Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage（勇气）to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write. Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. |
| C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
| A．at the age of 6 | B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother's death | D．in her secondary school |
She felt disappointed on the train because_________.
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn't have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us_________.
| A．adversity makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement helps one succeed |
A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside. It was dark and raining. Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift. “I can't leave her out in this weather.” the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door. “Do you want a lift?” she asked. The old woman nodded and climbed into the car. After a while, she said to the old woman, “Have you been waiting for a long time?” The old woman shook her head, “Strange.” thought the young woman. She tried again, “Bad weather for the time of year,” she said. The old woman nodded. No matter what the young woman said, the hitchhiker(搭车者) gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug.
Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker's hands, which were large and hairy. Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car. “I can't see out of the rear screen,” she said, “Would you mind clearing it for me?”
The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door. As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off.
When she got to the next village she pulled up. She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind. She picked it up and opened it. She gave a gasp(喘息), inside the bag was a gun.What made the young woman feel strange about the old woman?
| A．That she gave no answer to her questions. |
| B．That she was unable to speak. |
| C．That she kept nodding her head |
| D．That she had large and hairy hands. |
A "lift" in the passage means ___________.
| A．an elevator |
| B．an act of raising something |
| C．a ride in the car |
| D．help |
The hitchhiker left the bag with a gun in it behind because ____.
| A．he wanted to give her a warning |
| B．he had not expected that the woman would leave him behind in the rain |
| C．it was his present for her |
| D．he wanted to kill her with the gun |
Why did the young woman driver suddenly feel the hitchhiker was a man when she talked to the woman?
| A．The woman only nodded her head, but no words |
| B．She noticed the hitchhiker's hands, which were large and hairy. |
| C．Because it was dark and raining |
| D．Because she found the gun in the woman’s handbag. |
When he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain turned to Hannibal. The relationship between Hannibal and Twain began in November 1839, when Twain’s father decided to leave the village in Florida and move east about 35 miles to the somewhat larger and more prosperous Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Twain marked his fourth birthday about a week after the family settled there. He showed little promise of becoming a long-term resident. However, because his health was so poor that his parents probably feared he would not survive childhood.
During the family’s first few years in Hannibal, Twain was too young to understand fully the changes going on around him. About the time the family moved into their new home. Twain’s health improved a lot. Instead of having to lead a quiet indoor life, he could roam the streets of Hannibal. Climb the surrounding hills, explore the area’s caves and splash about in local swimming holes. He reveled in his newfound freedom, spending nearly all his free time playing outdoors with the other boys in town and soon becoming a leader.
Twain’s carefree days did not last long, on March 24, 1847, his father died. For the next six years, his brother Henry, and his sister Pamela lived with their mother in the family home. Twain began taking odd jobs after school to bring in extra money. Within a year of his father’s death, he quit school and became an apprentice (学徒) printer, and when his brother Orion bought the Hannibal Journal in 1851, Twain went to work for him as a printer and editorial assistant. The stories he wrote for Orion’s paper, his first publications, taught him that he much preferred writing to typesetting. Thus, when he decided to leave Hannibal in May 1853, he already had an idea of his future career. Why did little Mark Twain move and live in Hannibal?
| A．Because he wanted to live in a larger and more prosperous city. |
| B．Because his father brought him there. |
| C．Because he wanted to wrote his novels there. |
| D．Because he wanted to become a long-term resident of Hannibal. |
When did Mark Twain become healthy?
| A．As soon as he arrived in Hannibal. |
| B．At the time when his family moved into their old home. |
| C．After his father died. |
| D．At the time when his family moved into their new home. |
The last paragraph mainly tells us _________.
| A．the happy childhood of Mark Twain |
| B．how Mark Twain became a famous writer |
| C．how Mark Twain to earn money to support his family |
| D．why Mark decided to leave Hannibal |
Most people know that Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first person to win it twice. However, few people know that she was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.
Born in September, 1897, Irene Curie was the first of the Curies’ two daughters. Along with nine other children whose parents were also famous scholars, Irene studied in their own school, and her mother was one of the teachers. She finished her high school education at the College of Sévigné in Paris.
Irene entered the University of Paris in 1914 to prepare for a degree in mathematics and physics. When World War I began, Irene went to help her mother, who was using X-ray facilities（设备） to help save the lives of wounded soldiers. Irene continued the work by developing X-ray facilities in military hospitals in France and Belgrum. Her services were recognized in the form of a Military’s Medal by the French government.
