In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the middle of complete damage and disorder, a father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,   36   that the building was   37  .

After the unforeseeable shock, he   38   the promise he had made to his son: “No matter   39  , I’ll always be there for you!” And tears began to   40   his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins , it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his   41  to his son. He rushed there and started   42   through the ruins.

As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived,   43  : “It’s too late! They’re all dead!

  44  , face the reality, there’s nothing you can do!” To each parent he responded with   45  : “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped. And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.

Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know   46  : “Is my boy   47   or is he dead?” He dug for 8 hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in   48  hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son’s   49  . He creamed his son’s name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad! It’s me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you’d   50  me and   51  you saved me, they’d he saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!’ You did it, Dad!”

“What’s going on in there?” the father asked.

“There are 14 of us   52     53   33, Dad. We’re scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you’re here.  When the building collapsed, it made   54  , and it saved us.”

“Come, out, boy!”

“No, Dad! Let the other kids out first,   55   I know you’ll get me! No matter what happens, I know you’ll always be there for me!”

A．only discovering                      B．only to discover      

            C．only realizing                        D．only to realize

A．as flat as a pancake                   B．as high as a mountain

            C．as strong as an ox                      D．as weak as a kitten

A．memorized    B．forgot               C．kept            D．remembered

A．what          B．what happen         C．which           D．who

A．fill            B．fill in               C．come           D．burst

A．picture        B．promise             C．present         D．encourage

A．digging        B．digging through       C．digging out      D．digging into

A．to say         B．said                C．and saying      D．saying

A．Come out      B．Come again          C．Come on       D．Come off

A．one word      B．one sound         C．one row        D．one line

A．for himself    B．of himself           C．by himself      D．to himself

A．live               B．living               C．alive            D．lively

A．38            B．the 38               C．38 th         D．the 38 th

A．sound         B．voice               C．noise           D．tone

A．will save       B．would save           C．save            D．would have saved

A．when          B．because             C．even if          D．thought

A．remained       B．missing             C．left            D．gone

A．for            B．behind              C．out of           D．over

A．a promise      B．space             C．room          D．a triangle

A．because        B．though              C．when           D．even though

Terry was a middle-aged businessman. He was 36 in career and often complained that he had been fooled (欺骗) by others. One day he told his wife he was 37 disappointed with the city that he had to 38.

So his family moved to another city. It was Saturday 39. When Terry and his wife were busily putting their things in their new home, the lights suddenly 40 and they were forced to stop work. Terry was sorry to have 41 to bring along some candles. Just then he heard light 42 on his door.

“Who is it?” he wondered. Terry knew 43 else in the new city, and this was the moment he especially hated to be 44. He opened the door impatiently (不耐烦地). At the door was a little 45, shyly asking, “Sir, do you have 46? I’m your neighbor.” “No,” answered Terry angrily. He shut the door 47.

After a while the door was knocked again. He opened it and 48 the same little girl outside. But this time she was 49 two candles radiating (放光) red light. She said, “My grandma told me the 50 neighbor downstairs might need candles. She sent me here to51 you these.”

At that moment Terry suddenly realized what 52 his failure in life. It was his indifference (冷漠) and 53 to other people. The person who had fooled him in life was actually nobody else 54 himself,  for his eyes had been covered by his 55 mind.

Some say everyday miracles(奇迹) are predestined(注定的)—the right time for the appointed meeting. And it can happen anywhere.

In 2001, 11-year-old Kevin Stephan was a bat boy for his younger brother’s Little League team in Lancaster, New York. It was an early evening in late July. Kevin was standing on the grass away from the plate, where another youngster was warming up for the next game. Swinging his bat back and forth, giving it all the power an elementary school kid could give. The boy brought the bat back hard and hit Kevin in the chest. His heart stopped.

When Kevin fell to the ground, the mother of one of the players rushed out of the stands to his aid. Penny Brown hadn’t planned to be there that day, but at the last minute, her shift(换班)at the hospital had been changed to see her son’s performance. She was given the night off. Penny bent over the senseless boy, his face already starting to turn blue, and giving him CPR(心肺复苏术), breathing into his mouth and giving him chest compressions. And he revived in the end.

After his recovery, he became a volunteer junior firefighter, learning some of the emergency first-aid techniques that had saved his life. He studied hard in school and was saving money for college by working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant in his spare time.

Kevin, now 18, was working in the kitchen when he heard people screaming, customers in confusion, employees rushing toward a table. He hurried into the main room and saw a woman there, her face turning blue, her hands at her throat. She was choking.

Quickly Kevin stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her and clasped his hands. Then, he used skills he’d first learned in Scouts. The food that was trapped in the woman’s throat was freed. The colour began to return to her face.

“The food was stuck in my throat. I couldn’t breathe,” she said. She thought she was dying. “I was very frightened.”

Who was the woman?

Penny Brown.

1. The author wrote the passage to show us that         .

A. miracles are predestined and they can happen anywhere

B. whoever helps you in trouble will get a reward one day

C. God will help those who give others a helping hand

D. miracles won’t come without any difficulty sometimes

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE of Kevin Stephan?

A. He was hit in the face by a boy and almost lost his life.

B. He was a volunteer junior firefighter, teaching the players first-aid skills.

C. He worked part-time in a local restaurant to save money for college.

D. He saved Penny Brown though he didn’t really know how to deal with food choke.

3.Why did Penny Brown change her shift and was given the night off that night?

A. She was invited to give the players directions.

B. She volunteered to give medical services.

C. She was a little worried about his son’s safety.

D. She came to watch her son’s game and cheered for him.

4.The underlined word “revived” in the third paragraph most likely means        .

A. came back to life   B. became worse      C. failed            D. moved

5. When Kevin knew the woman was Penny Brown, probably he first felt        .

A. happy            B. surprised          C. sad             D. worried

nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.

