*200 dead as Brazilian plane crashes  in Sao Paulo
Up to 200 people were dead after a passenger plane with 176 people aboard slid off the runway on landing and hit a fuel storage tank at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport on Tuesday.
Brazilian airline TAM said that 170 passengers and 6 crew  were aboard the Airbus A320 flying from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil to Sao Paulo when it lost control on landing and slid off the wet runway.
Brazilian news agency Folha reported up to 200 people were dead, including some victims on the ground.
* _
Two people were killed Saturday in two separate plane crashes in the United States, media reports said.
In Dayton, Ohio, a plane crashed on a runway of the Dayton International Airport while performing during the Vectren Dayton Air Show. The pilot, Jim LeRoy, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and was announced dead. The air show was canceled.
Also on the same day, two single-engine war planes at an experimental air show collided  in Wisconsin while landing, killing one of the pilots and injuring the other.
*All 114 aboard Kenya plane killed
A Kenya Airways plane that crashed after takeoff in Cameroon with 114 people on board is largely submerged   in a swamp  and there is no chance of survivors, Cameroon 's civil protection service said on Monday
The Boeing 737-800 had taken off from Douala and its wreckage  was found just 12 miles from the town. The plane fell head first. But the cause of the crash remained unclear.
Among the passengers were Associated Press reporter Anthony Mitchella and an executivefrom the South African cell phone giant MTN. Five Chinese passengers were also killed in the crash .

Question: The Brazilian plane crash caused extra deaths mainly because  _

Choices:
- .it skidded off the wet runway.
- the runway. was very short
- it hit a fuel storage tank
- its pilot was inexperienced

Question: The proper title for News 2 would be   _  .

Choices:
- Two pilots killed in plane crashes in US
- The tragedies of the air show
- Who is to blame for the plane crashes?
- Big losses can result from small things

Question: Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE as for the Kenya plane crash?

Choices:
- The plane crashed after the plane took off.
- The cause of the crash was under examination
- 114 passengers on board were killed including an African
- The place where the plane crashed led to many more deaths

Question: It can be inferred from the three news that  _

Choices:
- whenthe Airbus A320 landed, it was likely to be raining heavily
- during the Vectren Dayton Air Show , the pilot, Jim LeRoy died on the scene
- The place where the Boeing 737-800 crashed was just 12 miles from the town
- Five Chinese passengers were victims of the Kenya plane crash


City Varieties
The Headrow, Leeds. Tel. 430808
Oct 10-11 only A Night at the Varieties.All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Dural and the Tony Harrison Trio. Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favourite songs.
Performances: 8 pm nightly.
Admission: L5; under 16 or over 60: L4.
York Theatre Royal
prefix = st1 /St Leonard's Place, York. Tel. 223568
Sept 23- Oct 17 Groping for Words-- a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class, which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy.
Admission: First night, Mon: L2; Tues- Fri: L3.25 - 5.50; Sat: L3.50 - 5.75.
Halifax Playhouse
King's Cross Street, Halifax. Tel. 365998
Oct 10-17 On Golden Pondby Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy about real people. A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don't miss it.
Performances: 7:30 pm.
Admission: L2. Mon: 2 seats for the price of one.
Grand Theatre
Oxford Street, Leeds. Tel. 502116
Restaurant and Cafe
Oct 1-17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend's musical play, based on her best-selling book.
Performances: Evenings 7:45. October 10-17, at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances.
Admission: Tues-Thurs: L2- 5; Fri & Sat: L2- 6.

Question: Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?

Choices:
- Halifax Playhouse.
- City Varieties.
- Grand Theatre.
- York Theatre Royal.

Question: If you want to see a play with old jokes and songs, which phone number will you ring to book a seat?

Choices:
- 502116
- 223568
- 365998
- 430808

Question: We may learn from the text that Sue Townsend is  _  .

Choices:
- a writer
- an actress
- a musician
- a director


There have been many great inventions, which have changed the way we live. The first great invention was one that is still very important today---the wheel. This made it easier to carry heavy things to travel long distances. For hundreds of years there were few inventions that have made as much effect as the wheel. There was little unknown land left in the world. People didn't have to explore  much any more. They began to work to make life better instead.
In the second half of the 19th century many great inventions were made. Among them were the camera, the electric light and the radio. These all became a big part of our life today. The first part of the 20th century saw more great inventions. The helicopter in 1909. Sound movies in 1926. The computer in 1928, and jet planes in 1930. This was also a time when a new material was made. Nylon came out in 1935. It changed the kind of clothes people wear. The middle part of the 20th brought new ways to help people get over diseases. They worked very well. They made people healthier and let them live long lives. By the 1960s most people could expect to live to be at least 60. By this time most people had a very good life. Of course new inventions continued to be made. But man now had a wish to explore again. The world is known to man but the stars are not yet. Man began looking for ways to go into space. Russia made the first step. Then the United States took a step. Since then other countries, including China and Japan, have made their steps into space.

Question: The first great invention ever known was   _  .

Choices:
- the camera
- the wheel
- the electric light
- the radio

Question: Which of the following was turned out nearly at the same time with the jet plane?

Choices:
- The radio.
- The camera.
- Nylon.
- The helicopter.

Question: This passage talks mainly about   _  .

Choices:
- how inventions affect people's life
- when electric light was invented
- which country made the first step into space
- why cars were very important

Question: We can safely come to the conclusion that people's life will be made even better through   _  .

Choices:
- new discoveries
- greater inventions
- better ways to get over diseases.
- all of above


"Thanks for coming," Everett said, shaking hands with Mr. Hanson, the town councilor  .
              "I'm curious about the ideas in your letter." Mr. Hanson nodded toward the parking lot near where they stood. "Please tell me more."
              Everett took a deep breath. "Ever since the school closed two years ago, this area has become worse. But if we clean up the litter and repair the fence, it will be a great place for a skateboard park." Mr. Hanson scanned the broken concrete, nodding. "The old school is being adapted to a community arts centre. This area could become a vital part of the neighbourhood again."
              "Here's a picture of a skateboard park in another town. Look how busy it is." Everett was relieved that the community representative seemed receptive to the idea. Mr. Hanson studied the photograph, and then asked, "If town council provides the money, how will you and your friends contribute?" Everett felt optimistic now. "We'll help design and build the ramps . More experienced boarders could give lessons to raise money!" Everett's voice was enthusiastic.
              However, Mr. Hanson said, "We'll still need parking spaces, and the neighbours will not like late-night noise. They might worry about the crime of deliberately damaging public property and...."
              "The skateboard park would use only the back corner, which isn't near any houses. Since young people already hang out here, why not give them something fun and physically active to do in their free time?"              The lines over Mr. Hanson's forehead unwrinkled  , and Everett's hopes rose again. "If everyone works together," Everett thought, "maybe this idea will become reality."

Question: Where were Everett and Mr. Hanson talking?

Choices:
- In the city hall.
- Outside a park.
- Near the parking lot.
- In the art centre.

Question: Everett was trying to persuade Mr. Hanson to   _  .

Choices:
- beautify the neighbourhood
- provide money for a skateboard park
- build an art centre for children
- cut the area of the parking lot

Question: How did Mr. Hanson finally feel about Everett's suggestion?

Choices:
- Curious.
- Hopeful.
- Receptive.
- Enthusiastic.


Two things changed my life:  my mother and a white plastic bike basket. I have thought long and hard about it and it's true. I would be a different person if my mom hadn't turned a silly bicycle accessory into a life lesson I carry with me today.
My mother and father were united in their way of raising children, but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out. Looking back, I honestly don't know how she did it. Managing the family budget must have been a very hard task., but she made it look effortless. If we complained about not having what another kid did, we'd hear something like, "I don't care what so -and -so got for his birthday, you are not getting a TV in your room a car for your birthday a lsvish sweet 16 party." We had to earn our allowance by doing chores around the house. I can stil l remember how long it took to polish the legs of our coffee table.My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house .Like the two little girls growing up at the White House,we made our own beds (no one left the house unitil that was done)and picked up after ourselves.We had to keep track of our belongings ,and if something was lost ,it was not replaced.
It was summer and ,one day ,my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed---and there it was in the window, White, shiny, plastic and decorated with flowers ,the basket winked at me and I knew ----I knew---I had to have it.
"It's beautiful," my mother said when I pointed it out to her,"What a neat basket."
I tried to hold off at first ,I played it cool for a short while. But then I guess I couldn't at and it any longer:"Mom, please can I please ,please get it? I 'll do extra chores for as long as you say, I'll do anything ,but I need that basket,I love that basket.Please ,Mom .Please?"
I was desperate.
"You know," she said ,gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believes was the coolest thing ever," If you save up you could buy this yourself."
"By the time I make enough it'll bu gone!"
"Maybe Roger here could hold it for you," she smiled at Roger ,the bike guy.
"He can't hold it for that long ,Mom .Someone else will buy it .Please, Mom,Please?"
"There might be another way," she said.
And so our paying plan unfolded. My mother bought the beautiful basket and put it safely in some hiding place I couldn't find. Each week I eagerly counted my growing saving increased by extra work here and there (washing the car ,helping my mother make dinner, delivering or collecting things on my bike that already looked _ without the basket in front).And then ,weeks later ,I counted ,re-counted and jumped for joy. Oh ,happy day ! I made it! I finally had the exact amount we'd agreed upon....
Days later the unthinkable happened. A neighborhood girl I'd played with millions of times appeared with the exact same basket fixed to her shiny ,new bike that already had all the bells and whistles. I rode hard and fast home to tell my mother about this disaster. This horrible turn of events.
And then came the lesson . I've taken with me through my life:"Honey, Your basket is extra-special," Mom said, gently wiping away my hot tears."Your basket is special because you paid for it yourself."

