Three Japanese tourists taking a holiday in Australia got stuck when their GPS told them they could drive from the mainland to an island, failing to mention the 15 kilometres of water and mud in between.
As they drove their hired car from Moreton Bay in Queensland to nearby North Stradbroke Island, they started to notice the firm gravel（沙石）surface they were driving on giving way to the renowned bay mud．However, being confident that their GPS would direct them to a road soon, they decided to plough on, managing to travel around 500 metres before their Hyundai Getz（现代汽车）was up to its axles tires in mud．To make matters worse, the tide started to come in and soon forced them to seek help and abandon the vehicle．Just four hours later the car was trapped in two metres of water —— to the great amusement of onlookers on the shore and passengers on passing boats and ferries.
Yuzu Noda, 21, said she was listening to the GPS and “it told us we could drive down there．It kept saying it would navigate us to a road．But we got stuck…there’s lots of mud.” She and her travel companions Tomonari Saeki, 22, and Keita Osada, 21, instead had to give up their plans for a day trip to the island and headed back to the Gold Coast of a lift from the RACQ tow truck（吊车）driver who was called to the trapped car．No such luck for the hired car though – after assessing the situation, no attempt was made to recover it．The students from Tokyo, who are due to return home tomorrow, said the experience would not put them off returning to Australia for another visit．“We want to come back to Australia again．Everyone is very nice, even today.” Ms Yuzu said.
Remaining excited, Mr. Tomonari joked that the car may have got stuck because it was built in Korea．“Maybe if it was Japanese it would be okay,” he said．He added, “It has rained every day on our six day holiday．Hopefully next time we come back it will be sunny.” The car was covered by insurance, but the tourists will have to pay up to about $1500 in extra charges.
1.The three Japanese tourists got stuck because ______.
A．there was no way to the island
B．their GPS was broken during their journey
C．their GPS had given the wrong information
D．their car was made in Korea instead of Japan
2.They didn’t abandon their car until ______.
A．there came the tide
B．they got stuck in the mud
C．some onlookers went to save them
D．they managed to travel around 500 metres
3.How did these Japanese students get back?
A．They had to walk back to their living place.
B．They had to repair their GPS and drove back.
C．They had to take a lift from the tow truck driver.
D．They had to turn to passengers on passing boats and ferries.
4.According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A．The car was left where it was trapped.
B．The passengers saved these students in the end.
C．Mr. Tomonari got very frustrated after the journey.
D．The car was covered by insurance so they didn’t have to pay any money.
Dear Reader,
I receive many letters from children and can’t answer them all—there wouldn’t be time enough in a day．That is why I am sending you this printed reply to your letter．I’ll try to answer some of the questions that are commonly asked.
Where did I get the idea for Stuart Little and for Charlotte’s Web? Well, many years ago I went to bed one night in a railway sleeping car, and during the night I dreamed about a tiny boy who acted rather like a mouse．That’s how the story of Stuart Little got started.
As for Charlotte’s Web, I like animals and my barn（谷仓）is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours．One day when I was on my way to feed the pig, I began feeling sorry for the pig because, like most pigs, he was doomed to die．This made me sad．So I started thinking of ways to save a pig’s life．I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving．Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation（拯救）on a farm．Three years after I started writing it, it was published．（I am not a fast worker, as you can see.）
Sometimes I’m asked how old I was when I started to write, and what made me want to write．I started early—as soon as I could spell．In fact, I can’t remember any time in my life when I wasn’t busy writing．I don’t know what caused me to do it, or why I enjoyed it, but I think children often find pleasure and satisfaction in trying to set their thoughts down on paper, either in words or in pictures．I was no good at drawing, so I used words instead．As I grew older, I found that writing can be a way of earning a living.
Some of my readers want me to visit their school．Some want me to send a picture, or an autograph, or a book．And some ask questions about my family and my animals and my pets．Much as I’d like to, I can’t go visiting．I can’t send books, either—you can find them in a bookstore or a library．Many children assume that a writer owns （or even makes） his own books．This is not true—books are made by the publisher．If a writer wants a copy, he must buy it．That’s why I can’t send books．And I do not send signatures—I leave that to the movie stars．I live most of the year in the country, in New England．From our windows we can look out at the sea and the mountains．I live near my married son and three grandchildren.
