I suddenly heard an elephant crying as though frightened. Looking down，I immediately recognized that something was wrong，and ran down to the edge of the near bank. There I saw Ma Shwe with her three­month­old calf struggling in the fast-rising water，and it was a life­and­death struggle. Her calf was floating(漂浮) and screaming with fear.Ma Shwe was as near to the far bank as she could get，holding her whole body against the rushing water，and keeping the calf pressed against her huge body.Every now and then the rushing water would sweep the calf away.

There was a sudden rise in the water and the calf was washed clean over the mother's body and was gone. Ma Shwe turned quickly to reach it and pressed the calf with her head and trunk (象鼻) against the rocky bank. Then with a huge effort，she picked it up in her trunk and tried until she was able to place it on a narrow shelf of rock.

Just at this moment，she fell back into the river. If she were carried down，it would be certain death. I knew，as well as she did，that there was one spot (地点) where she could get up the bank，but it was on the other side from where she had put her calf.

While I was wondering what I could do next，I heard the sound of a mother's love. Ma Shwe had crossed the river and got up the bank and was making her way back as fast as she could，roaring (吼叫) all the time，but to her calf it was music.

1.The moment the author got down to the river bank he saw　　　　.

A. the calf was about to fall into the river

B. Ma Shwe was placing the calf on the rock

C. the calf was washed away by the rising water

D. Ma Shwe was holding the calf against the rushing water

2.How did Ma Shwe manage to save her calf from the fast flowing water？

A. By putting it on a safe spot.      B. By pressing it against her body.

C. By taking it away with her.       D. By carrying it on her back.

3.How did the calf feel about the mother elephant's roaring？

A. It was a great comfort.       B. It was a sign of danger.

C. It was a call for help.        D. It was a musical note.

4.What can be the best title for the text？

A.A Mother's Love         B.A Brave Act

C.A Deadly River           D.A Matter of Life and Death

Today, we talk to an up-and-coming (有前途的) erhu player, Lee Hang, from Hong Kong. He’ll play with the Hong Kong Orchestra (管弦乐队) next Sunday in a special concert by young Chinese musicians.

Interviewer: Thank you for talking to us, Lee. You must be very excited.

Lee: Yes, I am. This is the first time that I’ve played with such a famous orchestra and in front of so many people. They’re expecting about 4,000 people.

Interviewer: Does that scare you?

Lee: To be honest, yes. I haven’t slept much in the last few days. But my teacher told me I wouldn’t take it seriously enough if I wasn’t scared. That helped a lot.

Interviewer: Tell me about why you started playing the erhu.

Lee: My parents took me to piano and violin lessons. I quite liked them but they had to force me to go sometimes. One night, I saw a documentary about Yo Yo Ma, the famous Chinese American cello(大提琴) player. He talked about his love of Chinese instruments and we should follow our interests. I always enjoyed listening to Chinese instruments like the erhu and guzheng. That inspired me to learn the erhu. My parents were glad that I was playing something I actually liked.

Interviewer: What do your friends think of you playing a Chinese instrument?

Lee: Well, a lot of my classmates think playing things like the erhu isn’t cool. I don’t care. It makes me happy. I got a letter from Yo Yo, saying how much he admired me and that he’d like to meet me next time when he’s in Hong Kong. They thought that was pretty cool!

Interviewer: And what does the future hold for you?

Lee: I’d like to study music in a university in China then hopefully play in orchestras. My ambition is to bring the beautiful sound of the erhu to all the corners of the world.

Interviewer: Well, if anyone can, it’s you. Thanks for talking to me, Lee. Good luck.

Lee: Thanks.

What will Lee Hang do next Sunday?

A. He will have an interview. 

B. He will talk to a newspaper reporter.

C. He will play a Chinese musical instrument at a concert.

D. He will study in a university in China.

Lee _______ because of the concert.

A. hasn’t been sleeping well    B. hasn’t been sleeping 

C. will meet 4000 people       D. has been afraid of his teacher

Lee started playing the erhu ________ a film about Yo Yo Ma.

A. before seeing   B. while seeing   C. after seeing    D. to copy

Lee likes playing the erhu _______ the piano and violin.

A. less than   B. as much as   C. more than    D. because his parents like

Lee’s friends thought _______ was great.

A. getting a letter from a famous musician     B. writing a letter to a famous musician

C. playing Chinese musical instruments       D. seeing Yo Yo Ma in Hong Kong

He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front her Mercedes and got out.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.

He said, “I am here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened, had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

1.This story most probably took place_______.

2.When the man approached the old lady, the first thing he did was to______.

3.The underlined part in Paragraph 6 suggests that________.

4.Which of the following words can best describe the man?

5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______________.

I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

It takes confidence to make a new start—there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.

Then I met an agent(代理商) who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal—that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck—of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract(合同)of the publisher—to be a published writer—is unbelievably rewarding(有回报的).

1.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．I was waiting for good fortune.

B．I was trying to find an admirable job.

C．I was being aimless about a suitable job.

D．I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time.

2.The author decided to write a novel              .

A．to finish the writing course                B．to realize her own dream

C．to satisfy readers’ wish                 D．to earn more money

3.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?

A．Disturbed.         B．Ashamed.         C．Confident.         D．Uncertain.

4.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?

A．It pays to stick to one’s goal.

B．Hard work can lead to success.

C．She feels like being unexpectedly lucky.

D．There is no end in sight when starting to do something.

Mrs. Blake teaches English in a large school in the inner area of a big city on the west of coast. Even since she was a young girl,she has wanted to become a teacher. She has taught eight years now and hasn‘t changed her mind. After she graduated from high school， she went on to college.
Four years later， she received her bachelor’s degree （B A） in English and her teaching certificate（证书）. Then she went to teach in the secondary schools of her state. In the summers， Mrs. Blake takes more classes；she hopes to get a master’s degree （M A）. With an MA， she will receive a higher salary and if possible， she hopes to get a doctor’s degree as well.
The school day at Mrs. Blake’s high school，like that in many high schools in the United States is divided into one hour each. Mrs. Blake must teach five of these periods. During her free period，which for her is from 2 to 3 P.M.，Mrs. Blake must meet with parents, make out examinations，check homework at all，Mrs. Blake works continuously from the time she arrives at school in the morning till the time she leaves for home late in the afternoon.
【小题1】How long is it since Mrs. Blake graduated from middle school？