In the middle of the first term of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods.

One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve!! Pay attention!”. Steve turned to look at her, fixing his eyes on Miss White, as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.

“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, her eyes searching his face. “...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!” She just stared at Steve. Steve dropped his eyes.

After that, it was war!! Steve still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn.

“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” He was unmoved.

 “You’re smart enough! You’ll see a change!” Nothing touched him.

“Give yourself a chance! Don’t give up on your life!” Nothing.

“Steve! Please! I care about you!”

Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it!! Someone cared about him? Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, both parents were out. He, quickly, gathered up a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks.

   The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all smiles! God, she was beautiful!

Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Miss White’s face was in total shock! The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test!

From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed．He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at it!

He discovered that he could understand knowledge and translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to go ahead!

1．Steve used to be bad at his lessons because___________.

     A．the teacher blamed him from time to time

     B．he was not a smart boy in his class

     C．the test for the seventh grade challenged his confidence

     D．he hadn’t put his heart into his studies

2．The underlined word “stubborn” in the passage probably refers to “_______”.

    A．severely punished                 B．completely unchanged

    C．careless with the homework         D．lost in the test

3．It was the ______that made Steve begin to work hard at his lessons later.

    A．teacher’s encouragement           B．help from his classmates

    C．care from the teacher              D．failure in the test for the seventh grade

4．Which of the following descriptions is TRUE according to the passage?

      A．Steve often helped his parents work in the woods instead of going to school.

    B．The teacher punished Steve for his failure in the test for the seventh grade.

    C．Steve not only made progress but finally became a good student of the class.

    D．Steve was actually a clever boy, but Miss White hadn’t realized it at first.

In kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon(蜡笔) when all that was left was the ugly black one.

In primary school your ___1___ of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you; ___2___ your hand as you walked through the scary(可怕的) halls; ___3___ their lunch with you when you left ___4___ on the bus; saved a ___5___ on the back of the bus for you; knew ___6___ you had a crush on(迷恋) and never understood why. In ___7___ school your idea of a good friend was the person who let you ___8___ their social studies homework; went to that “cool” party with you  ___9___ you wouldn’t wind up(结束) being the only fresher there; did not let you lunch ___10___.

In pre-university your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you___11___ in their new car;  comforted you when you broke up with Nick or Susan: found you a(n) ___12___ to the prom(舞会) or went to the prom with you(both without dates); helped you pick a university and assured you that you would get into that ___13___; helped you deal with your parents who were having a ___14___ time letting you go.

On the threshold(开始) of ___15___  your idea of a good friend was the person who was there ___16___ you just couldn’t deal with your parents; assured you that now you and Nick or you and Susan were ___17___ together, you could make it through anything; just silently hugged you as you ___18___ through blurry(模糊的) eyes at 18 years of memories; and reassured you that you would ___19___ it in university as well as you had these past 18 years; and most importantly ___20___ you off to university knowing you were loved.

1. A. idea       B. thought      C. mind   D. sight

2. A. placed    B. shook  C. held    D. waved

3. A. cooked   B. seized C. shared D. bought

4. A. ours       B. hers    C. his      D. yours

5. A. ticket     B. seat     C. chair   D. stand

6. A. what      B. that     C. who    D. why

7. A. primary  B. secondary   C. college       D. pre-university

8. A. do   B. see      C. check  D. copy

9. A. and B. so       C. as       D. but

10. A. together       B. far      C. lonely D. alone

11. A. seat      B. time    C. money       D. rides

12. A. car       B. excuse C. friend D. date

13. A. school  B. prom  C. club    D. university

14. A. good    B. wonderful  C. hard    D. modern

15. A. boy      B. baby   C. child   D. adulthood

16. A. where   B. when  C. how    D. why

17. A. back     B. happy C. up      D. over

18. A. looked  B. went   C. came   D. passed

19. A. have     B. get      C. make  D. take

20. A. put       B. got     C. took    D. sent

The Hand
Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class fun work to draw a picture of  36  for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be  37   to be economically(经济上) poor, but still many would  38   a big holiday dinner with turkeys and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the   39   of most of her students’ art. And they really were.
But Douglas made a   40   kind of picture, for Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of pity and love,  41  and unhappy. As other children played at break, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess the pain Douglas felt  42   those sad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When he was  43  to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a  44  ---nothing else. Just an empty hand.
His picture brought out the heated  45  of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer because farmers  46   turkeys. Another suggested a police officer’s because the police protect and  47   people. And so the discussion went --- until the teacher   48   forgot the young artist.
  49 the children had gone on to do other work, she   50 Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and said in a very low voice, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the  51    when she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there and how  52   she had said, “Take your hand, Douglas, and we’ll go outside.” or “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” or “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most   53   for his teacher’s hand.
Brushing aside tears, she went on with her work.
In fact, people  54   not always say “Thanks”. But they would remember the hand that  55   .

