Anthony Horowitz was miserable as child. He was, as he put it, “not very bright” and couldn’t win the attention of his very wealthy parents, who preferred his “clever” older brother. At age 8, Horowitz was sent away to an abusive boarding school in his native England, even though he screamed and pleaded(恳求) with his parents year after year not to send him. “The thought was, It’ll be good for him,” he recalled.

It was not. Horowitz did badly in his studies, had few friends and was bullied (欺负) for five years. “My teachers couldn't have had a lower opinion of me,” he said. “I wasn't even smart enough to rebel . The one thing I remember from the very earliest age was this desire to write. When I was 10 years old, I remember asking my parents to get me a typewriter for my birthday because I wanted to be a writer.”

Now, at age of 55, Horowitz is one of the world's most successful children's book authors. His Alex Rider series has sold more than 5 million copies, and the eighth book featuring the young spy, Crocodile Tears, came out this month.

The Alex Rider books tell the adventures of 14-year-old Alex Rider, an agent for the British intelligence agency M16.

Horowitz said he doesn't try to write for kids; it just comes out that way. “I have a feeling it's to do with purity and simplicity. I give as little information as is necessary to describe the room, the character in the room, and get on with the action,” he said.

The style has also made Horowitz a successful writer of television shows for adults in Britain because, he says, writing books for kids is a lot like writing television for grown-ups: In both cases, it's all about entertaining people with a good story.

Now, Horowitz couldn't be happier with his life. He sums up his success: “…you can be anything you want to be if you just believe in yourself. I do believe it completely.”

1.In the boarding school, Horowitz’s teachers           .

    A．often criticized him             B．showed great concern for him

    C．taught him how to write stories  D．thought little about his ability

2.Which of the following is true of Anthony Horowitz?

    A．He was the beloved child of his family.

    B．He benefited a lot from boarding school.

    C．He emphasizes the plot rather than character in stories.

    D．Although he is successful, he isn’t very happy.

3.What advice does Horowitz have for readers?

    A．Confidence is the key to success.                  B．Hardship teaches valuable lessons.

    C．Interest is the best teacher.    D．Industry is the parent of success.

4.In which section can you most probably read the passage?

    A．Campus Trends                    B．Culture & Leisure

    C．Our World                        D．Science Life

Nothing was going right for Dr.Turner at the hospital. He made a mistake while operating on a patient. He felt sure he was no longer trusted and decided to change his job . One day he learned from the paper that a doctor was looking for a partner (合作者). The doc-tor, whose name was Johnson , lived in Thorby, a small town in the north of England.

A few days later Dr. Turner went to Thorby, and arrived at Dr.Johnson's home early in the afternoon. Though old and a little deaf, Dr.Johnson still had a good brain. He kept talking to the visitor about the town and its people. When they turned to the question of partnership,it was already seven in the evening. Dr. Johnson invited Dr . Turner to have dinner with him in a restaurant before catching the train back to London. Dr . Turner noticed that Dr. Johnson was fond of good food and expensive wines . They had an excellent meal. When the bill was brought, Dr. Johnson felt in his pocket." Oh, dear," he said. "I've forgotten my money." "That's all right,"Dr. Turner said."I'll pay the bill."As he did so,he began to wonder whether Dr. Johnson was worthy of trust.

1. Dr. Turner decided to leave his present job because        .

A. he had never been trusted      

B. it demanded too great skills

C. he believed it offered little hope for his future

D. he thought the hospital would like him to leave

2.The two doctors spent most of the afternoon talking about         .

A. things of no interest to Dr. Johnson 

B. things of no importance to Dr. Turner

C. health matters                  

D. food and drink

3.The story suggests that                .

A. Dr. Johnson did not  like Dr. Turner

B. the two doctors would become friends

C. the two doctors would not work together

D. Dr. Turner decided to stay at his present job

4.The words did so  in the last sentence mean                .

A. caught the train back to London   B. felt in his pocket

C. paid the bill                  D. said those words

“Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled.

My father looked surprised. Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it. “Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”

Everyone was quiet. The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head. He pulled out the comic book (漫画书) from under his shirt. 

“Oh, Mr. Kim. I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs. Diaz told my father. She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go.

“It’s OK. He can keep it,” my father said with a smile.

“Oh no,” Mrs. Diaz said. “Let me pay right now ...” She dug in her purse. “How much?”

“Three seventy-five.”

Mrs. Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper. I saw her mouth make a small line. “Three seventy-five?” she asked.  

“It’s OK. You can pay later,” my father said.

“No,” Mrs. Diaz said. She kept looking in her purse. “I have money here.”

