One year ago, when Fiona turned four, Sam and I decided to home-school her instead of sending her to pre-school．I have always felt that the 0-5 years are an irreplaceable dreamtime．As Fiona is an inventive, observant child, sensitive and funny and great company, it would be a tragedy to find school rubbing away her uniqueness and restricting the building of her personality．

I tried not to reproduce school at home．I never had the urge to get a chalk, or a blackboard．I didn’t go and search out a curriculum(课程表)．I felt that my children would learn best if I stayed accessible (易接近的)and stayed out of their way．

Every day we worked some, relaxed some, read some and played some, but Fiona did not seem particularly happy here．She lost her temper once in a while．

How strange it was that my child who was free from school didn’t want to be free at all．Her friends all went to pre-school．She felt left out of a major part of her friends’ shared lives and experiences．I thought she was not in school for very strong, clear reasons, one of which was that the quality of learning my child did at home would be good, even better than expected．

Well, here was a situation I hadn’t expected．When we first decided to do this, Sam and I agreed that we would reassess(再评价)the situation for each child as she turned seven．Meanwhile we would offer her non-school-based opportunities to give her plenty of time with other kids-ballet lessons and swimming classes．She seemed to be enjoying all．But at times she kept asking when she was going to school．Whenever she asked this question, we told her that there would be a family meeting about it when she turned seven．She nearly always responded, “That’s when I’m going to go, then．” A fair amount of her curiosity was about school and I was afraid she was dreaming of going to school before she turned seven．

Although the advantages of home-schooling, I think, far outweigh its disadvantages, it is important for me to respect my daughter’s feelings and allow her to direct her own education．If her curiosity leads her to school, isn’t that where she should go?

Next week I’ll drive Fiona to her school．I hope that Fiona will learn to read and discover something wonderful to pursue in the world that opens up for her．I hope she will find the school activities provide her with satisfactory kid-time．

1．The writer decided to home-school her daughter, Fiona, because she thought________．

A．children aged 0-5 were too young to go to pre-school

B．Fiona may not be accepted by schools for her bad temper

C．home-schooling was much better than school education

D．children at Fiona’s age were too young to have their characters formed by school

2．In home schooling her daughter the writer tried to_______．

A．make her home just like a school

B．teach with a pointer, a piece of chalk, and a blackboard

C．be there when her child wanted her but tried not to stand in her way

D．teach according to a curriculum, which was suitable for Fiona

3．What was the writer’s biggest problem in home schooling her daughter?

A．She couldn’t decide what to teach and how to teach her daughter

B．She was not sure whether her teaching was suitable for Fiona．

C．She could not make Fiona give up the thought of going to school．

D．She didn’t know how to control Fiona’s temper

4．We can learn from the text that_______．

A．Fiona always acted against her mother’s instructions

B．it was against Fiona’s wish that she was educated at home

C．home-schooling was popular some years ago

D．Fiona’s parents would ask her opinions about school education

One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain(徒劳). Later, when the potatoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open. The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the field always had Nancy’s ring in his mind.

Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins. So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it .He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand.

1. How did Nancy come to lose her ring?

A. She lost it while helping to harvest tomatoes in the field

B. She lost it while watering the plants in the field.

C. She lost it while working in the field.

D. She lost it while helping to plant potatoes in the field.

2. Why did people keep looking for the ring even after the farm changed hands?

A. It was a very expensive ring     B. They all wanted to solve the mystery.

C. They all loved Nancy.          D. Everybody wanted to have this ring.

3. What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?

A. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. 

 B. He ran back to tell everybody in the village.

C. He placed it in a secret spot.           

 D. He returned it to the owner.

4.. What can you infer from the story?

A. The ring was invaluable.          

 B. People on the farm were honest and helpful.

C. The ring’s disappearance was the work of supernatural power.

D. Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again.

When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess in the school play. For

Weeks my mother had helped me practice my lines .But once on stage, every word disappeared from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a narrator's（解说者的）part for the play ,and asked me to change roles. Though I didn't tell my mother what had happened that day, she sensed my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard.

It was a lovely spring day. We could see dandelions (蒲公英）popping through the grass in bunches as  if a painter had touched our landscape with bits of gold. I watched my mother carelessly bend down by one of the bunches." I think I am going to dig up all these weeds, "she said. "From now on, we'll have only roses in this garden."

"But I like dandelions," I protested. "All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions!"

My mother looked at me seriously. "Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn't it? "she asked thoughtfully. I nodded. "And that is true of people, too, "she added.

When I realized that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the truth.

“But you will be a beautiful narrator, ”she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her.

Over the next few weeks, with her continuous encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher came over to me. “Your mother asked me to give this to you,” she said, handing me a dandelion. After the play, I took home the flower, laughing that I was perhaps  the only person who would keep such a weed.

1.The girl did not play the role of the princess mainly because _______.

A. she felt nervous on the stage.

B. she lost her interest in that role.

C. she preferred the role of the narrator

D. she had difficulty memorizing her words

2.Why did the mother suggest a walk in the garden?

A. To remove the dandelions

B. To enjoy the garden scene

C. to have a talk with her daughter.

D. to help her daughter with the play.

3.What is the main idea of the story?

A. Everybody can find his or her own way to success.

B. Everybody has his or her own value in the world.

C. Everybody should learn to play different roles

D. Everybody has some unforgettable memory.

In 2003, Bethany Hamilton,13, lost her left arm to a shark attack while surfing off Kauai, Hawaii. A new film ,Soul Surfer, is based on the story of how she overcame that to achieve her dream of becoming a professional athlete.
Growing up on the “garden isle” of Kauai, Hamilton spent every minute she could riding the waves. She was on the verge of (即将) becoming a top competitor in professional surfing. But while she was practicing at an isolated cove (小湾)，a four-meter-long tiger shark ripped off her left arm. Though her life was saved, nobody could imagine she would ever get back on a surfboard again.
In a true test of her faith and by tremendous will power, Bethany did get back up on a surfboard only a month after the attack. Six months later, she was competing again. Bethany Hamilton won her first amateur surfing championship just two years after she lost her arm. She also established the “Friends of Bethany,” a non---profit foundation dedicated to supporting sharks attack victims.
It’s a story told in her autobiography, which is the basis for the film that stars teenager Anna Sophia Robb. “I knew Bethany’s story, of course, but I thought ‘What an incredible role’ ,”explains Robb. “I was so fascinated by all of the challenges. What would it be like to have your arm taken and what would go through your head and how would your faith be challenged?”
The filmmakers used special effects to digitally remove Robb’ s arm .However ,no tricks were necessary for the surfing scenes because Hamilton herself did the breathtaking wave riding.
Now 21, Hamilton says she hopes audiences find inspiration in the description of the sport she loves.
“Not a lot of people know that much about surfing, so I hope they’re educated about it,” Hamilton says. “And most of all if people are going through a hard time, they could be encouraged and find inspiration to push through those hard times and see that, in my case ,so much good has come out of it.”
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?.

--- What made Julia so unhappy?

--- ________ her new bike.