Test: Going Home

Three boys and three girls are going to Florida and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dream/ dreaming/ to dream of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray cold of New York v__2__ behind them.

As the bus r__3__ south, they began to notice Vingo. He c__4__ the inside of his lip a lot, frozen into some personal c__5__ of silence.

Deep into/ at/ on the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into/ at/ on a roadside restaurant, and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him, trying to imagine his life: perhaps he was a sea c__8__, a r__9__ from his wife, an old s__10__ going home. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and i__11__ herself.

“Want some wine?” she said. He smiled and took a s__12__. He thanked her and r__13__ again into his silence. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.

In the morning, they awoke outside another restaurant, and this time Vingo went in. The girl i__14__ that he join them. He seemed very shy, and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously as the young people c__15__ about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he told his story. He had been in jail in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.

“When I was in the can I wrote to my wife,” he said. “I told her that I was going to be away a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, she could just forget me. I told her she didn’t have to write me. And she didn’t. Not for three and a half years.”

"Last week, when I was sure the p__16__ was coming through, I wrote her again. There’s a big oak tree just as you come into town. I told her that if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow h__17__ on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it—no handkerchief, and I’d go on through.”

She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, caught up/ at/ on in the approach of Vingo’s hometown, looking at the pictures he showed them of his wife and three children—the woman handsome in a p__19__ way, the children still unformed in the cracked, much-handled s__20__.

Now they were 20 miles from the town, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the a__21__ of the great oak tree. The bus a__22__ a dark, h__23__ mood, full of the silence of a__24__ and lost years. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face into the ex-con’s mask, as if f__25__ himself against still another disappointment.

Suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances of e__26__. All except Vingo.

The Oak tree was covered with maybe hundreds of yellow handkerchiefs. As the young people shouted, the old con rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus and go home.

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Mothly Test Review

adopted from English Monthly Exam I for 11th Grader Autumn 2008, Yangtsi Senior High School, Yunlin County, Taiwan. 引自雲林縣私立揚子高中英文九十七學年度第一學期第一次定期考高二英文試題。

1. Zoe had already gone out when I _____ at her house.
(A) had arrived (B) arrived (C) would arrive (D) arriving
2. Movies _____ on classic novels are not interesting, for we all know the ending.
(A) are based (B) which based (C) that is based (D) based
3. _____ , you can find a cheap hotel room in the city, but you'll need to be lucky.
(A) A century ago (B) On the end (C) Not only (D) In theory
4. All the love letters she wrote to him were _____; he married someone else.
(A) in vain (B) in fact (C) in the soul (D) in white
5. I'm not angry with you, _____ rather mad at myself.
(A) and (B) for (C) but (D) so
6. At this time of year, the tree in our garden is _____ pink flowers.
(A) washed away (B) fallen on (C) come to (D) covered with
7. I didn't notice her _____, but she's sitting on the sofa right now.
(A) coming (B) to come (C) came (D) to coming
8. _____ to have such a nice and pretty wife!
(A) How lucky you are (B) How lucky are you (C) What luck is it (D) What a lucky man it is
9 . I was about _____ a nap when the door bell rang.
(A) to taking (B) of taking (C) to take (D)take
10. I can't imagine Helen _____ one hundred thousand dollars on a bag.
(A) spend (B)to spend (C)spending (D)spent
1l. A tourist who stays in Hollywood long enough _____ see a movie star, eventually.
(A) is bound to (B) of course (C) all in all (D) as usual
12. My brother passed the test ____ some help from a private tutor.
(A) take after (B) take over (C) thanks to (D) turn on
13. If you want to be successful, you have to _____ from the crowd.
(A) stand for (B) stand out (C) stand a chance (D) show off
14. We had a _____ on the freeway when a large truck almost hit our car.
(A) last straw (B) lost cause (C) call it a day (D) close call
15. When Danny stood me up for the third time, it was the _____.
(A) first call (B) last straw (C) last call (D) close call
16. Paul was sick and couldn't go to work, so he asked me to _____ him.
(A) on duty of (B) let slide (C) cover for (D) on duty of
17. When I finish universy, I want to _____ my own company.
(A) set up (B) take over (C) account for (D) carry on
18. The American flag _____ freedom and justice.
(A) stands up for (B) sets out to (C)stands a chance (D) stands for
19. I'm very short, so I'm not _____ basketball.
(A) on duty (B) cut out for (C) carry out (D) count on
20. The city has heen _____ by the enemy soldiers.
(A) taken over (B)taken turns (C) taken pains (D) taken into account


Cancer is one of the most frightening diseases that we may face. But scientists believe that most kinds of cancer have something to do 21 the food we eat. This means that we can reduce our risk of getting cancer by 22 some simple changes in our diet. We can change our 23 by reducing the amount of fat we eat and by the amount of vegetables and high fiber food in our diet.
In addition, it is important 24 to drink too much alcohol, but to get more exercise. We should also try to 25 our weight down. Just remember, adopting a few healthy 26 habits now can help us enjoy a long and happy life.

