1 . Whatever life threw at us each year, our family had one tradition at Christmas: our dog Pepper opened our presents for us.

Last year, everyone made it home for a Christmas get-together. However, it couldn’t feel perfect because Pepper’s health was becoming worse. Her life had already been longer than we expected-she was fourteen-and yet her mind was still sharp. Her love for life made us feel better. But her body could not keep up with her mind.

Probably it was Pepper’s last Christmas, so we decided to make sure she would enjoy it. On Christmas Eve, we each prepared presents for her.

Soon, Pepper selected her first Christmas gift. She turned the present, just as she was a young dog once more. She pulled the paper off the dog treat before she chewed (咀嚼) it slowly. Our family was so happy.

Pepper saw the remaining three presents, and then turned to Mom as if asking, “May I open another?”

“Go ahead, girl!” Mom encouraged.

For the next few minutes, Pepper opened each of her Christmas presents. While she did, she reminded us of the joy of being together. Our family felt as a whole-not because we were in the same room or city, but because our love brought us together.

Pepper passed away after Christmas. Her peaceful passing made us tearful. Her passing was also a celebration of life, because she gave my family so much love and laughter.

I still treasure Pepper’s final Christmas gift. She taught me that no matter where we each spend the holidays, the smallest act of sincere giving can unite our family through our love. For me, that knowledge is the longest-lasting gift of all.

1. Why did the author think the Christmas wasn’t perfect last year?

A．Pepper was in poor health.

B．Pepper died on Christmas Eve.

C．He didn’t get a Christmas gift.

D．His family didn’t feel as a whole.

2. How many Christmas gifts did Pepper get last year?

A．Four.	B．Three.
C．Two.	D．One.

3. What does the underlined phrase “the longest-lasting gift” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The life lesson the author learned from Pepper.

B．The Christmas present for the dog.

C．The holiday spent with family.

D．The friendship with the dog.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Enjoying the Happiness of Making Friends

B．The Importance of Helping Others

C．Celebrating Christmas

D．The Power of Love

2 . 完形填空

My Forever Valentine

Valentine’s Day was the time my father chose to show his love for the special people in his life. Over the years I fondly (天真地) thought_______him as my “Valentine Man”.

My first recollection of the_______he could bring to Valentine’s Day came when I was six. That morning at the breakfast table I found a card and a gift­wrapped package at my chair.

The card was_______“Love, Dad ”and the gift was a ring with a small piece of red glass to _______my birthstone, a ruby (红宝石). There is _______difference between red glass and rubies to a child of six, and I remember_______that ring with pride that all the cards in the world_______not surpass (超越).

_______I grew older, the gifts gave _____ to heart­ shaped boxes filled with my______ chocolates and always included a ______card signed “Love, Dad”. In those years my “thanks” became _____ of a perfunctory (敷衍的) response. The cards seemed less______, and I took it for granted that the Valentine would ______ be there. I had________my hopes and dreams in receiving cards and gifts from “significant others” and “Love, Dad” just didn’t seem quite_________

His final card remains on my desk today. It’s a________of how special father can be and how important it had been to me over the years to know that I had a father who continued a ________of love with simple acts of understanding and an ability to express happiness over the people in his life.

Those things never________, nor does the memory of a man who never________being my Valentine.

1.

A．of

B．about

C．up

D．over

2.

A．memory

B．magic

C．puzzle

D．presents

3.

A．read

B．written

C．shown

D．signed

4.

A．recover

B．resemble

C．represent

D．replace

5.

A．much

B．little

C．great

D．less

6.

A．having

B．owning

C．wearing

D．watching

7.

A．could

B．did

C．must

D．should

8.

A．Because

B．Since

C．When

D．As

9.

A．room

B．way

C．honor

D．seat

10.

A．favorite

B．lovely

C．dear

D．precious

11.

A．usual

B．common

C．strange

D．special

12.

A．less

B．little

C．more

D．much

13.

A．important

B．beautiful

C．familiar

D．standard

14.

A．surely

B．always

C．regularly

D．often

15.

A．let

B．kept

C．placed

D．remembered

16.

A．suitable

B．enough

C．effective

D．sacred

17.

A．signal

B．certificate

C．consequence

D．reminder

18.

A．tradition

B．hobby

C．habit

D．custom

19.

A．lose

B．die

C．miss

D．appear

20.

A．thought

B．wanted

C．tried

D．stopped

3 . When I was in seventh grade, I was a candy striper(志愿当护士助手的小姑娘)at a local hospital in my town. Most of the_________I spent there was with Mr. Gillespie. He never had any_______ and nobody seemed to care about his_______.

I spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him, _______anything that needed to be done. He became a close friend of mine, _______he responded with only an occasional squeeze(捏)of my hand. Mr. Gillespie was in a coma(昏迷).

I left for a week to vacation with my parents, and when I came back, Mr. Gillespie was_______ . I didn’t have the     _______to ask any of the nurses where he was, for fear they might _______me he had died. Several_______later, when I was a junior in high school, I was at the gas station when I noticed a familiar face.

When I ________who it was, my eyes were filled with tears. He was __________! I got up the nerve to ask him if his name was Mr. Gillespie. With a(n)________look on his face, he replied yes. I ________how I knew him, and that I had spent many hours talking with him in the hospital. His eyes welled up with tears, and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever ________ .

He began to tell me how, ________ he lay there asleep, he could hear me talking to him and could________me holding his hand the whole time. Mr. Gillespie________believed that it was my voice and ________that had kept him alive.

Although I haven’t ________   him since, he fills my heart with________every day. I know that I made a difference between his life and his death.

1.

A．time

B．energy

C．money

D．effort

2.

A．patients

B．relatives

C．visitors

D．problems

3.

A．condition

B．requirement

C．interest

D．thought

4.

A．talking about

B．helping with

C．pointing out

D．looking for

5.

A．so

B．as if

C．yet

D．even though

6.

A．gone

B．mad

C．died

D．excited

7.

A．right

B．chance

C．courage

D．time

8.

A．cheat

B．warn

C．remind

D．tell

9.

A．days

B．years

C．months

D．weeks

10.

A．heard

B．wondered

C．realized

D．asked

11.

A．great

B．lucky

C．successful

D．alive

12.

A．happy

B．proud

C．nervous

D．uncertain

13.

A．explained

B．remembered

C．apologized

D．told

14.

A．dreamed

B．received

C．wanted

D．shown

15.

A．because

B．as

C．unless

D．if

16.

A．notice

B．appreciate

C．imagine

D．feel

17.

A．firmly

B．rightly

C．hardly

D．wrongly

18.

A．touch

B．worry

C．humour

D．treatment

19.

A．forgotten

B．seen

C．missed

D．called

20.

A．respect

B．regret

C．joy

D．sympathy

4 . While I was waiting for a bus at a bus stop, I saw a young man walk into the pay telephone nearby. After a while, he came out and looked very     1    (worry). When he saw me     2    (stand)there, he walked up to me in     3    hurry “Good morning, sir,” he said. “Do you know     4    Abaraham Lincoln was born?” I felt a little surprised at his words. “Something must be wrong     5    the poor young man,” I thought and didn’t answer him. “Could you please tell me in which year Abraham Lincoln was born?” he repeated politely. Now I understood that he was not joking, so I smiled and     6    (tell)him that Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809. “Oh, yes! That is it! Thank you,” he said. Then he turned around and rushed into the pay telephone again. A few     7    (minute)later, he came out with a smile. He thanked me again and explained that he wanted     8    (call)his friend, but he forgot the telephone number.

“You helped     9    (I)to remember it,” he said. “You see, his telephone number is 180909. It can be     10    (easy)remembered if you know when Abraham Lincoln was born.”

5 . Once there lived a rich man     1     wanted to do something for the people of his town. But first he wanted     2     (find) out whether they deserve his help.

In the center of the main road into the town, he placed     3     very large stone. Then he     4     (hide) behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow.

“Who put this stone in the center of the road?” said the man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued his way.     5     man came and did the same thing; then another came, and another. All of them complained about the stone but not tried to remove     6    . Later in the afternoon a young man came along. He saw the stone,     7     (say) to himself, “the night will be very dark. Some     8     (neighbor) will come along     9     (late) in the dark and will fall against the stone.”

Then he began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his strength to move it. How great his surprise was at last!     10     the stone, he found a bag of money.

6 . Last year I went to America and stayed there with an American family for two months.

As is said, “The best house is in America, the best wife is in Japan, and the best food is in China.” So I ________ pride and pleasure to ________ “the best food” for my American family. Each day, regardless of my poor skill of cooking, I would do something in a ________ way: changing the dishes color, the meat’s type or the soup’s style. Thus, my American friends could discover the ________ of eating Chinese food. Because of my “________” job, I was often rewarded by their ________ of thanks such as “very delicious”, “excellent”, etc.

