Robert lives in a small town. Five years ago, when he was nineteen, he finished middle school. He didn’t like any subjects except playing when he was at school. Of course he learned nothing and the bosses wouldn’t use a man like him. He has to stay at home, but doesn’t do any housework, only watches TV or lies on bed. It makes his parents angry. They want him to study something, he always think it difficult and doesn’t listen to them.
One day Robert was walking near a bookshop while some young men were talking about the writers. He heard the publishing house pays the writers a lot. He became interested in it. As soon as he got home, he began to write. But he couldn’t write anything. At last he bought a book and copied a story. Then he posted it to the publishing house. He waited for nearly half a year, but didn’t get any answers. He had to ask an editor on the telephone, “Have you read my story yet, sir?”
“Yes,” said the editor, “I had read it before you were born! ”
【小题1】__________ , so he learned nothing at school .

Sunday is more like Monday than it used to be. Places of business that used to keep daytime “business hours” are now open late into the night. And on the Internet, the hour of the day and the day of the week have become irrelevant. A half century ago in the United states, most people experienced strong and precise dividing lines between days of rest and days of work, school time and summer time. Today the dividing lines are still there, but they seem not clear.
The law in almost all states used to require stores to close on Sunday; in most, it no longer does. It used to keep the schools open in all seasons except summer, in most, it still does. And whether the work week should strengthen its legal（法律的）limits, or whether it should become more changeable, is often debated（争论）. How should we, as a society, organize our time? Should we go even further in relaxing the dividing lines of time until we live in a world in which every minute is much like every other?
These are not easy questions even to ask. Part of the difficulty is that we seldom recognize the “law of time” even when we meet it face to face. We know as children that we have to go to  school a certain number of hours, a certain number of days, a certain number of years – but unless we meet the truant officer（学监）, we may well think that we should go to school because of social custom and parents’ requirement rather than to the law. As adults we know “extra pay for overtime working” very well, but less familiar with the fact that what constitutes（构成）“overtime” is a matter of legal thing. When we turn the clock forward to start daylight – saving time, have we ever thought to ourselves: “Here is the law in action”? As we shall see, there is a lot of law that has great influence on how organize and use time: compulsory education law, overtime law, and daylight-saving law – as well as law about Sunday closing, holidays, being late to work, time zones, and so on. Once we begin to look for it, we will have no trouble finding a law of time to examine and assess.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “irrelevant” probably mean?

请根据短文内容, 判断下列句子正(T) 误(F).
Mr. Green lives in a small town, but he works in a big city.
One day, Mr. Green drives his car out and washes it. When a friend comes and sees the car, he says, “That’s a nice car. Is it yours?”
“Sometimes,” answers Mr. Green.
The friend is surprised(惊讶的). “Sometimes?” he asks, “What do you mean?”
Mr. Green answers slowly, “Well, when there is a party in the town, my daughter, Jane, drives it. When there is a soccer game, it is my son Joe’s turn. When it looks really nice and clean, my wife Linda uses it. And when it needs cleaning, it’s mine.”
【小题1】Mr. Green lives in a big city.
【小题2】Mr. Green is Jane and Joe’s brother.
【小题3】Joe goes to watch soccer games in the car.
【小题4】Mrs. Green can’t drive a car.
【小题5】Only Mr. Green washes the car.

An Englishman was once traveling in Italy. One day he went into a small restaurant to order dinner. He understood very little Italian and couldn’t read the menu(菜单). He knew the word for eggs, and so he ordered eggs. Italy is famous, however, for its mushrooms(蘑菇) with eggs. But he did not know the word for mushrooms. The waiter did not speak a word of English and could not help him. At last, the man took out his pocket a pencil and a piece of paper and very carefully drew a picture of a mushroom on the piece of paper. The waiter looked at the picture of the mushroom for a long while. He did not understand very well, but at last he left. He was gone a long time. After about a half hour he returned. But instead of an order of mushroom, he brought the man a large black umbrella.
【小题1】Why did the Englishman go to Italy?

根据短文内容，选择正确答案
Liu Yun, 13, pretty and smart. She is a good student. But many students try to stay from her because Liu Yun’s mum has AIDS(爱滋病) and her father has died of AIDS. Luckily, Liu Yun didn’t get it.
AIDS means fear for most people. Nobody wants to play games with her. Even a teacher who used to like her turns his back on her now. The biggest problem is how other people look at her. She sometimes wants todrop out of schoolbecause she can no longer face others’ indifference(冷漠)。
It is said if a person has AIDS, it’s still safe to eat and play with him. So I think Liu Yun’s classmates and teachers are afraid of AIDS because they don’t know much about AIDS. And Liu Yun needs their love and understanding. Even a friendly smile means a lot to her.
【小题1】Why isn’t Liu Yun popular with the students and the teachers?
A. She has AIDS.                  B. Her mother has AIDS.
C. Her father has died of AIDS.       D. Both B and C.
【小题2】What will you do when you best friend has AIDS?

