My life suffered a lot in a summer five years ago. My father died in a car accident, leaving my mother, my two younger brothers and I alone. At that time, I was a senior high school student. After my father’s funeral (葬禮), I had no choice but to drop out of school and work in a factory.
I really wanted to return to school and wanted to go to college, but I couldn’t. I only hoped to bring up my two younger brothers. Life was not easy for me, for I can’t afford their tuition (學(xué)費) even if I worked from day to night without stopping. Without my father’s protection, I thought I was a slave (奴隸) to the fate.
Later on, something changed my life. I still remember that it was a rainy day. I put myself in the rain and walked slowly in the street.
Suddenly the rain stopped! I raised my head and found “the sky” was in fact a dark blue umbrella. Then I noticed a middle-aged man with one leg on crutch (拐杖) standing behind me. He said to me, “Why not run without an umbrella? If you didn’t run, you would get drenched.”
The man told me that he was promoter (推銷員). He once dreamed of being a policeman, but an accident ruined (毀滅) his dream. Though his present job was not suitable for his legs, it was wonderful start to him. He was very happy that he didn’t lose heart and still “ran” on the road of life…
I was encouraged by the man’s words. I went to a big city and I became an assurance representative (保險代理人). After two years’ running, I did well and my family condition turned better little by little. Later I returned to school and succeeded in my entrance to university.
Life is like this. When you are in rainy days in your life, if you couldn’t find a way to prevent you from being wet, you would be overwhelmed (被制服). But if you decide to get rid of it, you’ll discover that the rainy days last not so long as you imagine.
【小題1】What happened to the writer at the beginning of the story? 

I was woken up by a strange sound. I saw something moving by my window. I was terrified and ran downstairs. I found my mom in the kitchen, getting my brother ready for school.

"Mum, did you hear anything? I, uh. I thought I saw an alien."

"Are you all right? Just a dream ! "Mum answered.

Then I went back to my room. As I walked to the window, I cried, I saw a little alien, no more than three feet tall, with big and black eyes. It tried to run between my legs and escape through the window. Although I was scared, for some reason, I squeezed (擠) my legs together in time to catch it. It took out something and hurt me. I felt a terrible sense of nothingness and fainted (暈倒). Then I woke up.

At first, I could hardly move. I wasn't sure whether it was a dream or not. I pulled myself out of the bed and walked downstairs. I saw my mum in the kitchen. She was really getting my brother ready for school, wearing her pink clothes. Then I realized it was just a dream because in my dream she was wearing her work clothes.

From then on, I always dreamt about aliens and all the dreams felt so real. At that time, I really thought maybe I had some kind of relationship with aliens. About two months later, I stopped having such dreams. Later I realized that l used to have those dreams because I always read books or watched TV programs about aliens before I fell asleep!

1.What did the writer first do when he saw the alien?

A．He was too scared to move.

B．He knew it was a dream and wasn't afraid.

C．He was so scared that he fainted.

D．He thought against the alien.

2.The writer found that it was just a dream _____.

A．a(chǎn)s soon as he woke up

B．before he went downstairs

C．when he saw his mother

D．when he was hurt by the alien

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

A．The writer had the dream at night.

B．The writer's mother's work clothes might not be pink.

C．The writer's mother was worried about his dream.

D．When the writer had the dream, his family were sleeping.

4.Why did the writer use to have dreams about aliens?

A．He had some kind of relationship with aliens.

B．He was terribly ill.

C．He often did something about aliens before going to bed.

D．The dreams were all about the writer's real experiences.

A true friend is always helpful. I didn’t believe it   36  one thing happened to me when I was in Grade 7.
Li Jie was one of my classmates. He and I were also neighbours. He always listened to his mother   37  I didn’t like listening to my mother. I didn’t think it was necessary for  38  to teach me anything. Li Jie knew all about that but he said   39  to me.
One weekend, Li Jie invited me to watch a film. I liked films very much so I went to the   40  with him happily. The film was about the love between a   41  and her son. After watching it, I began to know how great the love of the mother was. I felt   42  that I didn’t listen to my mother before. I decided to think more about my mother than about   43 . After I told that to him, Li Jie smiled and said, “It’s really necessary for you to watch such a film. That was a good choice (選擇) for both you and me.”
Suddenly, I knew   44  he invited me to watch the film. Just at that time, I knew a true friend is always   45 .

Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of __1__ through which I learned __2__ from his experiences. He always told me, “ You __3__ have goals (目標(biāo)) like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both __4__, we couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very _5__. I really got a lot from the mountain-climbing. It gave me time to _6__ with my father and to be in deep thought __7__ develop my patience.

Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me _8__ I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing, I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the bird’s singing. But as time passed, I got a pain in both of my __9__. I wanted to __10_ climbing, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it __11__ reaching the top. Only there can you see all of the nice things, which is just like your life.”

At that time, I was too young to understand his __12__. But later after that, I __13__ know the meaning of hope in life. I found __14__ standing at the top of the mountain, and the sky was as _15_ as crystal.

1.                A．conversations    B．emotions        C．conclusions    D．expressions

2.                A．classes         B．tests           C．lessons   D．news

3.                A．can            B．may            C．would    D．should

4.                A．spent          B．enjoyed        C．hoped    D．kept

5.                A．busy           B．lazy            C．weak D．free

6.                A．play           B．work           C．talk  D．study

7.                A．a(chǎn)s much as      B．a(chǎn)s soon as       C．a(chǎn)s long as D．a(chǎn)s well as

8.                A．though         B．because        C．a(chǎn)nd  D．but

9.                A．legs           B．ears           C．eyes D．fingers

10.               A．put up         B．take up         C．get up D．give up

11.               A．a(chǎn)fter           B．when          C．before    D．since

12.               A．stories         B．words          C．pictures   D．lessons

13.               A．wanted to       B．tried to         C．got to D．hoped to

14.               A．myself         B．himself         C．yourself   D．ourselves

15.               A．blue           B．white          C．clean D．clear