Bill Gates is one of the most famous people in the world. His books have been translated into many languages.

　　What many people do not know is that he is not the only founder of Microsoft. A lot of honor must go to his partner, Paul Allen.

　　Allen and Gates met at Lakeside Preparatory School. They and some other friends became interested in computers. They began skipping（逃）PE lessons to play on the school computers. Their school did a deal with a computer company. It al-lowed Allen and Gates to use the company's computers for free. They even started their first software business while in high school. Computers were their lives.

　　After leaving school, Alien worked as a programmer. Gates went to Harvard University, one of the best universities in the world, to study law. The invention of computers was small enough to be used at homes, called personal computers, helped Allen persuade Gates to leave Harvard University and start Microsoft together. They designed software like MS-DOS and BASIC for large companies like IBM. However, they were not satisfied with the software and came up with a new system, called Windows. Allen was one of the main programmers. The equally successful Microsoft Office soon followed.

　　Allen fell ill in 1983. He stopped working full-time for Microsoft. He took time off, read, traveled and stayed with his family. Allen and Gates are still close. He is still involved in Microsoft, and as one of the richest men in the world, doesn't regret leaving.

(1) It is generally believed by people that ________.

[　　]

A．Bill Gates is the richest person in the world with little education

B．Bill Gates alone founded Microsoft

C．Paul Allen is a close competitor in computers against Bill Gates

D．Paul Allen is also a successful writer besides his achievement in computers

(2) We know from this passage that ________.

[　　]

A．Allen and Gates have known each other for a long time

B．Allen first used a computer at a company

C．Allen and Gates never attended a PE lesson

D．Allen and Gates helped companies with problems for money

(3) Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

[　　]

A．Paul Allen invented personal computers.

B．Bill Gates joined Microsoft after he finished his law degree at Harvard University.

C．Paul Allen lost all of his interest in computers after he fell ill.

D．Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Microsoft at the same time.

(4) The best title for this passage is“________”.

[　　]

A．The Other Half of Microsoft

B．Bill Gates

C．How Microsoft Started

D．Microsoft and Its History

　　A few days ago I asked my sons’ governess（女家庭教师）Julia to come into my study. “Be seated, Julia, ”I said, “Let’s settle our accounts. I guess you most likely need some money, but maybe you’re too polite to mention it. Now then, we agreed on thirty dollars a month...”

　　“Forty.”

　　“No, thirty. I made a note of it. I always pay our governess thirty. Well, um, you’ve been here two months, so...”

　　“Two months and five days.”

　　“Exactly two months. I made a special note of it. That means you have sixty dollars coming to you. Take off nine Sundays... you know you didn’t work with Tom on Sundays, you only took walks. And three holidays... ”Julia was biting her finger nail nervously, her face red, but - not a word.

　　“Three holidays, therefore take off twelve dollars. Four days Tom was sick and there were no lessons, as you were occupied only with Dick. Three days you had a toothache and my wife gave you permission not to work after lunch. Twelve and seven - nineteen. Take nineteen off ... that leaves. hmm.... forty one dollars. Correct？”

　　Julia’s left eye reddened with tears welling up. Her chin trembled; she coughed nervously and blew her nose, but - still not a word.

　　“Around New Year’s Day you broke a teacup and a saucer; take off two dollars. The cup cost more, it was a treasure of the family, but- forget it. When didn’t I take a loss! Then, due to your neglect （疏忽）, Tom climbed a tree and tore his jacket; take away ten. Also due to your carelessness the maid stole Dick’s shoes. You ought to watch everything! You get paid for it. So, that means five more dollars off. The tenth of January I gave ten dollars.”

　　“You didn’t. ”sobbed Julia.

　　“But I made a note of it.”

　　“Well... if you say so.”

　　“Take twenty seven from forty one -that leaves fourteen.”

　　Both her eyes were filled with tears. Beads of sweat stood on the thin pretty little nose. Poor girl!

　　“Only once was I given any money,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “and that was by your wife. Three dollars, nothing more.”

　　“Really? You see now, and I didn’t know that! Take three from fourteen.. leaves eleven. Here’s your money, my dear. Three, three, three, one and one. Here it is !”

　　I handed her eleven dollars. She took them and pocketed them.

　　“Merci （法语: 谢谢）,”she whispered.

　　I jumped to my feet and started pacing the room. I was overcome with anger. “For what, this - ‘merci’?” I asked.