阅读短文，判断正(T)误(F).
I was in town yesterday. I decided to stop at the bank to see Jane. I thought she might have time to go for lunch with me.
When I got to the bank, they told me she had just been out. I asked them if she would be back by 10:30 or 11:45, and they told me “Yes”. I had some time, so I decided to wait for her. I walked over to take a seat by the window. I watched everyone coming in. It was 12:30, and I was sure she couldn’t come back until after lunch. I got up, and as I started to walk to the door, someone called my name. I turned around and was surprised to find it was Jane. She said she had not left her office all the morning.
【小题1】Yesterday I was in a city.
【小题2】I wanted to have lunch with Jane.
【小题3】Jane was in her office all the morning.
【小题4】I didn’t wait Jane any more.
【小题5】In fact, Jane’s workmates made a mistake.

Bob always took the newspaper to Grandpa White’s home before going home. Grandpa White’s was at the end of the road. Bob liked Grandpa White. He was often waiting for him near the front gate with sweets or a nice cake. Besides, He often asked Bob about things he was doing, what he was going to do for the summer and what he liked to do.
The thing that Bob didn’t like about Grandpa was his never-ending stories about his boyhood（童年）in California. Bob was never asked to hear about Grandpa’s boyhood, but he couldn’t get away.
After Grandpa’s wife died in October, Bob could see that Grandpa was lonelier than ever. He would often join Bob halfway along the road and walk along with him as he gave out the newspapers. Grandpa seemed to have all day, and Bob was often late giving newspapers to his customers（订报者）. Bob didn’t want to complain, but the customers were unhappy.
【小题1】When he took the newspaper to Grandpa White, Bob would often receive _______.

The clock struck(敲) eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly at a huge pile（堆） of those trouble things —books.
I was going to have my exam the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. And I could not. The clock struck twelve. “Oh, dear! Ten more books to read before I go to bed!” We students are the most wretched ones in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I did learn. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed（祈祷）, “My god, please let me pass the exam tomorrow. I will work hard next time, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the books, I fell asleep.
【小题1】The word “wretched” in Line 6 means _______.

Whenever the house gets quiet, Mrs. Smith knows just where to find her 6-year-old daughter Maria: lost in the world of stories.
“I like to read every time of the day,” said Maria, a student at Creel Elementary School in Australia.
Maria’s headmaster, Mrs. White, wants each of her 850 students and their families to learn the love of reading this year. She wants reading at home to become an activity of choice in every family, even during holiday breaks. “I truly realize reading should be an important part of everyone’s life, and nothing should stop it.” said Mrs. White.
“The aim we want most of all is to help children understand they can enjoy reading, as well as practice their skills,” said Hannas, an education researcher. He suggested parents take their children to the library and allow them to pick out books that interest them.
Each night, students take home two books to read with their parents or other family members. They have to return the books the next day with a signed note from their parents showing that the books were read, and have passing tests that check how well they understand the books.
“We’re trying to get parents into the habit of reading with their kids.” said the headmaster. “Nothing is better than sitting on a sofa with your child and reading and laughing.”
Through books, Mrs. Smith, a parent, said she’s able to give her two daughters more experiences than she could.
“I think reading opens all the doors and creates imaginations in children,” she said, “I think if you read well, you can succeed in anything in life.”
【小题1】The aim of the at-home-reading activity is to __________.

Do you still remember the terrible earthquake in 2008 in Sichuan, which killed at least 87,000 people and left millions homeless? On the twelfth day after the earthquake, Premier Wen Jiabao said, “A new Wenchuan will rise from the ruins（废墟）.” Now his words have come true. Three years has passed and the worst-hit areas in Sichuan have risen from the ruins.
So far, 95% of the reconstruction projects（重建项目）have been completed. Nearly 3,000 schools, 1,000 hospitals and more than 5 million homes have been built. Now everyone has been provided with a home, a job and social security（社保）.
Dong Xinjun, a villager in Qingchuan, said volunteers from Zhejiang taught him how to grow mushrooms and now he makes about 3,000 yuan more than before every year.
Zhu Lihu, the headmaster of a village primary school in Qingchuan, told us that teaching equipment had been greatly improved. Now they have new classrooms, a library and a computer room with 20 computers.
On May 8th, 2011, Premier Wen Jiabao made his 10th visit to Sichuan Province after the earthquake. He visited a lot of middle schools and neighborhoods. At Beichuan Middle School, Premier Wen embraced a student named Zheng Haiyang, who lost both of his legs in the earthquake. The students told Premier Wen that their new school was very beautiful. And they would never forget that it was built with the hearts and strength of people across the whole country.
Premier Wen believes that the people in Wenchuan have a “strong will” and a “bright future”. They will never back down, but stand bravely on this land.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?