Far from a family Christmas

  My air force room in Florida was empty and quiet -I was alone. My five were gone for the holidays;I had chosen to  in the camp. Being young and far from my home, I feltMy room was comforta?ble enough, 4 I hadn't realized until then what made it so―the 5 of others walking,joking or just lying on their beds.

  I was not able to sleep. I was 6  of being on my own―in fact,preferred it at times―but tonight was 7 . Tossing and turning in the darkened room gave no  The last sign of daylight had disap?peared, 9  my inner depression.10,the glow (暗淡的光) of Christmas lights on the tall pines would only 11 me of my great misery.

  Suddenly,I heard weak sound of men12  to sing. Yes,the voices grew louder and came my way. I 13 still, enjoying the sound.

  In the corridor(通道,走廊) H my room,voices came near enough for me to hear Christmas car?ols(颂歌) being15  Suddenly,there,four air?men,identities unknown,were slightly unsteadied by holiday 16 • The first held a Coke bottle with a lit candle 17its top. The others formed a dancing line behind him.

  18 I was in the room,with joyful faces in the flickering(摇曳的) light, they sang me several carols,wished me a 19 and left as fast as they had ar?rived. I slept soundly soon after,burying my face in my pillow, 20 that someone had cared.

1.A. colleges   B. roommates   C. fellows   D. boys

2.A. remain   B. leave   C. help   D. work

3.A. disappointed   B. friendly   C. lonely   D. lost

4.A. also   B. still   C. however   D. but

5.A. impatience   B. presence   C. interest   D. delight

6.A. capable   B. able

 C. skilled   D. experienced

7.A. poor   B. good

 C. happy   D. standard

8.A. fun   B. comfort   C. effort   D. progress

9.A. appealing to   B. sticking to   C. leading to   D. adding to

10.A. Therefore   B. Otherwise   C. Besides   D. Yet

11.A. remind   B. recall   C. remember   D. think

12.A. managing   B. attempting   C. happening   D. deciding

13.A. noticed   B. slept   C. lied   D. lay

14.A. opposite   B. beyond   C. out   D. within

15.A. announced   B. accepted   C. played   D. offered

16.A. noise   B. confidence   C. cheer   D. optimism

17.A. stuck in   B. attached to   C. tied to   D. involved in

18.A. Watching   B. Seeing

 C. Guessing   D. Admitting

19.A. good luck   B. happy New Year

 C. merry Christmas   D. happy birthday 

20.A. grateful   B. satisfied

 C. pleased   D. surprised

  Louise Caola,a 23-year-old Londoner,has just quitted her job in advertising to pursue her fun kitchen hobby as a full-time career,naming her business Poppy &- Lulu. The creative baker has been baking since she was a young girl. At that time,she would always be in the kitchen helping her mother make cakes. After studying fashion marketing at university,she landed a job in an advertising firm and would bake cakes in her free time.

  Louise created her first cake as a joke for a friend's birthday,but she couldn't believe the positive response she got. Immediately she began creating more and more cakes,whenever she was free. Then she posted the pictures on her Twitter and Instagram pa?ges. As a result,orders began flooding in from people all over the Internet. She said, "I was working really long hours, and then would come home and bake. I got so much positive feedback(反馈) that I thought there must be something in this. After struggling with my?self for some days,I decided to quit my job to pursue this full-time career."

  Louise is now in the process of setting up a web?site and fully creating her own brand. But she has al?ready been flooded with requests for fun cakes. It can take her up to four hours to make a cake,and she often takes a lot of trial and error(反复试验) ."I don't know how I am going to get the cake to look like a tomato,but I love a challenge!" she added. "I am always deter?mined to complete a cake,even if it takes a few failed attempts."

  Louise loves creating and making things and has great plans for the future. "At the moment I just offer hand-delivery to places in London,but my dream is to expand it nationwide and have a team of bakers that help me create wonderful cakes.”

1. What has Louise decided to do for the moment?

   A.To find a good job in an advertising firm.

   B.To begin learning how to make tasty cakes.

