“What is success?” Mr Gruber asked his 6^th grade business class. It was his opening conversation for the first class of the term.

“Success is riding in a sweet car, watching an 80-inch TV, and living in a place with at least twelve rooms.” One student answered, earning laughs from all the students.

Mr Gruber smiled, but shook his head. “Tom, that is excess(過(guò)量). That is not success.”

“How about being able to provide for your family?” A blonde girl named Sandy in the front suggested as an answer.

“Now we’re getting closer,” Mr Gruber smiled, “but try thinking about what you need and what you want.”

“Getting everything you want.” Tom shouted out an answer again, trying for more laughs.

Mr Gruber sighed. “ I believe we’ve already talked about excess versus(與…比較) success.”

“Getting everything you need, but some of what you want?” James, sitting in the back wondered aloud.

“Quite right!” Mr Gruber clapped. “Success is getting everything you need and some of what you want. The more you get that you want, the more successful you are. You do reach a point where you are living in excess, though.”

“What does this have to do with business?” Tom asked. It seemed if it wasn’t funny, he wasn’t happy.

“Well, Tom, think of it this way: the point of business is to make a living to support your family. Once you have properly seen to (確保) their needs, you can then see to getting the extras that you want.”

“What if I don’t have a family?” he continued to be difficult.

“Then you have to provide for yourself, a family of one.”

“He has goldfish to think about!” Peter, Tom’s friend, shouted out.

“Then he needs to provide for a family of one with a fishbowl.” Mr. Gruber corrected himself.

Tom nodded, satisfied with that answer.

“So in the next nine weeks, we’re going to study basic business situations, like having a checking account and understanding credit cards.”

Tom rubbed his hands together excitedly. “When do we get to start spending?”

“You already are, Tom. You’re spending time with us!” Mr. Gruber laughed. “Now, let’s see what you guys know about credit cards…”

1.What class did Mr Gruber teach?

A．History           B．Science           C．Maths            D．Business

2.Which student didn’t seem to be taking the class seriously?

A．Tom              B．James            C．Peter             D．Sandy

3.How did Mr Gruber make his class lively and interesting?

A．He himself kept talking’

B．He just read from a textbook.

C．He showed a movie to his students.

D．He got his students to take part in a discussion.

4.What do you think of Mr Gruber according to the passage?

A．Strange           B．Patient            C．Shy              D．Proud

5.What can be the best title of this passage?

A．Get What You Want                      B．Needs and Wants

C．Try to Get More Money                   D．How to Live Well

Robert was born in a city. His father was a teacher and mother was a doctor. They got a lot of money and liked their son. The boy felt very happy. The boy was clever but was very lazy. He didn't like to use his head and wouldn't do anything. He didn't do well in his lessons and hardly finished middle school, when he was twenty. Then his parents found some work for him. But he refused．He stayed in bed all the time. They were angry with him, but he never listened to them. Seven years later they died in a traffic accident. He had to live on selling their property(財(cái)產(chǎn)). Now he has nothing. He's often hungry and sometimes he has to sleep under a chair in the park One night, as soon as he fell to sleep, he saw a beautiful girl came up to him and asked him to marry(娶)her. He was very happy and followed her. They came in a house He found she was very rich and had a lot of nice things. After dinner she asked him to see her garden. There were all kinds of flowers in it. Suddenly she disappeared(消失)in the forest. And he couldn't find her. He began to cry loudly. "What has happened to you, sir?"a policeman woke him up and asked "I've lost my wife.”Answered Robert. "She's very beautiful and rich. And she loves me very much.” "Perhaps she's gone home," said the policeman with a smile "She must wait for you at home?” "But I can’t remember where she lives!”

1.The boy had a __________ childhood（童年）.

A. terrible????????????? B. happy??????????? C. common????????

2.The boy didn't do well in his lessons because__________.

A. he wasn't clever?????? B. he was very young?????????? C. he wouldn't use his head?????????????

3.His parents were angry with him because __________.

A .he was very lazy?????? B. he was weak in his lessons???? C. he refused to go on studying??????????????

4.When he was __________, his parents died.

A. twenty?????????????? B. twenty-two???????????????? C. twenty-seven?? .

5.One night he __________ in the park.

A. got a beautiful girl's love??????? B. got a lot of money????? C. had a beautiful dream?????????????????

閱讀理解

Thursday, April 24th

We got to the clean, lovely city of Yangzhou early in the morning. This is our first trip to China. All the different smells attract our attention to the local food. We are going to try something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is not expensive but very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to the Great Wall in the north.  

Sunday, April 27th

We visited the famous Slender West Lake (瘦西湖) which was crowded with visitors from all over the world, and bought a lot of toys for our friends outside the gate of the park. Everything is so colourful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will do the famous foot massage (按摩) and then leave for the Great Wall. We will take the night train north, stay in Beijing for two days, and then catch a bus to the Great Wall.

Wednesday, April 30th

Our trip to the Great Wall was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. People in the village love the quiet life. They are the kindest people I had ever met. They always smile and say “Hello”. Ralph and I can speak only a few words in Chinese, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness.

1.From the passage we can see that the writer had a ____ stay in Yangzhou.

2.The writer didn’t ____ in Yangzhou.

3.The writer left Beijing for the Great Wall _______.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

5.What is the best title for the passage?

閱讀理解

One day a poor farmer was taking a bag of rice to town. Suddenly the bag fell from his horse on the road. He didn’t know what to do about it because it was too heavy for him to lift (舉起) by himself. He only hoped that somebody would soon pass (經(jīng)過(guò)) by and help him.

Just at this moment a man riding a horse came up to him. But the farmer was very disappointed（失望的）when he saw who he was. It was the great man living nearby. The farmer had hoped to ask another farmer or a poor man like him for help.

But to his surprise, the great man got off his horse as soon as he came nearer. He said to the farmer, “I see you need help, friend. How good it is that I’m here just at the right time,” Then he took one end of the bag, the farmer took the other. They together lifted and put it on the horse.

“Sir,” asked the farmer, “how can I pay you?”

“It’s quite easy,” the great man answered with a smile, “Wherever (無(wú)論在哪里) you see anyone in trouble, do the same for him.”

1.What happened when the farmer went to town?

2.The farmer didn’t lift the bag onto the horse by himself because      .

3. Why was the farmer very disappointed when he saw the great man? Because he thought the great man        .

A. couldn’t see him           B. could take away his bag

C. could take away his horse    C. couldn’t help him

4.Who helped the farmer?

5.What does the story mainly (主要地) tell us?

A young man once went into town and bought himself a pair of trousers. When he got home, he went upstairs to his bedroom and put them on. He found that they were about two inches (英尺) longer.
He went downstairs to the kitchen. His mother and two sisters were washing up the tea-things there. “The new trousers are too long,” he said. “They need shortening（縮短）by about two inches.
Could one of you do it for me, please?” His mother and sisters were busy and none of them said anything. But when his mother  finished washing up, she went quietly upstairs to her son’s bedroom and shortened the trousers by two inches. She came downstairs without saying anything to her daughters.
Later on, after supper, the elder sister remembered her brother’ s trousers. She was a kind girl,so she went quietly upstairs withoutsaying anything to anyone, and shortened the trousers by two inches.  The younger sister went to the cinema, but when she came home she,too, remembered her brothers trousers. So she ran upstairs and did as her mother and sister had done. You can imagine（想象）the look on the young man’s face when he put the trousers on the   next morning.   .
【小題1】What were the young man’s new trousers like at first?