When I was young, I went looking for gold in California. I never found enough to make a rich strike. But I did discover a beautiful part of the country called Stanislau. Like Heaven on Earth, it had bright green hills and deep forests where soft winds touched the trees. By the time I arrived, the charming paradise had been deserted because miners’ good luck didn’t last.

Then, I realized I was not alone after all.

A man was smiling at me as he stood in front of his little house. Its front yard was full of blue and yellow flowers. White curtains hung from the windows and floated in the soft summer wind.

Still smiling, the man invited me inside. My spirit seemed to come to life again. I saw a bright rug on the shining wooden floor. And on little tables there were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers. A woman had made this house into a home. The delight in my heart showed on my face. The man read my thoughts. “All her work.” He said affectionately, “Nothing here hasn’t felt the touch of her hand.”

One picture on the wall was not hanging straight. He went to fix it. He stepped back several times to make sure the picture was straight. Then he gave it a gentle touch. “She always does that,” he explained, “It is like the finishing pat a mother gives her child’s hair after she has brushed it. I don’t know why I do it. I just do it.”

As he talked, I went to a little black-walnut shelf that held a small picture of the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. There was a sweetness and softness in the woman’s expression. The man stared at the picture. “Nineteen her last birthday. That was the day we married. When you see her...ah, just wait until you meet her!” “Where is she now?” I asked. “Oh, she is away visiting her parents. This is Wednesday,” he said slowly. “She will be back on Saturday, in the evening.”

That night, I stayed. The man told me his name was Henry.

Thursday evening we had two visitors, Tom and Joe. “We just drop over to ask when little madam is coming home. Any news from her?” “Oh yes,” the man replied. “A letter.” He took a yellowed letter out of his wallet and read it. It was full of loving messages. While reading, he glimpsed his friends and cried out, “Oh no, you are doing it again, Tom! Take your hands away and let me see your eyes. I’m going to tell her this time!” “No, you mustn’t do that, Henry,” the grey-haired miner said. “I am getting old. And any little sorrow makes me cry. Lord, we miss her so.”

Saturday finally came.

I was glad to see his two friends, Tom and Joe, with guitars, coming down the road as the sun began to set. They put the flowers they brought in vases and began to play some fast and lively songs.

Henry’s friends kept giving him glasses of whiskey. When I reached for one of the two remaining glasses, Tom stopped my arm. “Drop that! Take the other.” he whispered. I did so. Henry was served last. He had hardly swallowed his drink when the clock struck midnight. His face grew pale and paler. “Boys,” he said, “I am sick with fear. Help! I want to lie down.” Henry was asleep almost before the words were out of his mouth.

In a moment, those handy men had his clothes off and tucked him into his bed. They seemed to be getting ready to leave. So I said, “Please don’t go, gentlemen. She won’t know me. I am a stranger.” They glanced at each other. Then Joe said, “She? Poor thing, she’s been dead nineteen years!” “Dead?” I whispered. “That or worse.” he said.

“She went to see her folks half a year after she got married. On her way back, on a Saturday evening in June, when she was almost here, the Indians captured her. She’s never been heard of since. Henry went insane. But he only gets bad when that time of year comes round. Then we drop in here, three days before she’s due, to encourage him up and listen to him read the letter. Saturday we all come and get everything ready for a dance. We’ve done it for nineteen years. The first Saturday there were twenty-seven of us, but only two now. We drug him to sleep through the night. Then he’s all right for another year.”

The two old men opened the door and disappeared into the darkness of Stanislau.

1.You can sense the existence of a woman from the following sentences EXCEPT “______”.

A. Soft winds touched the trees in Stanislau.

B. There was a bright rug on the shining wooden floor.

C. There were seashells, books and china vases full of flowers.

D. A little black shelf held a small picture of a woman.

2.Tom cried when Henry read the yellowed letter, because ______.

A. he was getting older and older

B. he was moved by the loving messages in the letter

C. he felt sad at the thought of Henry’s wife

D. he was disappointed that Henry’s wife would arrive so late

3.Tom stopped my reaching for whiskey because ______.

A. there was not enough whiskey for Henry                B. he didn’t want me to get drunk

C. that glass of whiskey was drugged                    D. it was for Henry’s wife

4.The underlined word “insane” probably means “______”.

A. depressed                   B. disappointed            C. mad                 D. sick

5.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A. Henry’s wife was 38 when she was last seen

B. Tom and Joe have heard the letter many times

C. the author stayed in Henry’s house because he was lost

D. the two miners came on Saturday to share past memories

6.The story is mainly about ______.

A. ever-lasting love                                                      B. lifelong friendship

C. an unforgettable experience                                               D. charming Stanislau

War Horse is a historical story by Michael Morpurgo. It is written for kids ages 8 to 12. Now just sit and get through the introduction to the plot.

In 1914, a young horse named Joey is sold to a farmer. The farmer' s son, Albert, is thrilled. He cares for Joey. When the family begins to feel the financial impact of war, Albert' s father secretly sells Joey to an army officer named Captain Nicholls. Albert begs the captain to let him join the army. Albert is too young, but Nicholls promises to take good care of Joey for him.

Nicholls treats Joey well. Though Joey still remembers Albert, he grows to like his new master. He develops a friendship with another horse, Topthorn., who belongs to Nicholls' friend, Captain Stewart. The horses and men are shipped overseas for battle. They soon face their own battle in France, and Captain Nicholls is killed.

