I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention．Finally，the driver，a man about 60，looked up from behind the wheel and apologized，“I’m sorry，but I was reading a letter．” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough．

Since I was in no hurry，I told him to finish his letter．He shook his head，explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart．Curious，I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild．“This isn’t family，”he replied．“though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family．Old Ed and I grew up together．”

They were always friends．But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago，it’d generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them．A couple of weeks ago，Ed died．“I should have kept in touch．” He repeated this，more to himself than to me．To comfort him，I said sometimes we just didn’t seem to find the time．“But we used to find the time，” he said．“Take a look．” He handed the letter over to me．

The first sentence “I’ve been meaning to write for some time，but I’ve always delayed it．” reminded me of myself．It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together．When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me，more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that”，I found myself nodding in agreement．

We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph: “So I thought you’d like to know that I was thinking of you.” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom.”

“I thought your friend’s name was Ed,” I said.

“I’m Tom,” he explained. “It’s a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he’d died. I never put it in the mailbox. I guess I should have written it sooner.” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.

When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away．I had to write a letter and post it．

1.Who wrote the letter？

A．Tom

B．Old Ed．

C．The author．

D．The driver’s grandchild．

2.It can be inferred from the passage that the driver regretted_____．

A．missing Ed’s funeral

B．moving away from his neighborhood

C．forgetting to send Ed Christmas cards

D．not being able to keep in touch with Ed

3.From Paragraph 4，we learn that the author _______．

A．often fails to write to his friends

B．has no intention to write to his friends

C．had many great moments with his friends

D．was good at expressing his feelings to friends

4.What message does the passage probably try to convey？

A．Comfort your friends when they are feeling down．

B．Life is unpredictable so live each day as if it were your last．

C．Remember to always mail your letters after expressing your words．

D．Always make time to value and experience your lasting friendships．

Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to care for a newborn child．Last spring one of the two，Australia，gave up the bad distinction by setting up paid family leave starting in 2011．I wasn’t surprised when this didn’t make the news here in the United States—we’re now the only wealthy country without such a policy．

The United States does have one explicit family policy，the Family and Medical Leave Act，passed in 1993．It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks’ unpaid leave for care of a newborn or dealing with a family medical problem．Despite the modesty of the benefit，the Chamber of Commerce and other business groups fought it bitterly，describing it as “government-run personnel management” and a “dangerous precedent（先例）．” In fact，every step of the way，as (usually) Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-family balance measures into the law，business groups have been strongly opposed．

As Yale law professor Anne Alstott argues，justifying parental support depends on defining（定义）the family as a social good that，in some sense，society must pay for．Parents are burdened in many ways in their lives: there is “no exit” when it comes to children．Society expects—and needs—parents to provide their children with continuity of care．And society expects—and needs—parents to persist in their roles for 18 years，or longer if needed．

1.What do we learn about paid family leave according to Paragraph 1？

A．It came as a surprise when Australia adopted the policy．

B．Setting up this policy made Australia less influential．

C．It has now become a hot topic in the United States．

D．No such policy is applied in the United States．

2.What makes it hard to take work-family balance measures in the States？

A．The incompetence of the Democrats．

B．The opposition from business circles．

C．The lack of a precedent in American history．

D．The existing Family and Medical Leave Act．

3.What is Professor Anne Alstott’s argument for parental support？

A．Children need continuous care．

B．Good parenting benefits society．

C．The cost of raising children has been growing．

D．The U．S．should keep up with other developed countries．

4.Why is the author against classifying parenting as a personal choice？

A．Parenting is regarded as a moral duty．

B．Parenting relies largely on social support．

C．Parenting produces huge moral benefits．

D．Parenting is basically a social responsibility．

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

1.______ People traveled in search of food and shelter or in order to flee from their enemies．Sometimes they were looking for gold or silver in order to become rich．On other occasions they were searching for rich farmland．

This is not to say that no one ever traveled just for fun．Even in ancient times，some pleasure travel occurred．During a typical season，700，000 tourists would crowd into the ancient city of Rome，where animals performed and magicians entertained them．2.______

3.______ International tourist arrivals alone reached as many as 546 million in 1994 and are forecast to rise to 937 million in 2010，according to the World Trade Organization．