Question: When the author saw the basket in the window,she  _

Choices:
- fell in love with it
- stared at her mother
- recognized it at once
- went up to the bike guy

Question: Why did the author say many "please" to her mother?

Choices:
- She longed to do extra work.
- She was eager to have the basket.
- She felt tired after standing too long.
- She wanted to be polite to her mother.

Question: To the author, it seemed to be a horrible turn of events that

Choices:
- something spoiled her paying plan
- the basket cost more than she had saved
- a neighborhood girl had bought a new bike
- someone else had got a basket of the same kind

Question: What is the life lesson the author learned from her mother?

Choices:
- Save money for a rainy day
- Good advice is beyond all price.
- Earn your bread with your sweat
- God helps those who help themselves


Sports, drama, and a variety of organizations keep students busy during high school. Where do they find the money to do these things? Not everyone gets it from Mommy and Daddy. Most have to pay for these activities. Some adults question if high school students should have jobs.
Some people worry that teens with after-school jobs will struggle to find time for homework. Actually, the responsibility of having a job helps teens prioritize their time. Many jobs take only a couple of  hour shifts on weeknights. According to a survey, 86 percent of high school students have an after-school, weekend or summer job and students who work between 10 and 20 hours per week during the school year have statistically higher grades-point averages than those who do not work at all. Those who work in high school are more likely to work in college, and financing their college education is a top reason for undergraduates to look for employment. Instead of considering jobs a barrier, employment should be looked at as real-world education.
Other people think that work adds too much stress, which may be somewhat true, but regardless of having a job or not, there is always going to be stress. Better to learn how to deal with busy schedules in a controlled environment like high school than to be out on your own and alone, experiencing stress for the first time. I personally would be more concerned for the teenager who has to become independent without having any familiarity with working.
The biggest reason teens should be allowed to work is that it is a healthy way of earning money. My dad told me, "Having a job is a good way to save up for things you are going to need or want to do. You get a lot more out of things if you are financially responsible for them." Kids need the freedom to choose how to spend their money. The sooner they have an income, the sooner they can learn how to use money wisely. If they are not allowed to work in high school, they may run into trouble in the future.

Question: According to the survey, compared with those who don't work, teens with after-school jobs are  _  .

Choices:
- more likely to go to college
- usually doing better at school
- more willing to pay for their education
- able to find a better job after graduation

Question: Who does the author worry about most?

Choices:
- Teens who have trouble in balancing their study and work
- Teens who will face much stress when working part-time.
- Teens who have to learn to take responsibility for themselves.
- Teens who have to be independent without any work experience.

Question: The author's father advised him to   _  .

Choices:
- learn how to use money wisely
- earn money to get what he wants
- work hard to have a bright future
- take part in after-school activities

Question: The author's attitude towards teens having after-school jobs is  _  .

Choices:
- cautious
- unconcerned
- supportive
- negative


Most people know that awkward feeling when you step into an elevator with other people and try not to make eye contact.
But new research suggests it may be down to a subconscious power struggle being played out as you make your way up or down.
A study found that people decide where they stand based on a micro social grading, established within seconds of entering the lift.
Rebekah Rousi, a Ph.D. student in cognitive science, conducted an study of elevator behaviour in two of the tallest office buildings in Adelaide, Australia.
As part of her research, she took a total of 30 lift rides in the two buildings, and discovered there was an established order to where people tended stand.
In a blog, she writes that more senior men seemed to direct themselves towards the back of the elevator cabins.
She said: 'In front of them were younger men, and in front of them were women of all ages.'
She also noticed there was a difference in where people directed their stare half way through the ride.
Men watched the monitors , looked in the side mirrors (in one building) to see themselves, and in the door mirrors (of the other building) to also watch others.
'Women would watch the monitors and avoid eye contact with other users (unless in conversation) and the mirrors,' she writes.
The student concluded it could be that people who are shyer stand toward the front, where they can't see other passengers, whereas brave people stand in the back, where they have a view of everyone else.

Question: According to Rebekah Rousi, senior men intend to stand   _   of the elevator cabins.

Choices:
- in the front
- in the middle
- near the side mirrors
- at the back

Question: Why do women choose to stand in the front?

Choices:
- Because they are too shy to make eye contact with others.
- Because they can have a view of everyone else.
- Because they want to show their power.
- Because they want to watch the monitors.


Immigration is the act of coming to a foreign country to live. The act of leaving one's country to settle in another is called emigration. Immigrants who flee their country because of persecution, war, or such disasters as famines or epidemics are known as refugees or displaced persons. Most people find it very hard to pull up roots in their native land and move to a strange country. But throughout history, countless millions of people have done so. The heaviest immigration worldwide took place from the early 1800's to the Great Depression, the economic hard times of the 1930's. In that period, about 60 million people moved to a new land. Most came from Europe. More than half immigrated to the United States. Other destinations included Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Today, the availability of fast, safe, and cheap transportation helps make migration easier. Asia is replacing Europe as the major immigrant-sending area. The United States remains the chief receiving nation.
People abandon their homeland and move to another country for various reasons.
The main reason for immigration has long been economic opportunity----the desire for better land or a better job. During the 1800's, for example, the rich prairie land of the United States attracted many European farmers. Today, professional people commonly emigrate because of better opportunities elsewhere. Such emigration has sometimes been called brain drain. Many doctors and nurses and numerous engineers and scientists have moved to the United States.
Religious persecution has led many people to move to a new land for the freedom to practice their faith. Such immigrants include Jews expelled from England in the 1200's.
Wars, revolutions, and political unrest have driven innumerable people to find new homes. In the 1990's alone, millions of refugees fled from warfare in Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Iran, Uganda, Southeastern Asia, and Central America.
Some immigrants were brought to a new land against their will. From the 1500's to the 1800's Europeans shipped black Africans to the Western Hemisphere as slaves. The United Kingdom transported prisoners to Australia from the late 1700s to the 1860s to relieve over crowding in British jails. Before that time, the United Kingdom sent prisoners to the American colonies.
Immigrants have made enormous contributions to the culture and economy of such nations as Australia, Canada, New Zealand the United States. But their accomplishments have been made with great difficulty. At times, the United States, like many receiving countries, has restricted immigration to maintain a more homogeneous society in which all the people share the same ethnic, geographic, and cultural background. Although some immigration laws have been relaxed, many new comers of different backgrounds still face challenges in gaining acceptance.

Question: Most Immigrants to the United States in the nineteenth century came from   _  .

Choices:
- Europe
- Asia
- Australia
- South Africa

Question: There are altogether  _   reasons  of immigration listed in the passage.

Choices:
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5

Question: The main reason for immigration is   _  according to the passage.

Choices:
- slavery trade
- religious persecution
- economic opportunity
- political unrest


"Humans have a code of ethics  ," says Marc Bekoff, an animal behavior expert at the University of Colorado. " If I don't play in a certain way, you won't play with me. Some animals have the same code."
     Scientists recently discovered that animals that live in groups, such as elephants, foxes, and wolves, are especially likely to follow rules. If they don't, and each does its own thing, the group might break apart. Group members would be forced to live alone. Then they'd have a harder time hunting and raising their young.
    That's probably why a traveling wolf pack stopped and waited to let its slowly moving leader catch up. Similar social ties may have caused a captive elephant to save her friend from drowning. Selfish reasons certainly motivated the male fox, who wanted to keep playing.
Sometimes, though, animals go out of their way to do what's right, even when there's nothing in it for them. Nobody knows why. " It might simply feel good to be kind, just as it does for humans,"  says Bekoff.
     If your friend wasn't nice to you, what would you do? Maybe you would just walk away. That's exactly what a wild red fox did when she was play-boxing with another fox. The larger fox, a male, began pushing too hard. The little female didn't like fighting. She ran away quickly.
     " He still wanted to play," says Marc Bekoff. So the male fox ran after his playmate, bowed down, and rolled over. His body language meant, " Don't leave, I'll play nicely." The female gave him another chance, and the male wrestled more gently this time.

Question: Some animals living in groups are similar to humans in  _  .

Choices:
- feeling good about going out of their way
- playing with each other
- raising their young
- following certain rules

Question: Why are animals who live in groups especially likely to follow rules?

Choices:
- Because they can make an easier living in that way.
- Because they can have a harder time hunting in that way.
- Because they can keep playing with each other.
- Because they can save their friends from danger.

Question: It can be learned from the passage that  _  .

Choices:
- following rules makes it easy for animals to seek for mates
- some animals like to follow the examples of human beings
- some animals also have a code of ethics like human beings
- following rules is common behavior of all animals

Question: What's the main idea of the passage?

