High school is tough. And if you were to ask Pink her opinion on the subject she'd tell you the
same. Before she became famous, and when she was still called Alicia Moore, the young superstar
faced more than her fair share of high school drama.
     In her interview with Faze, Pink admits she was sorted as a troublemaker at school, "The problem
was, I was labelled as trouble-so I was like 'trouble'. I'll show you trouble. You want trouble, well
here it is!"
     Unfortunately, Pink began to deliver what the teachers expected and the vicious cycle began. "It's
like the label they give you, you grow into it anyway. They treat you bad, so you act bad," Pink says
and continues. "Did I deserve it?-in the end yes, but I feel I just conformed to the label they gave me.
I think a lot of kids just get frustrated and act the way the teachers expect them to."
     It's no surprise that eventually Pink developed a problem with authority, "When they would say it
had to be a certain way I would ask, 'why?' They'd say, 'Because it always has,' so I'd try to prove
them wrong."
     Predictably, Pink dropped out of school and soon after began to sing in nightclubs. She sang any
chance she could get and was eventually discovered by a talent scout (星探) while singing in a club
in Philadelphia. She does not regret anything she has done and would not change her past if she could.
      "To change that would change who I am," she said in her Faze interview. She believes having faced
so many difficulties at a young age is a good thing. "To experience the good you have to have seen
the bad. Plus it makes you appreciate blessings more," she says.
     Pink encourages us to be ourselves and not to worry about being labelled. "Just wait," she says.
"Give it a couple of years then it won't matter. Because no matter what label they give you, the best
thing you can do is prove them wrong."

1. According to the passage, what is Pink's suggestion?

A. Do it your way.                    
B. To be confident.
C. Don't make trouble.                
D. To be happy.

2. What does the underlined word "labelled" in the second paragraph mean?

A. Known.                            
B. Realized.
C. Classified.                          
D. Discovered.

3. The passage implies that students ________.

A. will usually follow their teachers' advice
B. will act the way their parents expect them to
C. are likely to behave in a bad way as others expect
D. are willing to meet with many difficulties

4. Pink felt that high school was hard because ________.

A. she fell behind others              
B. she was misunderstood
C. she was unsuccessful                      
D. she felt lonely

     A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off
panic among holiday shoppers, the police said.
     "The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from selfinflicted gunshot wounds," Sgt.
Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news. "We have been able to clear
the mall," she said. "We don't believe we have any other shooters." The police said that at least five
other people had been injured in the shootings.
     She did not give the shooter's identity. "We are still conducting the investigation," Sergeant Negron
said, adding that the city's mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha. She said the
police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and
shots could be heard in the background. The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after
the first call, she said, but by then the shootings were over.
     It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by relatives. A law
enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity (匿名) said the note indicated that the
gunman wanted to "go out in style".
     The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping. The gunman was said by some
witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd. Some customers and workers ran screaming from
the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter.
     Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores. Others
streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised. The president was in Omaha this morning to deliver
a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place.

1. Where did the news about the shooting first come out?

A. On a newspaper.  
B. On the Internet.
C. On TV.        
D. In a police poster.

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

A. Nobody knows why the shooter did so and nothing was found at his home.
B. The city's mayor happened not to be in the city when the shooting took place.
C. Police arrived at the mall before the shootings were over and rescued customers.
D. The gunman fired two shots into a crowd.

3. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. there is more than one shooter in this event
B. the shooting didn't trouble the customers much
C. an important holiday is coming soon
D. the president came to the scene soon after the shooting

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the news?

A. Gunman Kills 8 People, Then Himself at a Mall in Omaha
B. Shoppers in Great Panic before the Holiday
C. The President Happened to Escape a Shot
D. Shooter Found Dead in a Mall on the West of Omaha

     I've always known my kids use digital communications gear (装置) a lot. But my cellphone bill
last month really grabbed my attention. My son had come up to nearly 2,000 incoming text messages,
and had sent nearly as many. Of course, he was out of school for the summer and communicating more
with friends from a distance. Nevertheless, he found time to hold down a summer job and complete a
college course in between all that typing with his thumb.
     I was even more surprised to learn that my son is normal. Teenagers with cellphones each send and
receive 2,272 text messages a month on average, Nielsen Mobile says.
     Some experts regret that all that keyboard jabber is making our kids stupid, unable to read
nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture and other silent signals of mood and
attitude. Unlike phones, text messaging doesn't even allow transmission of tone of voice or pauses,
says Mark Bauerlein  author of a book called The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies
Young Americans and Jeopardizes (危害) Our Future.
     Beyond that, though, I'm not sure I see as much harm as critics of this trend. I've posted before on
how I initially tried to control my kids' texting. But over time, I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill
effects, and he gains a big benefit, of easy, continuing contact with others.
     I don't think texting make kids stupid. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to
you at the same time. And it may make them distracted,__when buzzing text messages interrupt efforts
to noodle out a math problem or finish reading for school.
     But I don't see texting harming teens' ability to communicate. My son is as accustomed to nonverbal
cues as any older members of our family. I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate
with from a great distance, because he is constantly available via text message and responds with
faithfulness and speed.

