The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome things they call “books”.

I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.

The clock struck 12. “Oh, dear!” I cried, “ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched(可怜的) creatures 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 had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

1.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .

2.Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him at all because ____________.

3. What do you suppose happened to the author later？

The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”.

     I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.

     The clock struck twelve. “Oh, dear!” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures 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 desperate（拼命）now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

1.The underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means _____.

    A. happy      B. disappointed      C. unhappy     D. hopeful

2.Reviewing his lessons that night didn’t help him because ____________.

A. it was too late at night                   

B. he was very tired

C. his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open

D. he hadn’t studied hard before the examination

3.What do you suppose probably happened to the author the next day?

A. He went to a church to pray again.  

B. He passed the exam all by luck.

C. He failed in the exam.           

D. He was punished by his teacher.

4.The best title for the passage would be ____________.

A. The Night Before the Examination  

B. Working Far into the Night

C. A Slow Student                 

D. Going Over My Lessons

I have a friend named Monty Roberts. He has let me use his horse ranch(养马场)to put on events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

Last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let you use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant(流动的)horse trainer. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be when he grew up.”

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of owning a horse ranch someday. He put all his heart into the project and wrote about his dream in great detail. He even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of the buildings, stables and the track, and even a detailed floor plan for a 4000-square-foot house on it.”

“The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later ,he received a large red “F” on his paper with a note, ‘See me after class.’ The boy went to see the teacher and asked why. The teacher told him there was no way for a young boy like him to do that because owning a horse ranch required much money and resources, and then added ‘If you’ll rewrite his paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what to do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it’s a very important decision for you.’”

“Finally, a week later, the boy turned in the same paper without any change and stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’”

“I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.”

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

1. The teacher gave him an “F” for his written paper because the

teacher thought 　　    .

2. Why did the boy turn in the same paper without any change?

3. From the story we can infer that the boy was actually 　　    .

4. According to the passage, the following statements are true EXCEPT

that 　　    .

5. The author wrote this passage mainly to 　　    

Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do. When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing. When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child.

       There are many things that a parent can do. One thing that people have done is to spank (打屁股) the child. When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to strike them on their bottom. This is meant to show the child that they have done something wrong.

One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child. His parents used a wooden spoon. When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child’s leg. He never did that again.

One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing. Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard. Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing.

Many parents are not sure of what to do instead of spanking. Some people think that their religion tells them that spanking is okay. Some think that the law lets them do it. The courts (法院) say that parents have the right to teach their children how to behave.

Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child. Telling the child exactly what is wanted from them can be one thing. Giving a child more than one choice is another thing that can be tried. Getting down to the child’s level and taking a more child-friendly approach (方法) can help as well.

1.According to the passage, when children do something wrong, one thing that parents usually do to punish them is to ________.

A. strike them on the bottom

B. try to help them do the right thing

C. teach them what to do

D. take them to court

2.Which of the following is NOT the problem caused by spanking?

A. It teaches the child to hit others when they offend（使人不快） him or her.

B. The parent may get angry and hit the child too hard.

C. Sometimes parents may use spanking for everything.

D. It makes parents try other ways to make the child do right.

3. Which of the following can best describe the writer’s attitude towards spanking?

A. favorable    B. indifferent (不关心)              C. interested         D. unfavorable

4. From this passage, we can conclude that ________.

A. Good children always do the right thing.

B. Parents should try their best to avoid spanking their children.

C. Parents have no choice but to spank their children when they do something wrong.

D. Children can have more than one choice to avoid being spanked.  

When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its problems  too.

One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and  the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it became of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.

Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever you tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising --- and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.

Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is , when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

1.What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?

2.Which of the following is true about the writer?

3. In the passage, the writer tries to __________.

4.How is the passage mainly developed?