Are my stories true, you ask? No, they are imaginary tales, containing fantastic characters and events．In real life, a family doesn’t have a child who looks like a mouse; in real life, a spider doesn’t spin words in her web．In real life, a swan doesn’t blow a trumpet．But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination．And although my stories are imaginary, I like to think that there is some truth in them, too—truth about the way people and animals feel and think and act.
Yours sincerely：E.B．White
1.The author wrote the letter because _________.
A．he is not a fast worker
B．he was invited to answer the questions
C．he didn’t have enough time to answer all the letters
D．he felt sorry for not being able to send books to his readers
2.What probably caused the writer to get interested in writing children’s book?
A．Writing can be a way to earn his living．
B．The fact that he was not good at drawing．
C．His mother influence on his childhood.
D．The instinct of children.
3.From Para.5, we can learn that ＿＿＿＿.
A．many famous people like to visit schools
B．movie stars will send autographs to readers
C．many people think authors have copies of their own books
D．the author lives with his married son and three grandchildren
4.In the last paragraph, the author is trying to tell us ____ .
A．we only have one kind of life
B．there is no truth in imaginary tales
C．imaginary tales are based on our true life
D．fantastic characters and events only exist in imaginary tales
It took place at the Biltmore Hotel, which, to my eight-year-old mind, was just about the fancies place to eat．My , my mother, and I were having lunch after a morning spent shopping．I ordered a Salisbury steak．When brought to the table, it was by a plate of peas．I do not like peas now．I did not like peas then．I have always hated peas．And I was not about to eat them now．"Eat your peas," my grandmother said．
"Mother," said my mother in her voice．"He doesn't like peas．Leave him alone."
My grandmother did not reply．She in my direction, looked at me in the eye, and said the words that changed my life: "I'll pay you five dollars if you eat those peas."
I had absolutely no idea of the coming ． I only knew that five dollars was an enormous, nearly amount of money, and as awful as peas were, only one plate of them stood between me and the of that five dollars．I began to force the terrible things down my ．
My mother was very angry．My grandmother had that look of someone who has thrown down an unbeatable trump card（王牌）．"I can do what I want, Ellen, and you can't stop me." My mother glared at her mother．She glared at me.
I, of course, kept shoving peas down my throat．The made me nervous, and every single pea made me want to throw up, but the magical image of that five dollars before me, and I finally swallowed down every last one of them．My grandmother handed me the five dollars in a（n） way．My mother continued to glare in silence．And the ended．Or so I thought．
My grandmother left for Aunt Lillian's a few weeks later．That night, at dinner, my mother served my favorite foods．Along with them came a big, steaming bowl of peas．She offered me some peas, and I certainly ．My mother fixed me with a cold as she put a huge pile of peas onto my plate．Then came the words that were to me for years．
"You ate them for ," she said．"You can eat them for love."
What possible argument could I gather against that? There was none．I ate them that day and every other time they were thereafter．
1.A．grandmother B．sister C．brother D．father
2.A．covered B．accompanied C．replaced D．ruined
3.A．passively B．particularly C．sincerely D．certainly
4.A．warning B．pleasant C．terrific D．bored
5.A．came B．walked C．leaned D．waved
6.A．harmful B．fateful C．truthful D．grateful
7.A．appetite B．doom C．fortune D．criticism
8.A．unacceptable B．uncertain C．unimaginable D．undeniable
9.A．possession B．thought C．reference D．offer
10.A．mouth B．face C．stomach D．throat
11.A．interested B．surprised C．offensive D．self-satisfied
12.A．peas B．glares C．words D．gestures
13.A．floated B．faded C．escaped D．rolled
14.A．peaceful B．showy C．hurried D．encouraging
15.A．incident B．silence C．lunch D．shopping
16.A．hesitated B．accepted C．declined D．complained
17.A．hand B．voice C．look D．eye
18.A．push B．benefit C．trouble D．cheer
19.A．money B．pressure C．fun D．love
20.A．awarded B．refused C．served D．mentioned
The historical play put on by my classmates left a deep impression on us．Every one of us thought their show was _________ a failure but a great success.
A．next to B．except for C．far from D．apart from
The virus came without people’s being aware of it and it was _________ assumed to be a common one．But with more cases reported, it proved wrong.
A．precisely B．relatively C．initially D．purely
—— At the end of the day we can gather our guests to enjoy fine wine.
—— You seem to be getting off the point．How is that _________ to the discussion?
A．suitable B．tentative C．parallel D．relevant