A few years ago, some marketing and advertising experts were asked to name the best nickname for an American city. The winner was the nation's largest city, New York. The top nickname was The Big Apple.

You might wonder how New York got this nickname. In the early nineteen seventies, the city had many problems. The number of visitors was falling. So a campaign was launched to give the city a new image. The head of the New York Conventions and Visitors Bureau decided to call the city, The Big Apple.

There are several explanations for where this name came from. Language expert Barry Popik studied the question and wrote about it on his Web site. He says John Fitz Gerald, a writer for a New York newspaper, used the name The Big Apple to mean New York in the nineteen twenties. Mister Fitz Gerald wrote about horse races. He heard the name used by men who worked at a racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mister Fitz Gerald wrote: "The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York."

In horse racing, the expression meant "the big time," the place where large amounts of money could be won. The Big Apple became the name of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in nineteen thirty-four. It also was the name of a popular dance and a hit song in the nineteen thirties.

But it is not the only nickname for America's largest city. Barry Popik's web site lists almost one hundred nicknames that describe New York. The best known are The Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named it Twice. And, The City That Never Sleeps. You can hear about the city in the song, "New York, New York," by Frank Sinatra.

1.Why do many American cities have nicknames?（回答词数不超过15个）

2.What did John Fitz Gerald write about for the New York newspaper?（回答词数不超过5个）

3.Besides “The Big Apple”, how many best known nicknames that describe New York are listed according to Barry Popik's web site?（回答词数不超过2个）

A long time ago, there lived a poor man whose real name has been forgotten. He was little and old and his face was wrinkled, and that was why his friends called him Mr. Vinegar. His wife was also little and old, and they lived in a little old cottage at the back of a little old field.

"John," said Mrs. Vinegar, "you must go to town and buy a cow. I will milk her and churn（搅拌） butter and we shall never want for anything."

"That is a good plan," said Mr. Vinegar, so he started off to town while his wife waited by the roadside.

Mr. Vinegar walked up and down the street of the town looking for a cow. After a time, a farmer came that way, leading one that was very pretty and fat.

"Oh, if I only had that cow," said Mr. Vinegar, "I would be the happiest man in the world!"

"She's a very good cow," said the farmer.

"Well," said Mr. Vinegar, "I'll give you these 50 gold pieces for her."

The farmer smiled and held out his hand for the money, "You may have her," he said, "I always like to oblige（施恩惠） , my friends!"

Mr. Vinegar took hold of the cow's halter and led her up and down the street. "I am the luckiest man in the world," he said, "for only see how all the people are looking at me and my cow!"

But at one end of the street, he met a man playing bagpipes（风笛） . He stopped and listened -- Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dee.

"Oh, that is the sweetest music I ever heard," he said, "and just see how all the children crowd around the man and give him pennies! If I only had those bagpipes, I would be the happiest man in the world!!"

"I'll sell them to you," said the piper.

"Will you? Well then, since I have no money, I will give you this cow for them."

"You may have them," answered the piper, "I always like to oblige a friend."

Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away.

"Now we will have some music," said Mr. Vinegar, but try as hard as he might, he could not play a tune. He could get nothing out of the bagpipes but "squeak, squeak". The children instead of giving him pennies laughed at him.

The day was chilly and in trying to play the pipes, his fingers grew very cold. He wished he had kept the cow.

He just started for home when he met a man who had warm gloves on his hands. "Oh, if I only had those pretty gloves," he said, "I would be the happiest man in the world."

"How much will you give for them?" asked the man.

"Oh, I have no money, but I will give you these bagpipes," answered Mr. Vinegar.

"Well," said the man, "you may have them for I always like to oblige a friend."

Mr. Vinegar gave him the bagpipes and drew the gloves on over his half frozen fingers. "How lucky I am," he said as he trudged（跋涉） homeward. His hands were soon quite warm, but the road was rough and the walking hard. He was very tired when he came to the foot of the steep hill. "How shall I ever get to the top?" he said. Just then he met a man who was walking the other way. He had a stick in his hand which he used as a cane to help him along.

"My friend," said Mr. Vinegar, "if only I had that stick of yours to help me up this hill, I would be the happiest man in the world!"

"How much will you give me for it?" asked the man.

"Well, I have no money, but I will give you this pair of warm gloves," said Mr. Vinegar.

"Well," said the man, "you may have it for I always like to oblige a friend."

Mr. Vinegar's hands were now quite warm, so he gave the gloves to the man and took the stout（结实的） stick to help him along. "How lucky I am!'' he said as he toiled upward.

At the top of the hill he stopped to rest. But as he was thinking of all his good luck that day, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw only a green parrot sitting in a tree.

"Mr. Vinegar, Mr. Vinegar," it cried.

"What now?" said Mr. Vinegar.

"You're a dunce（傻瓜） , you're a dunce!'' answered the bird, "you went to seek your fortune and you found it, then you gave it for a cow, and the cow for some bagpipes, and the bagpipes for some gloves, and the gloves for a stick which you might of cut by the roadside. He He He, you're a dunce! You're a dunce!''

This made Mr. Vinegar very angry. He threw the stick at the bird with all his might. But the bird only answered, "You're a dunce! You're a dunce!" And the stick lodged in the tree where he could not get it again.

Mr. Vinegar went on slowly for he had many things to think about. His wife was standing by the roadside and as soon as she saw him, she cried out, "Where's the cow? Where's the cow?" "Well, I just don't know where the cow is," said Mr. Vinegar. And then he told her the whole story.

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word in the passage?

2.How many exchanges happen in the passage?

3.Why does the parrot think Mr.Vinegar foolish?

4.What’s Mrs.Vinegar’s feeling after she knew the fact?