Choices:
- Humans have a code of ethics like some animals.
- Animals will follow certain rules in their group like humans.
- Scientists have made a great discovery about animals' behaviour.
- Animals go out of their way to do what's right.


On a hot summer day, a soft drink can really take away your thirst. At home, at school, in the park or at the movies---you can find one almost anywhere.
Carbonated
You can see bubbles  in these! Of all soft drinks sold, about 75 percent are carbonated . But be careful, carbonated soft drinks have lots of sugar and caffeine . Caffeine is not very good for you in the summer because it takes water out of your body. And the sugar can make you overweight if you drink too much.
Fruit juice
There are different kinds of juice. One kind is made only from fresh fruit. This kind of fruit juice may not taste sweet enough for some people, but it is nutritious . Another kind of fruit juice tastes good but has lots of sugar in it. Many young people buy this kind because the advertisements are good. It is bad for your teeth and bones to drink lots of this.
Energy drinks
These kinds of drinks have caffeine and things that make people get excited in them. They are sometimes called "party drinks". Doctors say that if you drink too much of this kind, you may have a heart attack.
Bottled water
We have lots of different kinds of bottled water, such as mineral water, purified water and distilled water . They are clean and easy to drink. But it is best not to drink very cold water. It may make your stomach feel bad.
Sports drinks
Most of these have funny names like "Scream " and "G-Vital ". They have lots of vitamins and minerals in them. After you play sports, you may want to drink one of these.
But if you just spend your summer holiday sitting around watching TV, you won't need them at all!

Question: Which two types of drinks may make you overweight?

Choices:
- Carbonated and fruit juice.
- Energy drinks and sports drinks.
- Carbonated and energy drinks.
- Fruit juice and bottled water.

Question: Which one may lead to your heart disease?

Choices:
- Carbonated.
- Fruit juice.
- Energy drinks.
- Sports drinks

Question: After sports, you have sports drinks because  _  .

Choices:
- they can take away your thirst
- they can put back minerals you've lost in sweat
- they have funny names that sound very exciting
- they have no sugar

Question: The writer wrote this passage to  _  .

Choices:
- warn us to keep away from soft drinks
- teach us some useful ways of keeping healthy
- tell us how to choose a good one from all kinds of drinks
- make the advertisements for soft drinks


Zoe, Damacela, 19, didn't have nice clothes when she was young. It wasn't easy for Zoe's hard-working single mother to make ends meet. They moved in and out of homeless shelters.
Everything changed for Zoe in grade nine. At that time, she heard about a sewing  class at her school. She signed up and couldn't wait to turn her designs into clothes. The color of the first dress she made was white-black strips. Soon the clothes she wore were all made by her. Other girls at school loved her designs too. They asked her if they could buy dresses from her. Zoe sold her first dress for $13. Unfortunately, it cost her $25 to make the dress. "I had the creativity in designs," says Zoe. "But I really had no idea about business."
Zoe kept selling the clothes she designed. Her business was booming, and even the girls who had ever teased her became her customers. In the eleventh grade, Zoe took a business class. She learned how to price her clothes so that she could be sure to make a fair profit.
Her business teacher suggested she take part in a contest for teenaged entrepreneurs  . The contest was for teens from all over the United States. Zoe sent in her business plan, which explained how she planned to make her company grow. She won the second prize in the end. Zoe 's success became a news item. Supermodel Tyra Banks heard about it and she invited Zoe to take part in her TV show. "Being recognized I felt really unreal,"says Zoe. Zoe has advice for teens who want to start their own business. "If you really work hard on it, you will be able to make it happen," she says. "If I can do it, anyone else can."

Question: We can learn that   _  when she was in grade nine.

Choices:
- Zoe had no interest in designing clothes
- Zoe seldom wore her self-made clothes
- Zoe didn' t know how to make money
- Zoe attended a business course

Question: After winning the contest, Zoe   _

Choices:
- considered it a reward
- expected to be known
- was proud of her own gift
- could hardly believe it

Question: Zoe advised the teens    _    .

Choices:
- to make efforts to achieve their dreams
- to design and make their own clothes
- to try every means to become famous
- to do whatever they would like to

Question: What is the main idea of the passage?

Choices:
- How Zoe learned to design clothes.
- A poor girl achieved success in business.
- How Zoe got a prize in a contest.
- A poor girl was invited to a TV show.


I was on vacation, and in my mind, vacation does not mean setting my hotel room alarm clock for 6 am. But when you're in Aruba and hoping to reserve a beachside palapa , that's exactly what you do.
Tourists begin lining up at the crack of dawn to secure these umbrella-like wood structures that are covered with dried and woven palm leaves. They then place towels on chairs and call them theirs for the day, whether they remain there or not. I knew nothing of _ on my first day in Aruba. I saw an empty chair covered with a towel and took it. It was a big mistake.
For many visitors, a week bathing in the sun is the only activity they wish to pursue. It sounded good to my girlfriend, Barbara, and me after Boston's awful winter. Six more inches of snow was predicted on the day we left. The sun, the sand, and the beach seemed just about right.
Aruba's slogan is "One Happy Island", and it doesn't take long to understand why. Aruba is said to be on "island time". Translation: No one is in a rush to do anything. When in Aruba, you go with the flow, however slow and lazy that might be.
Cooling trade winds, white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and dazzling sunsets are all good reasons to visit. But this 20-mile island offers more than lazy days walking on the beach. There is amazing night life, casinos, golf, scuba diving , fine dining, shopping, and a great national park.
But our first day was spent as you'd expect, swimming in the sea and enjoying cool drinks. Our drink of choice quickly became the Coco Loco. It's as refreshing as it sounds.

Question: Tourists get up at 6 am because they   _  .

Choices:
- want to see the sunrise early
- need to check out early
- want to have fun longer
- need to reserve a beachside palapa

Question: What did the author do on his first day there ?

Choices:
- He went shopping.
- He swam in the sea.
- He went scuba diving.
- He visited a national park.


In 1969 I was a young girl working in Toronto. I was from a small town in Ontario and had just moved to the big city about three months earlier. It was one week before Christmas and I was going home on the last streetcar of the evening.
   I remember looking at my paycheque  and asking myself how it was going to endure. At that time in my life I hardly had enough money to exist on. Bread for supper and oatmeal for breakfast was the only way I kept hunger at bay.
   I got off the streetcar and started walking up the street, when I suddenly noticed a man was running after me. I stopped, turned around, seeing that he was black. I  _ , "What do you want?" The man answered in a soft voice, "I am returning your wallet. You left it on the streetcar seat."
   Because of that man's thoughtfulness, I was allowed the comfort of going home by bus for the summer holidays. Otherwise, I would have stayed alone in my small room with a hog plate.
   I have never been so ashamed of myself, and that poor, kind man had to walk, who knows how far, home.
   I recognized immediately that this was wrong of me and it changed my ways forever.

Question: Why was the black man running after the writer?

Choices:
- To rob her.
- To scare her.
- To make friends with her.
- To return her wallet.

Question: What is the writer trying to tell her readers?

Choices:
- Never judge people by their appearance.
- She had been struggling to her success.
- She had changed a lot since that night.
- Being kind to strangers will pay back.


The college entrance exam is not only a big challenge   for Chinese high school students, but also a very important exam in the lives of South Korean students.
Although the long, cold winter has already started in South Korea, the annual   national exams have made the atmosphere very heated.
More than 675,000 South Korean high school graduates took the college entrance exam last Wednesday. They usually take exams in Korean, maths, sociology  , history and foreign languages.
Officially there is one college place for every 1.33 students. But because all the students want to go to the top universities in the country, the competition can reach one place for 10 students. The students want to attend these colleges for both their famous names and better job opportunities.
Because students face fierce competition, they have to study very hard to realize their dreams. Park Seung said he and his classmates often go to school before 7:30 a.m. After school has finished at 6:30 p.m., most of them go to the library to continue their study instead of returning home. Since many libraries in South Korea are open 24 hours a day, they often stay long into the night. Many of the Senior 3 students only sleep for three to four hours a day. "I feel a lot of pressure, but I have to study very hard in order to make my dream come true. This is my lifetime goal and it will be a turning point in my life which could decide my future," Park said.
The exam day is a very serious day for the whole of South Korea. Vehicles are not allowed within a 200-metre radius   of all the test sites to make sure the students have quiet surroundings. Tooting   of horns is forbidden, even airplanes are ordered to avoid landing and take-off near the test sites during listening comprehension test hours.
Students are told their scores in December before they apply for college. This is followed by face-to-face oral tests. There are public and private universities in South Korea. Many private universities are well-known, but their fees can be 18, 000 yuan each term. This has made a lot of students think again.

Question: What do we know about South Korean annual national exams?

Choices:
- Senior 3 students have to compete fiercely because there is only one place for 10 students.
- Senior 3 students have to stay long into night at school.
- Many of the Senior 3 students can't have enough sleep.
- Airplanes are ordered to avoid landing and take-off during national exams.

Question: We can infer that there are almost   _   college places for high school graduates.

Choices:
- 675, 000
- 507, 520
- 500, 000
- 600, 000

Question: The students want to study in top colleges mainly because   _  .

Choices:
- they can succeed more easily in future
- they can learn more
- they can make more money
- it is interesting to study there

Question: Before students are allowed to colleges   _  .

