Learn a second language
There was once a young mouse that lived in a hole in a wall. One day, the young mouse woke up from his sleep and looked out of the hole. As he looked out, a fantastic smell came to his nose. “Cheese!” the mouse said happily to himself. “I’ll go and get it now and have it for breakfast.”
But then he remembered his parents’ words. His parents were very clever mice and often said to their son, “Always wait before you go for a piece of cheese.”
So the young mouse waited quietly. Then he heard a quiet “Miaow” and he knew the cat was there. He stayed in the hole and said to himself, “I’m glad I listened to my parents and learned to wait.”
The next day, he looked out again. He put his nose out of the hole, and the beautiful smell of cheese came to his nose again. He could see the cheese. It was only a few centimetres away. But he sat still and waited quietly. This time he did not hear any cat noises. Instead he heard a very quiet “Woof, woof.”
“It’s a dog!” he thought. “If the dog is there, the cat won’t be there. I expect the dog has chased the cat away, so I’m safe.” The mouse ran out of the hole and started eating the cheese. He did not see the cat, which caught him and ate him.
When the cat finished her meal, she said to herself, “I’m glad I listened to my parents and learned a second language.”
【小題1】Who told the mouse to wait before going for a piece of cheese?

A．The cat.	B．The dog.
C．The cat’s parents.	D．The mouse’s parents.

【小題2】How did the young mouse know the cat was there?

A．He heard the cat.	B．He saw the cat.
C．He smelt the cat.	D．He knew the cat.

【小題3】What was the cat’s meal?

A．The mouse’s parents.	B．The cheese.
C．The young mouse.	D．The fish.

【小題4】 Which language did the cat learn as a second language?

A．English.

B．Chinese.

C．Dog language.

D．Mouse language.

【小題5】Which of the following sentences is Not True according to the passage?

A．The young mouse lived in a hole in a wall.

B．The next day the mouse didn’t hear any cat noises.

C．The cat pretended to be a dog by making the noise “woof”.

D．The mouse’s parents told their daughter to wait before going for a piece of cheese.

One day, I went to see my last patient(病人), an old woman. In the doorway, I saw she was struggling (掙扎) to put socks on her swollen (浮腫)feet in the bed. I stepped in, spoke quickly to the nurse, read her chart noting. I was almost in the clear that she was not in serious condition.
I asked, “Could I help put on your socks? How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high but they're better today. The nurse mentioned you're anxious to see your son. He's visiting you today. It's nice to have a family visit. I think you really look forward to seeing him."
"Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not yours." She said with a serious voice.
I was surprised as I helped her with the socks. She told me that her only son lived around the corner from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that was the main cause of her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are simple. Some have a beginning, middle and end; others don’t have clear ends. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard — without interruption(打斷) or judgment(評(píng)價(jià)).
It was that woman who taught me the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in an unexpected accident, I became a patient. 20 years later, I sit all the time — in a wheelchair.
For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair. I believe in the power of listening.
【小題1】 How was the old woman?

A．Her feet were swollen.	B．Her sugars were high.
C．She was not badly ill.	D．Her blood pressure was better.

【小題2】How did the doctor know that the old woman’s son was visiting her? 

A．The nurse told him.	B．The old woman told him.
C．The woman’s son told him.	D．The doctor got it from her chart noting.

【小題3】What did the old woman think caused her health problems?

A．Her son’s not seeing her.	B．No one listening to her story.
C．The medical care of the hospital.	D．The distance between her and her son.

【小題4】When the patient told the doctor her stories, what she needed might be ______.

A．keeping smiling	B．interruption or judgment
C．listening without interruption	D．communicating with each other

【小題5】Which statement is NOT right according to the passage?

A．Her son lived close to her house.

B．The old woman didn’t need the doctor’s treatments.

C．Listening is powerful medicine.

D．The doctor has to “walk” with the help of a wheel chair.