21. (A) without (B) by (C) with (D) like
22. (A) getting (B) making (C) taking (D) doing
23. (A) plan (B) habit (C) diet (D) hobby
24. (A) not (B) doesn't (C) don't (D) no
25. (A) keep (B)put (C) slow (D) break
26. (A) studying (B) singing (C) playing (D) eating

27. This chair can be a d to meet your comfort.
28. How closely Gerald r s his father in their love of traveling!
29. The patient just had a heart t t and is now recovering.
30. The use of chemicals may cause serious harms to the e t.
31. In spite of the e ity of her situation, she still had hope.
32. Although the young man has never been to France, he speaks f t French.
33. This guidebook will help you d r fascinating places to visit and exciting things to do.
34. The beauty of nature provided great i n for the poet.
35. Once she came up with a c t for her history, she found it easy to write ten pages.
36. We were advised not to a e with drug addicts and alcoholics.


37. 這一袋蘋果比那一袋番茄重三倍。
This bag of apples is _____ _____ _____ _____ that bag of tomatoes.
38. 全球化的改變讓我有機會接近來自世界各國的人事物。
Globalization gives me more _____ _____ things and people from different countries.
39. 土耳其菜一直到前幾年才開始在台灣流行。
Turkish food was _____ common in Taiwan _____ a few years ago.
40. 有了特殊的裝備，我們甚至可以透過網際網路看到對方。
_____ special equipment, we can even see each other _____ the Internet.



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Going Home

by Pete Hamill


They were going to Florida—three boys and three girls—and when they boarded the bus, they were carrying sandwiches and wine in paper bags, dreaming of golden beaches and sea tides as the gray cold of New York vanished behind them.

As the bus rumbled south, they began to notice Vingo. He sat in front of them, dressed in a plain, ill-fitting suit, never moving, his dusty face masking his age. He chewed the inside of his lip a lot, frozen into some personal cocoon of silence.

Deep into the night, outside Washington, the bus pulled into a roadside restaurant, and everybody got off except Vingo. He sat rooted in his seat, and the young people began to wonder about him, trying to imagine his life: perhaps he was a sea captain, a runaway from his wife, an old soldier going home. When they went back to the bus, one of the girls sat beside him and introduced herself.

“We’re going to Florida,” she said brightly. “I hear it’s beautiful.”
“It is,” he said quietly, as if remembering something he had tried to forget.
“Want some wine?” she said. He smiled and took a swig. He thanked her and retreated again into his silence. After a while, she went back to the others, and Vingo nodded in sleep.

In the morning, they awoke outside another restaurant, and this time Vingo went in. The girl insisted that he join them. He seemed very shy, and ordered black coffee and smoked nervously as the young people chattered about sleeping on beaches. When they returned to the bus, the girl sat with Vingo again, and after a while, slowly and painfully, he told his story. He had been in jail in New York for the past four years, and now he was going home.

“Are you married?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” she said.
“Well, when I was in the can I wrote to my wife,” he said. “I told her that I was going to be away a long time, and that if she couldn’t stand it, if the kids kept asking questions, if it hurt too much, well, she could just forget me. I’d understand. Get a new guy, I said—she’s a wonderful woman, really something—and forget about me. I told her she didn’t have to write me. And she didn’t. Not for three and a half years.”

“And you’re going home now, not knowing?”
“Yeah,” he said shyly. “Well, last week, when I was sure the parole was coming through, I wrote her again. There’s a big oak tree just as you come into town. I told her that if she’d take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I’d get off and come home. If she didn’t want me, forget it—no handkerchief, and I’d go on through.”

Wow,” the girl said. “Wow.”
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, caught up in the approach of Vingo’s hometown, looking at the pictures he showed them of his wife and three children—the woman handsome in a plain way, the children still unformed in the cracked, much-handled snapshots.

Now they were 20 miles from the town, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. The bus acquired a dark, hushed mood, full of the silence of absence and lost years. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face into the ex-con’s mask, as if fortifying himself against still another disappointment.

Then it was ten miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances of exultation. All except Vingo.

Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs—20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like a banner of welcome billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, the old con rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus and go home.
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Test: Our Global Village

Ring ... ring ... ring ... My day today, as u__1__, started at 6 a.m., when the alarm went _2_ on the old Swiss clock at my bedside. I d__3__ s__4__ out from b__5__ the s__6__ Thai silk sheets, and then r__7__ out of the bed I had just bought two weeks before from Ikea. By 7 o'clock, even before I left the house for work, I had already received two business calls on my Nokia cellphone, one from a French c__8__ at work and the other from a business a__9__ calling from Canada.

