The phone rings. It’s a friend who wants to tell you his or her latest health problems. You hate to be impolite and cut your friend off, but what can you do? Stephanie Winston, author of Stephanie Winston’s Best Organizing Tips, offers his advice:

Don’t ask questions like “What’s new?” They give the information that you have time to talk. After “hello”, get right to the heart of the matter.

Time your calls wisely. If you make a call right before lunch or dinner, or at the end of the workday, people chat less.

Set a time limit. Start with, “Hi, I’ve only got a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you about….” Or, “Gee, I’d love to talk more, but I only have a couple of minutes before I have to leave.”

Jump on a pause（間歇）. Even the most talkative caller has to pause now and then. Quickly say, “It has been great talking with you.” Then end the conversation.

Forget niceties. Some people just don’t take a hint. Cut your caller off and say, “I’d like to talk to you longer, but I’m afraid I have no enough time. Good bye.” Then hang up.

Find “a partner in crime”. If nothing else works, ask someone in your home to help you. For example, one woman gives a sign to her husband, who shouts, “Jane, I think the roast chicken is burning.”

Avoid the phone completely. Use an answering machine to screen calls. If you have an important message for a chatterbox（嘮叨的人）, leave the message when he or she isn’t in.

50. What’s the good time to make a call so that people can chat less?

A. After lunch or dinner.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In the middle of the workday.

C. Before lunch or dinner.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. At the beginning of the workday.

51. “Finding a partner in crime” means ______.

A. finding someone to answer the call

B. getting right to the heart of the matter

C. telling the caller you are just cooking

D. asking someone to help you end the call

52. What’s Winston’s advice about?

A. How to talk on the phone.　　　　　

B. How to make calls wisely.

C. How to make a phone call.

D. How to keep phone calls short.

One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.
Her mother said, “Don’t be afraid, honey. Take courage!”“What’s courage?” she asked, running to her mother’s bed. “Courage is the brave breath,” her mother answered. “Mum, do you have courage?”“Certainly.” The girl held out her little hands, saying, “Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me.”
After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists(握拳) nervously, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, “It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of ‘breath’ to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.”
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat(戰(zhàn)勝) is nobody but ourselves.
【小題1】The girl walked back because _______.

A．the bathroom was too far away.	B．her mother wouldn’t go with her
C．she was too afraid of the dark	D．the bedroom door was locked

【小題2】We learn from the reading that _______.

A．the girl went to the bathroom by herself

B．the girl pretended to be terrified of nothing

C．the girl’s mother was able to blow brave breath

D．the girl’s mother was very proud of herself

【小題3】To stop “mother’s breath” from running away, the girl ________.

A．held out her little hands	B．clenched her fists
C．talk to her mother	D．held her own breath

【小題4】The writer mainly wants to tell us that ________.

A．a(chǎn)dults are always brave enough

B．children learn to be brave quickly

C．the fear in one’s mind is the real problem

D．the mother can deal with anything with breath

【小題5】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．The Fearless Mother	B．One Lonely Girl
C．One midnight	D．The Breath of Courage

“Who did this?” asked my teacher. Thirty children tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what our teacher might have found out.

“Who did this?” she asked again. She never became angry, but she was this time. She held up a piece of broken glass and asked, “Who broke this window?”

“Oh, oh,” I thought. I was the one who broke the window. I did not do it on purpose (故意). It was caused by a bad throw of a baseball. Why did it have to be me?

If I admitted (承認(rèn)) it, I would be in a lot of trouble. How would I be able to pay for a big window like that? “My father is going to get angry at me,” I thought. I didn’t want to raise (舉起) my hand, but something much stronger than me pulled it up.

“I did it,” I said. Then I was silent. It was hard enough saying what I had.

My teacher went to one of our bookshelves and took down a book. She then began walking towards my desk. I had never known my teacher to strike (打) a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.

“I know how you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my face. “Here is the field guide about birds (鳥類野外指南) that you always check out from our school library. It is yours now. We have got a new one for the school. You will not be punished (懲罰). But remember, it’s only for your honesty.”

I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t being punished and I was getting my own bird field guide, the one that I had been saving up all my money to buy.

1.How did the writer feel when he saw his teacher walking towards him with a book from bookshelves?

A．Relaxed.          B．Pleased.           C．Frightened.        D．Guilty.

2.What do the underlined words “check out” mean?

A．lend             B．borrow           C．test              D．buy

3.What can we learn from the story?

A．The writer’s teacher often hit her students.

B．The writer broke the window when he was catching a bird.

C．The writer was seriously punished after he admitted his mistake.

D．The writer didn’t want to admit his mistake at the beginning.

4.The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A．he who is honest is wise                  B．better late than never

C．practice makes perfect                   D．a(chǎn) friend in need is a friend indeed

 

One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.
Her mother said, “Don’t be afraid, honey. Take courage!”
“What’s courage?” she asked, running to her mother’s bed.
“Courage is the brave breath,” her mother answered.
“Mum, do you have courage?”
“Certainly.”
The girl held out her little hands, saying, “Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me.”
After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists(握拳) nervously, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, “It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of ‘breath’ to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.”
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat(戰(zhàn)勝) is nobody but ourselves.
  
【小題1】The girl walked back because __________.

A．the bathroom was too far away.	B．her mother wouldn’t go with her
C．she was too afraid of the dark	D．the bedroom door was locked

【小題2】We learn from the reading that ___________.

A．the girl went to the bathroom by herself

B．the girl pretended to be terrified of nothing

C．the girl’s mother was able to blow brave breath

D．the girl’s mother was very proud of herself

【小題3】To stop “mother’s breath” from running away, the girl __________.

A．held out her little hands	B．clenched her fists
C．talk to her mother	D．held her own breath

【小題4】The writer mainly wants to tell us that ________.

A．a(chǎn)dults are always brave enough

B．children learn to be brave quickly

C．the fear in one’s mind is the real problem

D．the mother can deal with anything with breath

【小題5】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．The Fearless Mother	B．One Lonely Girl
C．One midnight	D．The Breath of Courage

Justin Bieber was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy 2011. Both he and his fans were excited to hear the great news!

Born on March 1, 1994, in Canada, Justin entered a singing contest when he was 12 and won the second place. He taught himself to play the piano, drums and guitar. In 2007 Justin posted videos of his singing on the Internet and became famous. In 2008, he became a singer with a record company. Since then, he has become a big name. Justin is so popular that screaming fans show up everywhere for his appearance. Several of his performances had to be cancelled because there were too many fans!

In February, 2011, Justin’s biopic Never Say Never will come out. Justin came from a poor family. But he said in his book that not having as many things as his friends made him stronger and built his character. He wants to tell people that you can do anything if you just put your mind to it.

1.Who taught Justin to play the piano, drums and guitar?

A．His fans.

B．His friends.

C．He himself.

D．His teacher.

2.When did Justin become a singer with a record company?

A．In 1994.

B．In 2007.

C．In 2008.

D．In 2011.

3.Why did Justin have to cancel some of his performances?

A．Because he was badly ill.

B．Because he thought his performances weren’t good enough.

C．Because he didn’t want to have any performances.

D．Because there were lots of fans.

4.Which of the following is True according to the passage?

A．Justin was born in a rich family on March 1, 1994, in Canada.

B．Justin entered a singing contest when he was 12 and won the first place.

C．Justin is so terrible that he has few fans.

D．Justin said that poor environment made him stronger and built his character.

5. What’s the meaning of the word “biopic” in the last paragraph?

A．自傳

B．聲明

C．論文

D．小說