A man came back home from work late, tired, to find his six-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?”
“If you want to know, I make $20 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. He thought for a moment, looked up and said, “Daddy, could you lend me $10?”
The father was furious, “If you asked for money to buy a toy or some other rubbish, then go straight to your room and think why you are being so selfish!”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. After about an hour or so, the father calmed down, and started to think, “Maybe he really needs to buy something and he didn’t ask for money very often.” So he went to the little boy’s room.
“Sorry! Maybe I was too hard on you just now,” said the man. “Here’s $10.”
“Oh, thank you, Daddy!” the boy said gladly. Then, the boy took out some coins. When the father found that the boy already had some money, he got angry again.
“Why do you want more money since you already have some?” the father shouted angrily.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied, “Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
【小題1】How much does the man make if he works 10 hours?

In a cold winter, a couple had to move out of their big house because of bankruptcy（破產）. The husband worked day and night but with no care of his wife. So she thought, “He doesn’t love me any more; he just thinks about his work.”

One day, she wanted to take a shower, but her husband stopped her at the door. “Let me take it first, OK?” “Why not let me take it first?” she asked. “I’m tired, dear. You take it later, OK?” She was very sad.

On a rainy day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer. After a few minutes, her eyes were full of tears...it was his diary:

Today, I was quite sad. She asked me why I was always taking the shower first, and I said I was tired. She was unhappy. I wasn’t as rich as before! We moved to the small house and it was very cold. I found that if one person took the shower first, the bathroom could get a little warmer. So I always rushed to the bathroom first. When she took the shower, the bathroom could get warmer, at least 1°C. I can’t give her more, but at least I can give her 1°C love.

46. The couple moved out of their house ________.

A. on a rainy day  

B. in a cold winter

C. when the husband lost his work

D. when the wife saw her husband’s diary

47.The woman thought her husband didn’t love her because ________.

A. he didn’t buy her beautiful clothes

B. he didn’t have enough money

C. he always worked with no care of her

D. he had another woman

48. The woman’s eyes were full of tears because ________.

A. she felt sad by her husband’s words

B. the rainy day made her sad

C. her eyes were hurt by the computer

D. she was moved by her husband’s diary

49. The man wanted to take the shower first because ________.

A. he was tired and wanted to sleep earlier

B. he wanted to make the bathroom warmer

C. he wasn’t as strong as before

D. he couldn’t stand the cold winter

50. From the reading, we know that ________.

A. the man loved his wife very much

B. the woman didn’t love her husband any more

C. the man was very poor before

D. the woman had no job

Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.

When I was a teenager I volunteered to pass out water at a local race. I was so excited to see all the different runners who passed by and quickly took a cup of water. Some ran past，some walked past and a few wheeled past.

I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! The next year I decided to run for the race，but I had little running practice. I just wanted to finish.

On the day of the race，it was terribly hot. After running for about 5 miles，I was thinking，“I must be crazy. Why did I do this? What was I thinking？” And at one moment，I said to myself，“I am never doing this again！”

That first 10 km race was quite an experience. I jogged (慢跑)，I walked，I jogged and walked. At times，I didn’t know if I could finish.

Near the end，a 70­year­old man ran past me，very fast，and I felt a little embarrassed (尷尬的) that I was more than 50 years younger than he and I couldn’t even keep up with him. But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine. How often in life do we compare(比較) ourselves to others when we really shouldn’t? I decided that I would not give up on running races，and that one day I would be one of those 70­year­olds who were still running.

As I crossed the finishing line，I was proud of myself. I didn’t regret (后悔) having such an experience.

1.What did the writer do at a local race as a volunteer?

A. He helped old runners.            

B. He cheered up the runners.

C. He passed out water to the runners.  

D. He took back the cups from the runners.

2.Why did the writer join the race?

A. He just wanted to experience.        B. He was crazy about running.

C. He had practiced running very hard.   D. He wanted very much to win a prize.

3.How did the writer’s feeling change after running about 5 miles?

①He regretted.

②He encouraged himself.

③He felt a little embarrassed.

A. ①—②—③       B. ②—①—③       C. ①—③—②     D. ②—③—①

4. What is the best title (標題) of the passage?

A. To be No.1.                         B. Let’s compare.

C. A volunteering job.                 D. Running your own race.

Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.
When I was a teenager I volunteered to pass out water at a local race. I was so excited to see all the different runners who passed by and quickly took a cup of water. Some ran past，some walked past and a few wheeled past.
I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! The next year I decided to run for the race，but I had little running practice. I just wanted to finish.
On the day of the race，it was terribly hot. After running for about 5 miles，I was thinking，“I must be crazy. Why did I do this? What was I thinking？” And at one moment，I said to myself，“I am never doing this again！”
That first 10 km race was quite an experience. I jogged (慢跑)，I walked，I jogged and walked. At times，I didn’t know if I could finish.
Near the end，a 70­year­old man ran past me，very fast，and I felt a little embarrassed (尷尬的) that I was more than 50 years younger than he and I couldn’t even keep up with him. But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine. How often in life do we compare(比較) ourselves to others when we really shouldn’t? I decided that I would not give up on running races，and that one day I would be one of those 70­year­olds who were still running.
As I crossed the finishing line，I was proud of myself. I didn’t regret (后悔) having such an experience

1. 1.

   What did the writer do at a local race as a volunteer?

   1. A.
      He helped old runners
   2. B.
      He cheered up the runners
   3. C.
      He passed out water to the runners
   4. D.
      He took back the cups from the runners
2. 2.

   Why did the writer join the race?

   1. A.
      He just wanted to experience
   2. B.
      He was crazy about running
   3. C.
      He had practiced running very hard
   4. D.
      He wanted very much to win a prize
3. 3.

   How did the writer’s feeling change after running about 5 miles?
   ①He regretted.
   ②He encouraged himself.
   ③He felt a little embarrassed

   1. A.
      ①—②—③
   2. B.
      ②—①—③
   3. C.
      ①—③—②
   4. D.
      ②—③—①
4. 4.

   What is the best title (標題) of the passage?

   1. A.
      To be No.1
   2. B.
      Let’s compare
   3. C.
      A volunteering job
   4. D.
      Running your own race