When I was nine years old I lived in a small town. I found an ad for selling greeting cards in the back of a children’s magazine. I thought to myself I could do this. I begged my mother to let me send for the kit (配件). Two weeks later the kit arrived. The next three hours later, I returned home with no card and a pocket full of money shouting, “Mama, all the people couldn’t wait to buy my cards!” A salesperson was born.

When I was twelve years old, my father took me to see Zig Ziegler. I remember sitting in the dark hall listening to Mr. Ziegler raise everyone’s spirits up to ceiling. I left there feeling like I could do anything. When we got to the car, I turned to my father and said, “Dad, I want to make people feel like that.” My father asked me what I meant. “I want to be a motivational speaker just like Mr. Ziegler,” I replied. A dream was born.

Recently, I began pursuing（追求） my dream of motivating others. I realized that everything I had accomplished — the graduate degree, the successful sales career, speaking appointments, training and managing for a major fortune 100 company as a senior manager— had prepared me for this moment. I told my boss who was a great leader I would leave the company though I might not reach such a height in career. He told me to proceed（进行） and he believed I would succeed.

Having made that decision, I was immediately tested. One week after I gave notice, my husband was laid off from his job. We had recently bought a new home and needed both incomes to make the monthly mortgage (抵押) payment and now we were done to no income. I even planned to turn back to my former company, knowing they wanted me to stay but I was certain that if I went back, I would never leave. I decided I still wanted to move forward rather than end up with a mouth full of “if onlys” later on. A motivational speaker was born.

When I held fast to my dream, even during the tough times, the miracles（奇迹） really began to happen. In a short time period my husband found a better job. We didn’t miss a mortgage payment. And I was able to book several speaking appointments with new clients (客户). I discovered the incredible power of dreams. I loved my old job, my workmates and the company I left, but it was time to get on with my dream. To celebrate my success I had a local artist paint my new office as a garden. At the top of one wall she marked, “The world always makes way for the dreamer.”

1.Why was the kit sent for?

A. Selling greeting cards.                  B. Collecting greeting cards.

C. Buying greeting cards.                   D. Sending greeting cards.

2. When did the author decide to become a motivational speaker?

A. After buying a new home by mortgage.

B. After giving notice to leave her safe position in the company.

C. After finding a job in a major fortune 100 company.

D. After listening to Mr. Ziegler’s inspiring speech.

3. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. She was once an excellent manager.

B. She left her post at the height of her career.

C. She was not sure whether the former company could accept her.

D. She didn’t miss paying the monthly mortgage payment.

4. What does the underlined sentence mean in the last paragraph?

A. Carry on with your dreams and you will be successful.

B. Risk everything you have for a dream and you will succeed.

C. The world belongs to dreamers.

D. Everyone will find their dreams.

We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed like this would be a good time to let my teenager daughter Holly practice her driving.

??? At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I enjoyed having it, but I said, “Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won’t last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won’t last.”

??? After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted, “Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck.”

??? My heart sank and my mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say, “Here is a chance to show Holly what you really love. She’ll never forget it.”

??? The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van (搬运车). In her inexperience, she had confused the brakes and the gas pedal. Holly was unhurt physically, but when I reached her, she was crying and saying, “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this truck.” I held her in my arms as she cried.

??? Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the story. Her eyes moistened(湿润) and she said, “That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and ran into a log that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me.” Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of that night. It was a deep wound on her soul.

I remember how sad Holly was the night and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times more than any piece of property. I repaired the van, but the dent (凹痕) in my truck is still there today. Every day it reminds me of what really matters in my life.

1.Why did the father permit his daughter to drive his truck? (No more than 5 words) (2 marks)??????????????????????????????????????????????????????

2.How did the accident happen????????????????????? (No more than 11 words) (3 marks)??????????????????????????????????????????????

3.What happened to the author’s friend after she ruined her dad’s car?

??????????????????????????????????????????????? (No more than 11 words) (2 marks)?

4.What does the writer try to tell us according to the passage? (No more than 10 words) (3 marks)

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

How I Turned to Be Optimistic

I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt＇s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.

I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times. ”

My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

1.How did the author get to know America?

A．From her relatives                      B．From her mother

C．From Books and pictures                  D．From radio programs

2.Upon leaving for America the author felt       .

