Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away; besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.
All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift while her teacher was giving a lecture. Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”
“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”
“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”
Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”
Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”
“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.
Vicki’s cheeks flushed(脸红).
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Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away; besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.

All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift while her teacher was giving a lecture. Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”

“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”

“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”

Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”

Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”

“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.

“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.

Vicki’s cheeks flushed(脸红).

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2.

3.

4.

 

As I sat beside the window of our classroom that afternoon, my heart sank further with each passing car. This was a day I’d looked forward to for weeks: Miss Pace’s fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party.

I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace looked for cookie volunteers. Mom’s chocolate chips were well-known, and I knew they’d be a hit with my classmates. But two o’clock passed, and there was no sign of her. Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their sweet offerings.

The three o’clock bell soon took me away from my thoughts and I took my book bag from my desk.

I decided I would slam the front door, and refuse to return her hug. But when I arrived, she wasn’t at home.

I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door.

“Robbie,” she called out a bit urgently. “Where are you?”

I could then hear her rushing anxiously from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent.

Coming through the door, she said: “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “I just forgot. I got busy and forgot.”

Then my mother did something completely unexpected. She began to laugh! How could she laugh at a time like this? I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see my rage (愤怒).

But my mother wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I let you down. I let my little boy down.”

I was moved by her tears.

I tried to remember her kind words from times past when I’d skinned knees or cut myself, times when she knew just the right thing to say.

“It’s okay, Mom. We didn’t even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat. Don’t cry. It’s all right. Really.”

We didn’t say another word. We just held each other. When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.

1.. The author was pretty down because ______.

A. he couldn’t go to the party he had been looking forward to

B. his mother didn’t turn up at the party as she had promised

C. his mother had refused to make chocolate chips for the party

D. the cookies his mom made was not popular at the party

2.. When the author returned home, ______.

A. he was so angry that he slammed the front door

B. he was silent and refused to return his mother’s hug

C. he rushed from room to room looking for his mother

D. he was disappointed that he couldn’t express his anger to his mother

3.. We can tell from the story that _____.

A. the mother didn’t get to the party because of the traffic jam

B. the mother was sorry for her absence and laughed at herself

C. the author was a caring and thoughtful boy

D. the author was overcome with anger

4.. The article expresses the message that ______.

A. it is silly to be angry with your family

B. everybody should keep his or her promises

C. true love is based on understanding

D. understanding how to comfort people in low spirits is a true skill

 

 

Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers advised,  “Barbara, be enthusiastic(热情的)! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience.” How right they were!

“Nothing great was ever done without enthusiasm,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste(浆糊) that helps you hang in there when the things get tough. It is the inner voice that tells you, “I can do it!” when others shout, “No, you can’t!” It took years and years for the early work of Barbara McClintock, a geneticist who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she didn’t stop working on her experiments.

We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is the childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such youthful air, whatever their age. At 90, cellist Pablo Casals would start his day by playing the cello(大提琴). As the music flowed through his fingers, his shoulders would straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes. As writer and poet Samuel Ullman once worte, “Years wrinkle(起皱纹) the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

Enthusiastic people also love what they do, not considering money or title or power. Patricia Mellratl, a retired director of the Missouri Rpertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm. She replied, “My father, long ago, told me, ‘I never made any money until I stopped working for it.’”

We can’t afford to waste tears on “might-have-been”. We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after “what-can-be”. We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses finding pleasure in the sweet of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty of a rainbow.

What is the passage mainly talking about?

Enthusiasm is more important than experience.

Enthusiasm can give people more success and fame

Enthusiastic people will never get old

Enthusiasm can make you succeed and enjoy life.

We can infer that enthusiasm is more important for a person especially when __________.

A. he is in trouble          B. he is getting old

C. he can do what he love   D. he has succeeded

73. The author mentions Pablo Casals in the third paragraph to show that ______.

   A. enthusiasm can make people feel young

   B. music can arouse people’s enthusiasm

   C. enthusiasm can give people inspiration needed to succeed

   D. enthusiasm can keep people healthy

74. How many examples are referred in the passage to show the importance of enthusiasm?

   A. Three      B. Four      C. Five      D. Six

75. Which proverb(谚语) may the writer agree with according to the last paragraph?

   A. A good beginning makes a good ending

   B. Don’t cry over the spoiled milk

   C. Love me, love my dog

   D. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

 

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