Mr. King was over sixty and lived by himself a long way from town. He nearly hadn’t left his home. But one day he went into town to buy things. After he bought them, he went into a restaurant and sat down at a table by himself. When he looked around, he saw several old people put glasses on before they read their newspapers. So after lunch he decided to go to a shop to buy himself a pair of glasses, too. He walked along the street and soon found a shop.

The man in the shop helped him try on many pairs of glasses, but Mr. King always said, “No, I cannot read with them.”

The man became more and more puzzled and in the end ha said, “Excuse me, but can you read?”

“No, of course not!” Mr. King said angrily. “If I can read, why have I come here?”

55. Mr. King lived ________

A. alone                B. with several old people

C. with his family        D. with his wife

56. What did the old people in the restaurant do before they read?

A. they drank something.

B. they took out their newspaper.

C. they took their glasses off.

D. they put their glasses on.

57. What mistake did Mr. King make?

A. He didn’t try on all the glasses in the shop.

B. He thought that he would be able to read with glasses even if he couldn’t read.

C. He went to the wrong shop.

    D. He didn’t know how to choose glasses.

My mother-in-law, Dorothy, is showing me the red notebook that’s almost as precious to her as my husband’s baby pictures. Inside the notebook is a list of the books she has read since 2007. For some people waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible thing. But for my mother-in-law, that time is a gift. At 87, she is getting the education she never had by working her way through great literature. She has now read close to 100 books, including every single novel by Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Henry James and Thomas Mann.

My mother-in-law discusses her passion with the enthusiasm of a young girl, although she can also be a very tough critic, writing “VG’ for “ very good” in the margins next to her favorites. So far, only a handful of books have received the top prize.

Born in Ridgefield, Conn, Dorothy was the youngest daughter of an Italian gardener. She taught herself English by reading The New York Times. Eager to come to Manhattan, she became a nurse, married a dentist and spent the next several decades keeping the house and raising a family. In her later years, she put her nursing skills to good use by taking care of my father-in-law, who had lung cancer. There were many trips to the emergency room in the middle of the night and then a long hospital stay. She stayed awake to watch over him for 15 hours a day. Always a light sleeper, she developed sleeplessness as a result of the stress.

It worsened after he died. Deeply sad and lonely for the first time in her life, she began waking up around 2am. Julian and Sylvia, the elderly couple next door suggest she read literature. And so Julian, a great lover of literature, became her “professor”, providing books from his large library. Suddenly the terrifying hole turned onto a world of amazing characters.

1.Why is Dorothy considered a tough critic?

   A. Because no books are inspiring enough in her eyes.                        

B. Because only a few books are thought highly of by her.

   C. Because she only reads books by famous writers.                         

D. Because she finds fault with every book she reads.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

   A. the books Dorothy has read were bought by her husband.                   

B. the couple next door are college professors.

   C. the author loves literature too.                                         

D. Dorothy was a great wife.

3.The underlined part “the terrifying hole” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

   A. the frightening death                                                   

B. Dorothy’s lack of education

   C. waking up in the middle of the night                                    

D. a hole in a book that Dorothy read

4. What helped Dorothy get over the sadness and loneliness of losing her husband?

   A. Living with her son.                                                 

B. Reading literature.

   C. Seeing her son’s baby pictures.                                         

 D. Talking with neighbors.

The manager of the sales department is kept busy all day. After he has solved one problem, another is sure to _______.

Jeremy Wirick, 9, has been back in school for less than two months, but he has already had several asthma(哮喘)attacks. A recent attack happened on October 2, after he pushed himself too hard in physical exercise. Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll. When Jeremy got home an hour or two later, he was out of breath. He needed to use a nebulizer（喷雾器）, a machine that helps send medicine quickly to the lungs, to get his breathing back to normal.

Asthma attacks like Jeremy increase in September and October. More than six times as many asthma sufferers who are primary-school age need hospital treatment in the fall as in the summer.

Experts believe many factors can cause back-to-school asthma. Kids get together in close spaces, they start passing viruses around. A viral infection(感染) can cause an asthma attack. There are also certain fall allergies(过敏症)that can cause attacks. Exercise is another common cause of an attack. Besides, the stress of school can make asthma worse.

Parents can play a big role in helping kids with asthma start the school year right. Dawne Gee’s 10-year-old son, Alexander, has had asthma since he was a baby. Before the school year starts, she tells school workers in writing about her son’s asthma.

The Gees live in Kentucky, which has passed laws allowing students to carry their asthma medication(药物治疗)with them at school. Alexander’s mom makes sure he has his inhaler(人工呼吸器)with him when he goes to school and that he keeps it on hand at all times. In Delaware, where Jeremy lives, kids are allowed to carry their inhalers at school.

The American Lung Association says that about 6.2 million American children suffer from asthma. Asthma is the chronic (慢性) illness that causes students to miss the most days of school. There are many things that schools can do to help students control their asthma

1.The passage mainly deals with _______.

A. how to prevent and treat Asthma        B. what Asthma is and its medication

C. the side-effects Asthma has on kids      D. the causes of Asthma and how to control it at school

2.By saying “Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll.”, the writer means that_____.

A. physical exercise affected their health

B. physical exercise gave them a deep thought

C. asthma attacks made them like physical exercise

D. asthma attacks could be cured through physical exercise

3.Which of the following statements is NOT supported by the passage?

A. Kids are likely to suffer asthma attacks in the fall

B. Stress can add to the risk of asthma attacks

C. Medication can cure asthma quickly

D. Asthma attacks will need necessary medical treatment

4.The passage lists many factors that cause asthma attacks except_____.

A. A viral infection    B. unhealthy habits   C. certain fall allergies   D. physical exercise

5.The following paragraph is probably going to talk about______.

A. tips on asthma for schools             B. a survey on students with asthma

C. the effects asthma has on students      D. further understanding of Asthma