The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.

The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.

“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉), even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”

The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.

Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.

Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.

“How funny it seems,” he used to say, “even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”

1. The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ________.

A. his father told him to                        B. he wanted to learn a skill

C. Jones encouraged him to                   D. he just wanted to pass his time

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks.

B. The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill.

C. The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get.

D. The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young.

3. What can we learn from the story?

A. Practice makes perfect.                   B. Skill makes life easy.

C. A good beginning makes a good ending.        D. Every man has his gift.

Lisa is ten years old. She is disabled because she has brain damage. She could not do even the simplest thing until a year ago. She could not comb her hair or feed herself. Her parents loved her. And they treated her like a baby.
Mr. Ching has a daughter and a son. They are both grown. They live far from their father. Mr. Cling felt lonely. He decided to become a foster grandfather to a handicapped child. And that was how he met Lisa.
Foster grandparents are grandparents who are not related by birth but foster parents love the children they care for. They also help the handicapped children in special ways. They help to dress and feed the children. They read to them and tell them stories. They also help with handicapped children’s therapy. Therapy is the treatment of a disease or disorder. It helps the children overcome their handicaps.
Mr. Cling became a foster grandparent to Lisa when she was nine years old. At first, Lisa was shy. She was afraid because Mr. Cling was a stranger. But he came to see her every day, gradually she began to trust him. At last, Lisa let Mr. Cling do things for her.
Cling speaks for most foster grandparents when he say, “We all benefit. The handicapped children benefit because we help them live more useful lives. And we benefit because we know the children need us and love us. For any person, there is no greater happiness than that.”
【小题1】Why did Lisa need help?

A young British sailor was missing at sea yesterday in similar circumstances(情况) to the way his father died five years ago．

    The dinghy(救生橡皮船), used to take Richard Smith, 21, to his yacht(快艇), was discovered empty, floating in seas off the Caribbean island. An air and sea search was carried out but he has still not been discovered.

    Richard’s mother, Bicknell, said from her home in Hampshire, “It’s so much coincidence(意外). Richard always carried a photograph of his father attached to a poem, which included the date of his disappearance.”

    “Now, it’s very strange because all they have found is Richard’s dinghy. We need to know this time what has happened one way or another. If you know at least you can go through the grieving process(悲痛的过程).”

    In November 1996, Mr. Smith’s father, Charlie, was sailing in the Tasmen sea between the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmen with his new wife. They lost radio contact with the shore and they, together with their yacht were never seen again, and their disappearance remains a mystery.

    Richard is described as a talented and experienced sailor. He had sailed to the Caribbean in November to help a yacht race for entertainment. He ended the evening drinking in the Abracbabra bar but left after local police closed it for being too noisy.

    About 2 am the following day Richard headed back for his dinghy. He started its motor before giving an elderly woman a lift to her yacht after her dinghy had gone missing. It was the last time he was seen.

1.

Richard Smith was ____ in 2000.

  A. ten    B. fifteen    C. twenty    D. eighteen

2.

 People searched for Richard using ____ .

  A. ship only      B. ship and radio       C. ship and plane      D. yacht and car

3.

. According to the passage，we know Richard died because ____ .

  A. he was a green hand in sailing

  B. some unknown animal attacked him

  C. there was a fog in the area he was sailing

  D. of something we don’t know

4.

Which statement is NOT true according to this passage?

  A. Old Mr. Smith had lost radio contact with the shore before he died.

  B. Richard’s father had married two women at least.

  C. Richard didn’t drink on the evening before he was lost because the policeman closed the bar.

  D. Richard was seen at about 2 am the day he disappeared.

阅读理解　　 

　　Some people do not like anything to be out of place, they are never late for work; they return their books to the library on time; they remember people's birthday and they pay their bills as soon as they arrive. Mr Dodds is such a person.

　　Mr Dodds works in a bank, and lives alone. The only family he has were in the next town: his sister lives there with her husband, and her son, Mark. Mr Dodds does not see his sister, or his family, from one year to the next, but he sends them Christmas cards, and he has not forgotten one of Mark's seventeen birthdays. Last week Mr Dodds had quite a surprise. He drove home from the bank at the usual time and drove neither too slowly nor too fast; he parked his car where he always parked it, out of the way of other cars, and he went inside to make his evening meal. At once, there was a knock at the door. Mr Dodds opened the door to find a policeman standing at the door.

　　“What have I done wrong?”Mr Dodds asked himself.“Have I driven on the wrong side of the road? Has there been some trouble at the bank? Have I forgotten to pay an important bill?”

　　“Hello, Uncle”said the policeman,“My name's Mark.”

1．Mr Dodds sees his sister ________.

[　　]

2．Mr Dodds ________.

[　　]

A．has forgotten more than one Mark's birthday

B．has not sent Mark anything on his seventeenth birthday

C．always sends a Christmas card on Mark's birthday

D．always sends Mark something on his birthday

3．When he heard a knock at the door, he was ________.

[　　]

4．Mr Dodds was surprised that ________.

[　　]

A．a policeman visited him

B．Mark came to see him

C．he had forgotten Mark's birthday

D．someone was knocking at the door

5．Which of the following best describes the writer's attitude towards Mr Dodds? ________.

[　　]

A．Mr Dodds always insists on his opinion

B．Mr Dodds is not strict in his work

C．Mr Dodds never makes a mistake

D．Mr Dodds does not care about others