Working Christmas Day

It was unusually quiet in the emergency room （急诊室） on December25.

I didn't think there would be any patients, complaining about having to work on. Just then five people showed up at my desk, a pale woman and four small children.

"Are you all sick?" I asked doubtfully.

"Yes," she said weakly and lowered her head.

But when it came to descriptions of their problems, things got a little unclear. Two of the children had headaches, but I couldn't find any normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. Two children had earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was hurting. The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.

Something was wrong, but I didn't say anything but explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. She replied, "Take your time; it's warm in here."

I checked the form after the admitting clerk had finished her work with the family. No address — they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.

I looked out at the family standing by the Christmas tree. The youngest one was pointing at the television and shouting something to her mother. The oldest one was looking at the colorful Christmas tree.

I went back to the nurses' station and mentioned we had a homeless family in the waiting room. The nurses, complaining about working Christmas, turned to pity for a family just trying to get warm on Christmas. The team went into action, much as we do when there's a medical emergency. But this one was a Christmas emergency.

We were all offered a free meal in the hospital dining hall on Christmas Day, so we prepared a big one for our Christmas guests. We needed presents, too. We put together oranges and apples in a basket. We collected from different departments candies, crayons and other things that could be presents. As seriously as we met the physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, our team worked to meet the needs, and beyond the expectations, of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.

Later, as the family walked to the door to leave, the four-year-old came running back, gave me a hug and whispered, "Thanks for being our angels today."

1.Why did the family come to the hospital?

A. They were sick. B. They were cold and hungry.

C. They wanted to visit friends. D. They got all their money lost.

2.How did the writer and her workmates help the family?

A. They offered a free meal to them.

B. They bought some presents for them.

C. They sent for a doctor for them.

D. They asked them to stay overnight in the hospital.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. The mother was seriously ill.

B. The family were driven out of the hospital.

C. The writer and her workmates always liked to work on Christmas.

D. The family thanked the writer and her workmates for their kindness.

Mary likes to invent things. She creates a new language and teaches it to her friend, Jean. Mary and Jean like to talk to each other in their own language because they think no one understands them and it is funny. When they go shopping, they say things like: “Look! He is fat.” “This CD is awful.” “I want to eat free hamburgers.” A clerk comes but he can’t understand what they say. He asked them: “May I help you?” Mary and Jean just laugh. What fun it is to create something new.

1.Which is Mary’s invention?

A. Teaching her friend.  

B. A new language. 

C. Go shopping.  

D. Making hamburgers.

2.Why does Mary like speaking her new language with her friend Jean?

A. Because they can talk but no one knows what they say.

B. Because it’s easy to speak new language.

C. Because her friend Jean likes it.

D. Because she wants free hamburgers.

3.What do they do in the store?

A. They buy some things.

B. They talk with the clerk.

C. They want to understand what people say.

D. They use their new language and talk about people and things.

4.The clerk may think that ________, so he comes to help them.

A. maybe they need help  

B. they talk about him   

C. they laugh at him  

D. they invent things

5.According to the passage, creating something new is _____.

A. boring    

B. interesting   

C. hard   

D. easy

An old lady went out shopping last Sunday. She came to a bank（银行）and saw a car near the door . A man got out of it（下车） and went into the bank . She looked into the car. The keys were in the lock.
The old lady took the keys and followed the man into the bank. The man took a gun（枪）out of his pockets and said to the clerk（职员）, “ Give me all the money .”
But the old lady didn’t see this. She went to the man and put the keys in his hand and said, “ Young man , you’re foolish . Never leave your keys in your car. Someone’s going to steal（偷）it . ” The man looked at the old woman for a few seconds. Then he looked at the clerk and then he took the keys and ran off the bank, got into his car and drove away quickly without any money .
【小题1】The man got out of the car, and then he went into           .

Andy was still traveling in Spain when he realized he had to confirm his flight home with the airline company. He was visiting Spain in order to improve his Spanish. When he was speaking to people face to face, he had no difficulty understanding what they said. However, when he was speaking on the phone, he still had a problem. Andy called the airline. And the clerk confirmed that his plane was leaving at nine o'clock three days from that day. She also told Andy to be at the airport two hours earlier in order to check in his luggage and get a seat.

Since he was leaving in three days, Andy didn't lose any time. He visited as many places as he could. He thought that it would probably be a while before he had enough money again. He wished he could come back and spend a year in Spain.

Too quickly, the final day arrived. Andy left early for the airport to arrive two hours before take-off. He hated to rush. He went to the clerk to show his ticket. The clerk looked at the ticket in surprise. "Why, sir, but your flight was at nine o'clock in the morning, and now it is eight in the evening." "But I confirmed my flight," insisted Andy. "Will I have to pay for another ticket?"

"No, Sir. However, the next flight out will be three days from now."

Andy's look of shock turned to pleasure as he realized that now he could continue his vacation.

1.Why was Andy in Spain?

A．He was there on a business trip.

B．He hoped to learn Spanish better.

C．He liked to visit places of interest in Spain.

D．He was visiting friends there

2.Andy missed his flight because________

A．he forgot his flight time

B．the clerk gave him the wrong time of his flight

C．the clerk misunderstood him

D．he misunderstood the clerk

3.Which word can best describe the feeling of Andy when he came to know that his stay in Spain would be longer?

A．happy            B．shocked           C．upset             D．angry

4.What would Andy do next?

A．He would stay in Spain for another three days.

B．He would go to another country.

C．He would stay at the airport.

D．He would pay for another ticket.

5.What can we know from the passage?

A．Travelers always have to confirm the time of flight with airline companies by phone call

B．It’s more difficult for Andy to understand others in Spanish face to face than on the phone

C．Andy was enjoying himself when visiting places in Spain.

D．Andy would be worried.

An old lady went to the shop last Sunday. She passed a bank and saw a car near the door. A man got out of it and went into the bank. She looked into the car. The keys were in the lock(锁).

　　The old lady took the keys and followed the man into the bank. The man took a gun（枪）out of the pocket and said to the clerk, “Give me all the money.” But the old lady didn’t see this. She went to the man and put the keys in his hand and said, “Young man, you are foolish. Never leave your keys in your car. Someone is going to steal it. ” The man looked at the old lady for a few seconds. Then he looked at the clerk. He took the keys, ran out of the bank, got into his car and drove away quickly without any money.

1. Last Sunday, an old woman ______.

A. had nothing to do 　     B. went out for a walk　

C. went to buy something    D. went to see the man

2.The man got off his car and went into _____.

A. a police station　　      B. the post office　　

C. the shop　             D. the bank

3. The old lady saw ______ on the car.　　

A. a gun　  B. a bag　  C. a lot of money    D. the keys

4. The old lady ______.

 A. knew the man　　     B. thought the man was a thief　　

C. didn’t know the man　　D. wanted to catch the thief

5.When she gave the young man his keys, he ____.

 A. took them and ran into the bank  　　

B. thanked her very much

 C. was very surprised 

D. said nothing and went to the police station