I receive many letters from children and can’t answer them all – there wouldn’t be enough time in a day. I’ll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.

Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte’s Web? Well, many years ago, I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse. That’s how the story of Stuart Little got started.

As for Charlotte’s Web, I like animals and my farm is very pleasant place to be – at all hours. One day, when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was going to die. This made me sad. So I started thinking of ways to save his life. Three years after I started writing it, it was published. (I am not a fast worker, as you can see.)

Sometimes I’m asked when I started to write, and what made me want to write. I started early – as soon as I could spell. Children often find pleasure through trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures. I was not good at drawing, so I used words instead. As I grew older, I found that writing could be a way of earning a living.

Well, here is the answer to the last question. No, they are imaginary (虚构的) tales. In real life, a family doesn’t have a child who looks like a mouse and a spider doesn’t write words in her web. Although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too – truth about the way people and animals feel, think and act.

1.E.B. White wrote this passage to ______.

A. introduce his new books

B. introduce two funny stories

C. explain why he enjoys writing

D. answer some readers’ questions

2.We can know from the passage that E.B. White is a writer who ______.

A. writes very fast

B. works on a friends’ farm

C. mainly writes stories for adults

D. writes imaginary tales for children

3.What inspired E.B. White to write Charlotte’s Web?

A. That he wanted children to love animals.

B. That he was deeply impressed by a clever pig.

C. That he wanted to use his own way to save a pig.

D. That he wanted to save the animals on a farm.

4. E.B. White started to write because he wanted to ______.

A. improve his spelling

B. express his thoughts

C. show his sadness

D. make a good living

5.What is probably the last question?

阅读下面的短文，然后从每小题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳选项，并将答题卡上的相应选项涂黑。

My daughter’s 7^th birthday was April 22. As it was Monday, we preferred to celebrate it ___11___, i.e. on Saturday, April 20. This was easier for me as I’m ___12___ on Saturdays. On Friday the entire family was busy packing the ___13___ and putting funny pins on them. I promised my little princess that I would wake her up early in the morning and give out the presents to her ___14___.

I woke up at 07:30. After I took a bath, I planned to wake her up. But as I came out from the ___15___, I realized that an earthquake struck. I ___16___ to wake my husband up and asked him to carry our daughter and ran out of our house. We were ___17___ our house moving from side to side from outside. It lasted for just 3 minutes, but tiles(瓦片) came down, and some narrow gaps appeared on the ___18___.

Nevertheless, as we had planned, I went to my daughter’s school at 9:00, but no one was there except the teacher who ___19___ us to get back to our house as ___20___ might come soon. I was shocked, and drove my car home. On the way home I heard a police cry out loud, “Stay ___21___, no tsunami, it’s only issue!”

Arriving at my house, I was wondering about the presents: to whom we should ___22___? After some discussion, we decided to give them to the children in ___23___. Entering the hospital, I was shocked to find thousands of people bleeding and lying outside the rooms. A boy came up with a ___24___ on his head. He stared at me with his questioning eyes as if he wanted to say, “Could I have one?” ___25___ I handed over one present to him. I can’t ever forget his shining eyes when he received the gift!

1.A．earlier      B．later    C．better D．quicker

2.A．busy        B．free       C．sick     D．slow

3.A．presents  B．bricks C．bags    D．medicine

4.A．teachers  B．patients      C．classmates       D．doctors

5.A．house       B．bedroom     C．hospital       D．bathroom

6.A．decided   B．promised   C．screamed    D．stared

7.A．watching  B．leaving         C．entering      D．striking

8.A．ceiling      B．car          C．window      D．wall

9.A．drove       B．warned        C．taught D．preferred

10.A．earthquake    B．tsunami       C．police D．students

11.A．busy       B．awake C．alarmed       D．calm

12.A．move     B．deliver         C．drive   D．pack

13.A．hospital B．school          C．car      D．office

14.A．present B．tile      C．bandage      D．question

15.A．Unwillingly  B．Quickly         C．Easily  D．Sadly

根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。（每小题1分）

A：____ I went to work early today, and everyone laughed at me.

B：____ It was me. Can’t you take a joke?

A：____ But watch out, because I’ll be sure to pull a prank on you next time.

B：It had better not be a practical joke like last year, when you painted my face red while I was sleeping.

A：____ Let’s go and see if any of our friends made a fool on anyone today.

B：OK! ____

A. Let’s go.    B. Yeah, I’m a sucker (傻瓜).

C. What’s the date today?      D. April Fool!

E. Ha ha, that was a good one.      F. What did you do that for?

G. Who set my alarm one hour early?

根据对话内容，从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

—Hello, darling. I have done all your shopping for you.

—My shopping?      1.  

—I saw the shopping list you left beside the telephone.

—Oh, dear.   2.  It’s a list of the things I am not supposed to eat.

—     3.  

—Yes. I went to my doctor yesterday and he sent me to a local hospital for tests. ___4.______

—I’m sorry, dear. __5._____

—Well, no problem. I do appreciate what you did, and of course, you can eat all those things.

—That’s true! I sure can!

A.I meant to help.

B. How did you know what I wanted to buy?

C. You promised me a surprise.

D. That’s not a shopping list.

E. Because of your skin problem?

F. He called me today and gave me the list.

G. What’s wrong with you, dear?