A

After Mom died， I began visiting Dad every morning before I went to work. He was frail and moved slowly， but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on the kitchen table for me， along with an unsigned note reading， “Drink your juice.” Such a gesture， I knew， was as far as Dad had ever been able to go in expressing his love. In fact， I remember， as a kid I had questioned Mom “Why doesn’t Dad love me?” Mom frowned， “Who said he doesn’t love you?” “Well he never tells me，” I complained. “He never tells me either，” she said， smiling. “But look how hard he works to take care of us， to buy us food and clothes， and to pay for this house. That’s how your father tells us he loves us.”

I nodded slowly. I understood in my head， but not in my heart. I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me. Dad owned and operated a small scrap(片) metal business， and after school I often hung around while he worked. Dad hand fed scrap steel into a device that chopped it as cleanly as a butcher chops a rack of ribs. The machine looked like a giant pair of scissors， with blades(刀刃) thicker than my father’s body. If he didn’t feed those terrifying blades just right， he risked serious injury. “Why don’t you hire someone to do that for you?” Mom asked Dad one night as she bent over him and rubbed his aching shoulders with a strong smelling liniment(鎮(zhèn)痛油). “Why don’t you hire a cook?” Dad asked， giving her one of his rare smiles.

Many years later， during my first daily visit， after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me， I walked over， hugged him and said， “I love you， Dad.” From then on I did this every morning. My father never told me how he felt about my hugs， and there was never any expression on his face when I gave them.

1. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. I Just Couldn’t Understand my Father

B. My Father Never Loved Me

C. Silent Fatherly Love

D. My Hard-working Father

2. The author’s father always prepared a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for him because .

A. that was the author’s favorite

B. he was sure the author would be thirsty

C. the author was always complaining

D. that was a gesture of love

3. The author’s father didn’t hire a helper because .

A. his job was too dangerous

B. his job required high skills

C. he wanted to save money

D. he was not good at communicating with others

4. We may infer from the passage that .

A. the author’s father lacked a sense of humor

B. the author has quite understood his father as time went on

C. the author’s father didn’t love him very much

D. the author’s father was too strict with him

B

Some forms of art can’t be transported to museums around the world of recorded and reproduced like music and movies. These forms of art seem to have a magical quality that arises partly from their rareness. Sand painting is certainly one of these extraordinary forms of art because it is uniquely delicate.

Sand painting， as the name suggests， is an art form in which sand is used to make pictures and designs. The beautiful and tragic part is that the painting are made without adhesives(粘合劑); therefore， they are only temporary pictures that will be destroyed before long. This impermanence certainly adds to their power， and the temporary nature of the paintings often has a spiritual meaning in the cultures that make them.

There are a few sand painting traditions. One is Native American， and in this culture， sand painting is mainly a spiritual ritual(儀式) for healing. In the ceremony， a medicine man creates a sand painting on the ground by carefully letting flow through his fingers. When the painting is finished， the patient sits on it and chanting(吟頌咒語(yǔ)) is performed. Within 12 hours of the creation of the sand painting， it is destroyed.

In Tibetan culture， Buddhist monks use metal funnels to pour out colored sand like liquid. With these instruments， they cover a piece of wood on which a design has been drawn. Their paintings include geometric shapes and spiritual symbols. Not long after， the beautiful paintings are destroyed to represent the impermanence of life. The same message appears in the Mexican tradition that takes place on the Day of the Dead. Only on this day， sand paintings are created in the streets and then simply swept away. If you ever have the chance to see these magnificent paintings， don’t miss out.

