When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.

One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.

My whole life I have depended on the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.

1. Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?

Dear Mr Zhu,

I am writing to your magazine’s “Teenagers Now” column(专栏) to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son. At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do. He is our only child and we treat him very well. His grandparents buy him many things, and yet he is still rude to us. He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him. Sometimes he acts as if he doesn’t even love us at all.

Now he refuses to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music. I cannot understand this music, but I don’t like it. He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online. He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life!

What am I to do? At present, to prevent making his mother unhappy with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom. However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants, he may fail at school, or worse.

How can I help my son without harming our relationship?

Yours

Liu Zhenhua

1. What’s Mr. Zhu’s job?

A. A teacher.                                                                      B. A magazine columnist. 

C. A youth worker.                                                        D. A doctor.

2.From the passage, we can know that Mr. Liu’s son is _______ to his parents.

A. friendly                  B. thankful           C. polite          D. rude

3.What does Liu Zhenhua write to Mr. Zhu for?

A. To blame his son.

B. To ask for help with his son.

C. To say something about his son.

D. To complain to him about his son.

4.What do you think is the possible answer for the father?

A. The father should let the son alone.

B. The father should give his son a beating.

C. The father should allow his son his freedom.

D. The father should be patient enough to have communication with the son.

请先阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入相应空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该项涂黑。(每小题1分)

    I was so excited after I had found the holiday in the guidebook. It said, “Enjoy a week of sightseeing in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities          staying at one of its best hotels. ” Now I wasn’t so sure. I had waited fifteen minutes at reception (前台) when I            and now the shower in my room wasn’t working. I called hotel reception.

    “Hello. This is Room 308. There isn’t any            in my bathroom. ”

    “Are you sure?”

    “Of course I’m sure!

    “I’ll            our hotel engineer at once. ”

    An hour later, the engineer came to look at the shower. He hit the pipes (管子) a few times and looked          . “Sorry, but I cannot fix it today. Maybe, tomorrow.” Then he            his hand. I couldn’t believe it! He wanted a tip (小费) for doing            ! I was very angry. But suddenly, I had a better idea.            , I gave the engineer a few coins. He hadn’t fixed my shower but he had taught me something about staying in his country. Two minutes later I was at the reception desk. I explained the problem to the receptionist (接待员) and he replied, “Sorry. This is a            situation, but what can we do?” I knew exactly what to do. I gave the hotel manager a very large tip. Fifteen minutes later I            into Room 405. It was twice the size of Room 308, it had a wonderful view (景色) of the city, a comfortable bed and, most importantly, there was water in the bathroom.

1.A. since           B. while              C. after               D. before

2.A. arrived                B. passed           C. left                  D. stopped

3.A. toothpaste B. water             C. shampoo       D. soap

4.A. send           B. catch              C. trouble          D. bring

5.A. proud                  B. worried         C. angry              D. excited

6.A. put up                  B. cleaned up    C. took back      D. held out

7.A. nothing                B. anything        C. something     D. everything

8.A. Seriously    B. Especially      C. Quickly D. Luckily

9.A. helpful                 B. perfect          C. terrible D. busy

10.A. broke                B. looked           C. rushed           D. moved

Once a man came to a smart man’s house and said, “I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up        ?” The wise man said, “Never tell lies (谎言) and always speak the truth.” The man promised (承诺) to do        and went home.
At night the man was about to go out to steal (偷). Before leaving, he        for a moment about the promise he made to the wise man. “If he asks me where I have been, what shall I say? Shall I say I        stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth, everyone will start        me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing.” So the man made a decision not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit.
Next day, he wanted to drink wine. When he was about to do so, he said to himself, “What shall I say to the wise man if he asks me        I did during the day? I cannot tell a lie.” And so he gave up the        of drinking wine.
      , whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he remembered his promise to tell the truth at all times. One by one, he gave up all his bad habits and became a very        person.
Telling the truth is a very good habit. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of        and become a person whom everyone likes and favors.
Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.
【小题1】A. first                      B. next                C. then
【小题2】A. that                       B. it                      C. so
【小题3】A. played                 B. slept                    C. thought
【小题4】A. hung out                    B. went out            C. handed out
【小题5】A. hating                  B. watching             C. fooling
【小题6】A. what                   B. where                    C. how
【小题7】A. use                    B. word                C. idea
【小题8】A. On the way              B. In this way              C. By the way
【小题9】A. rich                   B. strong               C. good
【小题10】A. pleasure                   B. trouble                  C. hopes