“Mum, I want to make you a bet,” I said. “If I go a whole year without TV, will you give me a hundred dollars?”　　
“Well, if you can   1  do it, …”
“Of course I can,” I replied, trying to convince   2 .
In fact, all this started from my   3  of a picture in the newspaper. I couldn’t bear to look at that boy. He said that he had   4  one year without TV for a hundred dollars,   5 me with mocking eyes. It seemed he was saying, “I did it,   6  you can’t!”. I glared at the boy’s face.
That year I did a lot of things. For example, my father taught me to   7 , which became my favorite sport.   8  winter afternoons snowball wars with my neighbors offered daily drama. I went on bike trips with my friends and swam as much as a fish.　　
It was unbelievable how much   9  I had without TV. I learned so many new games. I guess the   10  thing I learnt, though, was self-motivation(上进心).　　
I started to do my homework. I went from a D student to an A student within a couple of   11 .　　
I used to   12  reading if there were no   13 , but now I began to read and enjoy it. I could arrange off all the pictures just the way I wanted them—my own little TV, right   14  my head!
I’m surprised what I did. I got a lot more from the   15  than just the 100 dollars!

Have you ever had a problem (问题) that has left you wondering where to ask for help?

Eve Hobsbawm is a life counselor (顾问). She offers advice to people with all kinds of problems. She does this through a website inviting people to email her. There’s nothing unusual about that... except that Eve is only eight years old. Eve lives in London with her parents. She charges (收费) between 10p for advice on little worries and £1 for bigger problems. Her areas of counseling are: “Problems about love and life”.  

But Eve can’t always help. She can’t answer questions like “Does space ever end?” and she won’t help to do “schoolwork questions (especially not math)”.

She explained to the Guardian newspaper that she got the idea to set up the company from her father. Eve said, “As soon as I saw his business and understood the kinds of things businesses do, I thought that’s what I’m going to do.” But since setting up her company she received too many messages every day. “There has been a lot of sudden interest in my website,” she says, “but what troubles me is I need to do my homework too.”

43. How old is Eve?

A. 8.                             B. 10.                         C. 17.                          D. 20.

44. What does Eve do?

A. She sells things on a website.                  B. She helps others with homework.

C. She offers advice to people.                           D. She works in her father’s company.

45. What’s Eve’s problem?

A. Nobody asks her for advice.                          B. Her parents don’t like her business.

C. She can’t send messages by herself.               D. She also has homework to do.

“Mum, I want to make you a bet,” I said. “If I go a whole year without TV, will you give me a hundred dollars?”　　
“Well, if you can 1 do it, …”
“Of course I can,” I replied, trying to convince 2.
In fact, all this started from my 3 of a picture in the newspaper. I couldn’t bear to look at that boy. He said that he had 4 one year without TV for a hundred dollars, 5me with mocking eyes. It seemed he was saying, “I did it, 6 you can’t!”. I glared at the boy’s face.
That year I did a lot of things. For example, my father taught me to 7, which became my favorite sport. 8 winter afternoons snowball wars with my neighbors offered daily drama. I went on bike trips with my friends and swam as much as a fish.　　
It was unbelievable how much 9 I had without TV. I learned so many new games. I guess the 10 thing I learnt, though, was self-motivation(上进心).　　
I started to do my homework. I went from a D student to an A student within a couple of 11.　　
I used to 12 reading if there were no 13, but now I began to read and enjoy it. I could arrange off all the pictures just the way I wanted them—my own little TV, right 14 my head!
I’m surprised what I did. I got a lot more from the 15 than just the 100 dollars!

1. 1.
   1. A.
      really
   2. B.
      finally
   3. C.
      quickly
   4. D.
      clearly
2. 2.
   1. A.
      herself
   2. B.
      myself
   3. C.
      himself
   4. D.
      ourselves
3. 3.
   1. A.
      belief
   2. B.
      love
   3. C.
      joy
   4. D.
      anger
4. 4.
   1. A.
      become
   2. B.
      gone
   3. C.
      arrived
   4. D.
      reached
5. 5.
   1. A.
      picking up
   2. B.
      laughing at
   3. C.
      talking with
   4. D.
      looking after
6. 6.
   1. A.
      but
   2. B.
      and
   3. C.
      or
   4. D.
      though
7. 7.
   1. A.
      draw
   2. B.
      read
   3. C.
      act
   4. D.
      ski
8. 8.
   1. A.
      Few
   2. B.
      Any
   3. C.
      Several
   4. D.
      Many
9. 9.
   1. A.
      difficulty
   2. B.
      trouble
   3. C.
      fun
   4. D.
      knowledge
10. 10.
    1. A.
       smallest
    2. B.
       biggest
    3. C.
       first
    4. D.
       last
11. 11.
    1. A.
       years
    2. B.
       days
    3. C.
       weeks
    4. D.
       hours
12. 12.
    1. A.
       hate
    2. B.
       enjoy
    3. C.
       interest
    4. D.
       prefer
13. 13.
    1. A.
       stories
    2. B.
       words
    3. C.
       pictures
    4. D.
       plots
14. 14.
    1. A.
       on
    2. B.
       with
    3. C.
       inside
    4. D.
       outside
15. 15.
    1. A.
       TV
    2. B.
       reading
    3. C.
       trip
    4. D.
       experience