There are good Santas and there are bad Santas. The good Santas all realize one thing: In the mind of a child, Santa Claus is perfect.

That’s difficult. And so they come from around the world to attend the Charles W. Howard School in Midland, Mich. The school offers a three-day, 40-hour course for Santas hoping to be excellent. There’s a real range to what Santas earn, from big bucks for large events to no pay for charities. One thing for them all is a pure love for children.

A former Macy’s Santa named Charles Howard founded the Michigan school in 1937. “Many people will think if you have a suit and you’re a Santa,” said Tom Valent, the school’s current dean. “It’s more than that.” So with a pet reindeer, his properly named wife Holly and a workshop full of wonder.

The school teaches everything from breathing techniques for carol singing to the beard maintenance. There are lessons in child psychology, sign language and even media training for talk-show appearances and call-in shows. Santas also need to make sure they know all the names of the reindeer. What’s harder to deal with, however, is children who ask for Christmas gifts like bringing daddy home or making mommy happy again.

After spending time in the classroom, Weir went to the mall to test his training. However, at one point, his hat fell off, and he was unsure how to react. “You’re the real Santa,” Valent said. “Pick that hat up, slip it back on, keep smiling and do your job. You’ve got to stay on top of your game. Even the last one at night, when you’re tired, you’ve got to remember: This one’s forever, so do a good job.”

Notes:

charity  n. 慈善,慈善团体

reindeer  n. 驯鹿

According to the passage, good Santas should be the ones that ________.

        A. can offer the children some gifts        B. help adults look after their children

        C. have ability to make children happy     D. should be perfect in the mind of children

The underlined words “big bucks” should refer to ________.

        A. lots of money   B. many gifts    C. loves for children    D. gifts from children

The Michigan school was founded by Charles Howard with the purpose to ________.

        A. train the pet reindeer for the Santas       B. earned money from its students

        C. train perfect Santas for the world         D. show the world’s concern to the poor

According to Weir’s performance, we can conclude that ________.

        A. Weir was short of experience            B. Weir was not fit for the job as a Santa

        C. Weir did very badly in the game         D. Weir was not a good student in school

During the years of depression(萧条), food and money were very hard to find and people had to trade things with each other.
One day I was  36  some potatoes from Mr Miller. I noticed a small poor boy hungrily   37  a full basket of freshly picked green peas. Then I was  38  to see that Mr Miller sold the boy a bag of peas for just a marble (弹球).
Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby,   39_ and told me that Mr Miller loved to trade with the three boys in the village for peas, tomatoes, and other things  40  he didn’t really need any marbles. I left the stand, smiling to myself,   41  by this man.
Several years went by. One day I learned that Mr Miller had died. I took part in the funeral(葬礼),  42_  three young men . They came over to Mrs Miller, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke with her and moved on, _43_ their eyes.
Our _44_ came to meet Mrs Miller. I mentioned _45   she had told me about the _46. She told me, “Those three young men above were the boys I told you about. They just told me  47  they appreciated the things Jim ‘traded ’with them. Now, at last, they came to pay their debt.”
“We’ve _48   had a great deal of the wealth in this world,” she _49_, “but right now, Jim wouldW#W$W%.K**S*&5︿U consider himself to be the _50_ man.”
Then she gently lifted the  51   fingers of her husband. Resting underneath were three red marbles.
At that time I realized that we would not be  52   by our words, but by our kind  53  . It is said that it takes a minute to find a  54  person, an hour to appreciate him, a day to love him, but an entire life to 55  him.

【小题1】
A.buyingB.sellingC.borrowingD.hunting
【小题2】
A.reaching forB.glancing atC.staring atD.picking up
【小题3】
A.astonishedB.amazedC.annoyedD.worried
【小题4】
A.turned overB.going overC.came overD.coming over
【小题5】
A.butB.otherwiseC.orD.although
【小题6】
A.suspectedB.impressedC.regrettedD.embarrassed
【小题7】
A.discoveringB.watching C.findingD.seeing
【小题8】
A.closingB.rollingC.cleaningD.wiping
【小题9】
A.timeB.chanceC.turnD.decision
【小题10】
A.the storyB.the proverbC.the legendD.the joke
【小题11】
A.marblesB.menC.debtD.life
【小题12】
A.whyB.howC.whenD.what
【小题13】
A.everB.alwaysC.neverD.seldom
【小题14】
A.laughedB.criedC.sighedD.added
【小题15】
A.honestB.happiestC.coldestD.richest
【小题16】
A.lifelessB.regretlessC.uselessD.hopeless
【小题17】
A.thoughtB.touchedC.rememberedD.affected
【小题18】
A.deedsB.thingsC.remarksD.rewards
【小题19】
A.strictB.honestC.specialD.learned
【小题20】
A.ignoreB.forgetC.recognizeD.remind

阅读下面对话,掌握其大意,并根据所给首字母的提示,在标有题号的右边横线上写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式,使对话通顺。

W:Oh,did you really like it?

M:Yes,very much.It was excellent!

W:Well,thank you for(77)s________ so.                                                    77.              

M:In fact,could I (78)a_________you for the recipe(烹饪方法)?                 78.              

W:  (79)S_________.It’s really very easy                                                 79.              

(80)F_________,mix together one egg, two teaspoons of salt,                 80.              

and two pounds of ground beef.(81)T__________,add twelve                      81.              

ounces milk an a cup of bread crumbs(面包屑). Are you with me so far? 

M:Yes,I’m with you

W:Okay.(82)N___________,put the mixture into a baking pan And              82.              

(83)a_________that,bake an hour and fifteen minutes at 350 degrees.        83.              

M:Wait a minute!I didn’t get the last (84)s________.Could you repeat          84.              

that part?

W:Sure.Bake an hour and fifteen minutes at 350 degrees.

M:Now I’ve got it.Is that it?

W:Yes.That’s it!

M:Thanks very much.

W:My(85)p____________.                                                                       85.              

 

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