Surfing: It’s Not Just for Boys Any More

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, so mostly I just lied a lot to appear to be skilled at dealing with people. At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she gossiped about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't staring at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an over interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught and held my attention.

I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all extremely, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine, or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful -- maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.

What does the underlined word “diplomatic” mean?

       A. smooth                    B. clever                      C. honest                      D. delight

From the passage, we can infer that _______________.

       A. “I” was really liking the new place.

       B. “I” was not interested in what the girl said.

       C. “I” had a bad memory, so it’s hard to remember names.

       D. “I” was good at making friends.

According to the last two paragraphs, why did “they” catch “my” attention?

       A. Because “they” weren’t talking.

       B. Because “they” sat in the corner.

       C. Because “they” didn’t eat the food.

D. Because “they” looked incredibly beautiful.

According to the passage, which statement is NOT true?

       A. The girl walked with “me” was a little short.

       B. “I” saw the five students for the first time.

       C. Those students sitting in the corner had finished their food.

       D. “I” probably wanted to know more about those five students.

It was Christmas 1961. I was teaching in a small town in Ohio where my twenty seven third graders eagerly anticipated the great day of gift giving.

Each day the children made some new wonder – strings of popcorn, hand-made decorations, and German bells made from wallpaper samples, which we hung from the ceiling. Through it all she stayed indifferent(漠不关心的), watching from afar, seemingly miles away. I wondered what would happen to this quiet child, once so happy, now so suddenly unsociable. I hoped the festivities would light her up. But nothing did.

The day of gift giving finally came. We oohed and aahed over our handwork as the presents were exchanged. Through it all, she sat quietly watching. I had made a special package for her, red and green with white lace. I wanted very much to see her smile. She opened it so slowly and carefully. I waited but she turned away.

After school the children left in little groups, but she hesitated, watching them go out of the door. I sat down to catch my breath, hardly know what was happening when she came to me reaching out her hands, holding a small white box, unwrapped and slightly soiled, as though it had been held many times by unwashed, childish hands. “For me?” I asked with a weak smile. She said not a word, but nodded her head. I took the box and carefully opened it. There inside, lay a golden chain. In a flash I knew – she had made it for her mother, a mother she would never see again, a mother who would never hold her or brush her hair or share a funny story, a mother who would never again hear her childish joys or sorrows, a mother who had taken her own life just three weeks before.

I held out the chain. She took it in both her hands, reached forward, and put it on at the back of my neck. She stepped back then as if to see that all was well. I looked down at the golden chain, then back at the giver, “Maria, it is so beautiful. She would have loved it.” Neither of us could stop the tears. She threw herself into my arms and we were in tears together. And for that moment I became her mother, for she had given me the greatest gift of all: herself.

1.The underlined “anticipated” (Paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to _________.

A．prepared         B．expected          C．talked            D．kept

2.We can learn from the story that_________.

A．the beautiful chain was put inside a beautiful box

B．Maria made a golden chain of popcorn for her mother

C．the teacher made a special package for Maria so as to see her smile

D．Maria oohed and aahed over the handwork as the presents were exchanged

3.Maria became quiet and unsociable because_________.

A．she was a shy girl

B．her teacher didn’t give her any gift

C．her mother passed away three weeks ago

D．she didn’t have any friends in the class

4.The underlined sentence (Paragraph 5) mostly means_________.

A．Maria found her biological mother

B．Maria asked her teacher to be her mother

C．the teacher promised to be Maria’s mother after receiving her greatest gift

D．Maria believed in her considerate teacher and opened her heart to the teacher

5.The BEST title for the passage is _________.

A．The kid’s gift                          B．A quiet girl

C．The greatest teacher                     D．The great day of gift giving

A capsule inn is a kind of cheap and small hotel where people just sleep in rectangular containers(容器). After experiencing popularity in Japan for more than 30 years, capsule inns have now entered the Chinese market. This new style is becoming popular with many visitors, but some are less than what they expected. The capsule inn covers an area of more than 300 square meters, with 68 very small bedrooms for guests to rest. Each room is 2.2 meters long and about 1 meter wide.