I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money. Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought.

I had an idea.

“What if he worked with me?” I asked. They turned to me.

I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book.”

“Good,” my father said smiling at me. Mrs. Diaz nodded. She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”  

“Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head.

As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out (伸出) his tongue at me.

Ted has been working here for two weeks. He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants. We are friends now. 

1.Where did the story most probably take place? 

2.By saying “but Ted wouldn’t let go” in Paragraph 4, the author means Ted ______.

3.From the underlined sentences in the eighth paragraph, we may infer that Mrs. Diaz ______. 

4.In the last paragraph, what does the author mainly tell?

My grandfather worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates（木箱）for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage（孤儿院）in Brazil. On his way home, he found his glasses were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the crates. His new glasses were heading for Brazil!

The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.

“It’s not fair,” he thought as he walked home angrily. “I’ve been very faithful in giving my time and money to my work, and now this.”

Several months later, the director of the orphanage came to the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him, so he came to my grandfather’s small church in Chicago.

He began by thanking the people for their kindness in supporting the orphanage. “But most of all, ” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, some people had just come to the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were very worried about this. Then your crates arrived. When I removed the covers, I found a pair of glasses lying on top.”

He paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, he continued, “When I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that!”

The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But they thought it was strange because there were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.

Sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, my grandfather, an ordinary carpenter realized his glasses had found a good place to go.

1. We know from the text that           .

A. the author’s grandfather got his glasses back from the director of the orphanage

B. the author’s grandfather found that his glasses were at home at last

C. the author’s grandfather’s burden of supporting his family was very heavy

D. the author’s grandfather worked as a carpenter in a school in Chicago

2. From the text we can infer that the author’s grandfather was very          after

hearing what the director of the orphanage had said.

A. surprised       B. disappointed       C. pitiful         D. proud

3. The underlined word “miraculous” （Paragraph 7） can be replaced by           .

A. practical        B. wonderful         C. necessary       D. important

4.

In the middle of the night, Peter's wife suddenly fell ill. She couldn't help crying, “Oh, my stomach (胃)! Get the  16  !”

   Peter, awaking from a deep sleep, thought his wife was only having a 17  dream.

   “Stop that noise.” he said to her. He turned over and tried to go to  18  again, but his wife still cried out, “Oh, help! Help! I'm sure I'm  19  !”

   Peter got out of bed and started  20  , but he could not find him any clothes.

   “Where is my shirt?” he asked. His wife was  21  ill to tell him, and she could only cry, “Oh, my  22  stomach!”

   As soon as he had put his clothes  23  , he said, “Now, my dear, are you quite  24  that you need the doctor? Surely you can wait  25  morning, can't you?”

   “No, I can't. Go, go, go.” his wife shouted,“  26  you will find me dead  27  the morning.”

   So Peter went out into the dark street. He had only gone a few meters  28  he heard his wife calling him again.

   “I'm  29  again now, and I shall not want the doctor.” she said softly.

   Hearing this, he started running as  30  as he could towards the doctor's. When he arrived there, he knocked at the door loudly enough to wake  31  around.

   The doctor put his sleepy head out of the bedroom window and said, “Er? Who's there?”

   “Oh, Doctor.”Peter said to him, “I've very  32  news for you. My wife  33  ill with a terrible stomachache (胃疼). I was on my way to bring you to her, but she called me back to say the trouble had suddenly  34  her. So you need not come. Go back to   35  now,and sleep well!”

1.A. driver      B. nurse       C. doctor        D. child

2. A. terrible     B. interesting   C. surprising    D. wonderful

3. A. bed        B. sleep        C. dream       D. hospital

4. A. walking    B. dying       C. aching        D. sleeping

5.A. dressing    B. wearing     C. raising       D. working

6.  A. very       B. so          C. too          D. quite

7.A. good       B. bad        C. wrong        D. poor

8.A. down       B. off         C. on           D. up

9.A. surprised    B. afraid      C. certain       D. worried

10.A. before      B. for         C. to           D. until

11.A. And        B. But        C. So           D. Or

12.A. after        B. in         C. before        D. until

13.A. after        B. when      C. before        D. while

14.A. good        B. wrong     C. all right       D. right

15. A. fast         B. slowly     C. hurriedly      D. happily

16. A. everyone     B. someone   C. no one        D. doctors

17.A. good        B. bad        C.necessary     D. ill

18.A. fell          B. stayed     C. grew         D. failed

19.A. gone         B. missed     C.disappeared   D. left

20. A. your home    B. your bedroom  C. your dream  D. bed