Although I had left school against the advice of my teachers, I had, without telling anyone, tried to continue my studies in literature at evening classes. It was a tiresome walk from one end of the city to another and to sit among adults. I was the youngest in the class, so the friendship I knew at school was absent. I put up with it for a short period. It was too long a walk on cold winter's nights and it was hard to put my heart into Shakespeare with wet shoes and trousers. So I continued reading books and started writing poetry at home.

By chance, I won some prizes and awards for literature. A young woman from a TV company came to the college one day. She told me that I had won a national poetry award. I stared at her in astonishment and disbelief. She wanted to make a short film about me, to which I said: “No, I couldn’t do that.” Not that I had any real excuse. I was just frightened. In the end she persuaded me that I should do it the following day.

So I did. They made a short film of me reading one of my poems and I became more interested in literature than ever. I wondered what I should do after this, and decided some weeks later that I could not imagine myself spending the rest of my days dealing with machines. So one evening, I hesitatingly told my parents that I wanted to return to school. They were greatly surprised and, I think, a little afraid but they did not try to persuade me not to. They wanted to know if I was sure, if I knew what it meant and whether I realized that if I gave up my job training, it would be very difficult to get a good job. But nothing could stop me ,and they asked about the matter no further.

1．Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the paragraphs above this passage?

      A．The writer’s unhappy childhood.

      B．The poor teaching quality of the writer’s school.

      C．The writer’s leaving school against his teacher’s advice.

      D．Whether it was worth leaving school for job training.

2．After he won some prizes and awards for literature, a young woman from a TV company    .

A．wanted to make his success known to the public

B．come to make friends with him

C．invited him to make a speech

       D．came to tell him that he had become a very important person

If I had known then what I know now I would have taken my father’s advice when I was 18 and I had to choose my major at university. He told me to study outside Italy where there were more possibilities to find a job once I finished university. But I said no, scared of living alone in a different country with a different culture, with a different language, and above all, far from my family and friends. So I decided to go to university in Italy and I chose the one in Rome, my city, which is one of the most ancient universities in the world, studying Communication Science because it was the most common and the most fashionable major six years ago (and still is now…). At that age I wanted to become a sports journalist, but with the passing time, my opinions and my ideas started changing and I understood that I didn’t like my choice. At that time, I understood that at 18 years old, everyone feels mature to decide about his own future. Everyone thinks that the advice that parents try to give is wrong and we are able to decide alone, maybe just with the help of our friends who are in the same situation. This is the worst thought that we can think. However, I graduated last December with the pride of my parents and I decided, with their help, to come to Toronto and study English. Here I am living the best experience I have ever lived. I often think, “If I had known that living alone in a different country and studying something I like were so nice and interesting when I was 18, I would have listened to what my father told me six years ago.” I try to regret nothing about my choices I have made in the past, but I just think that now I am mature to ask my parents and to listen to them because they have more experience and they know better than me what is right and what is wrong.

1．What can we learn about the writer from the passage?

A．He went to Toronto in order to become a sports journalist.

B．He studied English when he was in a university in Rome.

C．He followed his parents’ advice when choosing a university.

D．He is enjoying his stay in Toronto and his study of English.

2．The underlined word “mature” in the passage means ______.

       A．good and ripe                                       B．having a developed mind

       C．carefully decided                                 D．confident enough

3．All the following are the reasons why the writer chose a university at home EXCEPT that ______.

       A．he might meet cultural shock

       B．he couldn’t speak a second language

       C．he wanted to study Communication Science

       D．he didn’t want to be separated from his family and friends

4．From his own experience the writer tries to tell us that ______.

       A．parents’ advice is worth taking

       B．he still prefers to ask his friend for help

       C．he doesn’t regret about the choices he made

D．Communication Science is still fashionable now

In college I had a part-time job at a shop downtown that sold doughnuts（a kind of cake） and coffee. The small shop,  1   on a block where a dozen buses stopped, it provided food to people who had a few minutes to wait for their  2  .

    I  3  coffee in takeout cups and patiently waited on customers who’d point through the glass case and say, “No, not that one, the one two rows over.”

    Every afternoon around four o’clock, a group of school children would burst   4  the  shop. Adults would glance in, see the crowd and   5  on. I didn’t   6 if the kids waited for the bus in the shop.

    I came to know them pretty well. The girls would talk about school. The boys were more quiet, choosing not to   7   their secrets, but still, they’d wait every day in the store   8  their bus came.

       Sometimes I'd hand out bus fare （车费） when a ticket went  9 — always repaid the next day．When ii snowed, the kids and I would wait  10  for a very late bus．They'd call their parents to let them know they were okay．At _ closing time I wouldn't  11  the door, and the kids and I would wait in the warm store until their bus finally arrived．

       I  12  a lot of doughnuts on snowy days．I enjoyed my pals （伙伴）, but it never  13   to me that I played an important part in their lives—until one Saturday afternoon when a serious-looking man came into the store and asked if I was the girl who worked weekdays around four o'clock．I  14  it was true, and he introduced himself   15  the father of two of my favorites—a brother and sister team．

       "I want you know I appreciate what you do for my children．I  16  about them having to take two buses to get home．It  17   a lot that they can wait here and you are keeping an eye on them．"

       I told him it wasn't a big  18 ．that I enjoyed the kids．

       "No, you don't understand．When they're with the doughnuts lady, I know they're  19  ．It is a big deal．And I'm grateful．"

       So I was the Doughnuts lady．I not only had received a   20  ．I had become a landmark．

1．A．existed             B．located          C．lied                 D．stood

2．A．ride                B．train            C．passengers         D．cars

3．A．tasted              B．had             C．made               D．poured

4．A．into                B．out            C．for                  D．along

5．A．go                 B．come            C．pass                                    D．pull

6．A．consider            B．mind            C．think               D．realize

7．A．hear                B．notice           C．share               D．show

8．A．when               B．before           C．after                D．until

9．A．stealing             B．disappearing      C．missing             D．remaining

10．A．happily           B．anxiously        C．sadly               D．bravely

11．A．lock              B．open            C．watch              D．keep

12．A．ate up             B．gave away       C．let out              D．sent away

13．A．stuck             B．reminded         C．moved           D．occurred

14．A．admitted           B．talked           C．guessed           D．refused

15．A．for              B．to             C．as                  D．like

16．A．care              B．worry           C．frighten           D．wonder

17．A．means            B．takes            C．has                 D．gives

18．A．pride              B．pleasure         C．deal                 D．help

19．A．controlled          B．behaved         C．alive              D．safe

20．A．word             B．title              C．prize              D．award