A little girl lived with her grandmother after her parents died. They slept in an upstairs bedroom.

One night there was a big fire in their house. The grandmother died when she was trying to save the child. The whole house was burning.

The little girl appeared at the window, crying for help. All the neighbors wanted to help the child. But they had no way to do it.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder. He put it up and climbed into the room. When he reappeared, he had the little girl in his arms. He dropped the child to the waiting arms below, then disappeared into the night.

Everyone knew the child had no living relatives. So the people in the town held a meeting to decide who would raise her.

A teacher said she would raise the child. She could give her the best education. A farmer wanted to take her to his farm. He said the living on the farm was interesting and healthy. Everyone in the town wanted to keep the child and they all tried to give her a happy life.

Finally, the town’s richest man stood up and said, “I can give this child whatever she needs. I can buy her everything.” The girl kept silent all the time.

“Does anyone else want to speak?” asked the chairman of the meeting.

A man came from the back of the hall. He walked slowly and looked painful. Then he stopped before the little girl, holding out his arms. Everyone watched quietly. His hands and arms were badly burnt..

The child cried out, “This is the man who saved me.” With a jump, she put her arms around the man’s neck. She put her face on his shoulder and cried for a few minutes. Then she looked up and smiled at him.

“This meeting is over.” said the chairman.

(　 ) 41. The people in the town held a meeting to ___________.

　 A. decide who would bring up the girl　　　 B. decide who would teach the girl

　 C. decide what the girl would do　　　　　　 D. see how the girl was

(　 ) 42. The word “raise” in the fifth paragraph means __________.

A. 举起　　　 B. 放下　　　 C. 得到　　　 D. 抚养　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

(　 ) 43. From the passage, we know that _________ at the meeting wanted to raise the girl.

　 A. only the farmer　　 B. nobody　　 C. everyone　　 D. only the teacher

(　 ) 44. How did the girl’s parents die?

　 A. They died in the fire.　　　　 B. They died in a car accident.

　 C. They died of illness.　　　　 D. The story doesn’t tell us.

(　 ) 45. Which is TRUE according to the passage?

　 A. The richest man saved the girl from the fire

　 B. The girl’s grandmother lived with her after the fire

　 C. After the meeting, the girl lived with the man who saved her

　 D. The chairman couldn’t decide who would raise the girl at the meeting

Dear Annie,

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before, I have just never felt the need to do such a thing. I have always felt I was quite able to do everything by myself. But now I know I was wrong.

Sometimes you really need help in life, I guess. And that’s why I’m writing this letter to you.

I have a happy family. I love my children and they love me . I’m a mother of three children. I know well how to bring up (带大)children, and two of them are already over twenty, so it is nothing new for me.

But now I have a serious problem: the Internet problem. My little son is just sixteen, and I feel he should do a lot of homework now , but he doesn’t seem to be interested in it . He can happily spend six or eight hours at a time on the Internet every day , He chats with people that he has never met before , but speaks little to us .He does lots of useless things on the Internet. And he sees red if you ask him to do his homework.

I just want him to be a good student . Now he seldom does his lessons at home. I’m afraid he will drop behind in his class soon. His father is a doctor , a very kind man . He never seems to be afraid of his father.

What can I do ?And don’t tell to talk to him. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But this is really a big problem in our family. I have tried everything I can think of . I

wonder how the Internet is so attractive(有吸引力的).You’re my last hope. Please tell me what I can do!

Yours,

Ellen Smith

1.Mrs Snith wrote to Annie because　　　　　　　.

     A. she often asked others for help

     B. she thought she was a great mother

     C. she didn’t know how to stop his son surfing the Internet

     D. she didn’t know how the Internet was so attractive

2.What might NOT Mrs Smith’s son do on the Internet?                       

     A. Send e-mails to his friends         B. Prepare for his lessons

     C. Chat with strange people           D. Read the news

3.What does the phrase “he sees red” mean in this passage?                   

     A. He feels sorry                    B. He feels happy

     C. He becomes frightened             D. He becomes angry

4.What do you think of Mr.Smith?                   

