Q: Katy Marsh is seventy years old now. She stopped working five years ago. Last year she decided to make her dream come true. When she was young, she hoped to travel along a river of Scotland in a small boat. She took her small CD player, her hot water bottle and a bag of books to make her life in the boat wasn't too uncomfortable. We asked her if she was afraid of being on the river for so long. She said, "Well, I'm going to take a good _ . When I'm losing my way during my trip, it can help me a lot. Anyway I'm not afraid of death because I love rivers-I just hope it loves me too. " Katy certainly had lots of energy . In her free time, she enjoyed playing the piano, swimming, hiking, and dancing. She had a wonderful trip in the small boat last year. She is seventy, but she doesn't want to have a quiet and peaceful life. She hopes to have fun in the rest of her life.

Answer the following questions:
1. Is Katy retired?
2. What age was she when she retired?
3. How many years ago was that?
4. What does she hope to have in the rest of her life?
5. Is she very energetic?
6. What does she do in her free time?
7. What else?
8. Where did she go last year?
9. Did she visit cities?
10. Did she take a trip?
11. How did she travel?
12. What did she take with her?
13. Anything else?
14. Did she take anything to read?
15. Was it just one book?
16. Why did she take books with her?
17. Was she afraid?
18. Does she love rivers?
19. Does she want to have a quiet life?
20. Did she think she would get lost on the trip?
A: 1. yes
2. 65
3. five years ago
4. fun
5. yes
6. playing the piano
7. swimming
8. Scotland
9. no
10. yes
11. by boat
12. her small CD player
13. her hot water bottle
14. yes
15. no
16. so she wasn't uncomfortable
17. no
18. yes
19. no
20. yes

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

Every evening at six o'clock an old man goes to a restaurant near his house. He eats dinner. After dinner, he drinks coffee and talks to the people at the restaurant. The old man's name is Bill. Bill eats at the restaurant every evening because he is lonely. His wife died and he has no children. Every evening the same waitress brings Bill to his dinner. Her name is Cara. She is 17 years old. Cara is kind to Bill. She knows he is lonely, so she talks to him. If Bill is late for dinner, she calls him on the telephone. "Are you OK?" she asks him. One evening Bill doesn't come to the restaurant. Cara calls him, but he doesn't answer the phone. Cara calls the police. "Please go to Bill's house." Cara tells the police. Later the police call Cara at the restaurant. "Bill died in his sleep," the police tell her. Bill was 82 years old. A week later, a man comes to the restaurant. "I have something for Cara," the man says. The man gives Cara a check for $500000. The money is from Bill. "This money is for me? From Bill?" Cara asks the man. "Yes," the man answers. "But...why?" Cara asks the man. "Bill liked you," the man says. "You were kind to him"

1. Where does Bill go to eat dinner every night?
2. at what time?
3. What is the name of the waitress that serves Bill every day?
4. Is she nice to Bill?
5. What does she do if he is late for dinner?
6. Is she close to Bill's age?
7. How old is she?
8. What did she do when Bill did not answer the phone one night?
9. What did she tell them to do?
10. How long after Bill died did a man go to visit Cara at her work?
11. Did he give her a check?
12. Who was it from?
13. What happened to Bill?
14. How old was he?
15. Did he have children?
16. Why did Bill leave money to Cara?

Numbered answers:

A: 1. restaurant near his house
2. six o'clock
3. Cara
4. Yes
5. she calls him on the telephone
6. No
7. 17 years old
8. Cara calls the police
9. Please go to Bill's house
10. A week later
11. Yes
12. The money is from Bill
13. Bill died in his sleep
14. 82 years old
15. he has no children
16. You were kind to him

Answer the questions at the end based on the text.

I Don't Have to Be Like Them All students have to face their own problems when they are growing up. You may not think that having a good family is a problem. But for me , it was. I had to face the problem of being the youngest of the Smith girls. We live in a small town in Pennsylvania, US. There are three girls in the Smith family, Amanda, Theresa and me . People often say things to me , like " Oh, the three of you , you're such nice girls. Your sisters are so pretty and so thin! You're really nothing like them . " That made me sad. At school , all of my teachers had taught my sisters . On the first day of school , they said , "Oh , the youngest of the three! I hope you're just like your sisters. They're such wonderful students." People always compared me with my sisters . So I couldn't help comparing myself with them , too. Theresa was smarter , Amanda was prettier . I began to work hard to be more like them . What my sisters did , I did , too. At last , I became drum major of our school 's marching band . Both Amanda and Theresa had been drum majors . I became editor of the school's newspaper . Theresa had been the editor two years before. But last year, Amanda went to college , and Theresa went to high school . Now I'm by myself at junior high . Everyone knows me , because I'm the drum major and the newspaper's editor . Now I don't feel like a Smith girl any more , I feel like myself . I'm proud of doing all of the same great things that my sisters did . But the best thing I did was to learn to stop comparing myself with them .

1. Who is this story about?
2. Who is in the Smith family?
3. Where do they live?
4. Is the writer a male or female?
5. Are her sisters older or younger?
6. Was it nice having older sisters?
7. What is wrong with it?
8. Is the author like her siblings?
9. What was different?
10. Is the protagonist smarter than them?
11. Who was the more intelligent one?
12. Who was better looking?
13. How did the writer feel about that?
14. How did she cope?
15. To do what?
16. How?
17. Where at?
18. What else did she do?
19. Do they all go to school together?

Numbered answers:

A:
1. the Smith family
2. Amanda, Theresa and the writer
3. in a small town in Pennsylvania, US
4. female
5. older
6. it is a problem
7. People always compared me with my sisters
8. no
9. sisters are so pretty
10. no
11. Theresa
12. Amanda
13. compared myself with them
14. began to work hard
15. to be more like them
16. became drum major
17. school
18. became editor of the school's newspaper
19. yes