Many years ago, when I was working as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Lisa. The poor little girl had a very serious disease(疾病)and was dying. The doctor had done his best but no medicine really worked. The only chance to save her seemed to be a blood transfusion(輸血)from her five-year-old brother. The little boy had the same disease before and had developed the antibodies(抗體)to fight the illness.
The doctor talked to the little boy about what they planned to do, and asked him if he would like to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate(遲疑) for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I’ll do it if it can save Lisa."
As the transfusion was going on, the little boy lay quietly in bed next to his sister. He looked at her and smiled all the time. When everything was done and the color returned to his sister’s face, his smile disappeared and he looked a little afraid. He looked up at the doctor and asked, "Will I start to die now?"
He was too young to understand the doctor. He thought he would have to give all his blood to his sister, but he agreed.
【小題1】What happened to the little girl named Lisa later?

A．She died of a very serious disease.

B．She got better with the antibodies from her brother.

C．She lost her little brother.

D．The transfusion failed and her illness got worse.

【小題2】How did the five-year-old boy understand the doctor’s plan?

A．He thought he was going to lose all his blood.

B．He thought he was going to be killed.

C．He thought he was going to die together with his sister.

D．He thought he was going to die when he was older.

【小題3】What did the boy feel when the doctor talked to him about the transfusion?

A．He was unhappy to help his sister.

B．He was so afraid that he refused to do anything.

C．He was worried about his sister.

D．He was willing to give his blood.

【小題4】 The writer still remembers the story after many years ______.

A．because the little girl had a very strange disease

B．because the sister and brother had the same disease

C．because the doctor saved the little girl’s life

D．because of what the boy did for his sister

My class will put on a short play in English at the end of the year. Yesterday our English teacher gave us copies of the play.
“Choose a character in the play whom you’d like to be, ”she told us. “This afternoon learn a few lines of this part for homework. Then tomorrow you can say those lines in front of the class. Ill decide who play each part.”
I wanted to have one of the bigger parts in the play, so I choose the part of the king. He has a lot of lines to say. I learned them by heart.
This morning in our English lesson we had to say our lines. I acted the part of the king. When I said my lines, I put a lot of expression into my acting. I thought I acted really well.
Everyone in the class read a part and then the teacher who would play each part.
Many of the students in my class couldn’t act at all. They couldn’t even read without making lots of mistakes. I was sure that I would get a big part in the play.
However, the teacher gave me the part of a soldier. He has only one line. It is, “Yes, sir!”
I was very disappointed. At the end of the lesson I went up to her and asked her why I had such a small part.
“You put too much expression in your acting,” she said. “Good acting is not big acting. It is acting the audience can believe in.”
I think I know what she means.
【小題1】 What did the boy want to do in the play?

A．To get a morning eating part
B．To organize the play
C．To get a large acting part.	D．To work the lights.

【小題2】How did the boy feel when the teacher told the class they would put on a play?

A．Bored.

B．Sad.

C．Excited.

D．Unhappy.

【小題3】Why didn’t the teacher give him the part of the kings?

A．He did not act correctly.	B．He did not know the lines.
C．He was not handsome.	D．He was too short.

【小題4】 What does the underlined word “expression” in the passage mean?

A．表情

B．建議

C．模仿

D．服飾

Mary was an operator(接話員) 911 in Los Angeles. One Thursday morning, she was surprised to get a call from a little girl. She said, “Mom my ill, Mom my ill,’ again and again, Mary soon found the address of the call. She called the police. In a minute, the policemen and doctors arrived at the house. They broke the door open. They couldn’t believe their eyes. The little child was so young that she could not walk! She was sitting beside her mother and holding her mother’s hand. Tears were running down her face.
The doctors gave the women some medicine and soon she woke up. Later, she told people, “Everyone was surprised that my daughter could call 911. On Monday I tried to teach her how to call 911, but she couldn’t do it. ” Mary was surprised, too. “It’s the first time I have seen a two-year-old child call 911.”
【小題1】What did the girl really want to say?
A. “Mom, I’m ill.”
b. “My mom is ill.”
C. “Mom and I are ill.”
【小題2】How did the policemen feel when they got into the room?
A. Strange.            B. Normal.        C. Surprised.
【小題3】How did the policemen get into the room?'
A. By breaking the door.
b. With the girl’s help.
C. Through the window
【小題4】What does the underlined(下劃線的) word “it” mean?
A. 911.            B. Calling 911.        C. Walking.
【小題5】What can we learn from the passage?
A. The little girl was so clever that she could call 911 when she was 2.          
B. The love for her mother created the miracle(奇跡).        
C. The mother knew she had to teach the little girl how to call 911.