For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.

Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on - and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."

Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.

That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.

I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes - every time.

I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “    

A.Observation is the best teacher.

B.Seeing is believing.

C.The outsider sees the most of the game.

D.It is not easy to gain money

The best title for the passage would probably be          .

A.My flower garden           B.Marvin helps to realize my dream

C.Love in Michigan           D.Money grows on trees

The underlined word “no - frills” in the fifth paragraphs is similar in meaning to        .

A.wasteful   B.tight  C.absurd      D.helpful

From the last but the third paragraph we can infer that the mother is         .

A.divorced when she was young B.not caring for her kids any longer

C.alone but not at all lonely       D.prouder with her garden than with her kids.


When I entered Berkeley. I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could   36 tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he   37  in class.
When I took the first exam, I was   38  to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper,   39  English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained   40 .
I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that   41  because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I   42  with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his   43 .
One more test before the final exam. One more   44  to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time,   45  the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my   46  did no good and everything   47  as before.
The last hurdle(障碍)was the final. No matter what   48  I got, it wouldn’t cancel C-pluses. I might as well kiss the   49  goodbye.
I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even   50  myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have   51  with a test.
A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne’s office. He   52  to be expecting me. “If I gave you the A-pluses you   53 , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.”
I stared at him,   54  that his analysis and strategy(策略) were correct. I had worked my head   55 , as I had never done before.
I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

【小题1】
A.takeB.discussC.coverD.get
【小题2】
A.soughtB.presentedC.exchangedD.obtained
【小题3】.
A.shockedB.worriedC.scaredD.anxious
【小题4】.
A.butB.soC.forD.or
【小题5】
A.unchangedB.unpleasantC.unfriendlyD.unmoved
【小题6】
A.reflectedB.meantC.improvedD.affected
【小题7】
A.quarreledB.reasonedC.bargainedD.chatted
【小题8】
A.attitude B.mindC.planD.view
【小题9】
A.choiceB.stepC.chanceD.measure
【小题10】.
A.memorizedB.consideredC.acceptedD.learned
【小题11】
A.ambitionB.confidenceC.effortD.method
【小题12】.
A.stayedB.wentC.workedD.changed
【小题13】
A.gradeB.answerC.lessonD.comment
【小题14】.
A.scholarshipB.courseC.degreeD.subject
【小题15】.
A.helpedB.favoredC.treatedD.relaxed
【小题16】
A.funB.luckC.problemsD.tricks
【小题17】
A.happenedB.provedC.pretendedD.seemed
【小题18】
A.valuedB.imaginedC.expectedD.welcomed
【小题19】.
A.rememberingB.guessingC.supposing D.realizing
【小题20】.
A.outB.overC.onD.off

Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.
“Notre Dame,” it said. “Big envelope!”
Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big obstacle. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are calculating the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.
This year, money is the driving factor for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and plunging house prices have changed family spending.
“We’re excited that Mike got into eight great schools,” said Mike’s father, an engineer at Microsoft. “But if you consider going to school out of state, you’ve got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You’re looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel.”
As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.
Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.
“The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD,” said Rachel, 17. “My mom doesn’t want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don’t want that either. I’d have to take out a loan of $15,000. I’ll check and see if there’s any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid.”
More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, a 19.9 percent increase over last year.
This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000.
68. Mike may give up Notre Dame because of ______.
A. travel fees                                                           B. financial concerns
C. poor exam results                                             D. worries about living far away from home
69. The phrase “Big envelope” in paragraph 2 probably refers to “______”.
A. A text message                                                  B. A large gift package
C. An admission letter                                          D. A scholarship letter
70. What can we learn from the passage?
A. The number of American senior students applying for financial aid is increasing.
B. Rachel Brown has given up NYU because of its high tuition and big debts.
C. It is inevitably hard for college students to borrow money to cover costs.
D. An interest-free loan for students helps more students apply for Stanford.              
71. The passage mainly focuses on ______.
A. the calculation of different costs including tuition
B. the extremely hard financial situation in America
C. the excitement of students’ being able to enter ideal colleges
D. the financial crisis of families over college entrance

Britain’s symbolic red phone boxes have become out of date in the age of the mobile, but villages across the country are stepping in to save them, with creative intelligence. Whether as a place to exhibit art, poetry, or even as a tiny library, hundreds of phone boxes have been given a new life by local communities determined to preserve a typical part of British life. In Waterperry, a small village near Oxford, the 120 residents have filled the phone box next to the old house with a pot of flowers, piles of gardening and cooking magazines, and stuck poems on the walls.

They took control of the phone box when telecoms operator BT said it was going to pull it down, an announcement that caused such dissatisfaction that one local woman threatened to chain herself to the box to save it. “I’d have done it,”insisted Kendall Turner. “It would have been heartbreaking for the village.”Local councilor Tricia Hallam, who came up with the idea for the phone box’s change, said quite a few people would have joined her, adding, “We couldn’t let it go because it’s a British symbol.”

Only three feet by three feet wide, and standing 2.51-meter tall, the phone boxes were designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1936 for the 25th anniversary of the reign of King George V.Painted in “Post Office red” to match the post boxes, they were once a typical image of England and the backdrop(背景)to millions of tourist photographs.

Eight years ago there were about 17,000 across Britain, but today, in a country where almost everybody has a mobile phone, 58 percent are no longer profitable and ten percent are only used once a month. “On average, maintaining them costs $800 a year per phone box — about £44 million annually,” said John Lunb, general manager for BT Payphones.

1..Some red phone boxes in Britain have been used for ______ .

  a.selling flowers     b.cooking           c.reading       d.exhibiting art or poetry

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

2..Why do the villagers want to keep the red phone boxes ?

  A.Because millions of people visit Britain to see the red phone boxes.

B.Because the local people could earn a lot of money from the red phone boxes.

C.Because the red phone boxes have already become a symbol of Britain.

D.Because the red phone boxes may be useful for some people in emergency.

3..What is the color of the British post boxes according to the passage ?

  A.Green.          B.Red.          C.Black.            D.Yellow.

4..What is John Lumb’s attitude towards pulling down the red phone boxes ?

  A.Supportive.     B.Opposed.      C.Neutral.      D.Indifferent.

 

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