In 1918, Irene became her mother’s assistant at the Curie Institute. In December 1924, Frederic Joliot joined the Institute, and Irene taught him the techniques required for his work. They soon fell in love and were married in 1926. Their daughter Helene was born in 1927 and their son Pierre five years later.
Like her mother, Irene combined family and career. Like her mother, Irene was awarded a Nobel Prize, along with her husband, in 1935. Unfortunately, also like her mother, she developed leukemia because of her work with radioactivity（辐射能）. Irene Joliot-Curie died from leukemia （白血病）on March 17, 1956.Why was Irene Curie awarded a Military Medal?
| A．Because she received a degree in mathematics. |
| B．Because she contributed to saving the wounded. |
| C．Because she won the Nobel Prize with Frederic. |
| D．Because she worked as a helper to her mother. |
Where did Irene Curie meet her husband Frederio joliot?
| A．At the Curie Institute. |
| B．At the University of Paris. |
| C．At a military hospital. |
| D．At the College of Sevigne. |
When was the second child of Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot born?
| A．In 1932. | B．In 1927. | C．In 1897. | D．In 1926. |
In which of the following aspects was Irene Cuire different from her mother?
| A．Irene worked with radioactivity. |
| B．Irene combined family and career. |
| C．Irene won the Nobel Prize once |
| D．Irene died from leukemia. |
As a boy, Mark Twain caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play practical jokes on all his friends and neighbors. The nature of his jokes often led to violence (暴力). He hated to go to school and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi. He liked to sit on the bank of the river for hours at a time and just gaze at the mysterious island and the passing boats. He learned many things about the river during those days. He learned all about its history and unusual people. He later made them part of the history of America in the book Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain received his genius (天才) from his mother. Obviously he didn’t get it from his father. He once stated that he had never seen a smile on his father’s face. On the other hand, his mother had the ability to say humorous things. The same ability made Mark Twain an extremely humorous public speaker.According to the passage, Mark Twain was a _______ boy.
| A．shy | B．brave | C．naughty(调皮的) | D．poor |
Because of the nature of his jokes when he was a child, Mark Twain would _______.
| A．ran away form school |
| B．cause his parents to quarrel with others |
| C．get into trouble with his friends and neighbors |
| D．like to sit on the bank of the Mississippi River |
It can be learned form the passage that ______.
| A．Mark Twain’s father was a cruel man |
| B．Mark Twain never attended school on time |
| C．Mark Twain often went boating in the nearby river |
| D．Mark Twain’s mother was something of a humorist |
In his book Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain wrote much about _______.
| A．the Mississippi and the people living on it |
| B．his friends and neighbors |
| C．his school life |
| D．his parents |
It is inferred that what affected Mark Twain’s character mostly was _______ .
| A．his practical jokes |
| B．his father’s seriousness |
| C．the history of the Mississippi |
| D．his mother’s genius for humor |
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(缝纫) 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 (企业家). 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.”We can learn that ______when she was in grade nine.
| A．Zoe had no interest in designing clothes |
| B．Zoe seldom wore her self-made clothes |
| C．Zoe didn' t know how to make money |
| D．Zoe attended a business course |
After winning the contest, Zoe ______
| A．considered it a reward |
| B．expected to be known |
| C．was proud of her own gift |
| D．could hardly believe it |
Zoe advised the teens ______ .
| A．to make efforts to achieve their dreams |
| B．to design and make their own clothes |
| C．to try every means to become famous |
| D．to do whatever they would like to |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How Zoe learned to design clothes. |
| B．A poor girl achieved success in business. |
| C．How Zoe got a prize in a contest. |
| D．A poor girl was invited to a TV show. |
I came to study in the United States a year ago. Yet I did not know the American society until I was injured in a car accident. After the accident, I had to see a doctor and go to court. When the accident happened, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and decided to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He said he had good reason to charge me and that if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me to find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.
But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report only contained ten lines, and it cost me $215.
My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to fire him. And he made me pay him $770.
Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Because of my inexperience, I told the insurance the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time … and I left without getting a cent.
