It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle. As Christmas was nearer, her dream for a bicycle seemed to fade (消退). We bought her a lovely doll, and a doll house. Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that “I really want a bike more than anything else.”

It was just too late. With such a lot of preparations to do for the Christmas dinner, we did not have the time to buy our little girl a bike. On Christmas Eve around 9:00 p.m., Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, were sleeping in their beds. Now we could only think of the bicycle and the sadness of our child. “What if I make a little bicycle out of clay (泥) and write a note that she could exchange the clay bike for a real bike?” her dad asked. So he spent the next four hours making a small clay bike.

On Christmas morning, we were excited to wait for Almie to open the little gift box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud. “Does this mean that I can exchange this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?” I said, “Yes.” Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied, “I could never exchange this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me. I want to keep this instead of getting a real bike.” At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth (竭尽全力) to buy her every bicycle in the world.

1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A.The parents wanted the girl to have the clay bike forever.

B.Tears were in the girl’s eyes because she didn’t like the present at all.

C.The girl never lost her dream for a bike.

D.The parents cared little about the daughter’s dream for a bike.

2.Why did Dad make the clay bicycle?

A.He didn’t want to make his daughter sad. B.He wanted to buy a real one, but had no money.

C.He thought his daughter would like it. D.He wanted to give his daughter a surprise.

3.Choose the right order of the following events:

a. The girl asked for a new bike.

b. The girl opened the little gift box.

c. The parents bought the girl a modern and popular doll.

d. The father made the girl a bike with clay.

e. The girl want to keep the clay bike instead of getting a real one.

A.a,b,c,e,d B.a,c,d,b,e C.a,c,b,d,e D.a,b,d,c,e

4.Which do you think is the best title for the story?

A.A Lovely Little Girl B.A Great and Serious Father

C.A Clay Bike D.Christmas Shopping

You should ________ your work, not just your appearance.

A.depend on B.focus on C.live on D.call on

Don’t waste your time. You will ________ it some day.

A.jump out of B.go out of C.run out of D.come out of

In the US, spring cleaning is a good way to get a ________ start for the new year.

A.fresh B.clear C.clean D.fun

A Bite of China 2 ________ the stories of more than 150 people and over 300 types of food.

A.finds B.proves C.imagines D.covers

— Do you think Brazil will beat Japan in the next match?

—Yes, they have better players, so I ________ them to win.

A.hope B.except C.expect D.make

They’ve ________ the prices at the shop, so it’s a good time to buy.

A.reused B.recalled C.removed D.reduced

Life is like a race. You should try your best to take the ________.

A.chance B.change C.channel D.challenge

When I was in the US, I improved my ________ skills by getting to know my foreign classmates.

A.interpersonal B.interactive C.international D.interplanetary

Even where parents no longer live together, they each continue to be________ for their children.

A.responsible B.responsibility C.responsibly D.response