As I left the house, I suddenly thought for/ to/ at myself how g__11__(G1) my life had become.

On the way to work, I thought about the a__12__ ways that life has changed with the r__13__ growth of g__14__(G2) over the last couple of d__15__. Some people d__16__ these changes because they think these changes will lead to the slow d__17__ of many a__18__ of their culture. Others, however, r__19__ how much more interesting things can become with the greater v__20__ these changes give their lives. Being a Westerner who lives in Taipei, I think G2 is great because it gives me so much more a__21__ to things, p__22__ and people from around the world, that it seems, for/ to/ at times, like I haven't left my hometown of London.

Once I got to work, I s__24__ on my IBM computer, while drinking a cup of b__25__ coffee from Brazil and f__26__ on French bread sandwiches. Later in the morning, I had v__27__ meetings with c__28__ from Germany and Korea to d__29__ our new line of products.

During our relaxing lunch, I slowly looked a__30__ the restaurant and realized I could have been anywhere in the world. There were other Western people at the table next for/ to/ at us all c__32__ noisily in languages that I wasn't able to understand. The Taiwanese waiter then greeted us in f__33__ English, with only a s__34__ Taiwanese a__35__. The G2 of this city, though, is most o__36__ in its y__37__ culture. While we were eating, three teenagers with d__38__ hair walked past our window drinking Starbucks coffee, laughing and high-fiving one another. This look and type of b__39__ was not c__40__ in Taiwan until a few years ago.

At the end of work, after such a m__41__ day, I was ready to try something different. So at home tonight I ate a good, old-fashioned Taiwanese bian-dang, which I bought at the local restaurant on my street, and I followed this up/ to/ for with clam soup and a big cup of high mountain oolong tea.


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Our Global Village

originally published in The English Reader for Senior High School: Book Three by The Far East Books Co., Ltd. 原文引自遠東高中英文第三冊課文。

Ring ... ring ... ring ... My day today, as usual, started at 6 a.m., when the alarm went off on the old Swiss clock at my bedside. I drowsily slid out from beneath the smooth Thai silk sheets, and then rolled out of the bed I had just bought two weeks before from Ikea. By 7 o'clock, even before I left the house for work, I had already received two business calls on my Nokia cellphone, one from a French colleague at work and the other from a business associate calling from Canada.

As I left the house, I suddenly thought to myself how globalized my life had become. In one hour this morning, I had already used a clock from Switzerland, slipped out of sheets made in Thailand, climbed out of a bed from Sweden, answered calls on a phone made in Finland, and spoken to people from two other countries. And that wasn't all. I was about to drive to work in my new Toyota.

On the way to work, I thought about the amazing ways that life has changed with the rapid growth of globalization over the last couple of decades. Some people dislike these changes because they think these changes will lead to the slow disappearance of many aspects of their culture. Others, however, realize how much more interesting things can become with the greater variety these changes give their lives. Being a Westerner who lives in Taipei, I think globalization is great because it gives me so much more access to things, pastimes and people from around the world, that it seems, at times, like I haven't left my hometown of London.

Once I got to work, I switched on my IBM computer, and read the New York Times and the Sydney Morning Herald online, while drinking a cup of brewed coffee from Brazil and feasting on French bread sandwiches. Later in the morning, I had videoconference meetings with customers from Germany and Korea to discuss our new line of products. By 12 o'clock, I was really hungry, and my colleague and I discussed whether to have our lunch at the Indian restaurant up the road, the Italian pasta bar on the next street, or the new Mexican place because they make great burritos.

During our relaxing lunch, I slowly looked around the restaurant and realized I could have been anywhere in the world. There were other Western people at the table next to us, and a group of African people on the other side of the restaurant, all chatting noisily in languages that I wasn't able to understand. The Taiwanese waiter then greeted us in fluent English, with only a slight Taiwanese accent. Looking out the window, I noticed that every one of the shops along the street outside the restaurant had an English name written in large letters on its shop sign. The globalization of this city, though, is most obvious in its youth culture. While we were eating, three teenagers with dyed hair and wearing baggy, hip-hop style pants walked past our window drinking Starbucks coffee, laughing and high-fiving one another. This look and type of behavior was not common in Taiwan until a few years ago.

At the end of work, after such a multicultural day, I was ready to try something different. So at home tonight I ate a good, old-fashioned Taiwanese bian-dang, which I bought at the local restaurant on my street, and I followed this up with clam soup and a big cup of high mountain oolong tea.


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