A little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden. There, she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill. This house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. Although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.
When she got to an age when she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother if she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she should keep close to the house and not wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.
As she dismounted her bike and leaned it against the gate post, she focused on the path that led to the house and then on the house itself. She was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that was derelict.
So sad she didn't go any further and turned, and heart broken as she remounted her bike. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.
She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front ofher nose!
【小题1】Why did the girl long for the house on the hill?

A little stream flowed down from a high mountain far, far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through countless obstacles. I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But when she decided to start her journey, she found herself gradually disappearing into the mud and sand. After numerous tries, she found it was all in vain and was very upset. “Maybe it’s my destiny(命运) ! I’m not destined to reach the vast ocean in the legend, ” she murmured sadly to herself.

At this time, a deep voice came, saying, “If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river.”

It was the voice of the desert. Unconvinced, the little stream replied, “That’s because a breeze can fly, but I can’t.”

“That’s because you stick to what you are. If you’re willing to give it up, and let yourself evaporate （蒸发） into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach your destination,” said the desert in its deep voice.

The little stream had never heard of such a thing. “Give up what I am now and disappear into the breeze? No! No!” She could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be self-destruction to give up what she was now?

“How do I know if this is true?” asked the little stream.

“The breeze can carry the vapor across the desert and release it as rain at an appropriate site. The rain will form a river again to continue its course,” answered the desert very patiently.

“Will I still be what I am now?” asked the little stream.

“Yes, and no. Whether you’re a river or invisible vapor, your inner nature never changes. You stick to the fact that you’re a river because you don’t know your inner nature,” answered the desert.

Deep down, the stream vaguely remembered that before she became a river, it was perhaps also the breeze that carried her halfway up a high mountain, where she turned into rain and fell onto the ground and became what she was now. Finally the little stream gathered her courage and rushed into the open arms of the breeze, which carried her to the next stage of her life.

Perhaps you can try asking yourself these questions: What is my inner nature? What is it that I cling （紧抓） to? And what is it that I really want?

1.When reaching the desert at first, the little stream was ________ to cross it.

A．upset  B．confident    C．pessimistic  D．hesitant

2.The desert suggests that the stream ________ in order to cross the desert.

A．change its form            B．disappear into the desert

C．stick to what it is D．turn to another stream for help

3.Finally the stream successfully crossed the desert with the help of ________.

A．the rain       B．the desert   C．the breeze  D．the mountain

4.In the text the writer compares the stream to ________.

A．the Truth     B．the courage   C．the course of life      D．the obstacles in life

One night, a little before nine o’clock, Dr Johnson was answering a telephone call. He was asked to go and give an operation to a very sick boy at once. The boy was in a small hospital in Glens Falls, sixty miles away from Dr Johnson’s city – Albany. The boy had hurt himself in a traffic accident. His wife was in danger, but his family was so poor that they could not pay the doctor anything. After he heard all this, Dr Johnson was driving carefully. He thought that he could get to the hospital before 12 o’clock. A few minutes later, the doctor’s car had to stop for a red light at a crossing. Suddenly a man in an old black coat opened the door of the car and got in.

“Drive on”, he said. “I’ve got a gun (枪).”

“I’m a doctor,” said Johnson, “I’m on my way to a hospital to operate on a very sick…”

“Don’t talk,” said the man in the old black coat, “Just drive.”

A mile out of the town he ordered the doctor to stop the car and get out. Then the man drove on down the road. The doctor stood for a moment in the snow. After half an hour, Dr Johnson found a telephone and called a taxi. At the railway station he learned that the next train to Glens Falls would not leave until 12 o’clock.

It was after two o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Glens Falls. Miss Clarke, a nurse, was waiting for him.

“I did my best,” said Dr Johnson. Miss Clarke said, “The boy died an hour ago.”

They walked into the waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat, with his head in his hands.

“Mr. Shute,” said Miss Clarke to the man, “this is Dr Johnson. He had come all the way from Albany to try to save your boy.”

1. From the story we know it took Dr Johnson _________ to get to the hospital.

A．12 hours          B．7 hours           C．only 1 hour        D．about 5 hours

2.Dr Johnson was late because __________.

