In a national spelling contest in America, an 11-year-old girl was asked to spell a certain word. But with her soft voice the judges were not sure if she spelled the word with the letter A or E.  71  By now, the girl knew she had misspelled the word. But instead of lying and telling the judges she had said the correct letter, she told the truth that she had said the wrong letter.  72 
As the girl walked off the stage, the entire audience stood on their feet clapping to applaud her honesty. Later, dozens of newspaper reporters wrote about this 11-year-old girl’s courage and honesty, even when it cost her the contest.  73 
Probably the biggest test of our character and honesty is what we would do if we knew we would never get caught.
This young girl could easily have lied, and nobody would have known it but her. But that’s just it: She would know she did wrong.  74 
This young girl was strong and smart enough to prize her own conscience and character more than the prize from a spelling contest. Her respect for herself was more important than any respect others might give her for winning a contest. She knew she would have to live with herself and the choice she made at the moment.
  75 

Three boys and three girls were going to Fort Lauderdale and when they boarded the bus，they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags，dreaming of golden beaches as the gray cold of New York vanished behind them.

As the bus passed through New Jersey，they began to notice Vingo, He sat in front of them，dressed in a plain，ill-fitting suit，never moving，his dusty face masking his age. He kept chewing the inside of his lip a lot，frozen into some personal cocoon of silence.

Deep into the night，outside Washington，the bus pulled into Howard Johnson's，and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat，and the young people began to wonder about him，trying to imagine his life：perhaps he was a sea captain，a runaway from his wife，an old soldier going home. When they went back to the bus，one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.

"We're going to Florida,” she said brightly, “I hear it's really beautiful.”

“It is，”he said quietly，as if remembering something he had tried to forget.

"Want some wine?" she said. He smiled and took a swig.  He thanked her and once again returned to his silence. After a while，she went back to the others，and Vingo nodded in his sleep.

In the morning，they awoke outside another Howard Johnson's．And this time Vingo went in.  The girl insisted that he join them.  He seemed very shy, and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously as the young people chattered about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus，the girl sat with Vingo again，and after a while, slowly and painfully，he told his story. He had been in jail in New York for the past four years，and now he was going home.

“Are you married?”

“I don't know.

“You don’t know?” she said.

“Well，when I was in jail I wrote to my wife，”he said. “I told her that I was going to be away a long time，and that if she couldn't stand it．if the kids kept asking questions，if it hurt too much，well she could just forget me, I'd understand. Get a new guy，I said she's a wonderful woman，really something and forget about me. I told her she didn't have to write me for nothing.  And she didn't.  Not for three and a half years.”

"And you’re going home now，not knowing?”

“Yeah，”he said shyly. “Well，last week，when I was sure the parole (假释) was coming through, I wrote her again.  We used to live in Brunswick，just before Jacksonville，and there’s a big oak (橡树) tree just as you came into town. I told her that if she'd take me back，she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree，and I'd get off and come home,  If she didn't want me, forget it, no handkerchief，and I'd go on through.”

"Vow,” the girl exclaimed. "Wow.”

She told the others，and noon all of them were in it, caught up in the approach of Brunswick，looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children. The woman was handsome in a plain way，the children still unformed in the much-handled snapshots.

Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seat on the right side，waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. The bus acquired a dark，hushed mood，full of the silence of absence and lost years. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face into the ex-con's mask, as if fortifying himself against still another disappointment.

Then Brunswick was ten miles, and then five. Then，suddenly，all of the young people were up out of their seats，screaming and shouting and crying，doing small dances of joy. All except Vingo.

Vingo sat there stunned，looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs，20 of them，30 of them，maybe hundreds，a tree that stood like a banner of welcome billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted，the old rose and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.

1.Which is right about Vingo?

2. The underlined word "`exclaimed" probably indicates that the girl was“______”

A. surprised        B:  angry         C:  embarrassed     D.  puzzled

3. From the story，we know that

4.What is the best title for the story?

Has Tiger Mom gone soft? One year after the release of her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua is back in the spotlight, reflecting on how overnight infamy (恶名) affected her life, her family and her parenting.

“I have changed a lot,” she told the Huffington Post. “In October, we had 30 kids at our house! We have hosted parties with lots of food and music.”

Last January, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt (节选) from Chua’s book with the headline “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”. In the excerpt, Chua described how her daughters were never allowed to have sleepovers (在外过夜的儿童聚会), appear in school plays, or earn any grade lower than an A. Chua, an author and professor at Yale Law School, spent much of 2011 on the defensive. In fact, many of her interviews seemed to lend fuel to her critics’ fire.

Now, with the book out in paperback, she said, “I put passages in the book and used very harsh words that I regret. Everybody has those moments you wish you could take back.”

For those who still read Battle Hymn as an advice guide, Chua argues that so-called tiger parenting should be employed mainly during a child’s early years, ideally between the ages of 5 and 12. These “super-strict parenting tactics” are not meant for all ages. Remaining strict after middle school makes you a helicopter parent, according to Chua. And she is quick to point out how different that is from being a tiger mom.

“By the time kids get to high school, helicopter parents are hiring all these tutors, carrying their kids’ sports bags. I never checked older daughter Sophia’s papers because I knew she knew how to sit down and focus,” Chua said.

As for younger daughter Lulu, 15, the rebel for whom the book was written, Chua has really backed off. Instead of forcing Lulu to practise violin for hours a day—the source of their biggest fights, Chua “let her give that up”. “My compromise (妥协) is that I’m going to still be as strict academically, but in exchange she has a lot of social freedom. Lulu has had four sleepovers in the last two months!” Chua said. Chua predicts she’ll only get more easygoing with age.

1.What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．How Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother came out.

B．Tiger Mom persuaded readers to follow her example.

C．Tiger Mom has changed and wants to be soft.

D．How Tiger Mom became the worldwide spotlight.

2.From paragraph one we can know that after the publication of the book______________.

A．Tiger Mom became stricter with her children

B．Tiger Mom’s life and family were influenced

C．Tiger Mom was thought highly by the public

D．Tiger Mom became wealthy and easygoing

3.Lulu quarreled with her mother mainly over______________.

A．whether she could do well at school

B．when she could have sleepovers

C．what should be written in the book

D．how long she practiced the violin

A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.

Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.

The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.

That very same night, she heard some shocking news．Tears flowed down her face．Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed．If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life．

Sometimes bad things really happen．We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others．There are times when nothing seems to go our way．

So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve．

Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed．Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done．

What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?

There was a man who won the lottery．He thought he was the luckiest person in the world．He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on．

One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again．But this time, it was a different story．He had been killed because of his riches．

If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it．Hope for protection and guidance．Life is so unpredictable．You never know what will happen next．

Live one day at a time．we sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble．We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leaves me and I've got no one else to turn to?"

Live for the moment．Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine． Believe me．And believe in yourself．As Captain Planet always says: "The power is yours!"

1.The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____"．

2.From the passage, we learn that___．

3.According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?

4.The stories are intended to tell us___．

Carmen’s mother Maria had just survived a serious heart attack. But without a heart transplant her life was in constant   36     . 

         Both the mother and daughter knew that the chances were very small: finding a donor heart that   37      Maria’s blood type could take years. However, Carmen was determined to save her mother. She kept   38    hospitals all over the country.

         Days stretched out. By Christmas, Maria had trouble   39  from one end of the room to the other. Carmen lost all hope. She fell into a corner of the hospital, crying.

“Are you okay?” a man asked.

Carmen sobbed as she told the stranger her story. This middle-aged man was named Frank, whose wife, Cheryl, a tender and devoted mother of four lovely children, had been in hospital with a brain disease and wouldn’t   40   it through the night. Suddenly, an idea came to Frank’s mind. He knew Cheryl had always wanted to   41   something from herself. Could her heart  go to Carmen’s mother?

After reviewing the data, doctors   42    Frank that his wife’s heart was by some miracle a perfect fit for Carmen’s mother. They were able to   43    the transplant.

That cold night, when Cheryl was declared dead, Frank came to knock at Maria’s door. She was   44  for Frank’s family as she had been doing every day recently. Though Maria had never met Frank before, they both felt a strange bond as they hugged and cried.

On New Year’s Eve, Carmen attended Cheryl’s   45  with Frank’s family, who were singing their favorite song “My heart will go on.”

One day later, on New Year’s Day, Maria   46  with Cheryl’s heart. Yes, Cheryl’s loving heart would go on, for it was   47   in another loving mother’s chest.

1.A. change                    B. danger                C. disorder                          D. pain

2.A. matched             B. replaced                 C. controlled               D. cooperated

3.A. finding                    B. phoning                         C. touring                       D. interrupting

4.A. rolling                        B. running                           C. walking                          D. jumping

5.A. put                          B. support                           C. pass                                 D. make 

6.A. save                        B. recycle                            C. donate                                      D. separate

7.A. informed                    B. warned                          C. congratulated              D. reminded

8.A. give up                  B. carry out                       C. search after                 D. put off

9.A. praying          B. begging              C. decorating            D. singing

10.A. funeral             B. operation                       C. performance                 D. anniversary

11.A. passed away      B. woke up                         C. left behind                      D. dressed up

12.A. active              B. alive                 C. necessary                    D. changeable