Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.

“Notre Dame,” it said. “Big envelope!”

Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big trouble. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are figuring out the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.

This year, money is the driving factor(因素) for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and house prices have changed family spending.

“We’re excited that Mike got into eight great schools,” said Mike’s father, an engineer at Microsoft. “But if you consider going to school out of state, you’ve got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You’re looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel.”

As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.

Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.

“The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD,” said Rachel, 17. “My mom doesn’t want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don’t want that either. I’d have to take out a loan of $15,000. I’ll check and see if there’s any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid.”

More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, 19.9 percent increase over last year.

This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000.

1.Mike may give up Notre Dame because of ______.

A．travel fees

B．financial concerns

C．poor exam results

D．worries about living far away from home

2.The phrase “Big envelope” in paragraph 2 probably refers to“______”.

A．A text message                         B．A large gift package

C．An admission letter                      D．A scholarship letter

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．The number of American senior students applying for financial aid is increasing.

B．Rachel Brown has given up NYU because of its high tuition and big debts.

C．It is inevitably hard for college students to borrow money to cover costs.

D．An interest-free loan for students helps more students apply for Stanford.

4.The passage mainly focuses on ______

A．the calculation of different costs including tuition

B．the extremely hard financial situation in America

C．the excitement of students’ being able to enter ideal colleges

D．the financial crisis of families over college entrance

Three Boys and a Dad

Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favourite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park,” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”

Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat（节拍）. Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.

Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.

By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his colour pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room，but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad Realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.

At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare centre (日托所）.“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife’s away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.

1.When his wife left home, Brad expected to ______            .

2.Which of the following did Randy do?

3.Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?

4.This text is developed______       

When I walked into the house after school, the first thing I noticed was a box with items I recognized from my dad’s office.

“What are you doing at home?” I asked casually.

“Andrew, I was       today,” he answered quietly.

I was sure he was joking. “No, you weren't. Why are you      at home?”

Then I noticed his      and realized he was telling me the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career.     our family has been his joy, and I guess I have     his work for granted.

My father’s unemployment      many changes in our lives. For starters, he was at home all the time, which meant my bed had to be     , my room cleaned up, and my      done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer      jobs. I began to notice how     he seemed, and how losing his job affected his self-esteem, though he tried to be     . For the first time, I     my dad as vulnerable (易受伤的). He asked my brother and me to     less. I gave up my pocket money,      it wasn’t much. I felt I was doing the right. I also found a part-time job.

After several difficult months of searching, my dad     to go in a totally different direction. He     that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him      it, and I admired how much time and    he expended. I      knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really affected me.

Although this was one of the    experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity (逆境), and will be my foundations for success.

1.A. taken off    B. put off  C. laid off  D. called off

2.A. finally         B. really    C. frequently     D. especially

3.A. happiness  B. kindness        C. loneliness        D. seriousness

4.A. Supporting          B. Providing       C. Offering         D. Shooting

5.A. regarded   B. taken    C. viewed D. looked

6.A. came out   B. brought about       C. gave off         D. let out

7.A. made B. sold       C. banned D. applied

8.A. job     B. homework    C. fun              D. time

9.A. falling into B. putting up     C. keeping on       D. searching for

10.A. depressed        B. patient  C. smart            D. honest

11.A. disappointed    B. optimistic      C. anxious          D. appropriate

12.A. considered       B. remembered         C. refused          D. predicted

13.A. earn         B. enjoy    C. spend   D. find

14.A. even so    B. if only   C. even though D. as if

15.A. hoped      B. decided         C. dreamed       D. expected

16.A. advised    B. informed       C. explained      D. insisted

17.A. form         B. open     C. set         D. build

18.A. strength   B. power   C. force     D. energy

19.A. never       B. seldom C. always   D. hardly

20.A. worst        B. best       C. most      D. least

Robby was 11 when his mother dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer students begin at an earlier age. Robby insisted that it had always been his mother’s dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him in as a student.

Robby tried and tried while I listened and encouraged him and gave him more instructions (指导). But he just did not have any inborn ability.

I only saw his mother from a distance. She always waved and smiled but never came in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but I guessed he had decided to try something else.

I was also glad that he stopped coming for the sake of my career. However, several weeks before the recital (演奏会) of my students, Robby came，telling me that he never stopped practicing and begged me to allow him to take part. I agreed but I made him perform last in the program, so I could always save his poor performance through my “curtain closer”.

I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen one piece of Mozart’s. Never had I heard a piece of Mozart’s played so well by someone at his age. When he finished, everyone was cheering.

I ran up and put my arms around Robby in joy. “I’ve never heard you play like that, Robby!  How’d you do it?”

“Well, Miss Hondorf. Do you remember I told you my mom was sick? Actually she died this morning. She was born deaf so tonight was the first time she could hear me play. I wanted to make it special. I knew I could.”  That night, Robby was the teacher and I was the student. He taught me so many important things about life.

1.Why did Robby stop coming to the piano lessons suddenly?

A．He lost heart and believed that he would never make it.

B．His mother was too sick to send him to the piano lessons.

C．He thought his teacher disliked him.

D．His mother died and he didn’t need to play any longer.

2. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The writer thought playing the piano shouldn’t start too late.

B．The writer thought that Robby had given up the piano lesson.

C．The writer taught Robby carefully although he hadn’t a gift for music.

D．No one else could play the piece of Mozart’s well.

3.From the underlined sentence we can infer that  _______.

A．the writer looked down upon Robby and disliked him

B．the writer thought Robby a bad advertisement for his teaching

C．with Robby present, the other children couldn’t play well

D．the writer couldn’t teach so many students at a time

4. What did the writer learn from Robby?

A．The meaning of true love.

B．The meaning of giving up necessarily.

C．The meaning of being kind to teachers.

D．The meaning of believing in teachers.

–Would you like to spend the vacation in Paris with me?

--I’d like to______ you pay for me.

A．unless            B．provide           C．although          D．provided that