Pat O’Burke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger, he decided to go shooting in a wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman, Pat had no right to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face as he caught sight of the gun in Pat's hands. Pat's heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly (大胆) up to the group and said to Lord Northwood, “Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning?” Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his friends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite(食欲) for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion(怀疑), he said, “but why are you out so early in the morning?” “Well, sir” said Pat, “I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite.” The whole crowed burst into laughter at Pat's ready wit(机智，风趣), and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits.

1.This is a story about _____.

2. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face. Why?

3.Why was Lord Northwood surprised?

4. What made the whole crowd burst into laughter?

5. Guess the meaning of the underlined word “right”.

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland（虚幻世界）of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．” $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"

After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"

Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．

1.Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．

B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．

C．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．

D．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．

2.What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A．He refused the job offer．

B．He was willing to give them a hand．

C．He expected them to pay him more money．

D．He would write in his spare time．

3.What kind of person is Alex?

A．Determined．         B．Modest           C．Shy．            D．Brave．

4.Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A．Look before you leap．

B．Two heads are better, than one．

C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true．

D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush．

My best friend, Tom, and I live in a senior-citizen apartment in a lovely small town. Tom is a ten-year-old dog and I am a sixty-nine-year-old lady .

Years ago, I __36__  when I retired I would get a dog to __37__  my golden years. From the very beginning, Tom has always been __38_ and I never have to tell him anything more than once. He is extremely __39___ and always puts back the toys where they were after __40__.He is a wonderful companion. We sometimes play a ___41___together. He does many amusing things that make me laugh. As a result, I enjoy his__42___.

One afternoon, Tom started acting ___43__. I was sitting on the floor playing with him, __44___he started sniffing at the right side of my chest. He had never done anything like this before, suddenly he threw his entire__45__at the right side of my chest, and I cried in___46___.

Soon after this, I felt a lump(肿块). After X-rays and tests, doctors told me I __47__cancer. When cancer started, for an unknown __48___, a wall of calcium(钙化壁) built. Then the lump or cancer _49__ itself to the wall. When Tom __50__on me, the force broke the lump away from the calcium wall, which made me ___ 51__the lump. Before that, I couldn’t see or feel it, so there was no way for me to know it was there.

I had a complete __ 52___ and the cancer did not spread. The doctors told me if the cancer had gone unfound even six more months, it would have been too late.

Was Tom ___53__ of just what he was doing? I’ll never really know. What I do

know is that I’ m glad I made a promise to_ 54 __my golden years with this wonderful creature---- for Tom not only shares his life with me; he has made sure that I will be ___55___to share my life with him.

1.A. suggested       B. insisted       C. told        D. promised

2.A. take            B. bring         C. share       D. carry

3.A. well-behaved     B. well-built     C. well-dressed D. well-known

4.A. dirty            B. neat         C. lazy        D. sad

5.A. working         B. sleeping      C. eating      D. playing

6.A. joke            B. fun          C. game       D. face

7.A. company        B. kindness      C. care       D. comfort

8.A. happily         B. luckily        C. strangely   D. sadly

9.A. while           B. when         C. as         D. before

10.A. power           B. energy       C. devotion    D. weight

11.A. joy             B. surprise      C. pain        D. relief

12.A. enjoyed         B. had          C. lived       D. treated

13.A. cause           B. excuse       C. reason      D. idea

14.A. attached         B. devoted      C. fell        D. dropped

15.A. jumped          B. sat          C. stood      D. put

16.A. watch           B. witness      C. observe     D. notice

17.A. task             B. work        C. operation   D. job

18.A. fond            B. aware        C. ashamed   D. afraid

19.A. waste           B. spend        C. cost       D. make

20.A. in              B. around       C. out        D. outside

It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, sir?”

 “To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.

After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week. ”

1. Which of the following is true?____________

A. The young man went past the railway station.

B.  The young man was working in the railway station

C.  The young man had just got off a train.

D.  The young man was waiting for his friend there.

2.What do you think of the car driver?__________

A. He was a nice and clever man.    B. He liked to work very hard.

C. He was good at driving         D. He was not an honest person.

3. The driver felt very _________ when he saw the young man coming out of the railway station.

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

4. From the passage we know that the young man__________.

A.  knew clearly how far it was from the station to the hotel.

B.  Had been to the hotel several times.

C.  Didn’t want to stay in this city.

D.  Must be a stranger and didn’t know the city very well.

5. The driver took the passenger through many streets so as to_________.

A.  make the young man happy

B.  let the young man think it was very far from the station to the hotel.

C.  Let the young man have a good look at the city.

D.  Get more than twenty dollars.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ和Ｄ）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

He fell in love with her at the first sight at a party. She was so outstanding while he was so  36  . At the end of the party, he invited her to have  37  with him. She was very  38  , but she promised.

Sitting in a nice coffee shop, he was too  39  to say anything. Suddenly he

said to the waiter,“ Would you please give me some  40  ?” Everybody stared at him, so strange！His face turned red, but still, he  41   the salt in his coffee and drank it.

She asked him  42  ,“Why do you have this  43  ?”

He replied,“ When I was a little boy, I was living near the  44  . Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood and my  45  .”

While saying that tears  46   his eyes. She was deeply  47  . That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. Later they got  48   … And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that’s the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which  49  :

My dearest, please forgive my lie,  the only  50   I said to you --the salty coffee. The first time we  51   I was so nervous that actually I wanted some sugar. I  52   to tell you the truth many times, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have  53   not to lie to you forever… Having you is my biggest happiness even though I have to drink the salty coffee.

Her tears  54  the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” She replied, “It’s  55  .”