A king in Africa had a close friend with whom he had grown up. The friend had a habit of looking at every bad situation that occurred in his life and   1 , “This is good!”

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting   2 . The friend would   3   the guns for the king. But this time he had   4  done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.

Examining the   5  the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” to which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and   6  imprisoned his friend.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area where he should have known not to hunt. Cannibals(食人者)   __7 him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, set up a wooden post and   8  him to it. As they came close to set fire to burn the king, they   9  that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So  10  the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was   11  of the event that had taken his thumb and felt sorry for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the  12  to speak with his friend. “You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” Then he  13  to tell the friend all that had just happened.

“I feel  14  for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”

“No,” his friend replied, “this is good!”

“What do you mean? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”

“If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you, and I would have been ___15  !”

1.                A．joking          B．remarking       C．announcing    D．whispering

2.                A．expectation     B．experience      C．expedition D．experiment

3.                A．prepare        B．arrange         C．carry D．hold

4.                A．deliberately     B．apparently      C．naturally  D．specially

5.                A．thumb         B．king            C．gun  D．situation

6.                A．angrily         B．calmly          C．regretfully D．joyfully

7.                A．caught         B．warned         C．robbed   D．hunted

8.                A．connected      B．related         C．wrapped  D．fastened

9.                A．observed       B．understood      C．noticed   D．complained

10.               A．untying         B．forgiving        C．overlooking    D．beating

11.               A．recalled        B．accused        C．informed  D．reminded

12.               A．house          B．jail            C．village D．kingdom

13.               A．stopped        B．hesitated       C．continued D．refused

14.               A．fortunate       B．foolish         C．guilty D．painful

15.               A．burnt          B．cooked         C．fired  D．eaten

                                          B

      For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do？

      Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely. Both feel trapped.

      In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends.

Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is— politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg—the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority — someone who actually knows something —and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.

55. Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

     A. Both can continue for generations.

     B. Both are about where to draw the line.

     C. Neither has any clear winner.

     D. Neither can be put to an end.

56. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

     A. The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict.

     B. The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict.

     C. The teens accuse their parents of misleading them.

     D. The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents.

57. Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ____

     A. give orders to the other

     B. know more than the other

     C. gain respect from the other

     D. get the other to behave properly

58. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

     A. Causes for the parent-teen conflicts.

     B. Examples of the parent-teen war.

     C. Solutions for the parent-teen problems.

     D.  Future of the parent-teen relationship.

A good hearing memory will help your child do better in school. Your child's hearing ability is normal. Yet, he may seem to be very poor at remembering and understanding what he's heard at school.

    Why should this be? It's because he's not using his hearing ability to help him remember and understand what he's been taught.

    Some children get into the habit of learning and remembering things by what they hear. They've got good hearing memories. Other children find it easier to learn and remember things by what they see. They've got good seeing memories. Some children have equally good ability at both seeing and hearing in learning things. Others, less fortunate, seem to have poor bearing and seeing memories. Most children, I'd say, unknowingly prefer one method over the other for learning and remembering.

    But this favoring of one sense over the other is a bad habit and deprives （使……不能） the child of the full use of his natural senses.

    Mrs. Alien was clearly incredulous when I told her there was nothing wrong with her son's hearing. "But he never seems to really understand what he hears, that's what his teachers tell me," she said.

    "My psychological examination of William shows he's weak in his hearing memory," I said, "but he has perfectly normal intelligence and can learn in school."             

    "Our family doctor examined William and he says the boy's hearing was all right. So, that proves  you're right on that point," admitted Mrs. Alien. "So how can we help him? My husband and I will do anything you say, Dr. Dursteln."

    "You can do a lot to improve William's hearing memory, but it'll take time. You must be patient and not expect results immediately." I cautioned.

    I suggested a detailed program for the parents to use at home. I told Mrs. Alien to come back and see me every two weeks so that I could guide her in any problem she had in using my program.

1. Those who have poor hearing memories         . 

    A．can not hear sounds clearly

    B．are poor at remembering and understanding what they have learned

    C．are poor at learning things by what they have heard

    D．have the habit of learning things by what they have heard of

2. The author suggested that Mrs. Alien try some ways        .

    A．to train her son's hearing memory

    B．to make use of her son's natural senses

    C．to make good use of what her son heard

    D．to understand the trouble in which her son was involved

3. In Paragraph 5, the underlined word "incredulous" means         .

    A．unbelieving           B．believable        C．believing             D．incredible

4. Which of the following is true?

    A．Good hearing memory will not help your child do better in school.

    B．Some children get into the habit of learning and remembering things by what they hear.

    C．The favoring of one sense over the other is not a bad habit.

    D．The author didn't suggest a detailed program for the parents to use at home with William.