As small as the capsules are, they provide more than enough daily necessities(必需品) for visitors. They do have plenty of functions. Each includes independent power sockets, clocks, lights, and flat screen televisions. People can also enjoy wireless Internet service. The basic fee(费用) for each capsule is 28 yuan, and guests will be asked to pay an extra 4 yuan every hour. The highest cost could reach 88 yuan per day.

Ta Zan, capsule inn Manager, said, “Capsule inns are similar to Internet cafes. When they first appeared more than 10 years ago, people thought they might not succeed. But now it’s a common thing in our lives.” He believes that more capsule inns will open around the nation very soon. He is sure about the future of his business.

1.How much will you pay if you want to stay in a capsule inn for 12 hours?

A. 88 yuan               B. 76 yuan               C. 28 yuan               D. 4 yuan.

2. What does the underlined word “functions” mean in Chinese?

A. 价格                       B. 功能                                 C. 方法                                 D. 需求

3.For whom, a capsule inn is a good choice while traveling around?

A. A family who like to cook by themselves.

B. A young student who likes watching TV or surfing on the Internet.

C. An old man who would like to stay in a big house with his wife.

D. A business man who wants to have a meeting with others.

4.Why does the manager compare(比较) his inn to Internet cafes?

A. Because he thinks they are similar in shape.

B. Because he knows Internet cafes were popular 10 years ago.

C. Because he thinks capsule inns are a common thing in our lives.

D. Because he believes both will have good development.

What I like to advise people is to find out what it is that makes them happy. What do you love to do? If you truly love what you do just go ahead and try to make a living by doing it. People will throw money at you to do it. But you will always have to work hard at it. I have to draw every single day of my life. I have to draw about 20 ideas. My advice is to put aside a certain amount of time every day and make you draw or whatever, especially when you don’t feel like it. Only in this way will you be able to perfect your talent.

The first step you take is to go to your local library and ask for the publications issued in the current years. When you get these publications, try to find the names of the top people concerned and their presidents. After you find these, write down their names and addresses. Keep this list and update it every year. Next thing you want to do is to create at least 40 cartoons. Get a grid（格子） from one of the strips in the newspapers, enlarge it to whatever size you wish and draw inside this grid. Now take the best 20 of your ideas and make them into finished pieces. To do this, you would want to copy them in ink because if you were a professional cartoonist, that was what you should do. Now you can reduce the size of the finished cartoons to fit onto a regular comic’s page. By comparing yours with the others already in print, it gives you a good idea of clarity to your cartoon.

The next step is to write letters to presidents of the publication. In the letters, explain who you think would read your work, or in other words, what group do you think you would target. After you complete these, send all of your information enclosed with letters in the appropriate envelope.

Now as soon as you send out these letters, start to create a brand new strip with all new characters. Don’t get married to one idea because if your idea gets turned down then you will give up. And always remember. If you receive a rejection from any of them, keep in mind that you are working on something better. You will be working on something new and more exciting and the rejection letter will not have any impact. With this in mind…

1.What is the advice from the writer in the first paragraph when you want to succeed in your life?

A. Stop doing anything until you find something quite suitable for your future career.

B. Put aside a certain amount of time every day to consider how to make a living.

C. Make a living by something that you truly like to do as your profession and work hard at it.

D. Perfect your talent only by drawing some cartoons.

2.The purpose of writing a letter to the president was to ____.

A. get some money to support the later career

B. enclose the information on how to become cartoonists with the letter

C. focus his attention on the work

D. explain who would be the readers of the work

3. The underlined phrase “get married to one idea” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.

A. having a strong desire to get married

B. fixing all attention on one idea

C. marrying someone is a good ideas

D. refusing one idea to get married