“Can I see my baby？” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out of the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

Time proved that the baby’ s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was imperfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed(叹息), knowing that his life was to be misfortunate. He cried to his mum “A boy, a big boy... called me a freak (怪人)．”

He grew up, handsome. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. “But you might communicate with other young people，” his mother blamed him, but felt a kindness in her heart.

Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’ re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’ s a secret.” The operation was a great success, and a new person appeared.

Later he married and became a lawyer. One day, he asked his father, “Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him or her.” “I do not believe you could，” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.”

The years kept their secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother’ s casket棺材. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to show the mother had no outer ears.

“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut，” his father whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？”

1.Why did Mother gasp when she saw her newborn baby?

A. Because her son had a tiny face.　　　　 B. Because she saw her son crying.

C. Because her son was born imperfect.　　 D. Because her son was in her arms.

2.Which word can describe Mother’ s feeling when the son threw himself into her arms?

A. Nervous.　　　　　　 B. Sympathetic.　　 C. Proud.       D. Angry.

3.We can infer that the person who donate the ears is_____.

A. A doctor.        B. His father.　　　 C. His mother.     　D. A stranger.

4.From the passage we know the followings are True except________

A, the mother felt sorry for the son without ears   B. the doctor didn’t like the baby

C. the boy meant everything to the mother        D. the father kept the secret until mother died

5.The best title for the passage would be ________.

A. Mother’s hair　　　　　　　　B. An unforgettable memory

C. Who gave me the ears?　　　 　D. Who is my best respectable person?

Today, many people are starving to death. Recently, a man who wanted to understand the conditions of such people conducted an experiment. He only ate one meal a day for a month but continued to work as he normally did.

During the first five days he was hungry at his  1  mealtime, but after he had drunk a glass of water, his hunger went away. In the morning, when he ate his one meal, he ate quickly and had a   2   amount. During the next few days,   3 he was not hungry during the day, he quickly   4  every food stall (a table on which food is put to be sold), and the smell of food caught his    5   . During the third and the fourth weeks, he had hunger pains and    6    physical strength. He    7     his one meal and ate it slowly, enjoying every bite.    8    it, he knew he would have hardly enough energy to work.

　   This   9   changed his attitude about some things. Having a cup of tea was not just a pastime. It also  10   him strength. He more frequently noticed overweight people and people who threw   11  leftover food. He realized the importance of   12   for the very hungry person. He could no longer easily    13    by a hungry beggar on the street. But most   14   , he could now sympathize(同情) in a   15    way with the hungry people of the world.

1．A．after　　     B．formal　　　　   C．regular　　　   D．frequent

2．A．large　　     B．small　　　　    C．ordinary　　    D．common

3．A．if　　　      B．when　　　　　  C．as if　　　　   D．although

4．A．recognized　B．noticed　　      C. glanced　　　    D．digested

5．A．eyes　　      B．imagination　     C．attention　 　 D．interest

6．A．needed　      B．lacked           C．required　　    D．wanted

7．A．looked forward to　　 　　B．devoted himself to

　 C．looked down upon　　 　  D．took pride in

8．A．With　　      B．Without　　　   C．Rather than 　 D．Except for

9．A．action　      B．movement　　　C．experiment　    D．performance

10．A．gained　      B．gave　　　　　 C．took　　　　   D．left

11．A．in　　　      B．up　　　　　　 C．away　　　　  D．about

12．A．food　　      B．meals　　　　   C．money　　　  D．work

13．A．come　　      B．pass　　　　　C．stand　　　 　D．stop

14．A．fortunately　 B．seriously　　   C．necessary　　  D．important

15．A．great　　     B．big　　　　　   C．small　　　 　D．similar

Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials to make the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant　 31　 , “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing. ”

　 Thomas Edison replied very　 32 , “Oh, we have come a long way and we have 　 33 a lot. We now know that there are two thousand materials which we cannot 34　 to make a good light bulb. ”

　 If we learn from our mistakes, then we are　 35　 . If we learn from someone else’s mistakes, then we are genius. Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines 　 36　 daily and failure is nothing more than a few small　 37 　 repeated daily.

　 How　 38 the above lines are! Success takes 　 39 . We’ll make mistakes 40 　 we do things in too much of a hurry. When we do not practice disciplines in life, we don’t build enough confidence to 　 41 new and challenging tasks which are important and matter in life. Our confidence　 42 what we think of ourselves and whether we believe in ourselves. We are all born with exceptional　 43　 , but only a few really　 44　 their true potential and make efforts in life and the others just lead a(n)　 45　 life. Do you want to be exceptional?

