Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table, reading his book. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to copy him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read the book just like you, but I don’t understand it, and I forget what I understand as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the book do?”

The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned. Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, so he went to get a bucket instead. The grandpa said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.” The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandpa the basket was empty again. Out of breath, he said, “Grandpa, it’s useless!”

“So, you think it is useless?” the grandpa said, “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean.

“Grandson, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you’ll be changed, inside and out.”

【小题1】What puzzled the grandson most was _________.

A．why he forgot what he read soon	B．whether it was useful to read books
C．what kind of book he could understand	D．how he could read books like his grandpa

【小题2】Why did Grandpa ask his grandson to fetch a basket of water?

A．To get him to realize the use of reading books.	B．To punish him for not reading carefully.
C．To clean the dirty basket in the river.	D．To train him to run faster.

【小题3】What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．The old are always wiser than the young.	B．It is foolish to carry water with a basket.
C．You can’t expect to remember all you read.	D．Reading books can change a person gradually.

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Grandpa and Grandson	B．Carrying Water in a Basket
C．Baskets and Books	D．Reading for Total Changing

   I was one of the young US soldiers in Saudi Arabia. At one time before the Internet，our only lifeline to friends and family was the mail we sent and received.

One evening the mail soldier called my name and，instead of a letter，handed me a large box from my grandmother in Oklahoma. One of the great hardships of the war for me was the absence of my grandmother's cooking—her fried chicken and onion，corn bread，and，most of all，her desserts. But on that evening I was about to take a gastronomic（美食的） journey home: I opened the box and found two dozen pies made by my grandmother.

A man from New York approached and asked me what I had received. I couldn't answer；my mouth was full of pie. So I just offered him one. “So nice！”he said. “What are they？”He had to wait a few moments for an answer，but eventually I explained. As insurance，I offered him another pie to keep him quiet.

Once a day for the next three weeks，I imagined returning home to my grandmother's kitchen，if only I had had a few sweet bites at a time.

Some of my earliest memories are associated with my grandmother's pies. She had been baking pies since before the Great Depression. She would have astonished the judges on today's TV cooking challenges. I remember coming across a persimmon（柿子）tree once while out hiking. It was autumn，and the fruit was soft and sweet. I picked a few dozen and brought them to Grandma. Guess what！The next day I walked into her kitchen to find a persimmon pie waiting for me.

【小题1】What can we infer about the US soldiers？

A．They were familiar with the pies.

B．They were eager to get their mail.

C．They were forbidden to use the Internet.

D．They seldom got in touch with the outside.

【小题2】Why did the author offer the soldier another pie?

A．To prove it was made by Grandma.

B．To make the soldier judge the taste.

C．To indicate he was generous.

D．To let himself enjoy the pies.

【小题3】Why did the author mention the persimmon pie?

A．To look back on the hiking day.

B．To appreciate Grandma's devotion to him.

C．To show Grandma's pie-making skills.

D．To explain Grandma's pie-making history.

【小题4】Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Earliest memories of Grandma

B．Grandma's package sent me home

C．I missed Grandma's persimmon pie

D．Memorizing Grandma's cooking history

   Many years ago, when I was in high school and working weekends to pay for the extras that my family couldn’t really afford, I lost my wallet.

My old car needed gassing up in the back. I prepaid and then put my wallet on the bumper(保险杠), and drove off. I hadn’t even had time to miss it when my phone rang and a man asked me if I had lost my wallet. I checked my pocket and to my surprise, I didn’t find my wallet. He asked me to tell him how much money was in it. He then told me where to pick up my wallet.

As I pulled into his driveway, I noticed his handicapped van(残疾人车) and the ramp(斜坡) going up to the house. I was thinking that this man must have had difficulty in getting out of his van and getting my wallet off the street. He had to pull over, get in his wheelchair, lower the lift, and then pick it up. I was just surprised. I felt grateful.

I knocked on the door and he told me to come in. I thanked him about 10 times for finding my wallet. I was stuck, though. While I didn’t want to insult him by offering money, I really felt like offering something. So I asked him if there was anything I could do to repay his kindness, and he said, “Just pass it on.” I said I would be certain to do that. I was raised to be honest in any circumstance and I would have done so, without promising this fellow I would, but I wanted to repay his kindness, so I willingly promised I would.

【小题1】Where did the writer lose his wallet?

A．At the shop.	B．At the gas station.
C．At the school.	D．At the garage.

【小题2】What did the man ask the writer to do?

A．He asked the writer to be careful.

B．He asked the writer to pass his kindness on.

C．He asked the writer to repay his kindness.

D．He asked the writer to be honest.

【小题3】What can we learn from the man’s action?

A．Where there’s a will there’s a way.

B．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

C．Good is rewarded with good.

D．Help others, but don’t ask for anything.

【小题4】Which of the following can best describe the man who picked up the writer’s wallet?

A．Intelligent.	B．Serious.
C．Noble.	D．Patient.

阅读理解。
The freezing Northeast hasn’t been a terribly fun place to spend time this winter, so when the chance came for a weekend to Sarasota, Florida, my bags  were packed before you could say “sunshine”. I left for the land of warmth and vitamin C(维生素C), thinking of beaches and orange trees. When we touched down to blue skies and warm air, I sent up a small prayer of gratefulness. Swimming pools, wine tasting, and pink sunsets(at normal evening hours, not 4 in the afternoon) filled the weekend, but the best part- particularly to my taste, dulled by months of cold- weather root vegetables- was a 7 a.m. adventure to the Sarasota farmers’ market that proved to be more than worth the early wake-up call.
The market, which was founded in 1979, sets up its tents every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1 p.m, rain or shine, along North Lemon and State streets. Baskets of perfect red strawberries, the red-painted sides of the Java Dawg coffee truck; and most of all, the tomatoes: amazing, large, soft and round red tomatoes.
Disappointed by many a broken, vine-ripened(蔓上成熟的) promise, I’ve refused to buy winter tomatoes for years. No matter how attractive they look in the store, once I get them home they’re unfailingly dry, hard, and tasteless. But I homed in, with uncertainty, on one particular table at the Brown’s Grove Farm’s stand, full of fresh and soft tomatoes the size of my fist. These were the real deal- and at that moment, I realized that the best part of Sarasota in winter was going to be eating things that back home in New York I wouldn’t be experiencing again for months.
Delighted as I was by the tomatoes in sight, my happiness deepened when I learned that Brown’s Grove Farm is one of the suppliers for Jack Dusty, a newly opened restaurant at the Sarasota Ritz Carlton, where- luckily for me- I was planning to have dinner that very night. Without even seeing the menu, I knew I’d be ordering every tomato on it.
【小题1】What did the author think of her winter life in New York?

A．Exciting.	B．Boring.
C．Relaxing.	D．Annoying.

【小题2】What made the author’s getting up late early worthwhile?

A．Having a swim.

B．Breathing in fresh air.

C．Walking in the morning sun.

D．Visiting a local farmer’s market.

【小题3】What can we learn about tomatoes sold in New York in winter?

A．They are soft.	B．They look nice.
C．They taste great	D．They are juicy.

【小题4】What was the author going to that evening?

A．Go to a farm.	B．Check into a hotel.
C．Eat in a restaurant.	D．Buy fresh vegatables.