1 . Our family moved to Texas in 1996, when my husband Jerry got a job in a factory as a pipe-fitter. We lived in a small mobile home. When the job in Texas ended, he was out of _________. Months went by. Rent was _________ on the mobile home.

“At least we would have a nice _________,” I thought as I drove the girls to the supermarket on Christmas Eve to buy some food. Amanda was two years old and Kimberly was five years old. In the supermarket, I was _________ by different items. The _________ wrapped with shiny paper looked especially beautiful. I wished the girls weren’t _________ by them. Kimberly _________ alongside the cart with excitement. “Maybe she forgets this Christmas,” I thought.

_________, we got to the checkout counter. When we wheeled the cart out, we saw a wall of Christmas trees, each waiting to be _________ so its branches could __________ in a special spot at home. “Look, Mom!” said Kimberly. “Sweetie, we can’t get a tree this year,” I replied. Amanda was too young to have any __________, and Kimberly seemed to be calm, but I felt terrible. We pushed our cart through the parking lot. Halfway to the car, Kimberly stopped and pointed, “Look, Mom! That can be our tree!” At first, I wasn’t sure what she was pointing at. Then I saw a pine __________ lying on the ground. I couldn’t say no again. “Okay.”

I said. “We will bring it home.”

Back home, I found a coffee can to __________ it in. Kimberly collected some rocks and filled the can. While I made dinner, the girls colored some stars and bells. Jerry __________ their artwork for the tree. We set the display on the table in our tiny kitchen. “That branch was a lucky find,” Jerry said when we sat down for dinner.

__________, it was luck. My family and I celebrated many other Christmas holidays with real trees later, but it is the Christmas in the mobile home that we all remember most.

1.

A．control

B．mind

C．breath

D．work

2.

A．due

B．low

C．limited

D．enough

3.

A．style

B．dinner

C．table

D．pet

4.

A．burdened

B．surrounded

C．confused

D．cheated

5.

A．shelves

B．ceilings

C．decorations

D．walls

6.

A．misled

B．defeated

C．threatened

D．attracted

7.

A．skipped

B．lay

C．hid

D．slept

8.

A．Amazingly

B．Desperately

C．Proudly

D．Eventually

9.

A．painted

B．untied

C．unloaded

D．replaced

10.

A．turn up

B．fan out

C．grow up

D．look out

11.

A．talents

B．imaginations

C．expectations

D．hobbies

12.

A．seed

B．box

C．branch

D．root

13.

A．set

B．throw

C．blow

D．pull

14.

A．cut up

B．tore down

C．cut out

D．tore up

15.

A．Indeed

B．Roughly

C．Otherwise

D．Narrowly

2 . It was a cold winter night and I was sleeping in my warm and cosy bed. My cousins had come to stay with me at my house. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance, but getting closer by each passing minute.

I woke up and saw that my cousins were not sleeping in the spare beds in my room. They were gone! I had a thousand questions in my mind, “Where were they? Had someone kidnapped (绑架) them?”

This filled me with fear. I wondered if I should go and tell my parents, then I decided to check downstairs first to see if they were playing tricks with me or trying to pull my leg. I stepped out of the room and decided to go downstairs to investigate.

When I stepped on the top step, I slipped and rolled down the stairs like a ball. It was the most miserable experience rolling down the stairs! My legs were hurting and I had a bump (肿块) on my forehead.

When I entered the living room, the electricity went off, and because I couldn’t see anything, I accidentally bumped into the wall. This made me feel dizzy. When I looked beside me, I saw a figure but couldn’t make out what it was. The figure started to move here and there, and then I heard strange and frightening sounds.

I glanced back towards the direction of the figure, but there was no sign of it this time. This made me frightened. Again I could hear someone talking and jumping in the room. I stayed rooted where I was.

Suddenly the TV switched on by itself. I was totally scared now. Then I felt as if someone was patting my shoulder. I hurried in the direction of the electricity switch and turned it on. Suddenly a person appeared in front of me and turned off the lights. I froze with fright for a moment but managed to get enough courage to move away, only to trip over a rope.

注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好。

Someone then switched the lights on again.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

But soon I was also laughing with them after I had calmed down.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . It seems a bit strange to imagine ancient Egyptians celebrating their birthdays with layered cakes topped with lighted candles.    1    

The first birthday cakes were nothing of what they are today and weren’t even called birthday cakes.    2    At that time only they could afford to celebrate with something sweet. That is how cake became associated with special occasions.

Ancient Egyptians are credited with“inventing”the birthday celebration. And ancient Greeks borrowed the tradition but rightfully realized that a dessert would make the celebration all the more meaningful. So they baked moon-shaped cakes to offer up to the moon.    3    

It wasn’t just the ancient Egyptians and Greeks who celebrated with sweet cakes.    4    And it’s believed that the original birthday cake came from them. Rather than just celebrating birthdays, though,ancient Rome was known for celebrating all things with a cake including wedding,but there was an exception—the birthdays celebrated were only for men who were citizens,and they had to be famous.

Modern birthday parties are said to get their roots from the 18th-century German celebration. On the morning of a child’s birthday, he or she would receive a cake with lighted candles that added up to the child’s age plus one.    5    The birthday child would make a wish,try to blow out all the candles in one breath,and dig in.

A．Ancient Romans also had their traditions.

B．Rather,they were symbolic of the noble class.

C．Ancient Greeks made the first birthday cakes.

D．On birthday,children would eat cakes made by their mums.