My experiences taught me two things about America: firstly, in a country like America, money is everything. It is more important than friendship, honor or professional morality; secondly, foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about America, we should see both its advantages and disadvantages. The author’s roommate offered to help him because ________.
| A．he felt sorry for the author. |
| B．he thought it was a chance to make some money |
| C．he knew the doctor was a very good one |
| D．he wanted the author to have a good lawyer |
A good lawyer is important for the author to _______.
| A．be properly treated |
| B．talk with the person responsible for the accident |
| C．recover before he leaves America |
| D．eventually get the responsible party to pay for his injury |
Which of the following statements is wrong according to the passage?
| A．The author has learned a lot through the experience. |
| B．Everything about America is advantageous. |
| C．The author’s roommate helped him but charged for that. |
| D．The author’s final examination report only contained ten lines but cost $215. |
What conclusion can you draw from this story?
| A．Going to court is something very common in America. |
| B．One must be very careful while driving a car. |
| C．There are more disadvantages in America than advantages. |
| D．Money is more important than other things in the US. |
Where was I? The room was dark and quiet. My head hurt really badly. I shouted, “Help! Help! Can anybody help me?”
After a while somebody came in. The room was so dark that I couldn’t see his face clearly. The man turned on the light and said with a sharp voice, “Ah! Sweetie, do you still remember who I am?” I was shocked. Oh, my God! I cried, “You are Michael Zey, the man I charged with murder! Why are you here? You should be in prison!”
“You never thought about the result of charging a gang（犯罪团伙） leader, did you? Because of you, I was in prison for 15 years. You ruined my life!” His voice was very cold. My face was pale with fear. He was here to take revenge（报复）!
“Please, let me go! Don't hurt me! Please!” I asked him. “Dr. Calment, you are smart enough to know it is impossible. Now, I give you two choices. One is shooting your head. It is the quickest way. The other is cremation（火葬）. Your husband and you will be together forever. It’s quite romantic. Don't you think?” He spoke angrily. “What? My husband? He is innocent!” I shouted at him.
Suddenly, he took hold of my head and said, “You will pay for what you have done to me.” He took out a gun from his bag.
“Help! Help! Can anybody help me?”What might have happened to the writer before the man came in?
| A．She had taken his place and become a gang leader. |
| B．She had come to this place to see her husband. |
| C．She wanted to pay for what she had done to Michael Zey. |
| D．She had been beaten terribly. |
Which of the following words can best describe how the writer felt when the story happened?
| A．Surprised. | B．Terrified. | C．Amazed. | D．Puzzled. |
What does the underlined word “it” in the fourth paragraph refer to?
| A．To let her go. | B．To hurt her. |
| C．To take revenge. | D．To stay in prison. |
Michael Zey mentioned the writer’s husband because ______.
| A．he thought her husband was guilty |
| B．he thought it was romantic |
| C．he thought her husband was innocent |
| D．he wanted to frighten the writer |
The Danish (丹麦) architect of the iconic Sydney Opera House, Jorn Utzon, has died at the age of 90, after suffering a heart attack.
Mr. Utzon, an award-winning architect, put "Denmark on the world map with his great talent," said Danish Culture Minister Carina Christensen. Having won a competition in 1957 to design the building, he left the project before it opened in 1973. Mr. Utzon never visited the completed landmark, after disputes about costs. He had quarreled with the Australian client and the costs overran by 1,000%. Even decades later, he declined invitations to return to Australia, but did design, with his son, a new wing which opened in 2006. In 1998 he said, "It's part of education–I can't be bitter about anything in life." 
Most of the interior（内部）of the opera house was not completed according to his plans after government-appointed architects took over the job.
The Sydney Opera House planned to dim the lights on the sail-shaped roof on Sunday to mark Mr. Utzon's death.
The chairman of Sydney Opera House Trust, Kim Williams, said, "Jorn Utzon was an architectural and creative genius who gave Australia and the world a great gift. Sydney Opera House is core to our national cultural identity and a source of great pride to all Australians. It has become the most globally recognized symbol of our country."
Mr. Utzon also designed the National Assembly of Kuwait and several prominent buildings in Denmark.
Danish Minister of Culture Carina Christensen paid tribute to him, saying, "Jorn Utzon will be remembered as one of the Danes who in the 20th century put Denmark on the world map with his great talent."
Mr. Utzon won several international awards, including the Alvar Aalto Medal for architecture and France's Legion of Honour.
