—Dad! I hate studying, and I want to drop out of school.

—Quit halfway? ________. Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.

   A. Think twice                                                     B. Go to hell         

C. Really?                                                             D. Don’t talk that tone with me.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw Kyle from my class walking home from school. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd (a foolish person)." I had quite a weekend planned, so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running towards him. They knocked all his books out of his arms and tripped(绊倒) him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the glass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should go to hell." He looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real thankfulness. I asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. I am here to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp(倒吸气) go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

1.Why did Kyle carry all his books home?

A. Because it was Friday.

B. Because he was a nerd.

C. Because he wanted to kill himself.

D. Because he liked doing things for his mother.

2.Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The bunch of kids attacked Kyle to have his glasses and books.

B. The author planned to study all weekend after he met Kyle.

C. The author was a freshman when Kyle gave the speech.

D. Kyle felt grateful to the author for his help.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. When Kyle couldn't find the glass, he turned to the author for help.

B. The author teased Kyle a lot about being a nerd.

C. The author didn't expect Kyle to tell the story.

D. Kyle thanked his parents first for saving his life.

4.What does the underlined "them" in the 2nd paragraph refer to?

A. The kids.       B. Kyle's books.         C. Kyle's glasses.        D. Kyle's arms.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful bird, which was very curious about hell. When she was little, her mother always told her that if she didn’t master the flying skills, she would go to hell. She was so curious about hell that she always asked others what hell looked like, but no one was sure, because none of them had ever been there. Some said hell was a place full of water, and others told her that hell was full of burning fire. However, the bird knew they were lying. She wanted to find out what hell was.
When other birds were learning flying skills, she always hid herself and watched them. She thought in this way she could go to hell and see what hell looked like. However, she spent so little time learning flying skills that one day she was caught by a little boy. The little boy gave her to his grandpa in the countryside as a gift. The old man liked her very much. He made a delicate cage and put her in it. The bird was very worried because she thought she couldn’t find out what hell was like staying in this small cage. However, she couldn’t escape. Day after day, she just stayed in the cage, watching other birds flying. She lost her freedom and she became sadder and sadder. At last, she became ill. The old man finally opened the cage, but she was too weak to fly. Lying no the ground, she thought of the question that she ever asked all the time.
“What does hell look like?”
“Hell is a small well-decorated cage.” Before she closed her eyes forever, she finally answered that question herself.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “master” in the first paragraph mean?

—Dad! I hate studying, and I want to drop out of school.

—Quit halfway? ________. Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful bird, which was very curious about hell. When she was little, her mother always told her that if she didn’t master the flying skills, she would go to hell. She was so curious about hell that she always asked others what hell looked like, but no one was sure, because none of them had ever been there. Some said hell was a place full of water, and others told her that hell was full of burning fire. However, the bird knew they were lying. She wanted to find out what hell was.

When other birds were learning flying skills, she always hid herself and watched them. She thought in this way she could go to hell and see what hell looked like. However, she spent so little time learning flying skills that one day she was caught by a little boy. The little boy gave her to his grandpa in the countryside as a gift. The old man liked her very much. He made a delicate cage and put her in it. The bird was very worried because she thought she couldn’t find out what hell was like staying in this small cage. However, she couldn’t escape. Day after day, she just stayed in the cage, watching other birds flying. She lost her freedom and she became sadder and sadder. At last, she became ill. The old man finally opened the cage, but she was too weak to fly. Lying no the ground, she thought of the question that she ever asked all the time.

“What does hell look like?”

“Hell is a small well-decorated cage.” Before she closed her eyes forever, she finally answered that question herself.

What does the underlined word “master” in the first paragraph mean?

  A. Miss.      B. Finish.          C. Follow.          D. Learn well.

Why did the bird hide herself when other birds were learning flying skills?

  A. Because she was lazy.

  B. Because she didn’t like learning flying skills.

  C. Because she thought she could go to hell by doing this.

  D. Because she thought she didn’t have to learn flying skills.

According to the passage, the bird at last found that      .

A. hell was a place full of water.          B. hell was a place full of burning fire

C. there was no hell                        D. hell was a small well-decorated cage