     A. An irresponsible(不负责任的)father who never taught his son

     B. A very excellent doctor who was busy with his work and had no time to teach

his son

     C. A very kind man who loved his son

     D.A man who always made his son be afraid of him but failed

My life suffered a lot in a summer five years ago. My father died in a car accident, leaving my mother, my two younger brothers and I alone. At that time, I was a senior high school student. After my father’s funeral (葬礼), I had no choice but to drop out of school and work in a factory.
I really wanted to return to school and wanted to go to college, but I couldn’t. I only hoped to bring up my two younger brothers. Life was not easy for me, for I can’t afford their tuition (学费) even if I worked from day to night without stopping. Without my father’s protection, I thought I was a slave (奴隶) to the fate.
Later on, something changed my life. I still remember that it was a rainy day. I put myself in the rain and walked slowly in the street.
Suddenly the rain stopped! I raised my head and found “the sky” was in fact a dark blue umbrella. Then I noticed a middle-aged man with one leg on crutch (拐杖) standing behind me. He said to me, “Why not run without an umbrella? If you didn’t run, you would get drenched.”
The man told me that he was promoter (推销员). He once dreamed of being a policeman, but an accident ruined (毁灭) his dream. Though his present job was not suitable for his legs, it was wonderful start to him. He was very happy that he didn’t lose heart and still “ran” on the road of life…
I was encouraged by the man’s words. I went to a big city and I became an assurance representative (保险代理人). After two years’ running, I did well and my family condition turned better little by little. Later I returned to school and succeeded in my entrance to university.
Life is like this. When you are in rainy days in your life, if you couldn’t find a way to prevent you from being wet, you would be overwhelmed (被制服). But if you decide to get rid of it, you’ll discover that the rainy days last not so long as you imagine.
【小题1】What happened to the writer at the beginning of the story? 

The Girl From the Street
The workers who brought the girl to the orphanage（孤儿院）knew little about her. The streets where they found her had been her home for many years. Her parents were unknown. They left her long ago. At the orphanage, the girl, like all the children there, was taught to read and write. While she was studying at the orphanage, she learned something else—to be independent（独立）. At twenty-one, she left the orphanage and began working as a secretary.（秘书）And then, in 1975, while she was still working as an ordinary secretary, something special happened. She entered the Miss Hong Kong competition and won it. This was the turning point in her life. Now her name, Mary Cheung, was known to everybody.
Mary entered the competition because she wanted to show that orphanage girls could be something. Winning the competition gave her the chance to start a new life. This led her first into television and then into business as a manager. When she was working as a manager, she had trouble with her reports. “My English just wasn’t good enough.” She says. Luckily, she had a boyfriend (who later became her husband) to help her.
Mary studied management（管理）at Hong Kong and graduated in 1980, She started her own business in 1985. But she did not stop developing herself. She then studied at the University of Hong Kong. Since 1987, she had spent a lot of time on photography. She has held several exhibitions of her work in many places---China, New Zealand and Paris. She still found time, however, to work on TV, write for newspapers and bring up her family.
The girl from the street has come a long way, but her journey is not finished yet.
【小题1】Before Mary Cheung was brought to the orphanage, ___________.

Dear Annie,

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before, I have just never felt the need to do such a thing. I have always felt I was quite able to do everything by myself. But now I know I was wrong.

Sometimes you really need help in life, I guess. And that’s why I’m writing this letter to you.

I have a happy family. I love my children and they love me . I’m a mother of three children. I know well how to bring up (带大)children, and two of them are already over twenty, so it is nothing new for me.

But now I have a serious problem:the Internet problem. My little son is just sixteen, and I feel he should do a lot of homework now , but he doesn’t seem to be interested in it . He can happily spend six or eight hours at a time on the Tnternet every day , He chats with pelple that he has never met before , but speaks little to us .He does lots of useless things on the Internet. And he sees red if you ask him to do his homework.

I just want him to be a good student . Now he seldomdoes his lessons at home. I’m afraid he will drop behind in his class soon. His father is a doctor , a very kind man . He never seems to be afraid of his father.

What can I do ?And don’t tell to talk to him. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But this is really a big problem in our family. I have tried everything I can think of . I

wonder how the Internet is so attractive(有吸引力的).You’re my last hope. Please tell me what I can do!

Yours,

Ellen Smith

(   ) 1. Mrs Snith wrote to Annie because　　　　　　　.

     A. she often asked others for help

     B. she thought she was a great mother

     C. she didn’t know how to stop his son surfing the Internet

     D. she didn’t know how the Internet was so attractive

(   ) 2.What might NOT Mrs Smith’s son do on the Internet?                        

     A. Send e-mails to his friends         B. Prepare for his lessons

     C. Chat with strange people           D.Read the news

(   ) 3. What does the phrase “he sees red”mean in this passage?                   

     A. He feels sorry                    B.He feels happy

     C. He becomes frightened             D. He becomes angry

(   ) 4. What do you think of Mr.Smith?                   

     A. An irresponsible(不负责任的)father who nerver taught his son

     B. A very excellent doctor who was busy with his work and had no time to teach

his son

     C. A very kind man who loved his son

     D.A man who always made his son be afraid of him but failed