Some say everyday miracles(奇迹) are predestined(注定的)—the right time for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.

In 2001, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother’s Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give. The boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.

When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn’t planned to be there that day, but at the last minute, her shift(换班)at the hospital had been changed to see her son’s performance. She was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving him CPR(心肺复苏术), breathing into his mouth and giving him chest compressions. And he revived in the end.

After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.

Kevin, now 18, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking.

Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, he used skills he’d first learned in Scouts. The food that was trapped in the woman’s throat was freed. The colour began to return to her face.

“The food was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”

Who was the woman?

Penny Brown.

1. The author wrote the passage to show us that         .

A. miracles are predestined and they can happen anywhere

B. whoever helps you in trouble will get a reward one day

C. God will help those who give others a helping hand

D. miracles won’t come without any difficulty sometimes

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE of Kevin Stephan?

A. He was hit in the face by a boy and almost lost his life.

B. He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills.

C. He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college.

D. He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke.

3.Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?

A. She was invited to give the players directions.

B. She volunteered to give medical services.

C. She was a little worried about his son’s safety.

D. She came to watch her son’s game and cheered for him.

4.The underlined word “revived” in the third paragraph most likely means        .

A. came back to life   B. became worse      C. failed            D. moved

5. When Kevin knew the woman was Penny Brown, probably he first felt        .

A. happy            B. surprised          C. sad             D. worried

       Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.

       Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive（印象深刻的）as the building itself.

       First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial（纪念物） to celebrate their love.

       When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.

Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains in the center under the building.

       And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Hehan lived the rest of his days－eight years, to be exact － imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife.

       Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired（激发……的灵感） its construction.

59．The first two paragraphs were written to show that _____.

       A.the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

       B. ancient Indian emperors were cruel

       C. construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

       D. India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

60．The Taj Mahal was first built as _____.

       A. a prison           B. a gift to Mumtaz     

       C. a memorial building        D. a tourist attraction

61．We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in _____.

       A. 1626           B. 1632            C. 1634            D. 1653

62．The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to _____.

       A. the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

       B. the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

       C. the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

       D. the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

Sharon called about four times today. At least it shows she’s trying to explain (解释) something to me. I feel a little better. 

December 3  

This morning Sharon said she had only told one person and had no idea why everyone seemed to know. Yes, I am an adopted daughter (养女) and my name was changed. But she had promised to keep it secret for ever!

December 5  

I wish I had a friend I could really trust (信任) all of the time. I thought I found that friend, but I haven’t and it’s making me unhappy! It’s wrong to tell her all about it. She won my trust, then lost it.

December 7  

I have a nice room and a big pool in my backyard and everything I’ve ever wanted. My adoptive parents will give me all the material things I’ve ever dreamed of. Yet all the money in the world can’t buy what I want now. I want Sharon to be my best friend again. 

December 10  

Sharon just called. She said she thought it might help if we spent more time together. She worried that I would go to another school. She is the best friend I’ve ever had. When I’m with Sharon, I can be myself. I need Sharon’s friendship. I need it more than I’ve ever known.

December 16 

I just had the most fantastic two days of my life! This was the best time I’ve had for a long, long time. Yesterday, we walked five times around the park and today we ran slowly along the river for twenty minutes. I can’t describe how much fun I had. We talked so much. Sharon, Sharon, no brick wall between us now.

44. What does the author mainly care about?

A. Why she was adopted.                      B. Why she went to another school.

C. Her family life.                           D. Her friendship with Sharon.  

45. Sharon lost the author’s trust because she ______. 

A. didn’t keep the author’s secret               B. didn’t like the author any more

C. often played a joke on the author              D. often refused to help the author 

46. The underlined word “fantastic” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.

A. funny    B. wonderful           C. sad           D. lucky

47. What can we know about the author and Sharon from the passage?

A. They were not friends any more.

B. They became good friends again.

C. They would go to another school together.

D. They could hardly understand each other.

I went through a training program and became a literacy volunteer last surnmen The training
I received, though excellent, did not tell me how it was to work with a real student, however. When I began to discover what other people's lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.
My first student Marie was a 44-year-old single mother of three. In the first lesson, I found out she walked two miles to the nearest supermarket twice a week because she didn't know which bus to take. When I told her I would get her a bus schedule, she told me it would not help because she could not  read it. She said she also had difficulty once she got to the supermarket,because she couldn't always remember what she needed. Since she did not know words, she could not write out a shopping list. Also, she could only recognize items by sight, so if the product had a different label, she would not recognize it as the product she wanted.
As we worked together, learning how to read built Marie's self-confidence,which encouraged her to continue her studies. She began to make rapid progress and was even able to take the bus to the supermarketelt. After this successful trip, she reported how self-confident she felt. At the end of the program, she began helping her youngest son,Tony, a shy first grader with his reading. She sat with him before he went to sleep and together they would read bedtime stories. When his eyes became wide with excitement as she read, pride was written all over her face. As she described this experience, I was proud of myself as well. I found that helping Marie to build her self-confidence was more rewarding than anything I had ever done before.
As a literacy volunteer, I learned a great deal about teaching and helping others. In fact, I may have learned more from the experience than Marie did.
【小题1】What did the author do last summer?

--- Hi, Tom. Any idea where Jane is?

--- She ______ be in the classroom. I saw her there just now and she said she wouldn’t go anywhere.