I was 13 years old.  My family had moved to Southern California from North Florida a year before.  I hit adolescence with a vengeance.  I was angry and rebellious, with little regard for anything my parents had to say, particularly if it had to do with me.  Like so many teenagers, I struggled to escape from anything that didn't agree with my picture of the world.  A "brilliant without need of guidance" kid, I rejected any overt offering of love.  In fact, I got angry at the mention of the word love.

One night, after a particularly difficult day, I _____________, shut the door and got into bed.  As I lay down in the privacy of my bed, my hands slipped under my pillow.  There was an envelope.  I pulled it out and on the envelope it said, "To read when you're alone."

Since I was alone, no one would know whether I read it or not, so I opened it.  It said "Mike, I know life is hard right now, I know you are frustrated and I know we don't do everything right.  I also know that I love you completely and nothing you do or say will ever change that.  I am here for you if you ever need to talk, and if you don't, that's okay.  Just know that no matter where you go or what you do in your life, I will always love you and be proud that you are my son.  I'm here for you and I love you - that will never change.  Love, Mom. 

That was the first of several "To read when you're alone" letters.  They were never mentioned until I was an adult.

Today I travel the world helping people.  I was in Sarasota, Florida, teaching a seminar when, at the end of the day, a lady came up to me and shared the difficulty she was having with her son.  We walked out to the beach, and I told her of my mom's undying love and about the "To read when you're alone" letters.  Several weeks later, I got a card that said she had written her first letter and left it for her son. 

That night as I went to bed, I put my hands under my pillow and remembered the relief I felt every time I got a letter.  In the midst of my turbulent teen years, the letters were the calm assurance that I could be loved in spite of me, not because of me.  Just before I fell asleep I thanked God that my mom knew what I, an angry teenager, needed.  Today when theseas of life get stormy, I know that just under my pillow there is that calm assurance that love - consistent, abiding, unconditional love - changes lives.

1.What’s the best title of the passage?  

                                                                          

2.Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?

I reached out my hands for the letter under the pillow that night when I went to bed ,and I always felt relief with the letter under my pillow.

                                                                          

3.Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.(within ten words) 

                                                                             

4.What do you learn after reading the passage?(within 30 words)

                                                                             

5.Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.

Like many people in the UK, the team of BBC learning English were  1  and sad at the news of the earthquake in Sichuan Province. They would like to extend their condolences(吊唁) to those affected by this terrible natural disaster. Below was their special report on the earthquake and the  2  operations taking place.

Rescue efforts were underway in Sichuan Province following the terrible  3  , which measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale. According to Xinhua news agency, nearly 15,000  4  died in the disaster, with as many as 24,000 more  5  under ruins and another 14,000  6  .

Chinese troops(军队) were  7  to carry out the rescue operations, and emergency aid was air-dropped into areas that were cut off by the  8  .

Because of the bad weather, in some places  9  had to go into the disaster area on foot and search for trapped survivors by hand as roads were  10 . Some people of the provincial capital Chengdu chose to   11  in tents and government shelters for fear of aftershock causing     12  damage. One witness in Chengdu said that the people there were helping the relief work by donating food and water for those affected in the  13 .

Although full casualty figures (伤亡数字) were not yet   14 , it was clear that the earthquake was the  15  to strike China after the Tangshan earthquake of 1976.

1.

A.shocked

B.commanded

C.attacked

D.rewarded

 

2.

A.transport

B.rescue

C.farm

D.accent

 

3.

A.burst

B.accident

C.earthquake

D.flame

 

4.

A.animal

B.miner

C.teenager

D.people

 

5.

A.buried

B.injured

C.trapped

D.suffered

 

6.

A.missing

B.recognized

C.upset

D.frightened

 

7.

A.helped

B.harmed

C.taken

D.sent

 

8.

A.event

B.principle

C.disaster

D.canal

 

9.

A.reporters

B.rescuers

C.villagers

D.journalists

 

10.

A.blocked

B.built

C.settled

D.tipped

 

11.

A.serve

B.sit

C.sleep

D.study

 

12.

A.equal

B.many

C.straight

D.more

 

13.

A.families

B.outdoors

C.apartment

D.countryside

 

14.

A.satisfied

B.certain

C.determined

D.ignored

 

15.

A.worst

B.best

C.most

D.first

 

 

 

Section B

Directions: Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

The professor stood before his class of 30 senior molecular (分子) biology students, about to pass out the final exam. “I have been honored to be your instructor this semester, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test,” he said to them. “I am well aware of how much pressure you are under to keep your GPAs (平均成绩) up, and because I know your are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic “B” to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.”

The relief was audible as a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and left the class. The professor looked at the handful of students who remained, and offered again, “Any other takers? This is your last opportunity.” One more student decided to go.

There were seventeen students left. The professor closed the door and took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam.

There were two sentences typed on the paper: “Congratulations, you have just received an ‘A’ in this class. Keep believing in yourself!”

I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It’s a test that any teacher in any course could and should give. Students who don’t have confidence in what they’ve learned are “B” students at best.

The same is true for students of real life. The “A” students are those who believe in what they’re doing because they’ve learned from both successes and failures. They’ve absorbed life’s lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.

Don’t let the biggest limit be yourself.   

1.    The professor offered an automatic “B” to those who would prefer not to take the final because ________.

         A. he thought all of his students had prepared for the test well

         B. he believed all the students were able to pass the exam

         C. he didn’t want to put too much pressure on his students

         D. he intended to tell the students about the importance of confidence

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

         A. All the students feel at easy before the exam.

         B. 22 students got a “B” in the final test without doing the paper.

         C. There were no problems on the test paper for the students to work out.

         D. The way the professor tested the students would be unsuitable for other subjects.

3.    According to the author, the test given by the professor is ________.

         A. funny   B. instructive C. confusing     D. inappropriate

4.    The point of the story is to advise readers ________.

         A. to stay focused on what they can do

             B. to surround themselves with confident people

         C. not to put up with being second best

         D. not to let themselves be the biggest obstacles to their growth

 

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