E．They also decorated the cakes to make them shine like the moon.

F．This extra candle was called the light of hope for another new year.

G．However, they’re the ones who first came up with the idea to do so.

4 . On Mother’s Day, most people were unwilling to work, but I felt lucky when I climbed into the flower delivery van (小货车). My own mother was no longer alive to appreciate the flowers, so brightening the day of other moms was _________ for me.

I _________ onto the road. First up on my list of deliveries was a nursing home. Someone named Mary was _________ a vase of pink roses from her children. I told the recipient’s name to the nurse on _________. “Roses for Mary?” the nurse said, “Room 224. It’s a nice _________, but sadly she won’t know the flowers are there.”

“Happy Mother’s Day, Mary,” I _________ at the doorway of Room 224. “Your children sent these _________ flowers to you.”

Mary made no response. _________, I had an idea. I set the roses beside Mary and pulled out my cell phone. I combed her short gray hair into place and took a _________ of this loved mother with her roses. “Just look at your mama,” I texted Mary’s daughter. “The roses were a ____________.”

I had many other ____________ at nursing homes like Mary’s. Carnations for Bonnie, lilies for Maryanne, etc, I took many pictures, sent many texts and spread much ____________. It was dark by the time I returned to the shop. All that ____________ were some boxes. I intended to break them up for recycling but found some flowers inside one of them. Had I ____________ anything? I felt around in the box for a card and ____________ my list of deliveries again. No card, no ____________ for these! I rushed into the shop. “These weren’t on my ____________,” I said as I set the flowers on the counter. “I’m afraid someone has ____________ her flowers mistakenly.”

“No ____________, Rita,” my coworker said, “Those flowers are for you, Your friend Patrick wanted you to ____________ flowers of your own today.”

1.

A．surprising

B．boring

C．comforting

D．tiring

2.

A．fell down

B．worked out

C．broke down

D．pulled out

3.

A．raising

B．getting

C．admiring

D．borrowing

4.

A．strike

B．purpose

C．duty

D．business

5.

A．gesture

B．chance

C．trend

D．attitude

6.

A．screamed

B．swore

C．teased

D．announced

7.

A．rotten

B．beautiful

C．expensive

D．normal

8.

A．Unfortunately

B．Unwillingly

C．Suddenly

D．Gradually

9.

A．text

B．picture

C．place

D．note

10.

A．blessing

B．symbol

C．reflection

D．conclusion

11.

A．responsibilities

B．deliveries

C．rewards

D．challenges

12.

A．confusion

B．generosity

C．sorrow

D．joy

13.

A．remained

B．counted

C．disappeared

D．functioned

14.

A．taken away

B．tried out

C．turned on

D．messed up

15.

A．cleared

B．checked

C．wrote

D．questioned

16.

A．address

B．shop

C．box

D．comment

17.

A．side

B．mind

C．list

D．routine

18.

A．missed

B．picked

C．destroyed

D．sold

19.

A．matter

B．wonder

C．mistake

D．secret

20.

A．donate

B．earn

C．buy

D．have

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival,     1     officially opened on January 5 and will run through next month, has turned the city in northeastern     2     (China) Heilongjiang province into a wonderland.

Last year, more than a million visitors     3     (attract) to Harbin to see the huge sculptures     4     (create) from huge ice blocks and tons of snow by artists from 12 countries.

In the weeks     5     (lead) up to the latest festival, hundreds of workers spent hours cutting blocks of ice from the nearby Songhua River. Each piece weighed up to 1,554 pounds and almost 261,500m³ of ice were cut     6     transported on-site.

When the ice and snow sculptures are lit up by thousands of lanterns, they are very     7     (impress), with the massive main sculpture measuring 108 feet in height and over 325 feet in     8     (long). From fantasy castles and creatures to recreations of iconic monuments, the incredible ice and snow sculptures allow the public to relive     9     (they) childhood. Many visitors say it is     10     once-in-a-lifetime experience for them!

6 . The Notting Hill Carnival is London’s biggest street festival and one of the most famous carnivals in the world. The carnival is an important cultural event for London’s Afro Caribbean community and celebration of multi-cultural British life.

Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August bank holiday. Bank holiday refers to a public holiday, for example Christmas Day. It is the most colourful and largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who immigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the carnival, with colourful costumes, parades, steel bands and street dancing. The tradition to hold the carnival began in 1964 and it has taken place every year since then.

Preparations for the carnival start many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street parades. Steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil buckets. Just before the festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red banners, and recording devices are set in place to carry the rhythmic sounds over the loud noise of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and is full of music and colour. Parades of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with stands selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapples. Everyone in London dances—young and old, black and white—and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London.

1. What is the writer's main aim in writing the text?

A．To encourage people to celebrate the traditions of black people

B．To talk about problems with Afro-Caribbean community

C．To recommend people spend more time outdoors

D．To introduce and describe the Notting Hill Carnival

2. According to the passage, Notting Hill Carnival_______.

A．takes place every bank holiday

B．is held annually in August

C．is organized by the bank of England

D．is held at the beginning of July

3. During the Notting Hill Carnival, _______.

A．fruit stands are not allowed in the streets.

B．preparations start early in the morning

C．music and colour fill the streets of London

D．traffic is banned from the main shopping streets

4. What can we infer from the third paragraph?

A．The festival is popular with everyone in London.

B．Only Caribbean people take part in it.

C．It is gaining in popularity among the white in recent years.

D．The streets in London are filled with pop music.