   C.To quit her job and bake cakes full-time.

   D.To start an advertising firm of her own.

2.         Louise's first amazing cake was made

   A.under the direction of her mother

   B.as a joke for her friend's birthday

   C.for her new brand Poppy &. Lulu

   D.on the Internet to teach baking skills

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE,ac- cording to the passage?

   A.Louise had no time to bake cakes while at uni?versity.

   B.Louise showed no interest in baking cakes in her free time.

   C.Louise didn't want to give her secrets to making cakes to others.

   D.Louise's amazing cakes are very popular with people.

4. What can we learn from the third paragraph?

   A.It takes effort for Louise to make a wonderful cake.

   B.Louise is just teaching people how to bake cakes now.

   C.Making cakes leaves Louise tired and stressed.

   D.Louise is quite puzzled about her future.

5. Which of the following words can best describe Louise?

   A.Creative and determined.

   B.Generous and kind.

   C.Brave and wealthy.

   D.Honest and wise.

              The true story of Treasure Island

 It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination.

,recent research has found the true story of this exciting work.

 Stevenson,a Scotsman,had livedfor many-years. In 1881 he returned to Scotland for a 3 . With him were his American wife Fanny and his son 4  .

 Each morning Robert would take them out for a long  5  over the hills. They had been 6 this for

several days before the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. Kept indoors by the heavy rain,Lloyd felt the days To keep the boy happy Robert asked the boy to do some .

 One morning,the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island. Robert that the boy had drawn a large cross in the middle of 10 . "What's that?" he asked. " That's the 11 treasure," said the boy. Robert suddenly 12 something of an adventure story in the boy's 13 . While the rain was pouring,Robert sat down by the fire to write a story. He would make the 14 a twelve-year-old boy just like Lloyd. But who would be the pirate(海盗) ?

 Robert had a good friend named Henley,who walked around with the 15 of a wooden leg. Rob?ert had always wanted to 16 such a man in a story.

 Long John Silver,the pirate with a wooden leg,was 18 .

 So thanks to a 19September in Scotland,a friend with a wooden leg and the imagination of a twelve-year-old boy,we have one of the greatest  20  stories in the English language.

1.A. However   B. Therefore   C. Besides   D. Finally

2.A. alone   B. next door   C. at home   D. abroad

3.A. meeting   B. story   C. holiday   D. job

4.A. Lloyd   B. Robert   C. Henley   D. John

5.A. talk   B. rest   C. walk   D. game

6.A. attempting   B. missing   C. planning   D. enjoying

7.A. quiet   B. dull   C. busy   D. cold

8.A. cleaning   B. writing

 C. drawing   D. exercising

9.A. doubted   B. noticed

 C. decided   D. recognized

10.A. the sea   B. the house   C. Scotland   D. the island

11.A. forgotten   B. buried

 C. discovered   D. unexpected

12.A. saw   B. drew   C. made   D. learnt

13.A. book   B. reply   C. picture   D. mind

14.A. star   B. hero   C. writer   D. child

15.A. help   B. problem   C. use   D. bottom

16.A. praise   B. produce   C. include   D. accept

17.A. Yet   B. Also   C. But   D. Thus

18.A. read   B. born

 C. hired   D. written

19.A. rainy   B. sunny

  C.  cool   D. windy

20.A. news   B. love

  C.real-life   D. adventure

 At the beginning of the year,I had all these plans to travel to different states? such as Florida,Georgia and California. Going to South Africa was definitely not in my plans. However,the stars seemed to align (排成直线) to make this trip possible. I had a friend who was returning there. Before she went back, she told me a lot of amazing things about that country and then I decided that I had to go there.

  However,since I hadn't planned to go to South Africa at frist, I didn't have money saved up ready to buy the ticket. You can imagine how much a round-trip ticket to South Africa costs. Luckily,while Iwas try?ing to figure out how I was going to pay for this plane ticket? I got an e-mail out of the blue from a gentleman from Denmark who was ready to give me money. It sounded hard to believe,but yes. This guy wanted to give me money to buy one of my domain names(域名) . The timing couldn't be more perfect. After a few e-mails back and forth, I received the money.