5. In Native American culture， sand painting has something to do with .

A. death B. life

C. art D. treatment

6. This passage intends to .

A. inform the reader of an art form

B. introduce new meaning of art

C. motivate our learning interest D. advertise a new business

7. It can be learned from the passage that .

A. life of human beings is as short as sand painting

B. Buddhist monks make sand paintings funnels

C. sand paintings are used for spiritual purpose

D. sand painting appears in many museums.

8. Which of the following may probably be the best title of the passage?

A. Sand and Painting B. Art to Art

C. Dust to Dust D. Sand and Art

C

Like heat， humidity， and tax rates， corruption(腐敗) falls into the “everything is relative” category. We happen to live in Boston， home of the Big Dig.， said to be the second-largest public works project in history. The Big Dig， launched in 1991 to bury many of the city’s highways and create a wide swath of parkland， was supposed to be finished in 2001 for $2.8 billion. It may be done by 2010， with a final price tag of $14.6 billion. Now， anyone who has ever put in a new kitchen knows that money always cost twice what you expect， but an 11 billion overrun certainly seems to suggest that， yes， there is corruption in America.

But it’s rare—comparatively. We recently returned from a trip to Latin America where we met with hundreds of business people in Brazil and Argentina. Their stories of ubiquitous corruption， much of it at the hands of the government， were chilling. Tax evasion is widespread; enforcement is spotty. In Argentina， several CEOs told us that if you attempt to conduct business without playing by the unwritten rules imposed by layer after layer of government officials， an army of tax officers arrives at your door， paralyzing your company and often times staying until an employee or two goes to jail.

We don’t mean to single out Latin America. Even in Europe， business-as-usual can include illegal activities. Yes， the situation has improves in the past decade. But European CEOs have told us that bribery（賄賂） was once so pervasive—in Germany， bribes were legal through most of the 90s—that they often did not know which of their own employees they could trust. Today， corruption is particularly rampant in the developing world， from India to China， and through Eastern Europe to Russia. It remains one of the main reasons that capitalism cannot take root in Africa. Corruption can make it just too expensive to start a business， or in many cases， to keep a small one running.

By contrast， the relative lack of corruption in the U.S. is a key reason， along with a company culture and the wide availability of venture capital， that we lead the world in business creation. Virtually no one starting a company in the U.S. today， and no one funding one， has to worry about covering the hidden costs of bribes， payoffs， and kickbacks. They just have to worry about coming up with great ideas， getting the best people， and delivering a terrific execution. That’s hard enough.

9. This passage most probably adopts from a .

A. survey B. speech

C. contract D. novel

10. Which of the following is true， according to the passage?

A. The Big Dig project is to be completed in 2010 for $2.8 billion.

B. Employees in Germany were distrusted through most of the 90s.

C. Running a business in Argentina can be hard without bribing officials.

D. To start a business is more expensive in Africa than in Europe.

11. The underlined word “rampant” in Para. 3 is probably similar to .

A. serious B. practical

C. effective D. legal

12. The best title for this passage would be .

A. How to Stop Corruption

B. The US Has the Least Corruption

C. Corruption Is Everywhere

D. The High Cost of Corruption

D

What is youth? It is wonderful， so full of magic as well as anguish (痛楚). We never come to know it as it is until it has gone from us forever. Nobody has the heart to lose it. When it’s gone， we’ll be filled with infinite sorrow and regret.

Why is this? The reason is that the strange and bitter miracle (不可思議的事) of life is nowhere else so evident as in our youth. And what on earth is the essence during our youth? It is that being freewheeling， we are so poor， and that being painstaking， we can yet have nothing. We firmly believe the wealth and glory in the world should belong to us. However， the harsh reality tells us that we can really hold， take， and possess nothing forever. All passes rapidly and nothing exists. The moment we put our hand upon it， it immediately melts away like smoke， gone forever， and our hearts are in dull pains. At this point we see what we are and what our lives must come to. When youth is gone， every man will look back upon that period of his life with infinite sorrow and regret.

A young man is so strong， so mad， so confident， and so lost. He has many opportunities but he is still unable to seize them. He makes full use of his strength and intelligence， trying to break phantasmal (虛幻的) barriers， and finally all he has done is in vain. He wants all in the world and desires to dominate everything， but ends up with nothing. Eventually， he is destroyed by his own strength， devoured by his own hunger， and impoverished by his own wealth. Thoughtless of money or the accumulation of material possessions， he is none the less defeated in the end by his own greed.