Choices:
- they will be interviewed
- they will ask questions of colleges
- they will not be tested any more
- first they will pay all the education fee at all


Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. Das is in charge of a kitchen in Vrindaban. The town is about a three-hour drive from India's capital, New Delhi. Das gets to work at 3:00 a.m. Thirty workers are already working to make tens of thousands of rounds of bread. It will be brought to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.
A Growing Problem
Going to school is difficult for more than 13 million children in India. They must go to work instead, or go hungry. That's why India began the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world. A free lunch encourages children to come to school and gives them the energy they need for learning. The program began in the 1960s.
The kitchen in Vrindaban is run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is one of the lunch program's biggest partners. "Just $11.50 can feed one child for an entire year," said Madhu Sridhar, president of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Lunch Is Served!
The Akshaya Patra food truck arrives at Gopalgarh Primary School. Since the program started, the number of underweight children has gone down. The children get foods they need -- as long as they finish what's on their plates.

Question: The kitchen in Vrindaban supplies food to   _  .

Choices:
- the poor
- the old
- college students
- school children

Question: Why is it difficult for children to go to school in India?

Choices:
- Because there are not enough teachers.
- Because there are not enough schools.
- Because they have to work to make money.
- Because their parents refuse to send them to school.

Question: Which of the following about the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is NOT true?

Choices:
- It is run by Narasimha Das.
- It has been carried out for about 50 years.
- It is to encourage children to go to school.
- It is the largest school-lunch program in the world.


One day about 30 years ago, a 2 year-old Chinese boy in Shenyang was watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon on TV. Tom the cat began to play the piano. The music was to beautiful that the boy fell in love with it at once. This little boy was Lang Lang - one of today's great pianists.
Lang Lang began to play the piano at 3. By the age of 5, the had won fist place in Shenyang's piano competition and performed his first public recital . People were shocked by his perfect performance and thought he was a real talent. From that time on, playing on the global stage became the dream of Lang Lang and his parents.
To help him much closer to his dream, when Lang was 9, his father quit his job and went with Lang to Beijing to help his son study piano. There, Lang did not receive the praise that he had received at home, and he experienced the hardest time of his life.   "I was kicked out of the class by my piano teacher six months later. It totally destroyed my piano dream," Lang said in an interview. Hearing of his son's failure, Lang's father was so angry and upset that told Lang Lang to go back to Shenyang. Feeling hopeless and in pain, Lang tried to damage his fingers. He hated piano!
Luckily, another teacher noticed Lang's sadness and encouraged him. Success came soon. Lang's breakthrough came at age 17, when he gained worldwide fame at a well-known concert in 1999 in Chicago, US.

Question: When did Lang Lang perform his first public recital?

Choices:
- In 1989
- In 1987
- In 1999
- In 1990

Question: When did Lang Lang and his father come to Beijing?

Choices:
- To hold more concerts
- To perform on the global stage
- To find a good job
- To realize his dream

Question: What happened to Lang Lang when he was in Bejing?

Choices:
- He got more praises from others
- He damaged his hands.
- He had difficulty in making progress
- He lost his talent in piano


Taiwanese fishing boats that sailed to the Diaoyu Islands to protest Japan's "purchase" of part of the islands completed their voyage Tuesday morning and have set sail for home.
Local media reported that the boats finished their protest at 9:15 a.m. and are expected to return to a port in northeast Taiwan's Yilan county at noon Wednesday.
Although the boats originally numbered 75,they were joined at sea by other boats from different parts of Taiwan, raising the total number to about 100 vessels. Organizers said the voyage was made to protect Taiwanese fishing rights in nearby waters and to protest Japan's "purchase" of part of the Diaoyu Islands.
The Japanese government announced a plan to "purchase" part of the islands earlier this month despite repeated protests from the Chinese government. The action aroused demonstrations across China as well as consumers' boycott of Japanese products in recent weeks. Local authorities in Taiwan have also protested the move.
"Japan's purchase and nationalization of China's Diaoyu Islands are putting China-Japan economic and trade ties at risk due to man-made factors." An official spokesman from Beijing warned .
China-Japan economic and trade relations was back on track in 1952 when the two countries signed their first non-governmental trade agreement. Currently, China has been Japan's largest trade partner since 2007 while Japan is China's fourth largest trade partner, after the EU, U.S. and the ASEAN. Meanwhile, China is the biggest destination for Japanese exports and biggest source of imports. In the first half of 2012, Japan's exports to China totaled 73.54 billion U.S. dollars, down 6.2 percent from the same period last year, while its import from China was 91.29 billion U.S. dollars, up 7 percent from the same period last year.
Now, China-Japan economic and trade relations are at a crossroads. Negotiation could be the way out of the rift.

Question: Why are China-Japan economic and trade relations at a crossroads?

Choices:
- Because Taiwan fishing boats sailed to the island to protest Japan.
- Because Taiwanese are deprived of their fishing right.
- Because Japan is not China's largest trade partner.
- Because Japan announced to purchase China's Diaoyu Islands.

Question: We can infer from the passage that   _  .

Choices:
- About 100 boats joined the original team later.
- Negotiation will bring both countries out of the conflict.
- Japan's exports to China totaled 78 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.
- Japan's "purchase" has cast a shadow on China-Japan export and import.

Question: What is the main idea of this passage?

Choices:
- Japan declared to purchase China's Diaoyu Islands.
- Japan's purchase of Diaoyu Islands aroused nationwide protest.
- The Diaoyu Islands belong to China!
- China plays an important part in Japan's economy development.


Security Services advise that there have been robberies reported in the East Oxford area, carried out by a group and involving threats of and showing of a knife.The victims have all been young males of student age and appearance who have been walking alone between 7 pm and the early hours of the morning.Some of the victims have been followed from the O2 and the Regal Hotel.
The Crime Prevention Advisor offers the following advice:
*If possible walk home in a group, not on your own.If someone tries to take something from you by force, it may be best to give it to them, this way it will avoid you getting injured.
              *If someone tries to follow you, make for a public place, such as a shop or a restaurant or walk towards other people.Make lots of noise and use your personal alarm to shock the person and use this opportunity to make your escape.If you need to use your mobile phone on route go into a shop or stand with your back to a shop window and constantly survey the area around you.Keep the conversation short and to the point and try not to be too obvious doing it.
*Walk with confidence and look as though you're on a mission.Keep your head up and while you should look ahead to avoid unnecessary conflicts, such as a group of young men a-head of you, you should also be aware of everything around you.Whenever possible use well lit and busy streets and definitely avoid alleyways, wasteland and other quiet short cuts.
If you have any information relating to these crimes, please call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or call Thames Valley Police on 101 for non-emergency reporting.

Question: What is mainly described in the text?

Choices:
- A kind of security service.
- How to prevent the crime.
- How to fight for the crime.
- Safety on the streets at nights.

Question: The O2 is the name of   _  .

Choices:
- a gas
- a stadium
- a city
- a magazine

Question: Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

Choices:
- Call Thames Valley Police on 101 when reporting an emergency.
- The victims are all young students walking home alone at night.
- Better give what you take to robbers when robbed of something.
- Choose quiet short cuts and you'll avoid being robbed successfully.

Question: Where does this text probably come from?

Choices:
- Traffic regulations.
- An advertisement.
- A news report.
- A university website.


My father never wanted his children to know what he did for a living.Dad worked in Plant C.Lying beside lake Erie,  it saw him in at sunrise and out at nightfall.Sometimes my mother would take my siblings  and me to the public beach in our hometown of Ashtabula.she'd gather us round.and point to the smokestacks,  coughing clouds into the sky.
"Wave to daddy!" she'd shout.  Four little hands would shoot into the air. I never knew what Dad did in Plant C,  but during 34 years of hard work,  he had surgery  on his shoulder and hand.  At 48,  he had his first heart attack. He retired in 1993,  right after the last kid graduated from college.But the damage was done.A few years later,  the next heart attack killed him.
I saw my dad in Plant C only once,  when l took dinner to him. That night,  I looked at my father,  covered in sweat and coal,  and for the first time I knew why he was so often angry for no reason
Recently my father' s friend, Toby Workman, walked me there.I knew my father never wanted me to see it.At every station, he described the job and the danger.It was like listening to a foreign language.I walked past many DANGER signs.Toby put his hand on my shoulder. "Look," he said,  "you need to understand something.Your dad was a maintenance mechanic.He worked the most dangerous job.If something broke, he fixed it. "
A few days later, my daughter graduated from college.I gave her the hard hat Toby handed to me as I left,  and this note:  " Whenever you feel something difficult,  put this on, Look in the mirror,  and remember your roots. "

Question: Which of the following is TRUE of the facts about the author's father?

Choices:
- He didn't suffer a heart attack until he retired
- He worked in Plant C for 48 years in all.
- He was satisfied with his job.
- He always faced danger while working.

Question: When Toby Workman described the author' s father' s job,  the author  _  .

Choices:
- felt familiar with the job
- felt much puzzled
- wanted to learn a foreign language
- decided to do the same work

Question: The author gave her daughter the hat to hope that her daughter cold  _  .

