We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard (柜厨) outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. “Buy it, ” my wife said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof rack. I’ve always wanted one like that.”

What could I do? Ten minutes later I was ￡20 poorer; and the cupboard was tied on the roof rack. It was six feet long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.

In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.

After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake, I wonder?” In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.

“Right, sir, ” he said. “Do you need any more help?”

I was a bit puzzled. “Thanks, officer, ” I said. “You have been very kind. I live just on the road.”

He was staring at our car, first at the flowers, then at the cupboard. “Well, well, ” he said, laughing. “It’s a cupboard you’ve got there! We thought it was something else.”

My wife began to laugh. The truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a cupboard, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.

1. In fact the husband _______ the cupboard.

A. would like very much to buy           B. badly wanted 

C. was glad to have bought                  D. would rather not buy

2. Other drivers thought they were _______.

A. carrying a cupboard to the church

B. sending flowers to the church

C. carrying nothing but a piece of furniture

D. going to attend a funeral(葬礼) at the church

3. The police will be more polite to those who are _______.

A. driving in gathering darkness                 B. in great sorrow (悲痛)

C. driving with wild glowers in the car        D. carrying furniture

4. What did the husband think of this matter?

A. It was very strange.                               B. He felt ashamed of it.

C. He took great pride in it.                        D. He was puzzled at it.

In 490 B.C. the Greek messenger,  Pheidippides , ran about 40 kilometers from the town of “Marathon”to  Athens to announce the victory of  Athens over Macedon . Since then ,the 42–kilometer “Marathon”race has become a great test for athletes. However, for many years  , only men were allowed to run  this  race ,  because the distance was said to be unbearable for women. In 1966, an   American  women named Roberta Gibb proved that idea wrong.

Gibb had always enjoyed running .One day in 1964 , she saw the Boston Marathon happening as she was running in the woods. Since running meant a lot to her, she began training harder , hoping to join the marathon some day.

Gibb finally applied to run in the 1966 Boston Marathon, but she was not given entrance because the Boston Marathon Association considered that women were not strong enough to run 42  kilometers . Yet, this was no obstacle to Gibb, for she knew she had the physical and mental strength to complete the race .On the day the 1966 Boston Marathon was held , Gibb hid in the bushes and jumped into the race when it began. She finished the race in 3 hours and 21 minutes, defeating two thirds of the men in the race and proving that women could run the marathon.

Although what Gibb did was only to realize her dream, in doing so she showed the world that women could accomplish greater things than many people believed they could.

1.why were women forbidden to run the 42–km marathon ?

2.What  did  Roberta Gibb do to prepare herself for the  Boston Marathon ?

3.What happened to Gibb in the 1966 Boston Marathon?

4.According to the text ,what can we learn from  Roberta Gibb’s story?

A man found the cocoon (茧) of a moth (蛾). He took it home so that he could   1  the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small   2  appeared. He sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to   3  the body through that little hole. Soon it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had   4  as far as it could and it could go no further. It just seemed to be stuck. So the man, out of his kindness, decided to help the moth. He took a pair of scissors and   5  the remaining bit of the cocoon. The   6  then came out easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriven (无用的) wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and   7  to be able to support the   8  , which would get smaller in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life   9  around with a swollen body and shriven wings. It was   10   able to fly.
What the man in his kindness didn’t   11  was that the small cocoon and the   12  of the moth to get through the   13  opening was a way to push fluid (液体)   14  the body of moth    15  its wings so that it would be ready to fly   16  it got out of the cocoon. Freedom and   17  would come only after the struggle. By taking the struggle away, he also took away the moth’s health.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were to   18  our lives without any difficulties, we would become disabled. We would not be as   19  as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance. Leave no room for    20  .

When I entered Berkeley, I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student(优等生), I believed I could  1   tough（=hard） subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he  2 in class.
When I took the first exam, I was  3   to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper,  4   English was my best subject. I went to reason with Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained 5  .
I decided to try harder, although I didn't know what that  6   because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I  7    with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn't change his  8   .
One more test before the final exam. One more  9  to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts(加倍努力) and, for the first time,  10  the meaning of the word "thorough"（彻底的）.But my  11  did no good and everything  12  as before.
The last hurdle（障碍）was the final. No matter what  13 I got, it wouldn't cancel three C-pluses. I might as well kiss the  14  goodbye.
I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even  15  myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I'd have  16  with a test.
A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne's office. He  17  to be expecting me. "If I gave you the As you  18  , you wouldn't continue to work as hard."
I stared at him,  19  that his analysis and strategy（策略）were correct. I had worked my head  20  , as I had never done before.
I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I've always remembered Professor Jayne's lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

When I was young, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never shouted at us for playing in his yard. I remembered him as a neighbor who was nicer than anyone else in the neighborhood.

When Dr. Gibbs was happy, he was planting trees. And his life’s goal was to make it a forest.

Dr. Gibbs had some interesting theories about planting. He talked about trees that weren’t watered would grow deep roots in search of water. So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak (橡树) and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with the rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs died a couple of years. Every now and again, I walk by his house and look at the trees that he planted twenty-five years ago. They’re very strong now.

I planted a couple of trees a few years later. I watered them regularly and took good care of them. Whenever a cold wind blows, they shake their leaves and branches.

The funny thing about those trees of Dr. Gibbs was that difficulty seemed to help them in ways comfort and ease never could.

1.What was Dr. Gibbs’ life goal?

A．To build a forest.                        B．To save more lives.

C．To make a lot of money.                   D．To study plants.

2.One of Dr. Gibbs’ theories about planting was that ______.

A．he often talked to the trees               B．he kicked the trees heavily

C．he never watered the trees               D．he buried the leaves around the roots

3.What does the writer mainly want to tell us?

A．Trees are not as weak as we think.

B．We should listen to others’ advice.

C．Difficulty is necessary for growth.

D．Planting trees is good for the environment.