　　“For the money. ”

　　“But you know I’ve cheated you - robbed you ! I have actually stolen from you ! Why this‘merci’？”

　　“In my other places they didn’t give me anything at all.”

　　“They didn’t give you anything? No wonder! I played a little joke on you, a cruel lesson, just to teach you... I m going to give you all the eighty dollars! Here they are in the envelope all ready for you... Is it really possible to be so spineless （懦弱）?Why didn’t you protest? Why were you silent? Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws（爪）—to be such a fool?”

　　Embarrassed, she smiled. And I could read her expression,“It is possible.”

　　I asked her pardon for the cruel lesson and, to her great surprise, gave her the eighty dollars. She murmured her little“merci”several times and went out. I looked after her and thought,“How easy it is to crush the weak in this world !”

　　While talking to Julia, the wrier expected from her ________.

　　A. a protest　　　　　　　　　　　B. gratitude

　　C. obedience　　　　　　　　　　 D. an explanation

　　What shocked the writer was Julia’s ________.

　　A. nervousness in front of her boss

　　B. acceptance of injustice

　　C. shyness when talking about money

　　D. reluctance to express herself

　　The writer said, “Is it possible in this world to be without teeth and claws?” He was actually telling the governess ________.

　　A. to be more aggressive

　　B. to be more careful in her work

　　C. to protect her right

　　D. to live independently

　　At the end of the story, the writer said,“ How easy it is to crush the weak in this world!”to show ________.

　　A. his understanding of Julia’s anxiety

　　B. his worry about Julia’s future

　　C. his concern on the living condition of working - class people

　　D. his sympathy for the mental state of those exploited

   Have you ever complained why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes seem dark to you? Are your studies sometimes not successful? Well, friends, cheer up and smile all the time. If you see the world with your warm heart, you’ll find that the whole world smiles to you.
While in school, sometimes you are tired of your lessons, but have you ever noticed the happy smile on your teacher’s face when you did a good job?
One day it is fine. Just before you go out, it suddenly starts to rain. Maybe you would feel very sad and start to complain about the weather. But friends, why don’t you sit down and listen to the free concerts that the nature offers you? And with the timely(及时地) rain, crops in the fields will grow better and better and farmers will have a good harvest.
Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries to do, sometimes failure can’t be avoided. I think failure is not terrible, and the terrible thing is that we are afraid of it and give up hope. When we face failure, we must be confident(信心) in ourselves, draw a useful lesson from it and try our best to finish what we have decided to do. As a popular saying goes, “Failure is the mother of success”.
Attitude(态度) decides everything. With an optimistic(乐观) attitude life is easy and pleasant. Let’s smile to whatever we meet and the whole world will smile to us.
【小题1】 People sometimes complain _________.

This is a story that can teach us a good lesson. One day, a man in rags begged from door to door along the street. With an old wallet in his hand, he was asking for a few coins to buy something to eat. He kept complaining about his bad fortune and kept __36__ why those who had so much money were never __37__ and were always desiring more.

“As far as I'm concerned, if I had only enough to ___38__ and to wear, I would not want anything more.”

Just at that moment Goddess Fortune, who came down the __39__ saw the beggar and said to him, “Hi, I have wished to __40__ you for a long time. Now, open your __41__ and I will pour my gold into it. But I will do that only on this __42__ : All that falls into the wallet will be pure gold; but every piece falling upon the __43__ shall become dust. Do you understand？”

“I see.” said the beggar.

“Then you should __44__ ！It's obvious that your wallet is a(an) __45__ one, so don't load it too heavily，” said the Goddess Fortune.

The excited beggar could hardly __46__ to have gold. He quickly opened his wallet, and a __47__ of yellow coins was poured into it. The wallet grew heavier and heavier.

“Is that enough? Isn't it cracking？” asked Fortune.

“Never __48__ .It's still strong enough now.”answered the beggar.

The wallet was filled with so many coins that the beggar's hands began to __49__. “Ah, if only the golden stream would __50__ forever! Just a little more，” said the beggar, “__51__ just a handful or two.”

“There! It's full. The wallet will __52__ .” warned the Goddess, but the beggar requested, “It will __53__ a little more, just a little more.”

One more piece was added and the wallet split. The __54__ fell upon the ground and became dust. The greedy beggar had now __55__ but his broken bag.

