonlight, I bet you made a good choice by using the Net in your self-studies．Two very good websites I would suggest to you are：
www.britishcouncil.org.cn and www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish．
By the way, for those readers interested in the teaching of English, there is an Internet discussion group called ELTCSChi-L(English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme China List)．
And also, a healthy warning to all my readers：If over-used, the Internet can be a WOMBAT－A Waste of Money, Brains and Time!
(1)
David is probably a ________．
[ ]
A．
language expert
B．
computer expert
C．
college student
D．
club chairman
(2)
What is the reason why the first letter is unable to be fully answered?
[ ]
A．
David is unable to think out good advice．
B．
David thinks it is expected to play fair in the competition．
C．
David is going to talk on another topic－Internet．
D．
David finds no mistakes in that article．
(3)
“www.britishcouncil.org.cn” is a(an)________．
[ ]
A．
website where one can make foreign friends
B．
website where one can join a discussion group
C．
newspaper column for answering readers’ questions
D．
English newspaper for students and language teachers
(4)
Which of the following is NOT David’s opinion of the Internet?
[ ]
A．
English teachers can exchange opinion on the Net．
B．
The Internet is of much help to English learners．
C．
Using the Internet is a waste of money and time．
D．
We should make a proper use of the Net．
阅读理解
“Dr Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?”
The usual laughter followed, and people stirred(骚动)to go．Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the room and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes that I was．
“I will answer your question．”
Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small round mirror, about the size of a quarter．And what he said went like this：
“When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village．”One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror．A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place．
I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece．This one and by scratching it on a stone, I made it round．I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine-in deep holes and crevices(裂缝)and dark closets．It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find．
I kept the little mirror and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game．As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life．I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light．But light-truth, understanding, knowledge-is there, and it will shine in many dark places only if I reflect it．
I am a fragment(碎片)of a mirror whose whole design and shape l do not know．Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world into the black places in the hearts of men and change some things in some people．Perhaps others may see and do likewise．This is what I am about．This is the meaning of my life．
(1)
On hearing the author's question, Dr．Papedotes ________ at first．
[ ]
A．
laughed at his foolishness
B．
doubted his seriousness
C．
wasn't sure of the answer
D．
wasn't interested at all
(2)
How did Dr Papaderos get the small round mirror when he was a child?
[ ]
A．
He found it on the road and made it round．
B．
A dying German soldier gave him as a present．
C．
He chanced to find it in the street while playing．
D．
He put the broken pieces together and made it．
(3)
Why did Dr Papaderos like the small round mirror so much as a child?
[ ]
A．
Because it could shine the places where the sun couldn't reach．
B．
Because he was too poor to afford other toys．
C．
Because he believed it would bring good luck to him．
D．
Because it told him a lot about what life really meant to him．
(4)
The underlined“metaphor”in the 7th paragraph most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
purpose
B．
source
C．
light
D．
symbol
(5)
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A．
The Meaning of Life
B．
A Broken Piece of Mirror
C．
Dr Papaderos' Experience
D．
A Special Game in the Childhood
阅读理解
For years my husband, John, and I had dreamed of taking our three kids to Disney World．We'd planned our trip down to the last detail and dollar．But in Georgia, halfway there, our car broke down．
At a garage, the mechanic promised our Mercury Sable would be repaired by the next week．Meanwhile, John tried to find us a rental car．After many phone calls, John finally found a car．Luckily, our auto club would pick up the tab．We ended up arriving there three hours behind schedule．We tried every ride and met Mickey．
At the end of the long weekend we called the garage to check on our car．It turned out that the mechanic hadn't even looked at it yet! John got on the phone again．He found it would cost more than ＄ l, 100 to rent a car to drive home．That plus a plane ticket for him to go pick up our own car and we'd be out over ＄2,000!
I wailed(痛哭)and asked John, "What are we going to do?" He said, "It'll work out．" John encouraged me not to lose heart and he insisted on trying to find a way out．Amazingly, John found a car transport company that had a car we could drive home, paying only for gas! But all the way home I couldn't stop thinking about the money we'd still need for John's trip back to the garage and another long driving home．
When we got home, the high school student who had fed our cats asked how our trip was．I gave him the rundown, "Things worked out okay except that our car's still stuck in Georgia．" "No problem," he said．"I'm heading to Florida for a spring break with my parents．We'll be glad to stop in Georgia on the way back and pick up your car．"
We ended up spending only ＄50 more than we'd budgeted．The next week, our car was back, and I had a new understanding of dealing with trouble．Whatever happens, if you never give up, a good solution will come out at last．
(1)
From the passage we can learn that ________．
[ ]
A．
Disney World is located in Georgia
B．
Mercury Sable is the name of the mechanic
C．
the couple budgeted for their trip carefully
D．
repairing their car needed a lot of money
(2)
The underlined phrase "pick up the tab" probably means “_________”．
[ ]
A．
pay the expense of renting a car
B．
find a taxi for the club members
C．
give somebody a lift on the way
D．
take someone home free of charge
(3)
Why was the author unhappy at the end of the weekend?
[ ]
A．
They didn't have enough money to rent a car to go home．
B．
They spent ＄2,000 more than they had budgeted．
C．
They didn't enjoy themselves in Disney World．
D．
They found their car hadn't been repaired at all．
(4)
We can infer from the passage that _________．
[ ]
A．
the car transport company usually had its cars rented
B．
the couple had to drive the company's car to an appointed place
C．
the car transport company charged the couple some money
D．
a student helped the couple return the car to the company．
