The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”.

I was going to have my examination the next day.  “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.

The clock struck twelve. “Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.

The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的） now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed， “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.

小题1:When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were  ________ .

A．asleep

B．outside

C．working in bed

D．quietly laughing at him小题2:He underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______ .

A．very happy

B．disappointed

C．very unhappy

D．hopeful小题3:Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because     .

A．it was too late at night

B．he was very tired

C．his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open

D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination小题4:What do you suppose happened to the author later？

A．He went to a church to pray again

B．He passed the exam by sheer luck

C．He failed in the exam

D．He was punished by his teacher小题5:The best title for the passage would be __________ .

A．The Night Before the Examination

B．Working Far into the Night

C．A Slow Student

D．Going Over My Lessons

When Colonel Harland Sanders retired at the age of 65, he had little to show for himself, except an old Caddie roadster, a $105 monthly pension check ,and a recipe for chicken.

Knowing he couldn’t live on his pension, he took his chicken recipe in hand, got behind the wheel of his van (货车),and set out to make his fortune. His first plan was to sell his chicken recipe to restaurant  owners, who would in turn give him a residual (酬金)for every piece of chicken they sold—5 cents per chicken. The first restaurateur he called on turned him down.

So did the second.

So did the third.

In fact, the first 1,008 sales calls Colonel Sanders made ended in rejection. Still, he continued to call on owners as he traveled across the USA, sleeping in his car to save money. Prospect number 1,009 gave him first “yes”.

After two years of making daily sales he had signed up a total of five restaurants. Still the Colonel pressed on , knowing that he had a great chicken recipe and that someday the idea would catch on .

Of course, you know how the story ends. The idea did catch on. By 1963 the Colonel had 600 restaurants across the country selling his secret recipe of Kentucky Fried Chicken (with ll herbs and spices ).

In 1964 he was bought out by future Kentucky governor John Brown.Even though the sale made him a multi-millionaire, he continued to represent and promote KFC until his death in 1990.

小题1:Which of the following statements about Colonel Sanders is wrong according to the passage? 

A．He received a pension of a little more than $100 every month after he retired.

B．He couldn’t live on his pension because he had a chicken recipe in hand.

C．He didn’t succeed in selling his recipe until he tried 1,009 times.

D．He lived a hard life when he stared the business.小题2:The underlined phrase“catch on ”in Paragraph 6 probably means         .

A．be accepted

B．be grasped

C．be popular

D．be rejected小题3:The sentence “Of course, you know how the story ends” means         .

A．you are sure to know the result of Colonel Sanders’ business

B．You are sure to know Colonel Sanders had finished his story

C．It is certain Colonel Sanders ended his business

D．It is certain Colonel Sanders knew how to end his story小题4:Colonel Sanders’ story teaches us an important lesson:       

A．It’s never too late to make a change in your life .

B．The early bird catches the worm.

C．Live and learn. Life can teach you a lot of lessons.

D．Constant dripping wears away a stone.