The other day in school, we were discussing jobs. Our teacher, Mrs. Bolt said that career was very important and that it was never too early to think about your life’s work. Most of the young boys really were not too sure about what they wanted to be. But I knew exactly what I wanted to be, and when Mrs. Bolt asked me, I replied “A truck driver.”
“A truck driver?” repeated Mrs. Blot. “Why do you want to be one, Tom?”
“Because truck drivers are always on the move. They do not have to sit at desks all day. They are out on the road and they see a lot of the country. The pay is good, too. And you never have any homework.”
The class laughed.
“Well, Tom.” answered Mrs. Bolt. “You certainly sound quite enthusiastic (热情的). I guess that you don’t like sitting at a desk or doing homework. Is that correct, Tom?”
“Yes, I guess so, ” I said.
“Well, since you are so interested in becoming a truck driver, I think you should look into the field a little further. I want you to go to the library and take out a book on truck driving. And I want you to write a paper on it and hand it in at the end of the month.”
That’s the last time I’ll never tell anybody my secret ambition (雄心).
46．Mrs. Bolt suggested Tom write a book report because         .
A．she was angry with him.
B．she wanted him to learn about the other side of truck driving.
C．she was making fun of him.
D．she wanted the whole class to follow him
47．Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The writer thinks that truck drivers are well paid.
B．What Tom said made his classmates laugh.
C．It seemed as if Tom did not enjoy doing his homework.
D．Mrs. Bolt didn’t want Tom to become a truck driver.
48．Tom wouldn’t tell about his ambition any more because          .
A．he didn’t think his ambition could come true.
B．he just got more homework to do.
C．he was laughed at by the whole class.
D．he would not be able to become a truck driver.
49．What can we infer about Mrs. Bolt?
A．She was unkind to her students.            B．She was unfit for her position.
C．She was a teacher with ripe experience.  D．She always did something strange. 

The Hand

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class fun work to draw a picture of  36  for which they were thankful.

Most of the class might be  37   to be economically(经济上) poor, but still many would  38   a big holiday dinner with turkeys and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the   39   of most of her students’ art. And they really were.

But Douglas made a   40   kind of picture, for Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of pity and love,  41  and unhappy. As other children played at break, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess the pain Douglas felt  42   those sad eyes.

Yes, his picture was different. When he was  43  to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a  44  ---nothing else. Just an empty hand.

His picture brought out the heated  45  of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer because farmers  46   turkeys. Another suggested a police officer’s because the police protect and  47   people. And so the discussion went --- until the teacher   48   forgot the young artist.

  49 the children had gone on to do other work, she   50 Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and said in a very low voice, “It’s yours, teacher.”

She recalled the  51    when she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there and how  52   she had said, “Take your hand, Douglas, and we’ll go outside.” or “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” or “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most   53   for his teacher’s hand.

Brushing aside tears, she went on with her work.

In fact, people  54   not always say “Thanks”. But they would remember the hand that  55   .

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

2.                A．suggested       B．imagined        C．encouraged   D．thought

3.                A．have           B．share          C．prefer    D．ask

4.                A．homework      B．subjects         C．classes   D．thoughts

5.                A．good           B．encouraging     C．different D．exciting

6.                A．merry          B．naughty         C．weak     D．lively

7.                A．behind         B．beside          C．before   D．around

8.                A．ordered        B．told            C．forced    D．spoken

9.                A．gift            B．person         C．hand     D．wonder

10.               A．thought        B．laughter        C．eyes D．discussion

11.               A．keep           B．need           C．buy  D．sell

12.               A．look at         B．care for        C．take away  D．drive off

13.               A．always         B．almost          C．usually    D．therefore

14.               A．Before         B．Because        C．Since D．When

15.               A．looked at       B．pointed at       C．turned to D．looked to

16.               A．chances        B．forms          C．ways D．times

17.               A．seldom         B．often          C．soon D．much

18.               A．thankful        B．calm           C．pleased   D．comfortable

19.               A．could          B．must           C．should    D．might

20.               A．moved on       B．went out        C．helped out     D．reached out