Do you ever run out of great books to read? So what should I read next? Is fast-paced crime fiction your thing?

Try the new Patricia Cornwell book, Scarpetta （Putnam）. She is such an able writer and handles complex forensic（法庭的） intelligence with ease. You need to be prepared, though, for the world you're entering—this isn't for the faint of heart, let's say.

If peace is more your thing, try Mary Pipher's wonderful new book, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World （Riverhead）. Mary is a lovely, comfortable writer who takes the reader through her personal awakening after reputation and fortune came her way. Even if you've never experienced life as a bestselling writer （as she has done, in her book years back, Reviving Ophelia）, you'll totally understand and sympathize with her renewed need for privacy, distance and quiet.

What if you want a straightforward, totally thrilling read with vivid characters, set about World War II? You cannot go wrong with Jim Lehrer's new novel, Oh, Johnny （Random House）, about a young Marine whose life is changed forever when he meets a woman on his way to war. His relationship with her lasts him through danger and hardship, and there's an impressive ending. See our interview with the productive novelist/newsman in the current issue of Reader's Digest （March, on stands now）, by the way, for insight into the very talented Mr. Lehrer and what interests him.

Well, what about something wickedly funny and totally offbeat? Does the name Carrie Fisher do anything for you? Try her vivid and new life in Hollywood and elsewhere, Wishful Drinking （Simon & Schuster）. Be prepared for humor as sharp as knives.

1. What does the writer want to tell us by the underlined sentence?

A. The world is complex and hard.           B. Scarpetta is a thriller.

C. The fiction is hard to understand.     D. Society is hard to fit into.

2.Which of the following is true of Mary Pipher?

A. She is an adventurous writer.    B. She doesn’t care about fortune.

C. Her books normally sell well.   D. She can help you achieve writing skills. 

3. To get further information about Jim Lehrer, you may________.

A. go to Reader’s Digest issued in March     B. go to Random House

C. analyze the characters in Oh, Johnny     D. read the novel Oh, Johnny

4.Which book isn’t directly based on the writer’s own life?__________________

A. Seeking Peace.             B. Reviving Ophelia.

C. Wishful Drinking.            D. Oh, Johnny.

I went to the Chinatown market in London last Sunday. The first thing I did was to go to one of the Chinese green grocers’ shops. As soon as I entered the shop, I smelt mixtures of Chinese spices and saw the new season’s fruits. My son wanted a bag of sweets, so we popped into the shop next door which sells many kinds of candy.

    There’s a lot of noise in the Chinatown market and you will see many tourists too. There are a lot of cars and trucks that never stop beeping. While people are loading and unloading their goods, most of them have their cars and trucks parked in the middle of the road. This causes great inconvenience for other drivers. Can you imagine that?

    After we had done all our shopping, my son and I went to a restaurant for lunch. We enjoyed our meal very much. But the shopping made us both very tired at the end. We headed down the road to catch our bus home. My son and I enjoyed riding in the bus. We also enjoyed looking at different buildings and people walking by dressed in fancy outfits. Although Chinatown can be a busy place to shop, I do enjoy going there now and then. I can buy some of my necessities, and I can also look and browse around the other shops and department stores where I can indulge (使沉迷) myself with some nice things. Chinatown is located in the heart of central London where you can find tons of shops and other places to amuse you. And for me, I certainly don’t mind going back there again soon.

1.The underlined words “popped into” most probably could be replaced by “_____”.

A. broke into     B. rushed into      C. pushed  into           D. walked into

2. The author probably didn’t go to a ______.

A. restaurant           B. grocery

C. clothing store       D. sweets shop

3.What can we learn from the passage?

4.From the passage, we can infer that the author most probably went to Chinatown by­­_____

5.What does the last sentence of the passage imply?