When a dirty and untidy orange cat showed up in the prison yard，I was one of the first to go out there and pet it．I hadn’t touched a cat or a dog in over 20 years．I spent at least 20 minutes，knelt down behind the kitchen as the cat rolled around，relaxed．What he was expressing outwardly, I was feeling inwardly．It was an amazing bit of grace to feel him under my hand and note that I was reaching a life or another creature with something as simple as my care．

 Over the next few days，there were other prisoners responding to the cat．Every yard period，a group of prisoners gathered there．They stood around talking and taking turns petting the cat．These were guys you wouldn’t usually find talking to each other．Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．Bowls of milk and water appeared along with bread, wisely placed under the edge of the dustbin to keep the birds from getting it．

 The cat was obviously homeless and in pretty bad shape．People said that the cat came to the right place．He's getting treated like a king．This was true．but as I watched I was also thinking about what the cat was doing for us．There was a lot of talk about what's wrong with prisons in America．We need more programs．We need more psychologists or treatment of various kinds．Some may even talk about making prisons more kind．But I think what we really need is a chance to practise our own kindness．Not receive it，but give it．After more than two decades here，I know kindness is not a value that's encouraged．It's often seen as a weakness．

Instead，the culture encourages keeping your head down，minding your own business，and never letting yourself be weak．

The cat did my heart good to see the effect he had on me and the men here．By simply saying，”I need some help here”，he did something important for us．He needed us．And we needed to be needed．I believe we all do．

From the passage，we can learn that the author was            ．

A．an animal protector   B．the cat owner   C．a prison officer        D．a prisoner

Which of the following statements is true?

A．The cat was dirty because it was kept in prison．

B．The officer in the prison enjoyed petting the cat．

C．The prisoners prepared food for both the cat and birds．

D．The author realized the importance of practising kindness．

We can infer from the third paragraph that               ．

A．showing love to others can make prisoners strong

B．the American prison culture will be improved

C．the author is not content with the prison culture

D．caring for others is encouraged in American prisons

What is the best title for the passage?

A．Caring Makes Us Human．      B．Prison Culture is Important．

C．Animals Need Care．  D．Everyone Needs to be Cared for．

In Paragraph 2，the author mentioned that “Several times I saw an officer in the group，not chasing people away, but just watching and seeming to enjoy along with the prisoners．”to               ．

A．show us the officer and prisoners get along well with each other

B．show us the American prison culture does need improvement

C．show us the officer and prisoners all like cat

D．show us the American prison culture is great

For a long time, being happy was considered something that just happened, and there was nothing special about it. Now we know it is something that we can work at.

You are happy if you get along well with others. To make people like you better, you should be unselfish, not wanting everything from your friends. Another way is to look for good points, not bad ones in other people. It is surprising how successful this can be.

You don’t have to be spineless (没有骨气的) in order to be popular. In fact, you will be liked and respected if you are not afraid to stand up for your rights. But do it politely and pleasantly. It is one way to develop a good character if you are friendly and polite to your group, to other people and to strangers and especially to those who do not look important or do not interest you.

    Second, you must learn not to be unhappy when you make mistakes. You can not expect to be perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. No one is to be blamed (责备) unless he refuses to learn from them. Many young people become discouraged when they know in themselves qualities that they do not like — selfishness, laziness, and other unpleasant qualities. Just remember that we all have some of these faults and have to fight against them.

    At the same time, it is important to remember that, while you are probably no worse than others, the best way to be happy is to think yourself above other people. When something is wrong, it is good sense to try to make it right. Perhaps you don’t like a teacher or a classmate. Try to see why, and look at yourself, too, to be sure that you are not doing anything to make that person dislike you. Some day, things may turn out all right and then you will have to learn to get along the best with the situation, without thinking too much about it. Worrying never helps in a situation you can’t change.

Which of the following is suggested in the passage?

   A. Draw attention of our friends.

   B. Ask for the best share of everything.

   C. Look for faults that are shared among people.

   D. Pay more attention to other people’s strong points.

According to the passage, if we want to be popular, we should ______.

   A. be polite and friendly

   B. give up some rights

   C. never argue with other people

   D. be ready to change our character

One should be blamed if he or she ______.

   A. is not better than others

   B. is selfish and lazy

   C. does not draw a lesson from his or her mistakes

   D. has some unpleasant qualities

The writer will possibly agree with the following EXCEPT that ______.

   A. no one is perfect

   B. every person has their own advantages over others

   C. getting worried helps to change the situation for the better

   D. self-examination is necessary if something is wrong

The author writes the passage in order to ______.

   A. teach you how to make yourself perfect

   B. show you how to be happy

   C. tell you how to act when in trouble

   D. teach you how to be popular among your friends