At the end of eight grade, our class went to Washington, D.C. For a group of 14-year-olds, this was a big deal!

The first day was so tiring; we could hardly remember where we were and what we were seeing. The next morning, we were off to see monuments (纪念碑)，starting with Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson. We walked along the paths through trees. Then the Wall came into view—the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

As I moved slowly closer to the Wall, I heard a bagpipe（风笛）in the distance, which seemed to show respect to the lives lost in the jungles of Vietnam .

We continued walking and felt surprised at the number of names carved in the black stone. I was determined to find a soldier with my last name, but my hunt was stopped when a man caught my eyes. He was kneeling(跪着) at the Wall, a single rose at his feet. His head was bowed and he was rubbing his fingers over one name. I thought how sad he was, and then moved on .

After a few minutes I found one with my last name, but my eyes returned to the kneeling man. He was still rubbing his fingers over the same name. He never knew I was watching him, lost in deep sorrow. It was time for me to leave the kneeling man and the Wall. On the way home, I couldn’t help thinking of the kneeling man and his sad face. I wasn’t sure of the effects of war before, but at that moment I realized how much that man suffered from losing his loved one. Maybe he was the only one of so many families who experienced the same .

I never knew the full effects of war until I saw that man. I only know about war from history classes. The kneeling man taught me more about war and the effects it has on people than any history book .

Which of the following makes the author feel the suffering that war brings to human beings?

A. The kneeling man.                                       B. The sound of a bagpipe.

C. The number of names carved in the stone.      D. The jungles of Vietnam.

The man continued to rub his fingers over the name probably because_____.

  A. he found it covered with dust                            B. he missed the loved one who died in a war

C. he intended to remove it completely        D. he recalled the fierce war he fought in

What did the author learn from the trip?

  A. How fierce war is in history.                   B. How people remember those who died in wars.

C. What bad effects war had on many families.   D. What we should do to prevent war.

According to the last paragraph, the author probably thinks that _____.

A. he should have studied history hard in class

B. history books don’t tell readers the truth

C. there is more in history than books tell us

D. the kneeling man should be a history teacher

Down on the beach of Dover, 56-year-old Channel swimmer Jackie Cobell bravely set off for Calais. The time was 6:40 am. 28 hours and 44 minutes later the exhausted, successful mother from Kent crawled (爬行) to the shore and walked proudly into the record books. After five years in training, Mrs Cobell became the slowest person to cross the Channel under her own steam. The previous record for the slowest crossing, set by Henry Sullivan at 26 hours and 50 minutes, has stood for 87 years before Mrs Cobell started at Dover Saturday morning.
She had struggled through changing tides that swept her first one way, then the other. It turned the 21-mile crossing into a 65-mile one. She declared, “Time and tide wait for no man—and they certainly didn’t wait for me. I was fully expecting it to get dark before I got to Calais but I never imagined I’d also see the dawn again. But I wasn’t going to give up.”
Her feat(壮举) raised more than $2,000 in charity sponsorship for research into Huntingdon’s disease, a sum that was continuing to grow as news of her achievement spread. That was why she did it. “I don’t really know myself,” she said. “ I just kept thinking of all the people I’d be letting down if I stopped.”
Mrs Cobell took to the water so well at school. But after bringing up two daughters, she started to gain weight. Five years ago she took up swimming again and decided to prepare for the Channel challenge to lose weight. She became much fitter. Then came the big swim. “I practiced on Windermere lake,” she said. “it’s about half the distance of the Channel so I just doubled it, added some extra time, and worked out I could probably get to Calais in about 16 hours.”
Her husband David, trainer, official observer and friend sailed alongside her on a boat. She said, “I sang to keep myself going. When they told me I was a record breaker I thought they were just having a joke—until I realized it was the record for the slowest crossing. But maybe next time I might be a bit quicker.”
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, Mrs Cobell_____________.

Christmas is over. And I got my wanted radio-controlled truck. But you would not believe the ___1___ and work that went into getting this holy toy.

For over a month I stared at ___2___ magazines I received from my friend until I had made up my ___3___: I wanted a Pumpkin truck. I ___4___ to work immediately, dropping hints to my father about it.

My first job was to tell him about how the steering(操纵杆) on my old car didn’t ___5___, but he just blamed the problems on my bad ___6___.

My next plan would have to be more ___7___. “Look at this, Dad, the truck with controller and battery pack—all for only US$250!” You can’t ___8___ to miss out on this bargain!”