She was a four-year-old girl with very fine golden hair when I first met her．She was carrying a bowl of    1   ．I was 29 at the time and suffering  from the flu．
Her mom and I had been friends for many years．Finally that friendship grew into care，from care into   2 and marriage．Marriage brought the three of us together as a    3   ．At first，I was afraid to be a“stepfather”.Therefore，I tried not to come between my future daughter and her   4    father．I acted in that way in order to be liked．However，  5   she was growing up, I found it increasingly hard to  6  with her．
Once her school required every parent to write an open and    7  letter to the children．I wrote a letter about a little golden-haired girl who had brought me a bowl of soup when I needed    8  ．
A week later，all the parents got together with our children in a classroom．The students were allowed to make a few speeches．I was   9   to hear what my daughter would say．
Finally，my daughter determinedly   10   her way up to the microphone．She said something like others and then   11   ."There are people and things we sometimes take for granted that we shouldn't，at this very moment，I just want to say…I love you，father．”
Immediately people around me started    12   at me，and patting me on the back as though they also understood the depth of that unusual speech．For a teenage girl to say    13  in the front of a room full of people，“I love you”，took a great deal of courage．Since then I have come  to understand that I didn't need to have any   14  about being a stepfather．I can still  15  honest love with the same little girl I met so many years before-carrying a bowl full of what turned out to be kindness．I can also be friends with the girl-my dear daughter．

The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played on the playground. She seemed so small as she pushed her way     36     the crowd of boys on the playground. She    37   from them all. I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing    38  . She would practice dribbling（运球）and shooting over and over again, sometimes until   39  . One day I asked her   40   she practiced so much. She looked   41   in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, “ I want to go to college. The only way I can   42   is to get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My daddy told me if the dream is   43   enough, the facts don’t count.”

Well, I had to give in to her—she was   44  . One day, I saw her sitting in the grass, head   45   in her arms. I walked toward her and   46   asked what was the matter. “Oh, nothing,” came a soft reply, “ I am just too short.” The coach told her that at her height she would probably   47   get to play for a top ranked team,    48   offered a scholarship. So she   49   stop dreaming about college.

She was   50   and I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not   51   the power of the dream. He told her   52   she really wanted to pay for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship,   53   could stop her except one thing---her own attitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.”

The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was   54   by a college recruiter(招聘人员). She was indeed offered a scholarship. She was going to get the college education that she had   55   and worked for all those years.

She was a four-year-old girl with very fine golden hair when I first met her．She was carrying a bowl of    1   ．I was 29 at the time and suffering  from the flu．

Her mom and I had been friends for many years．Finally that friendship grew into care，from care into   2 and marriage．Marriage brought the three of us together as a    3   ．At first，I was afraid to be a“stepfather”.Therefore，I tried not to come between my future daughter and her   4    father．I acted in that way in order to be liked．However，  5   she was growing up, I found it increasingly hard to  6  with her．

Once her school required every parent to write an open and    7  letter to the children．I wrote a letter about a little golden-haired girl who had brought me a bowl of soup when I needed    8  ．

A week later，all the parents got together with our children in a classroom．The students were allowed to make a few speeches．I was   9   to hear what my daughter would say．

Finally，my daughter determinedly   10   her way up to the microphone．She said something like others and then   11   ."There are people and things we sometimes take for granted that we shouldn't，at this very moment，I just want to say…I love you，father．”

Immediately people around me started    12   at me，and patting me on the back as though they also understood the depth of that unusual speech．For a teenage girl to say    13  in the front of a room full of people，“I love you”，took a great deal of courage．Since then I have come  to understand that I didn't need to have any   14  about being a stepfather．I can still  15  honest love with the same little girl I met so many years before-carrying a bowl full of what turned out to be kindness．I can also be friends with the girl-my dear daughter．

1.                A．soup           B．rice            C．porridge  D．noodles

2.                A．like            B．pleasure        C．excitement    D．love

3.                A．union          B．group          C．family    D．whole

4.                A．following       B．natural         C．untrue   D．new

5.                A．after           B．with           C．before   D．as

6.                A．connect        B．share          C．communicate  D．argue

7.                A．honest         B．ordinary        C．powerful  D．beautiful

8.                A．cure           B．care           C．money   D．friend

9.                A．glad           B．hopeful         C．serious   D．anxious

10.               A．came          B．made          C．had  D．got

11.               A．lasted          B．decided        C．continued D．repeated

12.               A．smiling         B．hugging        C．kissing D．staring

13.               A．quietly         B．brightly         C．quickly    D．openly

14.               A．courage        B．happiness       C．fear  D．idea

15.               A．exchange       B．send           C．expect    D．share