We tried so hard to make things better for our kids but we made them worse. For my naughty boys, I’d know better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.

My cherished boys, I hope you learn humility (谦逊) by surviving failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl (爬) under the covers (被子) with you because he’s scared, I hope you’ll let him. And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.

　　I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to add and subtract (减) in your head.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole (旗杆). I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don’t care if you try beer once, but I hope you won’t like it.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go fishing with your uncle.

I hope your father punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window, and that your mother hugs you and kisses you when you give her a plaster of pared mold (一个石膏模型) of your hand.

　 These things I wish for you—tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.

1.Who wrote the letter?

2.What does the author hope for the boys?

3.It can be inferred from the text that the boys _________________.

4. Why does the author write the letter?

Mary is in bed with a fever and she can’t hope to __________ the cold in a few days．

         A．get rid of 　　　B．get away with         C．get off　　　    D．get out

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids but we made them worse. For my naughty boys, I’d know better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.

My cherished boys, I hope you learn humility (谦逊) by surviving failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl (爬) under the covers (被子) with you because he’s scared, I hope you’ll let him. And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.

　　I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to add and subtract (减) in your head.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole (旗杆). I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don’t care if you try beer once, but I hope you won’t like it.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go fishing with your uncle.

I hope your father punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window, and that your mother hugs you and kisses you when you give her a plaster of pared mold (一个石膏模型) of your hand.

　 These things I wish for you—tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.

1.Who wrote the letter?

A．A grandmother.     B．A grandfather.      C．A father.          D．A mother.

2.What does the author hope for the boys?

A．they learn a lesson from a fight with others.

B．they know how to calculate with computers.

C．they get on well with family members.

D．they burn their hand on the stove and stick their tongue on a frozen flagpole.

3.It can be inferred from the text that the boys _________________.

A．often fight with others                   B．are to develop good qualities

C．always keep their grandpa company         D．score high in the exam

4.Why does the author write the letter?

A．To show the boys it’s not easy growing up.

B．To teach the boys dos and don’ts on the way growing up.

C．To help the boys to avoid making mistakes on the way growing up.

D．To encourage the boys to fully experience life on the way growing up.

The train was already half an hour late. I had to arrive in Vienna at 7:15 in time to catch the 7:20 train to Paris, but there was no hope of that now. I told my problem to the conductor (列车员). He advised me to get off two stops before Vienna Station and take a taxi. When the time came, he even helped with my bag. He wished me good luck as I jumped off. A few minutes later I was racing towards the center of the city in a taxi. It was almost 7:25 when we stopped outside the station. I paid the driver quickly, picked up my bag and hurried inside. “Paris train?” was all I had time to say to the official I saw. You can see how I felt when he pointed to a train that was just moving out of the station.

The writer couldn’t arrive in Paris in time because       .

A. he didn’t pay the driver           B. he took the wrong train

C. the train was late                D. the conductor advised him to get off early

The conductor advised the writer to get off before Vienna and take a taxi       .

A. as soon as the train stopped       B. after he heard the writer’s explanation

C. after he was passing the writer     D. when the train arrived in Vienna at 7:15

Which of the following did the conductor do to help the writer?

A. The conductor advised him to get off two stops before Vienna.

B. The conductor took him to the center of the city in a taxi.

C. The conductor carried the bag for him.

D. The conductor showed him out of the station and called a taxi.

When the writer saw that the train was just moving, he felt        .

A. happy         B. angry    　　 C. disappointed    　   D. sorry

Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The writer was lucky to catch the train.　

B. The driver helped the writer catch the train.

C. The writer paid the bus driver quickly.  　

D. The conductor was very kind to the writer.

New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Price: ￡28.00

Publication Date: 30/11/2006

Publisher’s description:

Collect Doyle’s fifty-six classic short stories, arranged in the order in which they appeared in late-nineteenth-and-early-twentieth-century book editions, in a set complemented by four novels, editor biographies of Doyle, Holmes, and Watson as well as literary and cultural details about Victorian society.

Breaking Ground by Daniel Libeskind

Price: ￡16.00

Publication Date:11/10/2006

Brief description:

This is a book about the adventure life that can offer each of us if we seize it, and about the powerful forces of tragedy, memory and hope. For Daniel Libeskind, life’s adventure has been through architecture, which he has found has the power to reshape human experience. Although often relating to the past, his buildings are about the future. This biology of one man’s journey brings together history, personal experience, our physical environment and a fresh international vision.

In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman

Price: ￡16.00

Publication Date:02/09/2006

Brief description:

On 11^th September 2001, Art Spiegelman raced to the world Trade Center, not knowing if his daughter Nadja was alive or dead. Once she was found safe---in her school at the foot of the burning towers---he returned home, to mediate(反省) on the trauma(创伤), and to work on a comic strip(连环漫画). In the Shadow of No Towers is New Yorker Art Spiegelman’s extraordinary account of “the hijacking(劫机) on 9.11 and the following hijacking of those events” by America.

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

Price: ￡14.00

Publication Date:07/10/2006

Publisher’s description:

This is the 11^th novel by Anita Shreve, the critically accepted bestseller. A moving story of love and courage and tragedy and of the ways in which the human heart always seeks to heal itself.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Price: ￡20.99

Publication Date:11/08/2006

Brief description:

Camping in the garden, riding bikes through the woods, climbing trees, picking wildflowers, running through piles of autumn leaves… these are the things childhood memories are made of. But for a whole generation of today’s children the pleasures of a free-range childhood are missing, and their indoor habits contribute to obesity, attention disorder and childhood depression. This book shows how our children have become increasingly distanced from nature, why this matters and how we can make a difference. Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network and co-chair of the National Forum on Children and Nature. He is the author of seven other books and has written for newspapers and magazines including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

1.Who is the writer of the latest book published among the four books?

A．Arthur Conan Doyle                     B．Daniel Libeskind

C．Art Spiegelman                         D．Anita Shreve

2.If one wants to know something about Victorian society, he or she may read____.

A．Light on Snow                          B．In the Shadow of No Towers

C．Breaking Ground                        D．New Annotated Sherlock Holmes

3.Which of the following refers to tragedies?

A．Light on Snow　＆　Breaking Ground

B．Light on Snow ＆　In the Shadow of No Towers

C．In the Shadow of No Towers ＆　Breaking Ground

D．New Annotated Sherlock Holmes　＆　In the Shadow of No Towers

4.Which book is based on a real big event?

A．Breaking Ground                        B．In the Shadow of No Towers

C．Light on Snow                          D．Last Child in The Woods

5.Who has also written for newspapers and magazines according to the text?

A．Arthur Conan Doyle.                     B．Daniel Libeskind

C．Art Spiegelman                         D．Richard Louv