Choices:
- remember her grandfather
- overcome all difficulties by wearing it
- get encouraged by her grandfather
- follow her grandfather' s work


November not only marks the publication of Toni Morrison's eagerly anticipated  eighth novel, Love, but it is also the tenth anniversary of her Nobel Prize for Literature. Morrison is the first black woman to receive a Nobel, and so honored before her in literature are only two black men:Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian playwright, poet and novelist, in 1986; and Derek Walcott, the Caribbean-born poet, in 1992. But Morrison is also the first and only American-born Nobel prizewinner for literature since 1962, the year novelist John Steinbeck received the award.
Like Song of Solomon, Love is a multigenerational story, revealing the personal and communal Legacy  of an outstanding black family. As Morrison scholars will tell you, Love is the third volume of a literary master's trilogy investigating the many complexities of love. This trilogy began with Beloved(1988), which deals with a black mother's love under slavery and in freedom. Jazzy(1993), the second volume, tells a story of romantic love in 1920s Harlem. This latest novel looks back from the 1970s to the 1940s and 50s.
The emotional center of Love is Bill Cosey, the former owner and host of the shabby Cosey's Hotel and Resort in Silk, North Carolina, described in the novel as "the best and best-known vacation sport for colored folk on the East Coast." We get to know Cosey through the memories of five women who survive and love him: his granddaughter, his widow, two former employees, and a homeless young girl.
The latest novel, Love, had been described in the promotional material from her publisher as "Morrison's most accessible work since Song of Solomon." This comparison to her third novel, published in 1977, was an effective selling point.

Question: What would be the best title for the text?

Choices:
- Toni Morrison's latest novels
- Toni Morrison and her trilogy
- Toni Morrison and her novel Love
- Toni Morrison, the Nobel prizewinner

Question: What can we learn about John Steinbeck?

Choices:
- He was a black writer.
- He was born in America.
- He received the Nobel Prize after Morrison
- He was the first American novelist to win a Nobel

Question: The similarity between Love and Song of Solomon is that they both   _  .

Choices:
- belong to the same trilogy together with Beloved
- concern families of more than one generation
- deal with life of blacks under slavery
- investigate life in 1920s Harlem

Question: The novel Love mainly describes   _  .

Choices:
- the best-known vacation spot for blacks
- the life of an outstanding black family under slavery
- the miserable experience of the five women in Harlem
- the memories of five women about Bill Cosey


Dear residents of Molten,
    We can't keep silent in the current wild situation when prices for all existing products are skyrocketing unbelievably. The enormous figures on price tags for food products have caused a real panic. We've perfectly realized that, and that's why we have kept bread prices affordable for all this time.
    At the moment all our reserves are exhausted. Stocks of bread-baking ingredients   such as flour, sugar, butter and the like are running out. To buy what we need at reasonable prices is virtually impossible today.
    However, we all need bread every day, which means we will be forced to buy everything we need at much higher prices.
    The cost of bread closely depends on ingredients. Another financial crisis  has led to a 300-percent increase of prices for butter, vegetable oil and others as of September 1. All these prices continue to grow every hour.
    We have to take any possible measures which will help Figaro contain the growth of prices for its products. Despite of our SOS signal, no measures have been taken as yet. We have found ourselves in the same situation as any of you. We see the situation changing steadily for the worse. We will not cope with that alone.
    Because of this, Figaro came to the critical point where it is necessary to raise prices of its products. We see one recourse (way): raise the bread price minimally and cancel our free plastic bag service. But what is next? This is the concern of all the 700 employees and the board of Figaro.
    Every extra cent in the cost of bread upsets you and us very much. Making our sincere apologies for a forced increase of the bread price, we hope for your understanding and support. Today and tomorrow we are with you, as usual.
The staff and board of Figaro

Question: Figaro is   _  .

Choices:
- a farm
- a bakery
- a businessman
- a government department

Question: In this open letter Figaro explains to the people of Molten that   _  .

Choices:
- they can no longer supply bread
- the price of bread will be three times as high
- they need their help in holding down prices
- it will have to close down

Question: A possible solution to the crisis, what Figaro suggests is   _  .

Choices:
- to use ingredients of a lower quality and lower energy prices
- to use shopping bags less
- to urge people to eat less bread
- to have the bread price raised to a certain level

Question: We can infer from the passage that   _  .

Choices:
- bread may end up as an article that many people can no longer afford
- the local people have responded positively to recent SOS messages from Figaro
- bread may become less tasty in recent months
- the government has a tradition of helping out local businesses in difficult times


Your children's teacher will be providing extra time for test preparation. This school year's test will be held on January 8 and 9. The test preparation time is open to all students, and we strongly encourage your children to attend.
This year we are changing the time for our test preparation: it will be on Thursday mornings from 8:10 to 8:50. This helps children who ride the bus and cannot stay for the after-school period. It also helps avoid conflicts with after-school activities.
Danielle and Marina will be working with the recent new test takers 6 days on the following Thursdays: 15th, Nov; 29th, Nov; 6th, Dec; 13th, Dec.; 20th, Dec. and 3rd, Jan.
Besides the test preparation lectures on these dates, teachers are already putting test preparation into their usual courses. We are finding that we can help our students to be both skillful and whole-hearted readers and test takers -- after all, we all know that the best test preparation is good reading and writing training.
What can you do at home? Again, the best and most effective test preparation for the ELA test is reading and more reading. The research is quite clear -- students who do well in the tests are those who are good readers. Reading not only builds reading ability, it also helps build confidence -- important for successful test taking! But do discourage your children from spending too much time on books that are too hard or even a bit too hard. Children best develop comprehension skills when they are reading books just right for them (too easy doesn't hurt here either).
Finally, on Friday, December 7, we will have a morning lecture on the ELA. Please pay attention!

Question: The text is mainly about   _  .

Choices:
- how teachers will provide more time for test preparation
- the reason why time for test preparation will be changed
- how teachers have put test preparation into their usual courses
- test preparation information that parents should know about

Question: The time for test preparation has been changed to   _  .

Choices:
- make it more convenient for the students to attend
- help the new test-takers have more time to read
- avoid disagreement in time between different years of students
- avoid conflicts between preparation time and the usual courses

Question: From the passage, we know that   _  .

Choices:
- Danielle will help students prepare for different tests
- the school year test will be on a Tuesday
- all the children must take part in the test preparation
- the students can learn how to write well in the test preparation

Question: Parents should   _   at home.

Choices:
- prepare good meals for their children
- read more books with their children
- ask their children not to spend too much time on reading
- encourage their children to read more books fit for them

Question: Why did the school encourage all the students to take part in the test preparation?

Choices:
- Test preparation is what they always do.
- The students will learn what will be included in the final exam.
- Test preparation helps students to be more interested in reading and confident.
- The test is a long way off and there are better things to do.


On October 12, 1989, some Chinese scientists were working at the computers to look for information they needed. Suddenly they saw a lot of very bright spots crossing the computers's screens. At the same time the computers were working much slower. To find out what was happening they stopped their work to check some parts of the computers. To their horror, they found out that most of their stored information was got rid of by computer viruses ! Obviously all these computers had been infected by computer viruses.
It is said that the computer viruses were made by a group of young men fond of playing tricks. They all had excellent education. They created the viruses just to show their intelligence . These kinds of computer viruses are named Jerusalem Viruses. These viruses can stay in computers for a long time. When the time comes they will attack the computers by lowering the functions , damaging their normal programs or even getting rid of all the information.
We now come to know that Jerusalem Viruses often attack computers on Fridays and that they are spreading to a lot of computers. Among the countries that suffered computer viruses last year are Britain, Australia, Switzerland and the U.S. But fill now , how to get rid of the terrible viruses remains a problem.

Question: The group of young men created the virus to  _  .

Choices:
- damage the computers
- test their ability
- tell the world that they were intelligent
- play a trick on operators of the computers

Question: According to the passage, computer viruses seem to  _  .

Choices:
- have been in nature for years
- exist in any computers
- be difficult to get rid of at present
- be able to be got rid of in the near future

Question: The most serious damage caused by the viruses is that  _  .

Choices:
- the computer's functions are lowered
- the normal programs are damaged
- all the information stored in the computers is gone
- the computers infected by the viruses can no longer be used


Nick Vujicic was born with no arms or legs, but he doesn't let this stop him.
         The brave 26-year-old man plays football and golf, and swims, in spite of the fact that he has no arms or legs.
         Nick has a small foot on his left side, which helps him balance and makes him able to kick. He uses his one foot to type, write with a pen and pick things up.
         "I call it my chicken drumstick  ," joked Nick, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, but now lives in Los Angeles. "I'd be lost without it. When I get in the water I float because 80 percent of my body is lungs and my drumstick acts as a propeller  ."
         "He's very modest, but he gets marriage proposals   from women all the time," said Nick's friend Steve Appel.
         "He would love to get married and start a family, but he's waiting for the right girl to come along."
         When Nick was born his father was so shocked that he left the hospital room. His  _ mother couldn't bring herself to hold him until he was four months old.
         His disability came without any medical explanation, which was a rare case. Nick and his parents spent many years asking why this cruel trick would happen to them.
         "My mother was a nurse and she did everything right during pregnancy but she still blamed herself," he said.
         "It was so hard for them, but right from the start they did their best to make me independent. My dad put me in the water at 18 months and gave me the courage to learn how to swim."

