I work in a nursing home and my job is to take care of the elderly.

　　This year, a very sweet old lady that I cared for, Alice, had gone through a difficult time. She got dementia and so she had been in the hospital twice. In November I was finally able to get her back to her “home”.

　　Alice had thought her daughter was coming to visit her on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that that happy moment was not going to happen, she was very sad. Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to make her feel happy, I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday!

　　On Christmas Eve, I gave her a surprise by asking if she would like to go to a candlelight service at church that night.

　　Instead of taking her to my church, I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were. We got there early and I got her a seat where her friends could see her as they came in. Then soon some of her friends came to the church and they rushed over to greet her and sit with her.

　　The candlelight service was beautiful and Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there.

　　The truth of the story is that I am the one who got the best gift: the smile on Alice’s face.

　　1. The underlined word “dementia” in Paragraph 2 probably is _____.

　　A. an illness B. a letter C. a house D. a plan

　　2. What was the best gift that the author got on Christmas Eve?

　　A. The candlelight service. B. Praise from Alice’s friends.

　　C. Thanks from Alice’s daughter. D. Alice’s happiness.

　　3. Which of the statement is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. Alice’s daughter came to visit her on Christmas Eve.

　　B. None of Alice’s friends came to the church.

　　C. The candlelight Christmas Eve made Alice really happy.

　　D. Alice’s family never got together on Christmas Day in the old days.

　　4. What is the best title for this passage?

　　A. A special candlelight Christmas Eve B. The dream of an old lonely lady

　　C. My special job D. The true love

　　“AN Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue (队伍) of one,” wrote famous British author George Mikes. While this sounds funny, it’s a popular English stereotype (刻板印象). From the supermarket to the subway, queues are a common sight on the streets of Britain.

　　Here in China, queues are normal, too. It is a part of everyday life. People queue most of the time, from buying tickets in the cinema to waiting for seats at a restaurant.But in certain situations, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a rushing crowd, such as getting onto the subway. Even away from the busy subway platform (站台), queues are different. One day I was standing in line at the supermarket.I left a small space in front of me. Within seconds, a girl walked by and took her place in that small space.I was surprised at first, but later I found these experiences very interesting. It is with these small, everyday differences that I get to live and learn within a new culture.

　　Back in Britain, the average person spends six months of their life waiting in a queue, according to the auction site MadBid. To pass the time, maybe they tell themselves the famous proverb: good things come to those who wait.

　　5. The English are well known for _____.

　　A. forming an orderly queue B. being rude and loud

　　C. traveling on subways D. spending more time waiting in a queue

　　6. When the girl jumped the queue, how did the writer feel?

　　A. annoyed → calm B. calm → angry

　　C. surprised → interested D. shocked → angry

　　7. The purpose of the article is to _____.

　　A. call on people in China to queue more

　　B. compare queuing in two different countries

　　C. praise the English for following good manners

　　D. explain why people rush in some situations

　　8. In which part of a newspaper would you most probably read this article?

　　A. Sports. B. News. C. Culture. D. Business.

　　Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to cheat? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out (略去) important information that should be inside, he can give you a false picture.

　　For example, someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”

　　This guy is a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!

　　He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.

　　Some politicians (政客) often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and got three million jobs. Then she tries to get another term. One of her opponents (竞争对手) says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had increased two million jobs.’’

　　Advertisers will sometimes use half–truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to say that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.

　　This kind of cheating happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.

　　9. We may infer that the author believes people should ________.

　　A. buy lottery tickets if possible B. make use of half–truths

　　C. be careful about what they are told D. not trust the Yucky Company

　　10. How many examples does the writer give to show how the truth is used to cheat?

　　A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four

　　11. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. Using half truths is against the law.

　　B. Technically, half truths are in fact lies.

　　C. Yucky Pills is a very good medicine for toothache.

　　D. Governor Smith did a good job during her last term.

　　12. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

　　A. He’s really a big loser!

　　B. Sometimes the truth can lie as well.

　　C. Advertisers will sometimes use half truths.

　　D. It’s against the law to make false statements.

　　参考答案：

　　ADCA

　　ACBC

　　C C D B