A young soldier named Warren becomes Joey’s new owner. Joey and Topthorn do well in battle, but the Germans capture Warren and Stewart and their horses. The horses' duty of pulling carts full of wounded German soldiers earns them praise. An old farmer and his granddaughter, Emilie, dote on the horses as well. When the German army moves out of the area, Emilie and her grandfather keep the two horses. Joey and Topthorn are content to work the farm until another band of soldiers takes them. They become workhorses under bad conditions. Joey is very upset when Topthorn dies of exhaustion.

Alone and frightened, Joey wanders into "no-man's-land” between the German and English camps. An English soldier takes him back to camp.

Joey is reunited with Albert. As the war ends, Albert' s officer announces the horses will be sold in France. An old Frenchman buys Joey. The man, Emilie' s grandfather, tells Albert how Emilie lost the will to live after the horses were taken. However, he eventually sells Joey to Albert for one penny, as long as Albert promises to share Emilie' s story so her life will not be in vain. Joey and Albert return home.

1.Why does Albert's father secretly sell Joey?

A．Because he’s in need of money.

B．Because Captain Nicholls is fond of Joey.

C．Because Albert is too young to care for Joey.

D．Because he believes Joey will contribute to the country.

2.Which of the following is TRUE about Captain Nicholls?

A．He’s a rich man.

B．He’s a Frenchman.

C．He’s a man of his word.

D．He doesn’t win Joey’s trust.

3.The underlined phrase "dote on" in Paragraph 4 probably means ____.

A．train             B．ride              C．raise             D．love

4.Which of the following words can be used to describe Emilie’s grandfather?

A．Brave.            B．Generous.         C．Hardworking.       D．Humorous.

Different people have different views on opportunity.   1  . Others, however, argue that everybody will have some kind of opportunity during his life.
As far as I am concerned, I agree with the latter opinion.   2  . No person will be unlucky enough to have no opportunities all the time, because “every dog has his day”. For another, since opportunities don’t come often, we have to make good preparations and improve ourselves. Opportunities may easily slip away otherwise.   3  .
Taking all these factors into consideration, we may safely come to the conclusion that there are quite a few opportunities in our society. Only if we get well prepared can we recognize opportunity, seize opportunity and take full advantage of opportunity.   4  .
根据短文内容，从A、B、 C、D和E中选出最适合放入短文空缺处的选项。选项中有一项是多余的。
A. In summary, opportunities play the most important role on the road to success
B. For one thing, I firmly believe opportunities are everywhere around us
C. Some people think that there are few opportunities in the world
D. As the saying goes, opportunities are only for the prepared minds
E. Just think of Isaac Newton, who discovered the Law of Gravity when many people had watched an apple falling ahead of them

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled，little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said，“Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I' m eighty－seven years old. Can I give you a hug？”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may.”and she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age？”I asked. She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple of children，and then retire and travel.”“No，seriously？”I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

 “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one. ”she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk- shake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always attracted listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

 Over the course of the year，Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium(讲台). As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her 3x5 cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said，“I'm sorry I'm so nervous. I gave up beer for Lent(一种威士忌的牌子)  and this whisky is killing me. I'll never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success.” “You have to laugh and find humor every day.” You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams，you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it.” “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing，you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty－seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty－eight. Anybody can grow older. It’s non-optional but that doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.” “Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.” She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it! These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

1.The writer provides the details about Rose in Paragraph 2 to show that_______.

A. she was an innocent and enthusiastic person

B. she was an optimistic and humorous person

C. she was an aggressive person with a strong sense of honor

D. she was an intelligent person with highly motivated personality

2.Why does the writer compare Rose to “time machine” in Paragraph 3?

A. To describe the friendship between Rose and her young schoolmates.

B. To stress her old age and rich wisdom and experience.

C. To show that she enjoyed dressing up in spite of her old age.

D. To emphasize that she took on the challenge at such an old age.

3.Which of the following best explains the sentence ”We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”(Paragraph 6)?

A. “If we lose our dreams, we will regret for what we did when young.”

B. “If we don’t laugh every day, we will easily get old.”

C. “Once we stop seeking and working for our dreams, we will really become old.”

D. “Once we stop exercising, we will get weaker physically and mentally.”

4.It can be inferred from Paragraph 6 that________.

A. those who don’t have dreams are as good as dead

B. growing old is uncontrollable but growing up is optional

C. the elderly usually feel regretful for what they did

D. our talent and ability decline with age

5.The method the writer uses to describe the character of Rose is________.

A. making comments               B. making comparisons

C. providing arguments             D. giving examples

6.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Meeting challenges            B. Secrets to success

C. Dream in heart                D. My best friend

Visitors to Britain may find the best place to enjoy local culture is in a traditional pub(酒吧). A team of researchers have revealed(揭示) some of ____1____ unknown culture of British pubs --- starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a ____2____ (hide) meaning.

Pub culture ____3____(form) to improve sociability(社会交往) in a society that is known ___4___ its coldness. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others ___5____ are waiting to be served. The bar counter is ____6____ (possible) the only place in Britain ____7____ a friendly talk with strangers is considered to be entirely proper and really quite normal behavior. However, ____8____ you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat(一无所获). For example, if you are in a big group, it is best for one or two people to go to buy the drinks. Nothing makes the regular customers and bar staff _____9____(anger) more than a group of strangers blocking all passages(过道) to the bar while ____10____ chat and hesitate(犹豫) about what to order.