Simon has lived in Spain for more than 10 years, but _______ enough, he can’t speak a word of Spanish.

A. personally                       B. curiously                          C. unfortunately                  D. initially

Sitting by her Pinocchio lamp, she smiled at me as her tiny hands' shadow danced on the bedroom wall．"A rabbit!" she laughed with all the delight of a four-year old．Her blue eyes shone with pride as she showed me the animated image she had created．"Daddy, will you show me how to make a tiger?" she asked．"Sure," I said, "and then we'll read a story and tell your angels goodnight．"To my youngest daughter, that meant her bedtime prayer．
Today my daughter is seven, and I no longer get to read the story．She reads it to me, complete with expressive accents for the story characters．
To say I'm proud of our relationship would be an understatement．We have shared days of joy as well as tragedy．Our time together has strengthened the relationship of love and special "life stuff" that is all our own．
I am richer for having planted the spirit of trust in this gentle little person; we have grown together spiritually, learning much from each other．The special times we spend together, like nights by a Pinocchio lamp, create memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives．
So it is with all of our relationships．The trust factor is vital for relationships to develop．Think of one of your fondest memories, and you will no doubt find a remarkable relationship at its center--one with a spiritual quality that shines outward from the heart．
Time together, caring acts, and unconditional love build trust．I suggest that we each spend plenty of time with our personal "Pinoechio lamps"--those special ways that we choose to strengthen our relationships．
Relationships take time to develop and maintain．It is not always easy, but the results are priceless．"Nights by a Pinoechio lamp", wherever those might be for you, will create enduring relationships of golden "life stuff", spiritual gifts that no one can take away．
【小题1】The underlined words in the third paragraph refer to all EXCEPT ______．

One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the wonderful works..
A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided she was doing all the talking. I admired his patience for tolerating her constant words. Disturbed by their noise, I moved on.
I encountered them several times as I moved through the various rooms of art. Each time I heard her constant talking, I moved away quickly.
I was standing at the counter of the museum gift store doing some shopping when the couple approached the exit. Before they left, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He turned it into a long cane (手杖) and then tapped his way into the coatroom to get his wife’s jacket.
“He’s a brave man,” the clerk at the counter said, “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn’t change. So, as before, he and his wife come in whenever there’s a new art show.”
“But what does he get out of the art?” I asked, “He can’t see.”
“Can’t see! You’re wrong. He sees a lot. More than you or I do,” the clerk said, “His wife describes each painting so he can see it in his head.”
I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without sight and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life.
And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away arm in arm.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is true?

Due to the increasing number of violence acts produced in schools all over the world, more and more parents prefer to have their children educated at home rather than at school． This way they can ensure their safety and well-being, although teachers and school representatives are trying to improve the situation in schools by increasing the number of the persons in charge of the safety of the students．

The main reason for violence acts are the films and cartoons that fill the children’s time． They want to do everything they watch on TV and never think of the consequences, and they may hurt a classmate or a teacher．

On the other hand, parents are not fully satisfied with the children’s results obtained in classes and they consider private classes would have better results. When a teacher has to watch 30 students in class he can’t probably see what each of them is doing, how he is writing, or if he understands the explanations． At home the teacher can explain in details everything the child doesn’t understand as many times as he considers proper. And many times the child grows fond of the teacher at home, who becomes his best friend, and who helps him whenever he needs someone to talk to.

However, the best solution would be a mixture between the education received at school and that at home, because school makes children communicate and socialize． Keeping a child at home for fear there might happen something bad to him only makes the child’s character weak and prevents him from knowing what real life is． Staying in a crystal ball only does harm to the child．

All in all, schools have been created to help children, not to harm them, so it’s best to keep children in these special places, where they learn, laugh, have fun and make new friends

1.The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ________

A．teach parents the ways to keep their children safe

B．show solutions to developing children’s character

C．analyze an education problem and give opinions

D．explain the main reason for violence acts in schools

2.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Classes

B．Who is to Blame, Parents or Schools?

C．Which Is Better, School Study or Home Study?

D．The Relationship between Teachers and Children

3.What does “a crystal ball” in the passage refer to?

A．A toy that can be used for entertainment

B．A safe and comfortable environment

C．A round object that is made of crystal

D．An obstacle that is hard to overcome

4.We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．violence TV programs have bad effects on children’s behavior

B．the teacher at home is more patient than the teacher at school

C．children today are weak from lack of sense of right and wrong

D．there are too many students in class for a teacher to teach

One fine day, an old couple around the age of 70, walks into a lawyer's office. Apparently, they are there to file a divorce. Lawyer was very puzzled, after having a chat with them, he got their story.
This couple had been quarreling all their 40 years of marriage nothing ever seems to go right. They hang on because of their children, afraid that it might affect their up-bringing. Now, all their children have already grown up, have their own family, there's nothing else the old couple have to worry about, all they wanted is to lead their own life free from all these years of unhappiness from their marriage, so both agree on a divorce.
While they were signing the papers, the wife told the husband. “I really love you, but I really can't carry on anymore, I'm sorry.” "It's OK, I understand." said the husband. Little did she know that, over the years, the husband has been trying all ways to please her, little did she know that drumsticks were the husband's favorite. Little did he know that she never thought he understands her at all, little did he know that she hates drumsticks even though all he wants is the best for her.
That night, both of them couldn't sleep, toss and turn, toss and turn. After hours, the old man couldn't take it anymore, he knows that he still loves her, and he can't carry on life without her, he wants her back, he wants to tell her, he is sorry, he wants to tell her, "I love you." He picked up the phone, started dialing her number. Ringing never stops. He never stops dialing.
On the other side, she was sad, she couldn't understand how come after all these years, he still doesn't understand her at all, she loves him a lot, but she just can't take it any more. Phone's ringing, she refuses to answer knowing that it's him. "I want to keep it this way, if not I will lose face. "She thought. Phone is still ringing. She has decided to pull out the cord. Little did she remember, he had heart problems.
The next day, she received news that he had passed away. She rushed down to his apartment, saw his body, lying on the couch still holding on to the phone. He had a heart attack when he was still trying to get through(接通) her phone line.
【小题1】The old couple wanted to file a divorce because __________.

A．they had no child.	B．their children didn’t like them.
C．they didn’t understand each other actually.	D．the old man didn’t love the old woman.

A．wild with joy

B．wild with grief

C．unconcern about it

D．angry at that