Question: We can learn from the text that Nick   _  .

Choices:
- has a poor sense of balance
- understands his mother very well
- considers his small foot ugly
- is disappointed with his health condition

Question: What can we learn from what Steve Appel said?

Choices:
- Nick Vujicic is serious about his marriage.
- Nick Vujicic is not popular with women.
- Nick Vujicic is afraid of starting a family.
- Nick Vujicic is not willing to get married.

Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Choices:
- Nick's parents couldn't afford the hospital bill.
- Nick is living in Melbourne, Australia now.
- Nick's father was to blame for his disability.
- Nick learned to be independent at a young age.


Is it possible to persuade mankind to live without war? War is an ancient institution,-which has existed for at least six thousand years.It was always bad and usually foolish, but in the past human race managed to live with it.Modern inventiveness has changed this.Either man will end war, or war will end man.For the present, it is nuclear weapons that cause the most serious danger, but bacteriological or chemical weapons may, before Iong, offer an even greater threat.If we succeed in ending nuclear weapons, our work will not be done.It will never be done until we have succeeded in ending war.To do  _ , we need to persuade mankind to look upon international questions in a new way, not as contests of force, in which the victory goes to the side which is most skillful in kiting people, but by agreement with principles of law.It is not easy to, change very old mental habits, but this is what must be attempted.
There are those who say that the adoption of this or that ideology(,)would prevent war.I believe this to be a big error.All ideologies are based upon dogmatic statements that are, at best, doubtful, and at worst, totally false.Their adherents (,)  believe in them so fanatically
that they are willing to go to war in support of them.
The movement of world opinion during the past few years has been very largely such as we can welcome.It has become a commonplace that nuclear war must be avoided.Of course very difficult problems remain in the world, but the spirit in which they are being approached is a better one than it was some years ago.It has begun to be thought, even by the powerful men who decide whether we shall live or die, that negotiations should reach agreements even if both sides do not find these agreements wholly satisfactory.It has begun to be understood that the important conflict nowadays is not between different countries, but between man and the atom bomb.

Question: In the sentence "To do this, we need to persuade mankind" (Para l), "this" refers to  _

Choices:
- abolish war
- improve weapons
- solve international problems
- live a peaceful life


Most people consider skydiving   a product of the 20th century, but its history actually goes further back than that. The Chinese attempted to parachute   in the 10th century, a thousand years before we did. The Chinese did what we would today call base diving; that is, they jumped off a place that would allow them to float from a height to the ground.
The first person to attempt to parachute was a Frenchman named Jacques Garnerin. He jumped from his hot-air balloon at the end of the 18th century and did tricks on the way down and _ the crowds by landing safely on the ground. At the end of the 19th century, Kathie Paulus, a brave German woman, became famous for her skydiving skills.
Once the airplane was invented, skydiving took on a whole new form. The airplane made it possible to dive from greater heights at greater speeds, allowing for more range in the movements in the air. A woman named Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to jump from a plane in 1913 and dive free fall in 1914.
Skydiving was not called skydiving until the middle of the 1950s, when Ronald Young invented the word. It had been called parachuting before this and was mainly used by the military   to land troops in inland locations, or for pilots to jump out of their planes when necessary. Once World War I was over, parachuting became a sport, which we now call skydiving.
After World War II, this activity became more a hobby than a military action. Soldiers were trained in parachuting and enjoyed the thrill so much that they continued on for fun. From this, teams and competitions were formed. Skydiving schools appeared in the late 1950s and now it is a recognized extreme sport enjoyed by many.

Question: Who was the first woman to jump from a plane?

Choices:
- Jacques Garnerin.
- Kathie Paulus.
- Tiny Broadwick.
- Ronald Young.

Question: Which of the following is TRUE?

Choices:
- The Chinese attempted different skydiving skills in the 10th century.
- Skydiving became popular after the airplane was invented.
- The word skydiving was first used in a military action.
- There were no skydiving schools until the late 1950s.

Question: What can we infer from the passage?

Choices:
- Skydiving is not a military action any more.
- Kathie Paulus is famous for her skydiving skills.
- The first person who parachuted was from Germany.
- The history of skydiving is longer than that of parachuting.

Question: What would be the best title for this text?

Choices:
- The history of skydiving
- The popularity of skydiving
- What is skydiving?
- Why is skydiving an extreme sport?


One day a student went to see his teacher. He had been given an important position and now was coming to say goodbye to his teacher. The old man asked him how he would live among high officials. The student answered, " I will be all right. I have prepared a hundred high hats, one for each official I will meet. I am sure I will succeed." The teacher got angry on hearing this.  "What?" he cried. "Is this what ten years of my teaching has made of you? Nothing but flatterer ?" "Excuse me, honored  master," the student  rose to his feet and apologized hurriedly. "But you have always been absorbed in  your studies and don't know how vulgar  the world has come to be. There are few men in the world who are above flatterers like you." "There is something true in what you said," the teacher nodded, smiling with one of the student's "high hats" on.

Question: The student came to say goodbye to his teacher because  _  .

Choices:
- he had got hundred hats to sell
- he had got a fairly high position in society
- he wanted to see his parents in his home town
- he moved away to another city

Question: The student would live among high officials by  _  .

Choices:
- selling hats to them
- making a hundred hats for them
- flattering them
- serving them

Question: The teacher was angry with  _  .

Choices:
- himself
- the society
- his student
- high officials

Question: The phrase "rose to his feet" means  _  .

Choices:
- stood up
- kicked with his feet
- became quite excited
- raised his feet

Question: The teacher  _  .

Choices:
- liked to be flattered as well
- really knew nothing about the vulgar world
- was in need of a high hat
- was satisfied with the new hat


Have you ever tried broccoli ice cream? That's what Oliver serves his customers in the new movie Oliver's Organic Ice Cream.
The one-minute film was created by kids. A film is a movie. The young students learned their moviemaking skills at the Jacob Burns Film Center. The center is in Pleasantville, New York. Kids who go there learn how to make movies and music videos.
The character Oliver and his treats are animated. In an animated movie, objects, such as ice cream and paper dolls, appear to be alive or moving.
Animated movies are made up of hundreds of pictures. It takes 15 pictures to make just one second of film. To make a movie that lasts one minute, students need to take about 900 frames. A frame is a picture.
Animation expert Joe Summerhays teaches kids the steps to shoot a movie. He says what they learn behind the scenes, however, also counts. Students create their films in small groups. They have to agree on every decision.
 " The benefit of the class is less animation and more problem-solving," Summerhays said. "It's all about teamwork."
About 4,000 kids have made movies at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Mikey Price, 11, of Briarcliff Manor, New York, is one of them. "I'm actually making a real movie," he said. "It's an adventure."

Question: We can infer that Oliver is probably a(n)   _  .

Choices:
- moviemaker
- movie character
- farmer
- animation expert

Question: What is the most important thing students learn by making a movie?

Choices:
- The steps to shoot a movie.
- The skills in drawing pictures.
- The way of working with others.
- The importance of animation.

Question: If Jim wants to make a 5 minutes animated movie, he needs to take about   _  .

Choices:
- 10 pictures
- 15 pictures
- 900 pictures
- 4500 pictures

Question: What would be the best title for the passage?

Choices:
- Movie magic
- Organic ice cream
- Jacob Burns Film Center
- One-minute film


NEW ORLEANS --A two-story, 1,500-ton and 16,000-square foot school built in 1879 is being moved about 300 yards to make way for the new University Medical Center in MidCity.
The school' s relocation is marked as the largest structure ever to be moved in Louisiana and one of the top-ten heaviest in America.Officials originally had planned to  _ the McDonogh No.11 School, but agreed to move the historic building at the city's request.
The school is being moved on a platform of steel beams put under the schoolhouse floor, then set on 38 remote-controlled power dollies made mobile by 300 tires.The school is creeping forward on a short stay that will take about two days to move it about 300 yards.
State officials said the operation shows how closely the state and city leaders are working topreserve history.
" We' re looking to the future and building for the future, and building something new.We're also honoring the past and trying to save something historic," said Michael Diresto with the Division of Administration for the state of Louisiana.
Christian Cancienne, president and CEO of Orleans Shoring, said the feat of this endeavor is something a person rarely sees.
"When we heard about the opportunity to move a building this size, we knew that there was never a building moved this size in the state of Louisiana," he said."We knew that because of the oak trees and neutral ground and the narrow streets, we may never get the opportunity in our hometown again to do something like this.
Cancienne said the cost of the huge project weighs in at $350,000, but he' s not making any profit from the move.Cancienne said his team wanted to do the project for free because of the once in a lifetime opportunity."When my guys heard that this opportunity was here, they said, 'Let' s do it for free.We got to get it.No one else can do it.' And, so, we said let's just cover our cost so we bid it at $ 350,000."
Cancienne' s company is used to moving homes across the city, but is happy to partake in the monumental task of moving a historic landmark.The building won' t remain at its current destination on Banks Street, though.It will eventually move to its permanent location once that has been determined.

Question: The purpose of the school relocation is   _  .