4.______ Probably the most common reason for traveling is related to our physical wellbeing．Actually，traveling to sports events is one of the fastest growing types of travel．In our fast developing society where stress has become part of people's life，people can rest and relax by having a change of environment and activities．

5.______ No one seems to doubt that travel broadens the mind．In 18th century Europe，young men would go on a Grand Tour to various countries in order to complete their education．Today the desire to travel to different countries is encouraged by modern mass media．People who travel to other countries can at the same time learn more about their own country and culture．

A．Throughout history，most travel was not for pleasure．

B．But why do people like traveling so much？

C．So they travel to a lake for a swim or a park for a bike．

D．The improvement in transportation has also encouraged people to travel．

E．Wealthy Romans made trips to Greece to take part in the Olympic Games．

F．The growth of tourism has become a modern phenomenon experienced by all countries in the world．

G．Another important reason for traveling is to satisfy our curiosity about different places and cultures．

—Steve, the vacation is coming soon．Have you found a summer job yet？

—I suppose I can work at the boy’s camp _____ I worked last summer．

A．that B．where C．which D．what

Sally was excited to meet Susan at the party last night．They _____ each other since they graduated from Oxford University in 2010．

A．haven’t seen B．hadn’t seen

C．didn’t see D．don’t see

Studies show that people who have a glass of wine per day do better than _____ who don’t．

A．that B．the one

C．ones D．those

—Congratulations！I hear you’ve won the first prize in the singing competition．—You _____ be mistaken．I’m in the dance class．

A．must B．may C．should D．could

If it _____ earlier, the printing machine would not have broken down．

A．has been repaired B．is repaired

C．had been repaired D．was repaired

—What do you do, Rita？

—I’m a clerk in a foreign company now．But I _____ English in a high school for 10 years．

A．teach B．have taught

C．taught D．am teaching

Let’s Go Fly a Kite…

—at Piedmont Middle School’s celebration of kites!

Come and learn how to build all sorts of kites，from the simplest diamond-shaped kites to the most complex box kites．Stay as long as you like and build as many kites as you want．Once you have finished a kite，get advice on flying techniques from kite expert Lorena Hallsberg．The celebration will be at Piedmont Middle School，151 Piedmont School Drive．

The Piedmont Middle School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) has organized a refreshment (茶点) tent．All profits will benefit future PTO activities．Take a break from kite flying and drink some lemonade! While you are doing so，why not join the PTO？ Membership is free; you just donate your time．Show your support for Piedmont Middle School by joining the PTO this Saturday!

When: Saturday，April 11，from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Where: Piedmont Middle School

Why: For fun!

Cost: Free，thanks to a generous gift from Bizarco Kite Company!

Schedule

9:00 am — Kite-building booths open．All materials are supplied for kites．

10:00 am — Kite-building shows by Lorena Hallsberg in the courtyard．Come by and learn how to build box kites and kites that look and fly like butterflies．

11:00 am — Kite-flying shows on the school track．Learn all the most important skills．

12:00 pm — Kite-flying competitions on the school track．

1:00 pm — Presentation by Dr．Brian Lehrman in the show tent: “The History of Kites”．

2:00 pm — Best Kite competitions and judging in the show tent．Come see the most artistic kites and the most interesting theme kites．

3:00 pm — Presentation by Dr．Lehrman in the show tent: “Kites and Science”．

3:30 pm — Awards ceremony conducted by Headmaster Seward on the football field．The results of the day’s judging will be announced，with awards such as Best of Show，Most Artistic，Highest Flyer，and others．Winners will receive gifts from the Bizarco Kite Company!

4:00–5:00 pm — Let’s all go fly a kite! Everyone flies kites at the same time，creating a wonderful sight for all to enjoy．

Come to the kite celebration，enjoy yourself and learn more．

1.The main purpose of Paragraph 2 is to ask people to _______．

A．build a kite

B．support the PTO

C．take a break

D．join the fun

2.Which times are most important for people who want to join in kite competitions？

A．10:00 am and 11:00 am．

B．12:00 pm and 2:00 pm．

C．1:00 pm and 3:00 pm．

D．2:00 pm and 4:00 pm．

3.From the passage，we know that the kite celebration _______．

A．is enjoyable and educational

B．is strict about the shapes of kites

C．gets money from PTO of Piedmont Middle School

D．gives people a chance to see kites from around the world

4.The passage is intended for _______．

A．school staff

B．kite experts

C．students and parents

D．kite companies