________ something funny happened yesterday when I cooked Sichuan style fish for dinner. I was ________ with my work.

When the whole family sat round the table, they first looked ________ at the fish, then looked at me. “Why do all the fish have their ________? ” they asked, “It’s terrible!”

________ or terrible? I can’t understand. But I do know that fish heads are delicious. The head is the ________ part of fish; in ________ only the important guest can have the ________ of enjoying it.

Another ________ thing is: the American friends often said to me“________ ”as they ________ home fruits or other things. According to Chinese tradition I would simply smile in answer to their kindness ________ actually helping myself to any of the food. ________, I said “help yourself” to them whenever I brought home fruits. Dear me! No matter how much or how often I brought home food, as long as it was nice to their taste, they ________ hesitated (犹豫) to use their hands to “help themselves” until all was finished.

1.

A．took

B．shared

C．held

D．had

2.

A．leave

B．fetch

C．cook

D．buy

3.

A．simple

B．new

C．same

D．magic

4.

A．importance

B．joy

C．trouble

D．way

5.

A．new

B．daily

C．good

D．hard

6.

A．smile

B．flowers

C．talk

D．expressions

7.

A．However

B．But

C．So

D．And

8.

A．surprised

B．pleased

C．strict

D．proud

9.

A．worriedly

B．excitedly

C．surprisedly

D．happily

10.

A．heads

B．skins

C．tails

D．bones

11.

A．Particular

B．Wonderful

C．Comfortable

D．Beautiful

12.

A．biggest

B．best

C．dearest

D．lightest

13.

A．the West

B．China

C．USA

D．the East

14.

A．ability

B．safety

C．chance

D．honor

15.

A．enjoyable

B．exciting

C．interesting

D．common

16.

A．dear me

B．excuse me

C．help yourself

D．enjoy yourself

17.

A．collected

B．wanted

C．bought

D．brought

18.

A．and

B．but

C．without

D．not

19.

A．In return

B．Above all

C．After all

D．At last

20.

A．always

B．often

C．never

D．usually

7 . One day Robin went with his family to eat in a restaurant. They were sitting at a table and waiting for their meal. Suddenly, everyone around them started to cover their noses. Some of them even left their tables and went away.
When Robin’s family turned around to see what had caused this, they saw two homeless boys. The boys looked dirty and smelled bad. But both boys were smiling and had beautiful blue eyes. They were looking for someone kind. One of the boys went to the counter and he counted the coins he had. The other boy looked sick and he stood quietly.
The young lady at the counter asked the boy what they wanted. He said, “We only want a cup of coffee. “ That was all they could afford. They wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up. It was really cold outside. But to sit inside the restaurant, they had to buy something.
When Robin’s mother saw this, she wanted to help the boys. She ordered some more food. Then she went to the two boy’s table. She put the food on the table. The boys looked up at her and said, “Thank you. “ When Robin saw what his mother did, he understood what the unconditional (无条件的) love was. His mother treated those boys kindly. She did not expect anything in return. Now Robin saves his own pocket money and helps homeless people whenever he can.
1. Which of the following caused some people to leave their table?

A．They had finished their meals

B．They thought the food was terrible.

C．Two boys came in and they smelled bad.

D．There wasn’t enough food in the restaurant.

2. Why did two boys come to the restaurant?

A．Because they were hungry.

B．Because they wanted to warm up.

C．Because they knew Robin’s family.

D．Because they wanted to have some coffee.

3. What did Robin’s mother do?

A．She gave the two boys some money.

B．She ordered some food for the two boys.

C．She asked Robin to play with the two boys.

D．She invited the two boys to eat with her family.

4. What did Robin learn from the story?

A．We should treat others kindly.

B．We shouldn’t laugh at others.

C．We should save pocket money.

D．We shouldn't receive others’help.

8 . 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. But I didn’t want my children to know we were poor, so when Christmas was drawing near, I decided to give them some money to buy some_______.

They planned weeks ahead of time, asking_______what they wanted for Christmas. Luckily, I had saved＄120 for_______to share by all five of us. The big_______arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and_______them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered (散开). We had two hours to shop, then we would_______back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.

Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits,_______my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually_______. She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies, fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn^’t say anything_______we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door,________to be angry again. This is what she told me.

“I was looking________thinking of what to buy, and I________to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees’. One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she________for Christmas was a doll (玩具娃娃). So I took the card off the tree and________the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn^’t have anything.”

I never felt so________as I did that day.

1.

A．gifts

B．flowers

C．candies

D．books

2.

A．the other

B．each other

C．one by one

D．every other one

3.