A．there was something wrong with his car

B．a strange man made it hard to drive

C．a strange man drove his car away

D．the train to Glens Falls was late

3. The man in a black coat __________.

A．hit the boy and ran away

B．took the boy to the hospital

C．was the boy’s father

D．was the real doctor

4.The man in black would feel __________ in the end.

A．happy and pleased                      B．regretful(悔恨) and sad

C．worried and angry                       D．tired and hungry

 As a music teacher，I have always known that music touches the soul. It can __16___all kinds of barriers to reach students in a very special way. It can be the ___17__for each child to find their light. I would like to___18__ a story about it.

   For a few years I was__19___ with the opportunity to teach disabled students. One of my most__20___ students was a five-year-old girl called Vanessa，who had difficulty walking，and could not speak.We__21____ sat on the floor for our music lessons and Vanessa liked to__22___ on my lap．One of her favorite songs was John the Rabbit. It was a call and response song where I sang the call and the students__23___ twice while singing the repeating phrase，“Oh，yes！” Vanessa liked to __24___her hands together with mine and clap with me. We probably performed that song during every class，Vanessa and I clapping together. But she __25___ said or sang a word.

   One day，when the song was finished，Vanessa turned around，__26___ me in the eyes，clapped her tiny hands twice and said the words“Oh，yes！” I opened my mouth in __27___ and for that moment I was the one who could not speak. When my heart  __28___ started beating again，I looked over at the assistant teacher to find her also  __29___ .Through music，we had made an awesome(enjoyable) connection.

   Several years later，I met Vanessa on the street in town. She waved with a big __30___ on her face and then clapped her hands twice，imitating the song we had __31___ so many times in our music class. The little girl，__32___ her connection with music，left an impression on me that will last forever. Every child has the__33___ to learn and grow. It is up to us to__34___ the way to reach each and every one of our students. We all must find each child's__35___.

16.   A. get across          B .put away              C .take over            D .break through

17.   A .means              B. direction              C. process              D. effort

18.   A. add                   B. talk                      C. share               D. write

19.   A. blessed              B. tired                   C. covered              D. filled

20.   A troublesome        B. Hardworking        C. memorable         D .sensitive

21.   A. most                   B. almost                 C. nearly                 D .mostly

22.   A. stand                  B .sit                        C. lie                     D. jump

23.   A. sang                   B. said                     C .followed              D. clapped

24.   A. strike                  B. put                       C. give                    D. shake

25.   A. ever                   B. never                   C. still                      D. even

26.   A. looked                B. saw                      C. glared                 D. noticed

27.   A. horror                 B. delight                 C. astonishment      D. embarrassment

28.   A immediately         B. fortunately           C. slowly                  D. finally

29.   A. happy                 B grateful                 C .speechless         D .hopeless

30.   A. greeting             B. smile                    C. expression          D .sign

31.   A .performed          B. operated             C trained                 D. organized

32.   A. upon                  B. through               C. from                    D. beyond

33.   A. standard            B. ability                   C. plan                    D. freedom

34.   A .discover             B. invent                  C. test                     D. make

35.   A. strength             B. dream                  C .light                    D. weakness

This is a dangerous world we live in. The numbers of murders goes up every year； people are dying of cancer；more people contract（感染）HIV；more teens are using drugs；etc. You know this because you’ve heard all the statistics on the news. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are going up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background, statistics mean very little.
This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous.
For example, several years ago a high school student reported dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors（肿瘤）， is found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once. After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background.
The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said. When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths. Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view. For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe. Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really more dangerous? If you think about it, you will realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightening strike. When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics. If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able think critically, and form our own views. rather than be easily persuaded by another’s. To be warned is to be prepared.
59．In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?
A. We are now living in a dangerous world.
B. We got a lot of false statistics from the media.
C. There are around us more and more murders, diseases etc.
D. Statistics alone without full background don’t give us an accurate picture of things.
60．Why does the writer use the example in the second paragraph?
A. To show the danger of reporting only part of the information.
B. To argue that high school students are easily persuaded.
C. To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous.
D. To warn us of the harmful substances（物质）around us.
61．Relative information is often left out because__________
A. relative information is not that important
B. the author is trying to show what he or she says is true
C. too much information will make readers feel confused
D. readers are not able to analyze so much information at once
62．What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world.
B. We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides.
C. The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control.
D. Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong.