Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.　
　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.　
　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.　
　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.　
　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.　
　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.　
　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:　
　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”
　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, making life strong and warm.
　　thread: 线　　　 quilt: 被子
　　1. Why did the parents try to earn a lot of money?
　　A. To pay for the food.
　　B. To pay off the debt.
　　C. To pay for the hospital.
　　D. To pay the high tuition.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. The parents sent flowers on Valentine’s day.
　　B. The parents liked to say “I love you.”
　　C. The father was too tired to have a good temper.
　　D. The mother had no job.

　　3. From the passage, we can know that _________.
　　A. the father made much money from his work
　　B. Susan couldn’t understand her mother
　　C. the parents always loved each other
　　D. the mother was worried about her husband

　　4. How did Susan feel towards her parents at last?
　　A. sad　　　　　 B. glad　　 　　C. worried　　　 D. easy

　　5. Which is the best title?
　　A. Love is inside.　　　　　　　　 B. Love is outside.
　　C. Love is seen everywhere.　　 　 D. Love is seen anytime.
　

　　　 This year the marathon in my hometown took place in the hottest month.My job was to follow behind the runners to see if any of them needed medical care.

　　　 “We should stay behind the last runner, so take it slowly，” I said to the driver, Bob.

　　　 “Let's hope that the last runner is fast！” He laughed.

　　　 Soon the front runners started to disappear, and I saw a woman in a white T?shirt.

　　　 “Bob, look！”

　　　 We knew we were already watching our “last runner”.She was different from the others because of her age.

　　　 “I think she is over 60, too old for any sports match.How can she finish a marathon？” Bob said.

　　　 We watched in silence as she slowly moved forward.We would move forward a little, then stop and wait for her.Then we would move a little bit more.

　　　 As I watched her try to put one foot in front of the other, I found my heart beating for her.I wanted her to stop, but at the same time, I hoped that she wouldn't.

　　　 Soon she was the only runner that we could see.Tears ran down my face.She was so great! For her, it wasn't about beating the other runners or winning something; it was about finishing what she had decided to do.

　　　 Later in my life, when I think things are too difficult, I will think of the woman—the last runner.

　　　 By the way, she did make it to the finish line that day, when the other runners and the cheering crowds had long gone home.

(　　)6.According to the passage, the event may happen in ________.

　　 A.April B.May　 C.June　 D.July

(　　)7.According to the passage, what do you think the author might be?

A.A teacher. B.A policeman.　

C.A doctor. D.A sportsman.

(　　)8.From the passage, we know that ________.

　　　 A.the author was angry with the last runner

　　　 B.the author learned something from the last runner

C.the last runner didn't make it to the finish line in the end

　　　 D.some runners gave up during the match

(　　)9.Which of the following is TRUE?

　　　 A.The woman was a person with a strong mind.

　　　 B.The woman was both disabled and old.

C.The woman was foolish to join in the match.

　　　 D.The woman had taken part in marathons many times.

(　　)10.What is the best title for the passage?

　　　 A.Beating Others B.Learning from Others

C.An Exciting Marathon　　　　　　　　　　　　 D.The Last Runner

Some children wish to be writers some day. They want to write stories or books for people to read. That's good! It’s good to write something for people to read! But they should know that they need to be good readers first before they are really good writers. They should read a lot of books, instead(代替) of watching TV and spending a lot of time playing games when they are free. There is more fun in reading, if you want to look for more books to read.

Before you decide to be a good writer, you'd better say to yourself, "I must read more and more!"

(　 ) 11. This article mainly tells us that ________.

A. some children wish to be writers some day

B. it is good to write something for people to read

C. reading can be helpful for us to become a good writer

D. writers like to read more books for fun

(　 ) 12. Some children want to be writers ________.

A. because they want to be good readers

B. to write stories or books for people to read

C. to find good work some day    D. to get more money to keep a family

(　 )13. It's good for children ________.

A. to do a lot of reading           B. to watch TV in the evening

C. to have wishes only            D. to be good writers right now

(　 ) 14. Reading can ________.

A. help you to be a good player       B. help you write well

C. make you work better            D. make you watch more TV at home

(　 ) 15. From the passage we know that ________.

A. all children like to be writers    B. people like to read for children

C. all writers are children   D. children need to read more and more books

 “Tom? Are you in bed yet?” called Mrs. White. There was no answer. Mrs. White put down her book and went to her 14-year-old son’s room. Tom was sitting in front of a right computer screen (屏幕) on which a colorful dragon (龙) jumped and shouted.

　　“Oh, Tom! You’re still playing on that computer. You must stop now, it’s half past eleven. If you don’t go to bed soon, you’ll be very tired tomorrow.” said Mrs. White.

　　“But I’ve nearly beaten the dragon.” said Tom. Mrs. White could see the excitement (激动) on her son’s face. She sat down beside him.

　　“You are always playing on that computer. You spend more time with this machine than with your family.” she said with a smile. “What’s so special (特别的) about it? Show me what it can do!”

　　Tom was very excited. “I think this is a great computer, Mum!” he said happily. “The hardware (硬件) is good. There’s so much memory (内存) and it has some wonderful software programmes. This game, Dragons player, is my favourite, but I sometimes borrow games from Danny and other friends. I don’t have to worry about any infected (被感染的) disks (磁盘) because I have a virus (病毒) detector (监测器) which can go over any disk and check it for viruses. Let me show you!” Tom began tapping (敲打) keys on the keyboard (键盘). The screen changed in answer to his orders (命令).

　　“Oh, Tom.” laughed Mrs. White. “I’m sure it’s a wonderful computer, but I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

(　 ) 16. When Mrs. White was calling Tom, he was _______.

A. lying in bed reading a book   B. on the computer with a dragon

C. standing in front of the screen of the computer

D. playing computer games in his bedroom

(　 ) 17.From the passage we know that the story happened _______.

A. before Tom went to school in the morning B. before Tom went to bed at night

C. just as the dragon jumped and shouted

D. after Tom had slept for some hours in the evening

(　 )18. Tom was very excited because _______.

A. he had a radio detector in his computer

B. he was worrying about the infected disks

C. he had nearly beaten the dragon in computer game

D. his mother came upstairs to ask him to go to bed

(　 )19.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Tom liked playing computer games

B. Tom enjoyed playing with real dragons

C. Tom hated tapping on the keyboard

D. Tom hated teaching his mother how to play the computer

(　 ) 20.How did Tom get on with his mother?

A. Mrs. White was very hard on her son.

B. Mrs. White loved her son and took good care of him.

C. Tom didn’t want to talk about the computer with his mother.

D. Tom thought his mother was as wonderful as the computer game.

　　　 Birthdays are celebrated (庆祝) all over the world.Some ways to celebrate birthdays are rather similar from country to country: candles, cakes, and birthday wishes.But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays. Here are a few:

(　　)1.When someone is having a birthday in Denmark, you can see ________ around the person's bed.

　　　 A.flowers　　　　 B.presents　　　　 　 C.a flag　　　　　 D.a chair

(　　)2.In ________， flowers are put on the chair of the birthday child.

　　　 A.Japan　　　　　 B.Denmark 　　　　　　 C.India　　　　 D.Holland

(　　)3.From the passage, we learn that ________.

　　　 A.the birthday child in Holland wear colorful clothes to school

B.if a kite is flown outside a window, there must be someone who is having a birthday in Denmark

C.in India, the birthday children shoud give out chocolates to everyone in the class

D.Japanese children wear old clothes on birthday

(　　)4.In Japan, the birthday is more important for boys when they are ________.

　　　 A.15 　　 　 B.7　　　　 C.5　　　　　 D.3

(　　)5.The passage is mainly about ________.

　　　 A.similar ways of celebrating birthdays in some countries

　　　 B.different ways of celebrating birthdays in some countries

C.children's birthdays in western countries　

　　　 D.the importance of children's birthday