　 Success is a fruit which everyone wants to 　 46　 but it is not found everywhere and no one can 　 47　 it without serious efforts.

　 Those who want to succeed will find a way; those who don’t will find a(n) 48　 !

　 Success depends upon previous　 49　 , and without it we will end in failure.

　 When you are　 50　 , please enjoy it and give your hand to others who want to accomplish something.

31. A. celebrated　　 B. complained

C. explained　　　　 D. answered

32. A. confidently　　　 B. madly

C. carelessly　　　　　 D. angrily

33. A. remembered　　 B. refused

C. learned　　　　　　 D. ordered

34. A. test　　 B. ignore

C. invent　　　 D. use

35. A. healthy　　 B. enthusiastic

C. intelligent　　　 D. generous

36. A. shown　　 B. prevented

C. recorded　　　 D. practiced

37. A. errors　　 B. machines

C. jobs　　　　 D. steps

38. A. common　　 B. strange

C. familiar　　　　 D. true

39. A. effect　　 B. time

C. drugs　　　　 D. roles

40. A. as though　　 B. so that

C. unless　　　　　 D. if

41. A. keep　　 B. attempt

C. give　　　　 D. see

42. A. depends on　　 B. sets aside

C. turns down　　　　 D. sets up

43. A. appearances　　 B. experiences

C. qualities　　　　　 D. feelings

44. A. own　　 B. realize

C. provide　　 D. research

45. A. active　　 B. hard

C. rich　　　　　 D. average

46. A. sell　　 B. draw

C. eat　　　　 D. praise

47. A. achieve　　　 B. watch

C. offer　　　 　　D. recognize

48. A. story　　 B. excuse

C. key　　　　 D. plan

49. A. preparation　　 B. influence

C. life　　　　　　　 D. generation

50. A. powerful　　 B. wonderful

C. successful　　　 D. hopeful

　 The holiday shopping season is once again upon us.The super malls and smaller shopping centers will all be packed as hurried Americans search for the perfect gift.The crooks and thieves that prey upon innocent shoppers are well aware of this fact.

　 Even if you don’t involve yourself with holiday gift buying，you could end up a victim of theft.Thieves do not distinguish the holiday shopper from the everyday shopper.Thieves only know that there are more potential targets of opportunity at this time of year.

　 They also know that many people are complacent (不以为然的) about personal safety issues year round.They’ll factor in the belief that many people take on added stress this time of year while running from store to store with so much to do and so little time to do it.Shoppers who might normally consider personal safety an afterthought push it back even further as they try to negotiate their way through the month of December.College students are not an exception to the rule!

　 As a member of our university community，you’re also easily influenced by the dangers of mall shopping this time of year.Take a minute and picture any of the local area malls.Close your eyes and think about the overflowing parking lots and the crowds moving around.The sights，sounds and distractions all can lull you into a state of personal safety complacency.

　 Aside from the shoplifters who steal merchandise from store shelves are the thieves who perpetrate (犯) snatch and grab crimes.And this is the sort of crime that you’re most vulnerable to，especially when you find yourself carrying a large number of shopping bags and packages.However，as is the case with most other types of criminal behavior，there are a number of crime prevention measures you can take to lessen or stop your chances of becoming a victim.So take the time to read and then put into practice the following holiday shopping tips.

1.The author is most probably　　　　 .

　 A.a newspaper reporter

　 B.a novelist

　 C.a member of university community

　 D.a police spokesman

2.What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

　 A.Shoppers. 　　　　　　　　　 B.Thieves.

　 C.Personal safety issues.　　　　　　 D.College students.

3.Why is a person more likely to become a victim of theft during holiday shopping?

　 A.Because he often has much to buy.

　 B.Because he often does shopping in a hurry.

　 C.Because there are crowds of shoppers.

　 D.All of the above.

4.What is the writer’s purpose in writing this passage?

　 A.To tell readers different kinds of crimes.

　 B.To make readers aware of holiday shopping dangers.

　 C.To give advice on selecting the perfect gift.

　 D.To introduce American public security situation.

5.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

　 A.Holiday Shopping Safety

　 B.Suitable Shopping Places

　 C.Personal Safety During Holidays

　 D.How to Identify a Thief