A．toys

B．clothes

C．presents

D．bills

4.

A．day

B．chance

C．cheque

D．tree

5.

A．forced

B．reminded

C．invited

D．begged

6.

A．draw

B．stay

C．move

D．meet

7.

A．including

B．besides

C．except

D．regarding

8.

A．quiet

B．excited

C．happy

D．ashamed

9.

A．since

B．after

C．while

D．until

10.

A．waiting

B．ready

C．hoping

D．afraid

11.

A．out

B．over

C．forward

D．around

12.

A．forgot

B．stopped

C．failed

D．hated

13.

A．wanted

B．did

C．got

D．played

14.

A．made

B．searched

C．bought

D．fetched

15.

A．angry

B．rich

C．patient

D．bitter

9 . The bright morning light shone through the window onto farmer Tom’s pillow, making the room hot. Tom is not a(n)_______ riser but the heat woke him up. He hurriedly _______ and started to head for his poultry farm(家禽饲养场). He had put all his money in _______.
Tom got into his _______ that was loaded with ducks in cages and his two _______, Bill and Jim. Their first _______ was the City Primary School. On _______ the school gate, one of the lorry’s tires was _______. Tom left his workers to change the tire _______ he went into the dining hall to hand over some ducks.
Meanwhile, a boy had climbed up the lorry and ________ some of the cages. Jim ________ to look up; the boy jumped down from the lorry and ran into the school. The ducks were ________. Jim and Bill hurriedly tried to get the ducks back into the cages but it was ________ There was a great commotion(混乱): ducks quacking(嘎嘎叫), workers ________.
Where was the boy? He was at the school gate letting some ducks into the school. On hearing the ________, many children came out of their classrooms and watched the ________ sight—two men running after ducks that were quacking!
Tom came back just in time to ________ the boy. He then made a funny quacking sound and the ducks ________ to come to him. He ________ put them back into cages, changed the tire and ________, leaving the boy in the hands of the schoolmaster.1.

A．wise

B．early

C．honest

D．rich

2.

A．worked out

B．looked around

C．got up

D．came up

3.

A．ducks

B．pigs

C．dogs

D．chickens

4.

A．room

B．lorry

C．train

D．station

5.

A．waiters

B．neighbors

C．sons

D．workers

6.

A．hope

B．class

C．stop

D．call

7.

A．touching

B．leaving

C．building

D．reaching

8.

A．flat

B．dirty

C．lost

D．soft

9.

A．if

B．while

C．after

D．though

10.

A．opened

B．discovered

C．repaired

D．checked

11.

A．decided

B．refused

C．expected

D．happened

12.

A．escaping

B．swimming

C．waiting

D．standing

13.

A．different

B．useless

C．slow

D．lucky

14.

A．listening

B．jumping

C．shouting

D．laughing

15.

A．music

B．story

C．noise

D．joke

16.

A．strange

B．dangerous

C．familiar

D．funny

17.

A．make fun of

B．take care of

C．catch hold of

D．take notice of

18.

A．woke

B．promised

C．agreed

D．began

19.

A．happily

B．secretly

C．selflessly

D．frequently

20.

A．turned around

B．drove off

C．held out

D．dropped in

10 . Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure(奇遇)？Riding the train can be a real adventure. That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak. I often take a four－hour trip to visit my children. Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.
Last week when I was on the train and over an hour into the train ride，there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation－in another language. It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train. I think it was annoying.
Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two－day trip by train. She said her two daughters were distraught at the thought of her driving for three days to reach her home，although she had no trouble driving. The train ride was the only choice for her. She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.
She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents. That is a very good question. Both of us are old and have children. She asked that same question from time to time.
There are always many people on the train from all walks of life，different countries，and many   languages. Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and take in all kinds of cultures. If you get hungry，you can buy food in the food car at any time. If you need to use the restroom there is always one available.
It sure beats driving the car，which has to stop for food and restrooms. And it is better than taking the bus.
1. According to the passage，the purpose of the author’s train ride was .

A．to do business	B．to see her children
C．to visit places of interest	D．to see her old friends

2. Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “distraught” in Paragraph 3?

A．Disappointed.

B．Satisfied.

C．Worried.

D．Pleased.

3. Which of the following is TRUE about the old lady sitting next to the author?

A．She is too old to drive now.

B．She does not like to take trains.

C．Although she is old，she has a good memory.

D．Her daughters live far away from her home.

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．Train ride－a cultural experience	B．A painful experience on the train
C．The history of Amtrak	D．A wonderful lady