It is the law of nature that everyone is getting older， so don’t be afraid of losing youth. Whether we are naive or mature， frivolous or stable， anyway， we own youth only once. So long as we go all out to pursue our dreams， strive hard and never give up， we will have no regrets. Whether we are young， middle-aged or old， if we know how to cherish the years of intense emotion during youth， make everyday happy with absolutely no regrets and have the peace of mind to look forward to the future， youth will be always in our hearts.

13.What does the sentence “... the strange and bitter miracle of life is nowhere else so evident as in our youth.” (Para. 2) mean?

A. Only in our youth can we obviously realize the strange and bitter miracle of life.

B. We can easily see the strange and bitter miracle of life everywhere in the world.

C. The young have experienced more of the strange and bitter miracle of life than the old.

D. Young people can create a marvelous life， which is either very happy or very bitter.

14.Why does the author say “When it’s gone， we’ll be filled with infinite sorrow and regret”?

A. We are getting older and older unknowingly.B. Youth is a period of happiness and freedom.

C. Youth is a very hard path for us to go down.

D. Try as we may， we fail to get what we want.

15.The underlined phrase “none the less” (Para. 3) probably means “ ”.

A. not at all B. all the same

C. next to none D. by no means

16.What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Everybody will lose youth and get old， which is irresistible.

B. Don’t be afraid of getting older， for it is the way of nature.

C. Striving hard and never giving up will contribute to success.

D. You will be always young if you can make the most of every day.

E

Joshua， Helmut， and Bethlehem

Michelle O. Donovan

ISBN 9781462058679

Life is not easy for nine-year-old Joshua during World War II.

Because of his family’s Jewish background， they are sent to live in the concentration camps (集中營(yíng)). Scared and alone， Joshua one day makes friends with a little mouse he calls Bethlehem who becomes his closest friend.

Encourage Me!

Inspirational Poetry by Gloria Coykendall

ISBN 9781412027854

It is easy to read collection of poems originally written to encourage in faith and to be a cure for chronic depression(長(zhǎng)期抑郁) ... cure to strengthen identity and purpose.

Seeking the Edge

Dr. Joseph L. Rose

ISBN 9781462031795

Seeking the Edge provides the tools and techniques to find that edge in one’s life—driving readers to achieve success whether in your current job， finding a new job， in education， family， or even hobbies.

More Things in Heaven

Bill Bosworth

ISBN 9780595433582

In his More Things in Heaven， Bill Bosworth presents the highlights of his 83 years of life， including his trips to India and the study of the writings of several great spiritual leaders.

More things in Heaven will appeal to anyone who insists on finding the deepest meaning for their existence based on their own experience.

Creation or Evolution

Michael Ebifegha

ISBN 9781450289023

Were humans created， or did they evolve?

How old is the Earth? The debate between science and religion continues to be heated. In Creation or Evolution， Michael Ebifegha examines these two opposed world views within the structure of empirical(實(shí)證的) science.

17. Who is Joshua’s cloest friend?

A. Bill Bosworth.

B. Michael Ebifegha.

C. Bethlehem.

D. Gloria Coykendall.

18. In which book are the tools and techniques to find that edge in one’s life provided?

A. More Things in Heaven

B. Encourage Me!

C. Seeking the Edge

D. Creation or Evolution

19. What kind of readers will probably like reading Encourage Me?

A. Those who are searching for the meaning of life.

B. Those who are trying to be spiritual leaders.

C. Those who study the art of writing.

D. Those who want to find a cure for chronic depression.

20. The ISBN for the book including the study of the writings of some great spiritual leaders is .

A. 9781462058679. B. 9781412027854.

C. 9780595433582. D. 9781462031795.