A．confused          B．excited           C．worried           D．amazed

3.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

A．She worked as a translator

B．She attended a lot of job interviews

C．She paid telephone bills for her family

D．She helped her family with her English

4.The author believes that      .

A．her future will be free from troubles

B．it is difficult to learn to become patient

C．there are more good things than bad things

D．good things will happen if one keeps trying

The first visit to a foreign country that I can remember was when I was about seven years old. We live about 5 miles away from the Canadian border(边界). My family and I went to Parc Safari, Quebec, a wonderful place that has animals and rides. We drove down a nice long road. My sister and I sat in the back of the car, and it was a hatchback(有仓门式后背的汽车) so we opened it up. I remember feeding the animals snacks we had bought for ourselves.

The time we went we were told there would not be monkeys because they had escaped and had not been found. I remember thinking to myself, how cool it would be to see a monkey in our backyard.

Even though the monkeys were not there it was still so much fun. When we reached the area that had camels, giraffes and other animals, I remember one of the camels reached into the car to get our snacks. However, we were a little gross out because the camels seemed to froth(吐白沫) at the mouth and we had camel slobber(口水) all over the car and us.

It was one of the best family vacations that I can remember. It was not too far from home, it was in a different country and it was with my family. I cannot remember if we went on the rides or not but seeing many animals was a great time. Now I am grown up and have a son, and I am planning to go there again. He is 7 years old and I think he is at a great age to enjoy a trip like this. I am sure it has changed a lot over the years but it will still be a great family trip.

1.Where did the author live when he was 7 years old?

A．In Canada                             B．Near the Canadian border

C．In the central US                        D．In Parc Safari

2. We fed the animals something _____.

A．offered by people living there

B．we bought for them

C．we prepared for ourselves

D．cooked by my sister

3.what does the underlined part “gross out” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．surprised                             B．excited

C．tired                                 D．uncomfortable

4. What does the author intend to do?

A．To revisit the place he went to at seven.

B．To take his 7-year-old son to a zoo.

C．To have a family trip in his own country.

D．To have a holiday abroad with his parents.

The church seems cold this morning, even after all the people, friends and family, fill the benches. I sit here in silence, in shock and denial. This was not supposed to happen. What about our dreams, or our plans? We were going to raise our children, travel the world, and grow old together. I’m only 37, a typical housewife. I don’t know if I can do all this alone—two children, no father. What do I do or say?

The faces of so many people confuse me as they come to pay their last respects. Some have real sorrow; I can see it in their eyes. The others seem to just say, “I told you so.” Those famous last words: I-told-you-so. How I can’t stand them. And the pointing fingers as so-called family and so-called friends pick me out of the crowd for others to see. I want to scream and wake up but I can’t do anything but sit there. How can they be so blind? I fell in love with a man. Love knows no boundaries .

He was a good man, hardworking, caring and kind. He was retired from the Navy and a gentleman. He was sensitive to others’ needs, the kind of man that knew what to do or say, how to humor any situation and calm everyone’s fears. I remember our first child was a big surprise to both of us. I remember when I told him the news. He fell off his chair, saying over and over in disbelief, “But I’m almost sixty.” After a few months he started planning our next and even doing his famous little dance whenever he discussed the idea.

A man, thirty years older than I, lies in a coffin. Flowers, the American flag and his VFW comrades surround him, paying tribute（颂词）to him as the man he really was. And I sit alone here, with our two children, in silence, praying that this cold morning at church is only a nightmare and I will awake to his loving arms again.

1.What can we know from the passage about the writer?

A. She married a man much older than she. 

B. She is going to give birth to their second child.

C. She lost her husband, who was as old as she.

D. She lost her father, whom she loved deeply.

2.From Paragraph Two, we can see ______.

A. the writer didn’t really love the man

B. some of her family members didn’t understand her

C. some of her family members and friends were blind

D. she thought her marriage to the man was a mistake

3. Which of the following can best replace the underlined words “But I’m almost sixty”?

A. I can’t believe it.

B. That’s a lot of trouble.

C. That should have happened long ago.

D. It can’t be my child.

4.Which of the following can’t be used to describe the writer’s feelings for the man?

A. Sad.         B. Loving.        C. Inseparable        D. Complaining.