I’m a teacher. But there are days, like today, when I wonder why. The results of an English quiz taken by my fifth-graders were depressing. Despite my best efforts, the world of pronouns remains a mystery to them. How I wish there were a way to make the study of our language as exciting as a computer game, so the glazed (目光呆滞) looks would not appear in their eyes at the mention of the word “grammar.” I remember my husband’s words: “Why don’t you quit? You’d probably make more money by doing something else, and you wouldn’t have papers to grade every night.”

Tonight I have a stack of papers to grade, which I promised my students I would return tomorrow. But a friend, whom I haven’t seen in a year, is visiting from Belgium, and I told her I would keep this evening free.

Sitting in traffic behind a distant stoplight, it’s hard not to replay the day. A voice reports the body of a local youngster, missing for weeks, has been identified.

This missing child has had a deep effect on my students. They wondered, “If it happened to her, could it happen to me?”

My children had found the answer themselves. They got out their pencils, markers and made cards. Cards were written with words of compassion and love for a mother and father they didn’t know. Cards were filled with red hearts, golden crosses, flowers and angels. Their cards, intended to comfort others, comforted the children themselves by leading them past the anxiety, back into the world of security (安全) that should be theirs.

And then I remember why I’m still teaching. It’s the children. They’re more important than a lifetime filled with quiet evenings and more valuable than a pocket filled with money. My classroom, a child-filled world of discovery, of kindness and of caring is the real world.

It’s time to call my friend. I have promises to keep. She’ll understand. After all, she’s a teacher.

1.The writer wonders why she is a teacher because _____.

A. her students often play games in class

B. teaching is not a well-paid job

C. her students feel bored with grammar

D. she feels frustrated at teaching

2. The students’ attitude to the missing child’s parents might be that of _____.

A. doubt    B. unconcern    C. sympathy     D. tolerance

3.What is the most important according to the writer?

A. A pocket filled with money.

B. The kind and caring children.

C. A lifetime filled with quiet evenings.

D. The freedom to control her own time.

4.What promise will the writer keep?

A. To grade papers that night.  B. To help a student with homework.

C. To accept her husband’s advice. D. To meet her old friend.

To tell you the truth, I’m not interested in owning a cellular (网络) phone. Except for use in an emergency (紧急情况), for ordinary cellular phone service is very expensive. How would I get help if I were in trouble or in danger? A good friend said about a product she thought would settle my problem. It’s the SOS phone—a cellular phone service designed for emergency use.

With the touch of a button, the SOS phone will connect me to a roadside emergency service, a 911 service or a trained SOS operator, 24 hours a day. If I ever need help. I know it’s just a phone call away.

By pressing the “Tow” button, I’ll bc connected with my emergency roadside service provider. Or, if I don’t have one, the SOS operator can suggest one to me and get in touch with them immediately.

The “911” button would connect me to 911 emergency service in my area------best of all, the call is completely free!

If I just want to call home to tell my husband and children something necessary, I can, by pressing the “Call” hutton, I’ll reach an operator. When I ask the operator to call home, I’ll be connected automatically (自动地). And because the Call Center has my 10 most-used phone numbers, I don’t even have to recite the numbers.

Unlike ordinary cellular phone plans, the SOS phone doesn't have any minimum usage requirements (底价) or other promises that could change the price

Why not try it yourself!

1.The writer enjoys using the SOS phone because ______.

A. she is always in trouble or in danger

B. she thinks the cost of its service is reasonable

C. she needn’t pay for any emergency service

D. the ordinary cellular phone can not he used in an emergency

2.Press______button, and you can get service without paying fee.  

A. 911      B. Tow     C. call      D. Tow and 911

3.When you have an SOS phone, ________.  

A. you will get help whenever you are in an emergency

B. you will be safe wherever you are

C. you can be connected with anyone

D. you can get service from any cellular phones

4.When you want to call home, ______.  

A. you will have to tel1 the operator your home phone number

B. the operator will suggest one phone number to you

C. the Call Center will pass on your words to your family

D. you’ll be connected with your family with the Help of an operator

5.The writer wants to ______.

A. tell us her experience

B. let us know she has an SOS phone

C. let us know something about the SOS phone

D. tell us she is very safe now

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的第一行作出判断：如无错误，在该行右边横线上画一个勾(√)；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏写符号（∧），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

Many year ago a poor man grew an orange tree.

On the tree there were many fine oranges. Some day he found

one of them was so big as a football . He took it

to the king . The king was so happy that he gave the

poor man lots money. When a rich man heard of it ,

he said for himself ,"I'll take my gold cup to the king

and he will give me much money . The next day the king receive

from the cup . The king was very fond of the cup and he told

the rich man, “I have an orange . It is beautiful than the cup,

so I have decided to give it to you as the reward instead money”.

     Collections were the inspiration(灵感) for a project at Thomas Tallis School, which formed part of the Imagine Children's Literature Festival last autumn. Each child (aged 12-13) beautified a box and wrote a story on the subject of collections to throw inside it. The boxes were spread within the Royal Festival Hall's Ballroom. Some were left empty to encourage visitors to write their own stories.

    The subject chosen by Lauren was an imaginative one. "It's a sort of Cinderella (灰姑娘) story," she told me, inspired by a collection of letters from her cousin, In the story these become love letters, burned by a cruel stepmother. Lauren's best friend Charlotte is the stepmother. "I'm in Charlotte's story too," says Lauren, "and I get run over." Charlotte's tale was inspired by the girls' coin collection. "We've collected foreign coins for years – since our families went on holiday to Tenerife." she explains. "That was before the Euro, so we put pesetas in." Lauren continues: "I find a coin in the road, go to get it and get run over. I'm in hospital and then I die." Charlotte adds: "Or she might not die. I haven't decided yet."

     Millie Murray, who is a teen-novel author, thinks that setting the subject of collections was a useful inspiration to their creativity rather than a restriction(限制). "In the beginning I thought, 'Will the children be able to do it?"she says. "But it's been fruitful. Some have their own collection, some have parents who do, and some have written complete stories. It's made them think about something they wouldn't have otherwise, which can only be a good thing."

59. What were the children asked to do in the project?

      A. To meet friends at Thomas Tallis School. B. To write stories on the subject of collections.

      C. To encourage visitors to write their own stories.

      D. To have their friends for characters in the stories.             

60. The underlined word "pesetas" in Paragraph 2 is a kind of _____.

      A. story              B. collection            C. inspiration     D. foreign coin

61. From the stories by Lauren and Charlotte, we know that _____ .

      A. Charlotte hurt herself when getting a coin

      B. both of them developed their imagination

      C. both of them will die in each other's stories

      D. Lauren's cousin posted her some love letters             

62. Millie Murray thinks ________.

      A. collections could inspire writing creativity            

   B. it was good for parents to have collections

      C. inspirations were very useful in writing stories

      D. setting collection subjects restricted inspirations       

The present situation  is very complex, so I think it will take me some time to ______ its reality.

    A. make up            B. figure out          C. look through     D. put off