1. What does the underlined word "distracted" in the fifth paragraph mean?

A. Confused.                          
B. Absentminded.
C. Comfortable.                        
D. Badtempered.

2. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. For Teens, Texting Instead of Talking              
B. For Parents, Caring Much for Their Kids
C. Advantages and Disadvantages of Texting            
D. The Effect of Communication

3. What is Mark Bauerlein's attitude towards texting?

A. It is so convenient for teens to communicate with others.
B. It is likely to cause trouble in understanding each other.
C. It is convenient for teens to text and call at the same time.
D. It will cause damage to the development of intelligence.

4. The author's attitude towards texting is ________.

A. suspicious                  
B. opposed
C. supportive                  
D. doubtful

5. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. It is normal for a teen to send or receive 60 text messages a day.
B. Texting is a very popular way of communication among teens.
C. Parents don't mind teens' texting and talking at the same time.
D. The writer limited his son to sending or receiving text messages at first.

     Years ago while lying in my hammock(吊床)and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog
dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the
next door neighbor's 10yearold daughter's rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from
school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would
be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.
     The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the
dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and
replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as "natural caused".
Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor's Volvo palled in as usual and out
popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about
six feet away and screamed: "D－A－D－D－Y!!!"
     Her father, panicstricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed
to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.
     Her father less than calmly shouted, "What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl's rabbit
and put it back in its cage?"

1. The girl was shocked because ________.

A. the rabbit was killed by someone
B. the rabbit was too clean
C. the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage
D. the rabbit was asleep in the cage

2. That day the girl ran to the cage ________.

A. because her rabbit was there
B. because she had a habit of going there to see her rabbit
C. because she wanted to see her rabbit again
D. because the rabbit was dead

3. We can infer that the rabbit ________.

A. was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it
B. was already dead before the writer saw his dog dragging it
C. was in the cage playing with the dog
D. was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog

4. According to the story, the writer ________.

A. was helpful to his neighbor
B. did a smart thing
C. was honest
D. made a mistake

     Sitting across from a German couple and a Chinese mother and her child, we were waiting at
the Guilin airport for our delayed flight to Shanghai. In this last week of our travel study tour, my
husband and I were savoring this short break by reading.
    I tuned out the languages I couldn't understand. But it was an American accent that pulled my
attention from my book. It also pulled the attention of three rows of people seated around us as
the American barked, "Coming through! Coming through!"
     At the same time, an oversized man pulling an oversized carryon passed our row. His wheeled
bag caught the German's feet. Turning to see what snagged his luggage, the American yanked his
bag so hard that it crossed over the man's feet. It was then that my horror struck. There was no
"I'm sorry", no "Excuse me" and no "Pardon me" coming from this countryman of mine.
    While this wasn't the first or last incident where I sighted discourteous, illmannered and rude
Americans in China, each produced similar feelings. First, I was embarrassed that someone from
my country was creating a negative impression of Americans. My second reaction was a desire
to apologize. I wanted to explain to the Chinese woman and her child, the German couple next to
them, and everyone nearby that this was not typical American behavior. I wanted them to know
"we" were all not like that.
     I never got to explain, or to apologize. Language differences made that option impossible, and
rational thinking made it inappropriate. But it turned out not to be a need. The German man caught
my eyes with a bit of headshaking, smiling and eye rolling, which I returned, and it was clear that he
knew we were Americans and was expressing that there was "no need" to apologize for "universal
idiot behavior".

1. In the airport the author, and her husband ________.

A. were talking with a German couple          
B. were having a good time
C. were enjoying reading together              
D. were worrying about their flight

2. According to the author the man with an American accent was ________.

A. strong                
B. impolite            
C. humorous            
D. generous

3. The underlined word "snagged" (in Paragraph 3) means ________.

A. stopped              
B. covered            
C. touched              
D. pushed

4. Every time the author saw Americans' bad behavior in China she always felt ________.

A. uneasy and apologetic                      
B. scared and disappointed
C. proud and comfortable                      
D. nervous and miserable

5. From this passage we can know that the author comes from ________.

A. Germany              
B. China              
C. Japan                
D. America

1. When Christmas neared, the author worried that she________.

A. had few friends to give her gifts
B. had little money to buy gifts for others
C. didn't know what gifts her friends would like
D. didn't have enough time to go shopping

2. The underlined word "cheapskate" in Paragraph 4 probably    refers to a person who________.

A. is the poorest in the world
B. buys the cheapest skateboards
C. spends as little money as possible
D. buys the cheapest things in the world

3. The girl gave her mother a candle because it stands for________.

A.  the girl's own life
B. her mother's life
C. the girl's role in her mother's life
D.  the mother's role in the girl's life

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A. It is an art to choose gifts.
B. It is the thought not the gift that matters.
C. How to choose cheap gifts.
D. Giving gifts improves friendships.