I was a newcomer of Miss Burn’s seventh grade. Past“newcomer”experiences had been difficult, so I was

very anxious to fit in.

    Lunchtime was a pleasant surprise when the girls all crowded around my table. Their chat was friendly, so

I began to relax. My new classmates filled me in on the school, the teachers and the other kids. it wasn’t long

before the class herd(书呆子)was pointed out to me: Mary Lou. Actually she called herself Mary Louise. A

formal, overmodest young girl with old-fashioned clothes, she wasn’t ugly—not even funny looking. Practical

shoes, long wool skirt and a blouse completed the image of a complete herd. The girls’ whispers got louder and

louder. Mary Lou didn’t notice this. After school, the girls invited me to join them in front of the school.

   Arms wrapped around her backpack, Mary Lou came down the school steps. The taunting began—rude,

biting comments and disrespectful words from the girls. I paused, then joined right in. My force began to pick

up as I approached her, mean(卑劣)remarks falling from my lips. I even pulled the belt of her backpack and then

pushed her. The belt broke, Mary Lou fell. Everyone was laughing and patting me. I fit in. But I was not proud.

Something inside me hurt.

   Mary Lou got up, gathered her books and—without a tear shed—off, she went. She held her head high as a

small trickle of blood ran down from her injured knee.

   I turned to leave with my laughing friends and noticed a man standing beside his car. His skin, dark hair

and handsome features told me this was her father. Respectful of Mary Lou’s proud spirit, he remained still and

watched the lonely girl walk toward him. Only his eyes—shining with both grief and pride—followed. As I

passed, he looked at me in silence with burning tears that spoke to my shame and scolded my heart. He didn’t

speak a word.

   No scolding from a teacher or a parent could linger(逗留)as much as that hurt in my heart from the day a

father’s eyes taught me kindness and strength and dignity. I never again joined the cruel herds. I never

again hurt someone for my own gain.

1. The writer felt she fit in when       .

   A. she relaxed and talked with her new classmate    B. she became a leader of a school club

   C. she picked a wing off a butterfly       D. others cheered for her after she treated Mary badly

2.What does the underlined word“taunting”mean in the article?

   A. Playing a game        B. Joining a club

   C. Criticizing a person     D. Watching a movie

3.Mary’s father      after he saw what happened to her daughter.

   A. felt shameful and angry for his daughter      B. felt sad and proud for his daughter’s bravery

   C. felt it necessary to teach the writer a lesson    D. felt it a pity that she didn’t fight back

4.The writer would never hurt someone for her own gain because she     .

   A. was impressed by Mary’s calmness    

B. was afraid to be scolded by Mary’s father

   C. was sorry she hurt Mary’s knee

   D. was aware that it was a shame to make fun of Mary

5.According to the article, the writer is probably      .

   A. a rude girl who enjoys making fun of others

   B. a clever girl who is good at making friends with others

   C. a shy girl who isn’t good at communicating with others

   D. a brave girl who is willing to correct her mistakes

She was a four-year-old girl with very fine golden hair when I first met her．She was carrying a bowl of    1   ．I was 29 at the time and suffering  from the flu．
Her mom and I had been friends for many years．Finally that friendship grew into care，from care into   2 and marriage．Marriage brought the three of us together as a    3   ．At first，I was afraid to be a“stepfather”.Therefore，I tried not to come between my future daughter and her   4    father．I acted in that way in order to be liked．However，  5   she was growing up, I found it increasingly hard to  6  with her．
Once her school required every parent to write an open and    7  letter to the children．I wrote a letter about a little golden-haired girl who had brought me a bowl of soup when I needed    8  ．
A week later，all the parents got together with our children in a classroom．The students were allowed to make a few speeches．I was   9   to hear what my daughter would say．
Finally，my daughter determinedly   10   her way up to the microphone．She said something like others and then   11   ."There are people and things we sometimes take for granted that we shouldn't，at this very moment，I just want to say…I love you，father．”
Immediately people around me started    12   at me，and patting me on the back as though they also understood the depth of that unusual speech．For a teenage girl to say    13  in the front of a room full of people，“I love you”，took a great deal of courage．Since then I have come  to understand that I didn't need to have any   14  about being a stepfather．I can still  15  honest love with the same little girl I met so many years before-carrying a bowl full of what turned out to be kindness．I can also be friends with the girl-my dear daughter．

She was a four-year-old girl with very fine golden hair when I first met her．She was carrying a bowl of    1   ．I was 29 at the time and suffering  from the flu．

Her mom and I had been friends for many years．Finally that friendship grew into care，from care into   2 and marriage．Marriage brought the three of us together as a    3   ．At first，I was afraid to be a“stepfather”.Therefore，I tried not to come between my future daughter and her   4    father．I acted in that way in order to be liked．However，  5   she was growing up, I found it increasingly hard to  6  with her．

Once her school required every parent to write an open and    7  letter to the children．I wrote a letter about a little golden-haired girl who had brought me a bowl of soup when I needed    8  ．

A week later，all the parents got together with our children in a classroom．The students were allowed to make a few speeches．I was   9   to hear what my daughter would say．

Finally，my daughter determinedly   10   her way up to the microphone．She said something like others and then   11   ."There are people and things we sometimes take for granted that we shouldn't，at this very moment，I just want to say…I love you，father．”