In 2003 he won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize for his design of the opera house. Which of the following is true about Mr. Jorn Utzon?
| A．He was born in Demark and worked in Australia. |
| B．He left Australia before his design was completed. |
| C．He refused to go back to visit the Opera House all his life. |
| D．He disagreed with the government client on the building materials. |
From the above passage we may NOT know ______.
| A．what Mr. Utzon has contributed to the world |
| B．the exact time of Mr. Utzon’s birth and death |
| C．whether he had a family or not |
| D．when Opera House was completed |
What did the Opera House plan to do to mark its designer’s death?
| A．A memorial party would be held on Sunday. |
| B．Another award would be given out to Mr. Utzon’s son. |
| C．The lights on the roof of Opera House would become less bright. |
| D．Another wing would be designed to remember Mr. Utzon. |
The most proper title of the above passage might be ______.
| A．Sydney Opera House architect dies |
| B．Life of Mr. Utzon, a Great architect |
| C．Designer and builder of Opera House |
| D．Awards of the Opera House Architect |
That summer I drank every day, everywhere I went. I had a bottle in my drawer next to me and a bottle next to my bed. I never did another drug, but I drank so much that my family finally asked a priest for help. My father gave me a bottle of medicine for alcoholism that produces unpleasant symptoms when users drink alcohol. I drank while taking it, which made me very sick. And I still drank.
When the priest came, he said, "Jimmy, doctors said that with your diseases and the amount of drinking you’re doing, you’d be lucky to live another six months. So your choice is either to stop drinking and live or to continue drinking and die within six months.”
I said, "I know I can't stop, so guess I'll have to die." The priest told my family what I said. My little brother–who is like my soul mate, looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "But we don't want you to die." All I could think of was how desperately I had to get out of that room at that moment and have a drink.
But I finally stopped drinking. I was on the care team of my dentist Russell. A lot of people in New York knew him. At the time he was the most famous dentist in the city. He drank heavily and was also with AIDS, so I was selected to be on his care team. Everybody on the team was sober (清醒) but me. He went through dementia (痴呆) and died so quickly before my eyes. I stopped drinking and I’ve been with the disease for 35 years now. Why did the author’s father give him the bottle of medicine?
| A．He wanted him to cure his illness. |
| B．He was trying to keep him dying. |
| C．He thought the medicine could make him sick. |
| D．He believed it could prevent him drinking. |
What did the priest mean by saying to the author “…you’d be lucky to live another six months” in the second paragraph?
| A．The author would die after six weeks. |
| B．The author was too lucky to live for six months. |
| C．The author could hardly live for six months. |
| D．The author’s luck was only six months. |
How did the author stop drinking?
| A．The dentist Russell helped him to stop it. |
| B．He was persuaded by the dentist Russell’s death. |
| C．His care team managed to inspire him. |
| D．His little brother’s soul saved him. |
What can we learn from the above story?
| A．Drinking heavily increases AIDS patients’ illness. |
| B．Priests can cure many AIDS patients’ illnesses. |
| C．Drug taking and heavily drinking can cure AIDS patients. |
| D．Team work and patience can cure AIDS patients. |
One night, a little before nine o’clock, Dr Johnson was answering a telephone call. He was asked to go and give an operation to a very sick boy at once. The boy was in a small hospital in Glens Falls, sixty miles away from Dr Johnson’s city – Albany. The boy had hurt himself in a traffic accident. His wife was in danger, but his family was so poor that they could not pay the doctor anything. After he heard all this, Dr Johnson was driving carefully. He thought that he could get to the hospital before 12 o’clock. A few minutes later, the doctor’s car had to stop for a red light at a crossing. Suddenly a man in an old black coat opened the door of the car and got in.
“Drive on”, he said. “I’ve got a gun (枪).”
“I’m a doctor,” said Johnson, “I’m on my way to a hospital to operate on a very sick…”
“Don’t talk,” said the man in the old black coat, “Just drive.”
A mile out of the town he ordered the doctor to stop the car and get out. Then the man drove on down the road. The doctor stood for a moment in the snow. After half an hour, Dr Johnson found a telephone and called a taxi. At the railway station he learned that the next train to Glens Falls would not leave until 12 o’clock.
It was after two o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Glens Falls. Miss Clarke, a nurse, was waiting for him.
“I did my best,” said Dr Johnson. Miss Clarke said, “The boy died an hour ago.”