Choices:
- to show the generosity of the city government
- to form a bigger education company
- to leave room for a new project
- to build a new museum for education

Question: Cancienne and his team made no money from the project because   _  .

Choices:
- it' s a chance for them to do something for the state
- the company is famous for doing volunteer work
- the state is short of money to cover the cost
- it' s easy for them to complete the project


An old friend from California called from the airport to tell me that he had arrived. I was not able to leave the office, but I had made plans for his arrival. After explaining   where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat  . Since I knew it would be pretty late before I could get home, I suggested that he make himself at home and help himself to anything that was in the refrigerator .
Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said, he was listening to some of my records after having had a delicious meal. Now, he said, he was drinking a glass of orange juice. When I asked him if he had had any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat, but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next door neighbor's house!

Question: An old friend of mine called   _  .

Choices:
- to tell me to meet him at the airport
- to tell me about his arrival
- to ask me to leave the office
- to ask me to make plans for his arrival

Question: My friend climbed into the room because   _   .

Choices:
- there was an apple tree outside
- the living room window was left open
- he had difficulty opening the door
- he hadn't found the key

Question: My friend telephoned me two hours later   _   .

Choices:
- from my home
- at the airport
- in his office
- from my neighbor's house


One of my wonderful memories is about a Chrismas gift . Unlike other gifts,it came
Wrap .
On September 11th ,1958,Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital,she put him in my lap ,saying,"I promised you a gift ,and here it is." What an honor!I Turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own.I played with It day and night .Isang to it .I told it stories .I told it over and over how much I loved it!
   One morning ,however,I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! Icried for it.Mum and Told me that the poor little thing bad been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days I Heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless","pitiful",and "dying",which sounded  Ominous.

Chistmas was coming . "Don't expect any present this year ,"Dad said ,pointing at the socks I hung in the living room ."If your baby brother lives ,that'll be Christmas engouh." As he spoke ,his eyes filled with tears .I'd never seen him cry before .
The phone rang early on Christmas moning . Dad jumped out of bed to answer it From my bedroom I heard him say ,"What? He's all rght?" He hung up and shouted upstairs ."The hospital said we can bring Richard home !"
 "Thank God !" I heard Mum cry .
From the upstairs window,I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them happy.And I was also full of joy.What a wonderful day!My baby doll would be home.I  downstairs. My sccks still hung there flat.But I knew they were not empty; they were filled w  love!

Question: Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christrmas was coming?

Choices:
- Excitement.
- Happiness.
- Sadness.
- Disappointment.


Think of London and you're likely to think of the city's famous bright red double-deckers buses. Think of Thailand's capital city, Bangkok, and the noisy tuk-tuk ( ) may come to mind. Picture the American city of San Francisco and you might see the city's trolleybuses.
Imagining what these cities would look like without their red buses, tuk-tuks or trolleybuses is difficult. They are symbols of these cities that make them different from anywhere else in the world. However, these city symbols, which are so loved by tourists, are not always so well loved by their city leaders. City leaders want what is best for their city, which often means the most modern transport.
In Thailand, Bangkok city authorities have forbidden new tuk-tuks because they consider them noisy and polluting. However, the ban has largely been unsuccessful, as it has not changed Thai people's preference for the inexpensive tuk-tuks over taxis.
In London, the city's first ever mayor got rid of the red double-decker buses, which he thought were old-fashioned, by selling them to other countries. His plan worked, but Londoners were upset to lose the charming old buses they believed represented the best of their city. They made their upset felt, when the major came up for re-election last year. Most Londoners voted for his competitor who promised to bring the bus back. Now an improved version of the double--decker bus will hit London's streets in 2012..
As for San Francisco, several trolleybuses remain in use but mainly as tourist attractions. They are too slow to be used for anything other than scenic trips.
City transport symbols may have a place in their city people's hearts, but it seems they are increasingly out of step with the modern world. As Londoners have proved, their continued life depends on people's willingness to fight for their survival.

Question: Bangkok's ban on tul-tuks is unsuccessful due to   _  .

Choices:
- people's unawareness of environmental protection
- tourists' preference for tuk-tuks over taxis
- the lack of severe punishment for violation
- Locals' willingness to take the tuk-tuks

Question: The London double-decker bus is returning mainly because   _  .

Choices:
- it is an improved version
- the new mayor also loves it
- it is popular with tourists
- Londoners fought for it

Question: We can conclude from reading the passage that   _  .

Choices:
- tourist cities will lose their charm if their old transport symbols disappear
- a modern city should get rid of inefficient old transport
- old city transport symbols now face the problem of survival
- the writer is in favor of keeping the old city transport symbols


Do you love Beats headphones, True Religion jeans, and UGG shoes? These are some of the most popular brands   around. They are also expensive. But some experts say they are not much better than cheaper brands.
For example, Jim Wilcox works for Consumer Reports. He tested all kinds of headphones. He says that $80 Koss Pro headphones provide basically the same quality   and comfort as Beats. So why do people pay twice or even 10 times as much for the hottest brands?
Experts say it's because fashionable, expensive brands send a message. Brands say "I belong" or "I can afford it."
Some people think that expensive brand names are worth the price. They say that some designer clothes really are top quality and that they last longer than cheaper brands. Some teenagers choose to wear popular brands because these brands make them feel good about themselves.
Alexandra Allam, 17, likes to buy brand-name products. "I'd rather spend the extra money to get something I know I'll be satisfied with," she says. Her friend Emmy Swan agrees, saying "As long as you can afford it, it seems reasonable to buy what you want." But not all teenagers agree. "Spending hundreds of dollars for designer sunglasses is stupid and unreasonable," says Daniel Steinbrecher, 16. "It's fake   happiness."
People who are against wearing expensive brand names say that many designer brands aren't any better. "It's wasteful to buy things just because they are popular," says Edmund Williams, 15. "You'll feel better if you buy things because you like them. If you have extra money to spend, it would be better to give it to people in need."

Question: The example of Jim's report wants to tell us   _  .

Choices:
- popular brands make people comfortable
- Koss Pro headphones are better than Beats
- the hottest brands are of the highest quality
- less-known brands may offer the same quality as name brands

Question: Who have the same opinion on expensive brands?

Choices:
- Alexandra & Daniel
- Emmy & Edmund.
- Emmy & Alexandra.
- Daniel & Emmy.

Question: What does Edmund think of expensive brands?

Choices:
- They are not worth the price.
- They make him feel confident.
- They need to improve their quality.
- They pay too much attention to personal likes.

Question: The text is mainly about   _  .

Choices:
- how to buy things reasonably
- the competition between brands
- the different values of teenagers
- whether expensive brands are worth high prices


There is an English saying: "Laughter is best medicine." Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter really can improve people's health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercises. It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing. It also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated  the pain for the longest time was the groups which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which _ both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those who are caused by laughter.

Question: The main idea of the passage is   _  .

Choices:
- laughter and physical exercises have similar effects.
- smile can produce the same effects as laughter
- pain can be reduced by laughter
- laughter is best medicine

Question: Doctors hold laughter clinics   _  .

Choices:
- to give better condition to their patients
- in order to improve patients' health
- to make patients smile all the time
- to prove smile and laughter have the same effect


Scientists are developing the next generation of robot-driven cars and predict they could be carrying humans around by the year 2030.
   The first wave of intelligent robot cars, capable of understanding and reacting to the world around them, will be tested this November in a competition run by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
   Scientists are developing vehicles which will not only be driven by robots independently, but will be able to operate in a complicated city environment. "In the past it was  _ for a vehicle just to perceive the environment," said Sebastian Thrun, a professor at Stanford University.
  "The new challenge will be to understand the environment. The robot must be able to recognize another car, to understand that it is moving and that it will interact with it as it gets closer."  Stanford's entrant  "Junior" is a changed 2006 Volkswagen Passat whose steering, throttle   and brakes all have been modified by engineers.
   Lasers fitted on the car bumpers, radar and global positioning systems feed data into the on-board computer to determine its location and position. Thrun predicted that advances in artificial intelligence would lead to driverless cars on the roads by 2030.
  "Today they can drive about 100 miles, by 2010 I expect this to go 1,000 miles, by 2020 up to a million miles," he said. "By 2030 you'll be able to see them on the highway, with driving reliability that will beat humans."
   "We believe this technology will affect all of us. It is going to have enormous significance for people who can't drive because of disabilities or because they are ill or impaired." Thrun said he believed robot-driven vehicles would be deployed in war zones before they were seen in everyday civilian environments.

Question: Compared with the old robot-driven cars, the new ones   _  .

Choices:
- can understand orders from humans
- can perceive the environment dearly
- are modified to be completely computer-controllable
- not only can understand the environment but also can react to it

Question: According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true about "Junior"?

Choices:
- Some of its parts have been modified by engineers.
- It is controlled by a robot or a computer.
- It was invented by Sebastian Thrun.
- It is valuable.