Immediately people around me started    12   at me，and patting me on the back as though they also understood the depth of that unusual speech．For a teenage girl to say    13  in the front of a room full of people，“I love you”，took a great deal of courage．Since then I have come  to understand that I didn't need to have any   14  about being a stepfather．I can still  15  honest love with the same little girl I met so many years before-carrying a bowl full of what turned out to be kindness．I can also be friends with the girl-my dear daughter．

1.                A．soup           B．rice            C．porridge  D．noodles

2.                A．like            B．pleasure        C．excitement    D．love

3.                A．union          B．group          C．family    D．whole

4.                A．following       B．natural         C．untrue   D．new

5.                A．after           B．with           C．before   D．as

6.                A．connect        B．share          C．communicate  D．argue

7.                A．honest         B．ordinary        C．powerful  D．beautiful

8.                A．cure           B．care           C．money   D．friend

9.                A．glad           B．hopeful         C．serious   D．anxious

10.               A．came          B．made          C．had  D．got

11.               A．lasted          B．decided        C．continued D．repeated

12.               A．smiling         B．hugging        C．kissing D．staring

13.               A．quietly         B．brightly         C．quickly    D．openly

14.               A．courage        B．happiness       C．fear  D．idea

15.               A．exchange       B．send           C．expect    D．share

I’d like to share the strangest of the strange moments I’ve had here．

Back in 2003 I had a pet rabbit named Alaska．Due to the rules the landlord had set，he had to be kept in the basement(地下室)．One night I went downstairs to feed him．Keep in mind I’ve always thought the basement was frightening．As I was facing his cage and putting the bowl of water inside，a big shadow appeared behind me，as if a big，tall man were standing behind me．I turned around and nobody was there，but I got the distinct(清晰的)feeling that I was being watched．I basically dropped the water bowl and ran upstairs shouting for my mom．Ever since then I can’t go down there alone．

Once I was trying to get to sleep，and I slept with the lights off．All of sudden I wanted to leave the room eagerly，but I couldn’t get out of my bed，I was too scared．The feeling of someone looking closely at me was so upset，I was physically afraid to move or breathe．I opened my curtains to let the street light in，thinking the light would help me feel better to move．That did nothing．I must have sat there on my bed for about fifteen minutes before I got up．I didn’t sleep in there that night．I’ve never felt anything so upset!

Then there are all the little things，like seeing things in the comer of my eye，hearing doors open or close when I’m home alone，and the feeling of being watched．Once when my sister wasn’t home(we share a room)I heard someone breathing from her bed and heard the sheets rustle(沙沙声)．Last week，I felt someone patting me in the shoulder when I was alone in my room．Sometimes I’ll be looking something and I’ll see one or more contorted(扭曲的)，angry faces．

I realize that when one is looking for something to happen they can make things happen or imagine it．These are the moments in which I know nothing was imagined，so I wanted to share them and get your opinions．Thanks so much．

【小题1】The writer to the text seems to         .

A．tell us his strange experiences

B．tell us what happens in his bedroom

       C．tell us an interesting story

       D．tell us what happens in his apartment

【小题2】Which of the following may be the reason why the writer is afraid to go to the basement?

       A．Because his pet is dangerous．

       B．Because a big shadow may appear behind him．

       C．Because there is a big，tall man there．

       D．Because his landlord forbids him to go there．

【小题3】We can learn from the third paragraph that         .

       A．the writer slept with the lights on that night

       B．the street light helped the writer a lot

       C．he was too scared to get out of his bed at one time

       D．he didn’t sleep at all that night

【小题4】From the text，we can see the writer believes his experiences are              .

       A．real                            B．not real

       C．creative                         D．imaginative

B
One cold morning in winter, when I was a little boy, a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder stopped me, saying: “My pretty boy, has your father a grindstone（砂轮）”
“Yes, sir,” said I．
“You are a fine little fellow!” said the man． “Will you let me grind（磨） my ax?”
Pleased with the flattery, I answered, “Oh, yes, sir． The grindstone is down in the shop．”
Patting me on my head, he said, “Will you get me some hot water?” I ran and brought the hot water．
“How old are you, and what is your name?” he asked without waiting for a reply, “I’m sure you are one of the finest boys I have ever seen． Will you turn the grindstone a few minutes for me?”
Hearing the flattery again, I went to work with a will． It was a new ax, and I worked hard until I was almost tired to death． The school bell rang, but I could not get away, because the ax was not half ground．
At last, however, it was sharpened． Then the man turned to me and said, “Now, you little rascal(小坏蛋), you’ve played truant(逃课)! Run to school, or you’ll be sorry!”
“Alas!” thought I． “It was hard enough to turn a grindstone this old day, but now to be called a rascal is too much．”
The memory of turning the grindstone that winter morning sank into my mind． I have thought of it since． Now, whenever I hear words of flattery, I say to myself． “That man has an ax to grind．”
60．In this passage, the word “flattery” means _____．
A．an order or direction
B．nice words used beyond truth
C．kind words spoken by elder people to children
D．good manners
61．The man asked the boy many questions because _____．
A．he liked the boy very much
B．he wanted to know the boy’s name
C．he wanted to sharpen his ax
D．he wanted to know how old the boy was
62．The man called the boy “rascal” because _____．
A．his ax was damaged by the boy
B．he didn’t like the boy’s play truant
C．he didn’t need the boy any more
D．he thought that boy should go to school on time
63．Today in the writer’s vocabulary “That man has an ax to grind” means _____．
A． that man has some selfish reasons for his actions
B． that man works with an ax
C． that man is very kind and polite to boys
D． that man needs to sharpen his ax