They walked into the waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat, with his head in his hands.
“Mr. Shute,” said Miss Clarke to the man, “this is Dr Johnson. He had come all the way from Albany to try to save your boy.” From the story we know it took Dr Johnson _________ to get to the hospital.
| A．12 hours | B．7 hours | C．only 1 hour | D．about 5 hours |
Dr Johnson was late because __________.
| A．there was something wrong with his car |
| B．a strange man made it hard to drive |
| C．a strange man drove his car away |
| D．the train to Glens Falls was late |
The man in a black coat __________.
| A．hit the boy and ran away |
| B．took the boy to the hospital |
| C．was the boy’s father |
| D．was the real doctor |
The man in black would feel __________ in the end.
| A．happy and pleased | B．regretful(悔恨) and sad |
| C．worried and angry | D．tired and hungry |
Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel(剥……的皮) potatoes. I have only one hand.”
Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.
That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.
“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow(肘). Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”
For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint. I peeked(窥视) out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf（利益）. She had never let me see her tears. Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?
| A．Cruel. | B．Serious. |
| C．Cold. | D．Strict |
What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply(暗示)?
| A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it. |
| B．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up. |
| C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher. |
| D．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity. |
When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open because _________.
| A．they felt sorry for what they had done before |
| B．they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt |
| C．they were astonished to find the author’s progress |
| D．they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars |
The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.
| A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep |
| B．the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own |
| C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph |
| D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth |
My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.
For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess（承认）to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog that my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me. What is the main subject of the passage?
| A．The relationship between Mark and Steve. |
| B．The important lesson Mark learned in school |
| C．Steve’s important role in mark’s growing process. |
| D．Mark and Steve’s respect for living things. |
It can be inferred from the passage that when Mark confessed to Mrs. Holt, __________.
| A．he felt surprised | B．he was light-hearted |
| C．he felt frightened | D．he knelt before her |
In the story about the pen, which of the following lessons did Steve teach his brother?
| A．Respect for personal property. |
| B．Respect for life. |
| C．Sympathy for people with problems. |
| D．The value of honesty. |
According to the writer, which was the most important lesson Steve taught his young brother?
| A．Respect for living things. |
| B．Responsibility for one’s actions. |
| C．The value of the honesty. |
| D．Care for the property of others. |
Which of the follow is true according to the passage?
| A．Mark was still a boy when he wrote this passage. |
| B．Mark lost the small dog his father carved somewhere. |
| C．When a living thing hurts you, you should kill it. |
| D．Even if a living thing hurts you, you should not kill it without hesitation. |
“Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. There was full of thick smoke.
I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.
I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly.
She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby. When the fire arose in the middle of the night, the author was _______.
| A．at home | B．sleeping | C．sitting in bed | D．both A and B |
The author saved the baby _____.
| A．because he was very brave. |
| B．because he liked the baby very much. |
| C．but he just happened to save it. |
| D．because it was the Mayor’s baby. |
He ran in the wrong direction because he _______.
| A．was a stranger there | B．could see nothing |
| C．was not completely awake | D．Both A and C |
He put the bundle over his face and ran in order to ______.
| A．save the baby | B．call for help |
| C．protect his face | D．run quickly |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity（逆境）. But it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage（勇气）to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, began writing at age 6. Her good friend-Sean became the first person to encourage her and help her build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition（志向） to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to（注定）be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Though there were many difficulties, Rowling continued her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until l990 that she first came up with the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls（回忆）, it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that “the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my great disappointment, I didn't have a pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details came up in my brain, and this thin, black-haired, bespectacled（戴眼镜的）boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother died after a ten-year fight with serious diseases, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with depression（诊断患有抑郁症）. Unemployed, she finished her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being refused by l2 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her friend’s encouragement as well as her ambition to write. Who believed J. K. Rowling was to be a good writer?
| A．Her friend Sean. | B．Her mother. |
| C．Her daughter. | D．Her husband. |
Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
| A．at the age of 6 |
| B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother's death |
| D．in her secondary school |
She felt disappointed on the train because_________.
| A．her train was delayed for four hours |
| B．she didn't have a pen with her |
| C．her mind suddenly went blank |
| D．no one would offer her help |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is_________.
| A．open-minded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．good-natured | D．strong-willed |
The text mainly tells us_________.
| A．adversity makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement helps one succeed |
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