About 10 years ago, I started a job as a trainer for a telemarketing agency.In one of my first classes, the head trainer told a very inspiring story.
He began by drawing a stickman standing in the middle of a circle.To make it more interesting, he drew things like a house, a car, and a few friends inside the circle.
He asked the question, "Can anyone tell me what this is?" In a long silence, one guy decided to throw out "the world?" The trainer said, "That's close and this is your Comfort Zone.Inside your circle you have all the things that are important to you."
"Your home, your family, your friends, and your job.People feel that inside this circle they are safe from any danger or conflict."
"Can anyone tell me what happens when you step out of this circle?" A strong silence came over the room.The same eager guy abruptly announced, "You are afraid."
Another guy said, "You make mistakes." The silence continued and the trainer smiled and said, "When you make mistakes, what can the result be?"
         The first guy shouted, "You learn something."
"Exactly, you are learning." The trainer turned to the board and drew an arrow pointing from the stickman directly to the outside of the circle.He continued to say, "When you leave your Comfort Zone you put yourself out there, in front of the world to be in situations that you are not comfortable with."
"The end result is that you have learned something that you did not know and you expand your knowledge to become a better person." He turned again to the board and drew a bigger circle around the original circle, and added a few new things like more friends, a bigger house, etc.
"The moral of the story is that if you stay inside your Comfort Zone, you will never be able to expand your horizons and learn.When you step out of your Comfort Zone you will eventually make your circle bigger and your mind grow stronger, and all in all a better person."

Question: According to the passage, the Comfort Zone is   _  .

Choices:
- a place where we can enjoy a lot of amusement
- a person who can offer us some comfort and protect us
- a state in which we feel all safe and right with the world
- a circle which we don't dare to get out of

Question: Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Choices:
- If we move beyond the Comfort Zone, our anxiety level will go up.
- When we step out of the Comfort Zone, we must feel excited.
- We don't need to leave our Comfort Zone if we really want to grow.
- We are all still in our Comfort Zone when making new friends.

Question: Why does the author tell us the story?

Choices:
- To build up our interpersonal skills.
- To make us work better as a team.
- To provide us some working activities.
- To motivate us to step out for a better world.


Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.
There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime , it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food.What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as _ them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

Question: According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

Choices:
- Those who often take exercise.
- Those who often watch television.
- Those who often have meals at home.
- Those who often walk to school.

Question: The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because

Choices:
- their parents often cook meals for them
- they are too busy to go out and play
- they can' t choose what to eat
- there are too many fast food shops around

Question: The main purpose of the text is to   _  .

Choices:
- tell a story
- provide facts
- give advice
- compare opinions


Why does a large education nation like China have so few world renowned scientists as the US? Educationists from China and the US try to find out the answer to questions like this at a forum on the basic education strategy.
The forum, held recently, was jointly organized by the Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education in China and the Postgraduate School of the University of Pennsylvania in the US. It aims to find out similarities and differences that exist between two countries in their educational system.
While some educationists in China keep a doubtful eye to the country's educational system in recent years. Their American counterparts give a positive answer to the basic education in China, saying that it is still one of the best in the world.
An American educationist told reporters that the basic education in the US was criticized in recent years due to its political tendency. On the contrary, Chinese government's stress on basic education and qualified teachers has set a good example.
At primary and middle school, pupils in China did better in math and science lessons than the US pupils. However, few grow to be world "masters". Why? Educationists attributed this to China's stress on examination rather than students' interest.
Deputy Director of the postgraduate school of Pennsylvania University said American teachers encouraged students to focus on their strong points. In China, students are driven to study to pass the entrance examination test and they do not pay much attention to their own interest.
At the forum, director of the Education Development Research Center Mr. Zhang said in the future, the research center would make its middle and long-term basic education strategy by taking some references from other countries including the US.
He also revealed that for a long time in the future, China would make a breakthrough in setting the policy for quality education.

Question: This passage is mainly about   _  .

Choices:
- quality education development in the future
- why China's education cultivates few world masters
- China's good basic education
- genius education at the primary stage

Question: The following statements are true EXCEPT that   _

Choices:
- basic education in the US is associated with the government's political interest.
- the forum aims to find out the reason why there few world masters in China.
- all the educationists in China cast doubts in the country's educational system.
- Chinese government's stress on basic education is spoken highly of.

Question: China's educational system will   _   in the future.

Choices:
- help students to study even harder to pass the examination
- apply more attention to quality education referring to systems of other countries
- allow students to pay more attention to their own interest without their test results
- copy the educational system in the US


In 1905, as part of his Special Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein published the point that a large amount of energy could be released from a small amount of matter. This was expressed by the equation E = mc2. But bombs were not what Einstein had in mind when he published this equation.
In 1929, he publicly declared that if a war broke out he would "refuse to do war service, direct or indirect...." His position would change in 1933, as the result of Adolf Hitler's coming into power in Germany.
Einstein's greatest role in the invention of the atomic bomb was signing a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt urging that the bomb be built because some physicists feared that Germany might be working on an atomic bomb. Among those concerned were physicists Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner. But they had no influence with those in power. So in July 1939 they explained the problem to someone who did: Albert Einstein. After talking with Einstein, in August 1939 Szilard wrote a letter to President Roosevelt with Einstein's signature on it, which was delivered to Roosevelt in October 1939.
Germany had invaded Poland the previous month, the time was ripe for action. That October research of a-bomb began but proceeded slowly because the invention of the atomic bomb seemed distant and unlikely. In April 1940 an Einstein letter, ghost-written by Szilard, pressed the researchers on the need for "greater speed".
As the realization of nuclear weapons grew near, Einstein looked beyond the current war to future problems that such weapons could bring. He wrote to his friend about his fear about the future use of the a-bomb.
The atomic bombings of Japan occurred three months after Germany gave in.
In November 1954, five months before his death, Einstein summarized his feelings about his role in the creation of the atomic bomb: "I made one great mistake in my life...when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification---the danger that the Germans would make them?

Question: What can we learn about Szilard and Wigner?

Choices:
- They were not as influential as Einstein.
- They had cheated their friend Einstein.
- They were to blame for the invention of nuclear weapons.
- They had a purpose of destroying the world.

Question: Einstein realized his mistake in   _  .

Choices:
- co-operating with his workmates
- inventing the atomic bomb
- publishing his equation
- signing the letter to Roosevelt

Question: We can conclude that Einstein   _  .

Choices:
- assisted with the invention of atomic bomb
- directly participated in the invention of the atomic bomb
- was not involved in the invention of atomic bomb at all
- contributed to the invention of atomic bomb

Question: Please decide the order of the following events according to the passage.

Choices:
- c,e,a,f,b,d
- a,e,b,d,f,c
- e,c,a,f,d,b
- e,c,b,f,a,d

Question: The best title for the passage would be   _  .

Choices:
- A Story of Albert Einstein
- Albert Einstein and the Atomic Bomb
- It was Unfair for Einstein
- How the Atomic Bomb was Invented


Thanks a Million, Dad
I was born disabled.A difficult birth, feet first, my head stuck.By my first birthday, I couldn't stand or walk.
When I was three, the doctor told dad I had cerebral palsy  .A loss of oxygen to my brain had destroyed brain signals to the right side of my body.
But no son of my dad' s was going to be disabled.Every morning before breakfast and every evening before bed, my dad placed me on the bedroom floor to exercise my right leg.The muscles were shrunk and twisted together.Back and forth up and down, my dad pushed and pulled the muscles into shape.
But my dad' s exercise of passion didn't stop there.For my 13th birthday, he threw me a special party.When everybody was gone, he brought me to open a large box, it was a-set of boxing gloves.We put them on.My dad kept on beating me mercilessly.Each time I tried to get up, leather kissed my nose, eyes and jaw.I "begged him to stop. He said he beat me to get me ready for the tough world.
That same year, I was the only kid in my neighborhood that wasn't picked for Little League. Two weeks later.Dad started the Shedd Park Minor League, and every kid played.Dad coached us and made me a pitcher  .
The power of my dad' s love guaranteed I walked and more.In high school, I became a football star.
In 1997, a brain surgeon in San Jose told me I didn't t have cerebral palsy after all.He explained how and where the doctor' s forceps   at birth had damaged my brain.
My dad never knew the whole truth since he passed away years ago.But all that counts is the bottom line.After all his madness, on this Father' s Day, like every Father' s Day, I' m no longer disabled.

Question: What caused the author' s disability?

Choices:
- A failed operation.
- The doctor's forceps.
- An accident in a game.
- Shrunken and twisted muscles.

Question: What do we learn from the passage?

Choices:
- The author has a talent for boxing.
- The author achieved a lot thanks to his father' s love.
- The author became a baseball star with the help of his father.
- The author doesn't think his father should be so strict with him.

Question: The author wrote the passage to   _  .

Choices:
- remember his father
- encourage disabled children
- show the difficulty the disabled face
- give advice to the parents of disabled children


This is an excerpt from a speech by Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, delivered to graduates of Stanford University on June 12, 2005.
I was lucky -- I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation -- the Macintosh -- a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired.
How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions  of the future began to diverge(to be different) and eventually we had _ . When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was destructive.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down. I even thought about running away from the valley . But something slowly began to dawn on me -- I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated  feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Question: Which of the following is TRUE about Apple?

Choices:
- It rejected one of its founders when he turned 30.
- It once fell apart due to different visions of the future.
- NeXT became its parent company and made a great comeback.
- It has survived after it had a destructive blow.

Question: Steve Jobs probably values   _   most according to his speech.

Choices:
- patience
- faith
- inspiration
- luck