  I have to tell you that I did not have a job at the time. Things might not have gone so smoothly if I did. I wasn't tied down to a 9-to-5 life,so I could travel at any time. I didn't have to check how many sick days I had left or how to get my vacation approved by a man?ager. The keyword is flexibility(灵活性) .Having freedom to do what you want is one of the great advan?tages of having your own online business.

  The plane ticket cost over $ 2 , 000. I sold a do?main name for a few thousand dollars which just cov?ered the cost of my trip. The entire process was quick?ly and conveniently done through e-mails.

1.After hearing his friend speak of South Africa,the writer .

   A.decided to save up money

   B.became interested in the country

   C.no longer wanted to travel in the US

   D.decided to go to the country with her

2.What does the underlined part "out of the blue" in Paragraph 2 mean?

    A. Sincerely.   B. Colourfully.

   C. Personally.   D. Unexpectedly.

3. What did the gentleman most probably tell the writer in his first e-mail?

   A.He could help him get a flight ticket.

   B.He would help him go to South Africa.

   C.He wanted to buy a domain name of his.

   D.He would give him a sum of money for nothing.

4. We know from Paragraph 3 that the writer_________

   A.once had a very boring job

   B.lives an extremely hard life

   C.has his own online business

   D.doesn't have much time to travel

5. What is the passage mainly about?

   A.What kind of life the writer wants to live.

   B.Whether it is good for people to live a 9-to-5 life.

   C.Why the writer wanted to take a trip to South Africa.

   D.How the writer got the money for a trip to South Africa.

 Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column. She had been a school teacher before she retired(退休) ,but she needed to keep . She was even willing to work without pay. She then offered her 2  with a business that helped other businesses find jobs for old people. Every day she __3__other old folks like her. By talking with them,she two things. Old people had abilities that were not __5___. But old people also had some__6___ . She found a new purpose for herself then.

  Through the years,she  7 to write stories about people for national magazines. There was now a new_8__old people like herself. She began to write a newspaper column called " Sixty Plus", which is about  9 old. She writes about the problems of old people,especially their problems with being 10 .

  Anna Douglas uses her 11 ability to see the truth behind a problem. She understands __12__prob?lems begin. For example, one of her 13said that his grandchildren" the houses as soon as he came to visit. Mrs Douglas 15 some ways to him to un?derstand his grandchildren.

  "It's important to know  16 about your grandchildren's world," says Mrs Douglas. " That means questioning and listening,and__17____is not what old people do best. Say good things to them and

about them," she continues."Never try to__18___ your grandchildren or other young people. Never__19__ your opinion. Don't tell them what they should do. 20 ,they have been taught they should have respect for old people. The old should respect them as well.”

1.A. free   B. rich   C. powerful   D. busy

2.A. service   B. money   C. students   D. books

3.A. observed   B. met

 C.  comforted   D. answered

4.A. recognized   B. followed   C. enj oyed   D. demanded

5.A. studied   B. agreed   C. given   D. used

6.A. mistakes   B. problems   C. questions   D. characters

7.A. had   B. ought   C. was   D. used

8.A. subject   B. life   C. way   D. plan

9.A. getting   B. respecting   C. employing   D. supporting

10.A. unknown   B. refused

 C.  misunderstood   D. discouraged

11.A. thinking   B. working   C. writing   D. leading

12.A. that   B. when

 C.  why   D. whether

13.A. visitors   B. readers   C. listeners   D. friends

14.A. got   B. entered   C. left   D. passed

15.A. invented   B. chose

 C.  suggested   D. imagined

16.A. everything   B. something   C. anything   D. nothing

17.A. listening   B. speaking   C. pleasing   D. advising

18.A. praise   B. scold

 C.  trouble   D. encourage

19.A. speak out   B. give up   C. get back   D. stick to

20.A. Commonly   B. Surprisingly   C. Happily   D. Naturally

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