A passenger told an air hostess that he needed a cup of water to take his medicine when the plane just took off. She told him that she would bring him the water in ten minutes.
The air hostess was kept so busy that she forgot to give him the water. As a result, the passenger was held up(延誤) to take his medicine. Thirty minutes later, when the passenger’s ring for service sounded, she hurried over to him with a cup of water, but he refused.
In the following hours on the plane, each time the air hostess passed by the passenger, she would ask him with a smile whether he needed help or not. But the passenger never answered a word..
When he was going to get off the plane, the passenger asked the air hostess to hand him the passenger’s booklet. She was very sad. She knew that he would write down sharp words, but with a smile she handed it to him.
Off the plane, she opened the booklet, and smiled, for the passenger put it, “On the flight, you asked me whether I needed help or not for twelve times in all. How can I refuse you twelve sincere smiles?”
That’s right! Who can refuse twelve sincere smiles from a person?
【小題1】Ten minutes later, the passenger didn’t get the water, because _______.

A．the plane didn’t take off.

B．the air hostess was kept busy and forgot it.

C．it’s not allowed to take medicine during the flight.

D．there aren’t enough water on the plane.

【小題2】The underlined word “it” in Paragrouph 4 refers to the _______.

A．medicine

B．water

C．cup

D．booklet

【小題3】At the end of the story, we knew the passenger was _______ with the air hostess.

A．satisfied

B．unhappy

C．angry

D．bored

A lot of teenagers are good at art at school, but how would you feel if people called you “the new Picasso(畢加索)” or if presidents and other famous people collected your paintings?
Alexandra Nechita was ten when her paintings became famous all over the world. She visited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and her family’s native place (祖籍) Romania where 5,000 fans came to see her at the airport. Alexandra said, “When it all started, I was moved. It was very exciting and I loved the traveling, but I got very tired. And I missed home.”
Alexandra is a good student. Her studies always come first. She only starts painting after she’s done her homework. She works on two or three paintings at a time. The paintings sell for thousands and Alexandra’s parents have given up their jobs to work for their daughter. Life for the Nechita family is very different from what it was like a few years ago.
Alexandra’s father Niki left Romania for political reasons in 1985. At first he tried his best to learn English and had different kinds of low-paid jobs. In 1987, he brought his wife and Alexandra, who was then 18 months old, to America. The family was very poor. Alexandra began to draw at the age of three.
She was drawing for four or five hours a day. Soon people offered to buy her paintings and she had her first art show at the age of eight. Stories about this child appeared in the newspapers and television. They now live in a large house with a swimming pool. Her mother said, “We started without anything, but thanks to Alexandra, we have everything we ever dreamed of.”
【小題1】Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.

A．18months

B．three

C．eight

D．ten

【小題2】Which country does Alexandra live?

A．America.

B．Britain.

C．Romania.

D．France.

【小題3】 Alexandra’s painting _________.

A．took her a lot of time at school

B．made her drop out of school

C．didn’t influence her studies at school

D．made her fall behind others in studies at school

【小題4】 When her family arrived in America in 1987, _________.

A．their life was very hard

B．they lived by selling Alexandra’s paintings

C．Alexandra began to draw her painting

D．her parents left their jobs and worked for her

【小題5】 From the passage, we can learn ________.

A．Alexandra was not interested in travelling

B．Alexandra’s success changed her family’s life

C．Alexandra’s parents were good at English

D．Alexandra’s stories appeared often on the radio and TV

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow (烏鴉) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain (筆試).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge (挑戰). The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments (評價) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended (假裝) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick? “
“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride (自大) ! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life...”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.
【小題1】What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.
b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.
c. The crow had to ask the swan for help.
d. The swan accepted a challenge of performing flying tricks.

A．a, d, b, c

B．a, b, d, c

C．d, a, c, b

D．d, c, a, b

【小題2】What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Tired.

B．Bored.

C．Nervous.

D．Frightened.

【小題3】What do we learn from the passage?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．The early bird catches the worm.
C．No pains, no gains.	D．Pride goes before a fall.