There once was a boy who loved eating sweets. He ___36____ asked for sweets from his father. His father was a ____37____ man and they lived in a very old house. He could not always ___38____sweets for his son. But the little boy did not ___39___ this, and demanded sweets all the time. 

The boy’s father thought hard about ____40____ to stop the child asking for so many sweets. There was a very holy(神圣的) man living nearby at that time. The boy’s father had a(n)____41___.He  decided to take the boy to the great man who might ____42____ persuade(说服) the child to stop asking for sweets all the time. The boy and his father went along to the ____43____ man. The father said to him, “Oh, great saint, could you ask my son to stop asking for sweets which I cannot afford?” The great man was in ____44_____, because he liked sweets himself. How could he ask the boy to give up asking for sweets? The holy man told the father to ____45____ his son back after one month. 
      During that month, the holy man gave up eating sweets, and when the boy and his father ____46____after a month, the holy man said to the boy “My dear child, will you stop asking for sweets which your father cannot afford to give you?” ____47_____ , the boy stopped asking for sweets.

The boy’s ___48_____ asked the saint, “Why did’t you ask my son to give up asking for sweets ____49____ we came to you a month ago?” The saint replied, “How could I ask a boy to give up sweets when I loved sweets myself. In the last month I gave up eating sweets.”

A person’s ____50___ is much more powerful than just his words.

(   )36. A. always           B. never        C. hardly        D. seldom

(   )37. A. rich              B. honest       C. kind         D. poor

(   )38. A. make             B. accept       C. afford        D. find

(   )39. A. ignore            B. understand    C. remember     D. change

(   )40. A. what             B. where        C. why         D. how

(   )41. A. excuse            B. surprise      C. idea         D. proverb

(   )42. A. can              B. was able to    C. be able to     D. could

(   )43. A. young            B. strong        C. great        D. ugly

(   )44. A. difficulty          B. peace        C. danger       D. tears

(   )45. A. call               B. turn         C. get          D. bring

(   )46. A. returned           B. asked        C, left         D. disappeared

(   )47. A. Up to now         B. Sooner or later  C. In other words  D. From then on

(   )48. A. sister             B. brother        C. father        D. mother

(   )49. A. when             B. because       C. until         D. though

(   )50. A. success           B. history        C. future        D. example

Arthur sat at the desk in his room, pencil in hand. He had to write a story for his English class by Friday. “I don’t know what to write about,” he complained to his dog Toby, who was asleep at his feet. Arthur was talkative when speaking to his friends, yet he had trouble finding words when he had to write.
By bedtime Arthur had drawn a picture of Toby smiling. He had drawn a tree with its branches blowing in the strong wind. He had also written a note asking his friend Lee to go to the movies on Saturday. But he had not written a single word of his story.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Solomon, Arthur’s English teacher, asked the class to turn in the first draft of their stories. His heart sinking, Arthur turned in the only work he had—the page with his name, the drawings and the note.
Arthur wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Solomon asked him to stay after class the next day. But he was surprised by what she said to him. “This is an attractive story, Arthur. The dog, the movie, the tree in the wind—I can’t wait to find out how they all fit together.”
“That isn’t my story, Mrs. Solomon,” Arthur admitted. “I haven’t been able to think of one yet.”
“Oh, I think you have the seed(种子of a story there,” Mrs. Solomon replied, “Look at your note and the pictures and see if a story comes to you.”
That night Arthur sat at his desk, and this is what he wrote: “One Saturday Mike went downstairs to meet his friend Julio at the cinema. It looked as if it might rain, so Mike carried his umbrella. Suddenly a big storm blew in, bending the trees. The noise of the wind sounded like the barking of Mike’s dog Toby. Toby really hated storms and barked whenever he wanted to be let inside. Then Mike realized that it wasn’t the sound of the wind. It was Toby. The dog was running after him down the busy street, barking. The sound was filled with blame. Mike felt guilty because he had left Toby outside. He turned and headed home with Toby running beside him. Mike let Toby in the door just as the rain started to pour down.”
Arthur had a story in the end. The last thing he did was to write his name proudly at the top of the page.
【小题1】Why did Arthur turn in the page with only his name, the drawings and the note at first?

Most people make their living（谋生）with their hands, but Bob makes his living with his feet.

Bob’s story began in a small city in England. His parents were poor. Seven people lived in a small house. Bob had no place to play but on the street.

Bob’s father often played football. Little Bob wanted to play football, too. So his father made a soft (柔软的) ball for him to kick. It was a sock full of old cloth. He kicked it every day.

At last Bob learned to kick a real football. And after a few years he could play football very well.

根据短文内容，选择正确的答案。（10分）

1.People usually make their living _______.

A . with their feet         B.by playing football     C.with their hands

2.Which of the following is TRUE?

A . Bob’s house was very big.

B.There were eight people in the family.   

C.The little boy often played on the street.

3.Why did the father make a soft ball for his son?

A . Because the family all liked football.

B.Because Bob also liked to play football.

C.Because he didn’t want to throw the sock away.

4.The word“kick”in the story means _______.

A . 踢     B.射门   C.弹起

5.From the story we can see _______.

A . it’s about an American boy

B.Bob’s mother’s name

C.the boy became a good football player at last

Ding-Dong!
“Jason, honey? Can you answer the door?”
"I am busy, mom!" Jason shouted back at his mother. He had spent three hours so far working to his point in the game. He couldn’t stop now.
Ding-Dong! Jason’s mother came to the front door.
"Jason, it’s your friend, Todd,” Mum called out. Todd, his best friend, stepped into the room. "Jason! I need a friend for playing basketball." He sounded excited.
Jason said angrily, “No way, Todd. I’m playing a game here.” Todd shook his head, “you can play later, let’s go.” Jason gave his friend a dirty look, and his character in the game almost got killed while he looked away. “I almost died because of you!” Todd looked at Jason's mother. Jason's mother looked back at him. They both looked at Jason. But he just played his game.
An hour later, Jason's father came home. It was dinner time after his father washed up and sat down. Jason didn't even hear his name being called to the table. He didn't hear his father walk up
behind him and ask him to turn the game off, either. When the screen suddenly went black and his father's angry face appeared in front of him, Jason finally heard. "No more game for a month." Jason's father shouted at him. "You don't play basketball, you don't come to dinner, and you don't do your housework. We'll make sure everything else gets done before you play any more.”
Jason nodded slowly. He knew better than to quarrel with his father, and when he thought about it, he had been playing quite a bit. It was fun, but he was letting down (使失望) his friends, his family, and himself by playing too much.
He'd try harder in the future.
【小题1】What did Todd ask Jason to do?