1.                A．showing        B．explaining       C．proving   D．wondering

2.                A．relaxed         B．satisfied        C．worried  D．depressed

3.                A．learn　         B．watch          C．eat  D．play

4.                A．street　        B．bridge          C．yard D．forest

5.                A．praise　        B．forgive         C．help D．comfort

6.                A．coat           B．pocket         C．box  D．wallet

7.                A．occasion        B．suggestion       C．situation  D．condition

8.                A．hand           B．feet            C．ground   D．street

9.                A．look out        B．look after       C．look up   D．look down

10.               A．small　         B．empty          C．worn 　　　   D．full

11.               A．stand　        B．wait           C．breathe　 D．think

12.               A．stream         B．piece          C．pair D．variety

13.               A．stop           B．request        C．fear D．insist

14.               A．spread         B．close          C．loose　　　    D．shake

15.               A．pour　　　     B．end           C．dry   D．bury

16.               A．take　　       B．add            C．lend D．send

17.               A．flow           B．break          C．disappear　    D．change

18.               A．attract         B．permit         C．include　  D．hold

19.               A．wallet 　       B．food           C．gold 　　 D．bag

20.               A．nothing        B．anything        C．everything D．something

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出适合填入对应空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。

　 That holiday morning I didn’t have to attend school. Usually, on holidays, Mother 26 me to sleep in. And I would certainly take full advantage of it. __27_ , on this special morning, I felt like getting up early.

I stood by my window overlooking(眺望，俯视) the _28_, having nothing better to do. But as it turned out, I was soon to learn about something _29_ in life.

As I watched several people go by, get into their cars and drive off, I 30 an old man on a bicycle with a bucket（水桶） _31_ on its handle(把手) and pieces of old and used cloth in a basket and bottles on its back-carriage(后座). He 32 from one car to another, washing and cleaning them. From the water on the ground, it seemed that he had already 33 washing and cleaning about a dozen or more cars. He must have begun to work quite early in the morning.

Several thoughts 34 my mind as I watched him work. He wasn’t well-dressed. He had on a pair of shorts and a(n) 35 T-shirt. The bicycle he rode was not by any means the kind modern 36 would want to be seen riding on. But he seemed 37 with life. There he was, working hard at his small business, 38 passers-by(过路人) and stopping to have a free talk now and then 39 elderly men and women on their way to the market nearby.

There was a noticeable sense of 40 in the way he seemed to be doing things— 41 the windscreen (挡风玻璃), then standing back to look at it proudly; scrubbing (擦净) the wheels and 42 , standing back to see what they look like after the scrub.

It was a 43 to learn, I felt. One doesn’t have to beg for a 44 at any age if one is in good health and willing to work hard. For a while I felt 45 of myself. Though I am young —just sixteen, and there was this old man before me who must have got up very early and been busy working so hard and actively.

26．A．forces 　 B．allows　 C．causes　 　　D．prevents

27．A．Or　 　　 　　B．So　 　　　 　　C．However 　　 　　D．Besides

28．A．parking lot B．bus stop　 　　　 C．school　 D．market

29．A．interesting B．surprising　 C．terrible 　 D．useful

30．A．noticed　 　　 B．recognized 　 C．called 　 D．helped

31．A．hanged　 　　　 B．hang　 　 　　　 C．hanging　 　　 D．hung

32．A．searched　 　　 B．left 　　　 　　　 C．moved 　 D．wandered

33．A．stopped　 　　 B．started　 　 C．intended 　 D．finished

34．A．crossed　 　　 B．went　　　 C．disturbed 　　 D．came

35．A．beautiful　 　 B．shiny　 C．simple　 D．expensive

36．A．repairmen　 　 B．businessmen C．drivers D．cyclists

37．A．busy 　　 　 B．satisfied 　 C．careful　 　　　 D．bored

38．A．saying hello to　 　 B．looking at　 　 C．laughing at 　 D．pointing at

39．A．about　 B．for　　 C．with 　　 D．like

40．A．worry　 B．respect　 　　　 C．pity 　　　 D．pride

41．A．cleaning　 　　 B．fixing　 C．replacing 　　 D．covering

42．A．still　 　　 　 B．yet　 　　 　 C．again 　　 　　D．soon

43．A．lesson 　 B．subject C．skill 　　D．fact

44．A．business　 B．living　 C．success D．right

45．A．tired　 　 B．doubtful (怀疑的) 　　　 C．fearful D．ashamed(惭愧的)