His ___9___ was that he certainly could afford to miss this ___10___ and for US$250 you could buy ___11___ educational like a telescope. “A telescope? To look at the moon? I’ll look at it when I’m 97 years old and living in a ___12___ home! This is my youth! I am supposed to run about.”

I went to my room, ___13___ at how mean(吝啬的) my father was. It was obvious that he didn’t ___14___ that I would die if I did not get the Pumpkin radio-controlled truck.

When I ___15___ on Christmas morning I wasn’t excited. I had been ___16___. I opened all my presents until there was just one big package ___17___. “The telescope,” I thought. I ___18___ the packaging and looked at the top of the box—it was a Pumpkin truck. I had ___19___! I loved my parents! I felt like I could do anything! I could ___20___ get an A+ in English class.

1. A. pain           B. attempt           C. joy              D. shyness

2. A. housing        B. fishing            C. car             D. fashion

3. A. mind            B. idea             C. opinion           D. head

4. A. get            B. set               C. searched        D. went

5. A. operate         B. run              C. start            D. work

6. A. riding           B. driving            C. thinking          D. keeping

7. A. strong          B. practical          C. ideal            D. obvious

8. A. afford           B. pay              C. allow          D. stand

9. A. talk           B. expression          C. face            D. response

10. A. truck          B. telescope         C. chance               D. bargain

11. A. one             B. something          C. everything      D. nothing

12. A. heating        B. loving             C. nursing          D. finding

13. A. pleased       B. good               C. expert         D. angry

14. A. say             B. believe            C. care            D. learn

15. A. went off        B. woke up         C. rang up          D. found out

16. A. worried       B. instructed           C. warned          D. defeated

17. A. opened        B. wrapped         C. left             D. faded

18. A. recovered       B. refused           C. reopened        D. removed

19. A. won           B. done               C. beaten         D. failed

20. A. ever            B. already            C. still             D. even

It was the first snow of winter – an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through first snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.

    I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes. At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots (靴子).

    In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence (信心).

    I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get the first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.

    I announced, “They’re on the wrong feet.”

    She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.

    “They’re my brother’s boots, you know,” I said. “I hate them!”

    Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying (烦人的) little girl, She pushed and pushed, less gently this time. With a greater sigh, seeing the end of her struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens (连指手套)?”

    I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots.”

The little girl was more satisfied with her_________.

A. trousers    B. jacket     C. boots     D. hat

Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl’s boots mainly because________.

A. the girl got them from her brother B. the girl put something in them

C. they were on the wrong feet                 D. they did not fit the girl well

Why does the author say Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?

    A. Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes.

B. Because it was the most exciting day of the winter.

C. Because the little girl played a trick on her.

D. Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf.

We can learn from the text that Miss Finlayson_________.

A. was losing confidence in the little girl

B. gradually lost patience with the little girl

C. became disappointed with the little girl

D. was getting bored with the little girl

So the evening turned to night, and the night turned to morning. And before I knew it , the SAT was before me. I wasn’t sure  if I was ready, but I knew one thing: I wanted to get it over with.
SAT for the students is like tooth pulling. For those smart Asian kiddos, it’s like walking through the park: easy and carefree. For me, a Chinese American, …it’s: walking through the park and then tripping on a stone.
As I arrived outside of the dining hall, already a mob of students were sitting, talking, or standing silently waiting to get in. Jones students are lucky not only to have such a testing center at school, but also the feeling of their home school where it feels comfortable and familiar.
“ID, please,” my former math teacher asked at the door.
“Okay.” She looked over my ID, checked off my name on her list, and pointed towards the dining hall tables inside.
With hesitation, I picked up my feet and was directed to a large round table in the middle of the dinning hall. At least fourteen people could sit at this table but only four were allowed to take their test here.
“I’m glad it’s multiple choices.” I heard one student say. All the questions on the test have five choices except for one math section where they have only four. If you get an answer wrong, you don’t get any point, plus you get a penalty of a 1/4 point. If you don’t answer a question, you don’t get any point, nor penalties.
When everyone had a seat and the actual SAT I booklet in front of them, the proctor of the test called for our attentions. “In front of you, you should have a SAT I test and a scantron（答题卡）. Please do not open the test booklet until I say so.” He then went on to talk about the procedures, the amount of time, signature of honesty, etc. After thirty minutes of instruction reading, he gave us all a solemn expression before saying, “You may begin now. Good luck.”
I could hear a hundred booklets being opened and pencils scratching the surface. I looked to my right, I looked to my left, I did a quick prayer for whoever was in charge up in the heavens, and started my test. At least I wouldn’t know my score until summer time.
【小题1】How did the author feel before the test?