As I sat beside the window of our classroom that afternoon, my heart sank further with each passing car. This was a day I’d looked forward to for weeks: Miss Pace’s fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party.

I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace looked for cookie volunteers. Mom’s chocolate chips were well-known, and I knew they’d be a hit with my classmates. But two o’clock passed, and there was no sign of her. Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their sweet offerings.

The three o’clock bell soon took me away from my thoughts and I took my book bag from my desk.

I decided I would slam the front door, and refuse to return her hug. But when I arrived, she wasn’t at home.

I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door.

“Robbie,” she called out a bit urgently. “Where are you?”

I could then hear her rushing anxiously from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent.

Coming through the door, she said: “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “I just forgot. I got busy and forgot.”

Then my mother did something completely unexpected. She began to laugh! How could she laugh at a time like this? I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see my rage (愤怒).

But my mother wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I let you down. I let my little boy down.”

I was moved by her tears.

I tried to remember her kind words from times past when I’d skinned knees or cut myself, times when she knew just the right thing to say.

“It’s okay, Mom. We didn’t even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat. Don’t cry. It’s all right. Really.”

We didn’t say another word. We just held each other. When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.

1.. The author was pretty down because ______.

A. he couldn’t go to the party he had been looking forward to

B. his mother didn’t turn up at the party as she had promised

C. his mother had refused to make chocolate chips for the party

D. the cookies his mom made was not popular at the party

We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed like this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her driving, so I sent her to the store in my truck.
At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I enjoyed having it, but I said: "Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won’t last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won’t last."
After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted: "Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck."
My heart sank and my mind was flooded with conflicting thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my heart say: "Here is a chance to show Holly what you really love. She’ll never forget it."
The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van (搬运车). In her inexperience, she had confused the brakes and the gas pedal. Holly was unhurt physically, but when I reached her, she was crying and saying: "Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I know how much you love this truck." I held her in my arms as she cried.
Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes moistened (湿润) and she said: "That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and ran into a log that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me."
Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of that night.
I remember how sad Holly was and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know what really matters in my life

1. 1.

   How did the crash happen?

   1. A.
      The van was parked in the wrong place that evening
   2. B.
      Holly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brakes
   3. C.
      The brakes of the truck didn’t work properly
   4. D.
      Holly was too careless and young to drive a truck
2. 2.

   Why didn’t the writer punish Holly?

   1. A.
      He was so rich that he didn’t care about losing one truck
   2. B.
      He thought there was no point punishing her after the accident
   3. C.
      He believed the truck was made of metal and of poor quality
   4. D.
      He wanted Holly to know he loved her more than any possessions
3. 3.

   What does the underlined sentence mean?

   1. A.
      She still suffered physical pain
   2. B.
      She felt guilty of damaging the car
   3. C.
      It left a deep wound on her soul
   4. D.
      She was not forgiven by her Dad
4. 4.

   Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      What really matters?
   2. B.
      Better to forgive and forget
   3. C.
      Who is to blame?
   4. D.
      Accidents will happen

     Mark Twain, the famous American writer, was traveling in France. Once he was very tired and wanted to sleep. He therefore asked the conductor to wake him up when they came to Dijon. But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. "I'll strongly protest(抗议) when you try to wake me up," he said to the conductor. "But do not take any notice, just put me off the train anyway."

    Then Mark Twain went to sleep. Later, when he woke up it was night time and the train was in Paris already. He realized at once that the conductor had forgotten to wake him up at Dijon. He ran up to the conductor and began to shout at him." I have never been so angry in all my life," Mark Twain said.

    The conductor looked at him calmly. "You are not half so angry as the American whom I put off the train at Dijon," he said loudly.

11. Mark Twain couldn't wake up himself because ________.

       A. he was so busy                                B. he was very tired

       C. he was a writer                                D. he was so heavy a sleeper

12. Mark Twain told the conductor __________.

       A. it was difficult to wake him up when he fell asleep

       B. he was too heavy to be woken up

       C. he was too strong to take any notice

       D. he should be helped as he had something heavy with him

13. Mark Twain wanted to go to _________.

       A. France             B. Paris               C. Dijon              D. America

14. Why did Mark Twain get so angry?

       A. Because the conductor had put someone else off the train.

       B. Because the conductor had forgotten to put him off in Paris.

       C. Because the conductor had forgotten to wake him up at Dijon.

       D. Because Mark Twain had not had enough sleep.

15. The conductor _______.

A. was a man who didn’t care much about others’ feelings.

B. didn’t realize what had happened when he was shouted at

C. put Mark Twain off at Dijon by accident

D. became extremely angry when he was shouted and shouted back

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas（胰腺). I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that was incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which was doctor’s code for preparing to die. It meant to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It meant to make sure everything was buttoned up so that it would be as easy as possible for your family. It meant to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy(活组织检查). I was calm, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
This is the closest I’ve been to facing death. No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by the principle — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary

1. 1.

   The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to let the readers __________

   1. A.
      be brave when facing a cancer
   2. B.
      treasure their lifetime to fulfill their own business
   3. C.
      know a sorrowful experience of his won
   4. D.
      know how he treasured his family
2. 2.

   Why can the author's illness be cured so soon?

   1. A.
      He prepared everything in order
   2. B.
      He had a biopsy
   3. C.
      His pancreatic cancer can be curable with surgery
   4. D.
      His wife helped him
3. 3.

   The impression the author gave readers is that __________

   1. A.
      he was so optimistic that the incurable illness wouldn't bring him down
   2. B.
      he could leave death alone and had enough courage to become what he wanted to
   3. C.
      he was so determined that he wasn't scared at death
   4. D.
      he was such a responsible man that he prepared well before he died
4. 4.

   What does the underlined word "they" in the last paragraph refer to?

   1. A.
      Gods
   2. B.
      The doctors
   3. C.
      Heart and intuition
   4. D.
      Other persons