When I was young, I always helped my grandfather in the fields. As I worked beside him, he   １  to tell a story about a man named Joe, and his wife, who moved to a new farm with their three sons. They were setting into the new place   ２  a nearby farmer told Joe that there was gold in the earth. Joe was very   3 , and told his sons about it.

They began to dig in one corner, and they got to the end of the field. At the same time, Joe thought he would   4  some crops where the earth had been   5 . The plants included corn, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. His sons continued to dig through the soil, made up their mind to find the gold. Since   6  soil was being turned, Joe could plant more crops. Joe had never farmed before, but it had always been his   7 .

As different crops came ready to be harvested, Joe started to   8  that there were more vegetables than he and his family could ever   9 . One of Joe’s neighbors suggested that he   10  a vegetable shop. Joe and his wife did that very thing. They called it Joe and Family Vegetable. Joe even had to leave some crops in the fields,   11  he had more than enough to supply the vegetable shop.

This went on for years, and Joe and his wife became quite   12  from their little vegetable shop. They were even able to   13  their sons to college.

Remember the beginning of the story, when Joe was told by his new neighbor that there was gold in the land? Well, the truth is, Joe’s   14 of the English language was less than perfect. His new neighbor friend actually meant that his land had rich   15 . So you can see where the concept（概念）of gold comes from.

1.                A．feared         B．agreed         C．used D．failed

2.                A．while          B．as             C．when D．after

3.                A．happy          B．disappointed     C．angry D．calm

4.                A．harvest         B．plant           C．water    D．feed

5.                A．controlled      B．burned         C．destroyed D．turned

6.                A．more          B．most           C．much D．few

7.                A．job            B．problem        C．pity  D．dream

8.                A．realize         B．promise        C．relate    D．regret

9.                A．feed           B．sell            C．plant D．eat

10.               A．take up         B．set up          C．turn up    D．make up

11.               A．now           B．though         C．so    D．because

12.               A．careful         B．rich           C．alone D．cheerful

13.               A．bring          B．take           C．send  D．make

14.               A．understanding   B．knowledge      C．thinking   D．skills

15.               A．mud           B．gold           C．soil   D．material

When I was in the sixth grade, one day my teacher asked our class to think about the question “What does ‘doing the right thing’ mean to you?” over the weekend. We could talk to our parents or anyone else we thought might have a good answer.  1  Monday, we were to hand in an essay（论文） on it, and be prepared to live up to our  2 .        

The entire weekend, I was trying to  3  something that would impress my teacher and be easy to live by. I talked to my parents, called my grandmother and asked my neighbor. Everyone had good answers, but I didn’t feel like I could live up to them.

On Sunday afternoon, my parents said they were going to my Aunt Cindy’s house. That usually 4  that I would have to entertain my four-year-old cousin Andrea  5  my parents visited. I found a Disney movie for Andrea, and then I sat down and started to write my essay. It was due（到期的）the next morning and this was my last  6  .

Soon I felt a pair of eyes on me. It was Andrea.  “What are you doing?” Andrea asked. “I have to write an essay about what ‘doing the right thing’ means to me.” I answered. Andrea laughed. Could this smart four-year-old 7 know the answer?  “That’s easy,” she said. “Doing the right thing means being nice to your family and friends. Never lie. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Take a bath when you’re 8 . And never put rocks in your mouth.”

I stared with great  9  at my little cousin. Then I jumped up and gave her the biggest hug. Not only had Andrea answered a very tough question for me, but I could easily live by  10  of her answers. All I had to do was to be nice, not to lie, to keep myself clean and healthy, and never put rocks in my mouth. So when I wrote my essay, I  11  the story about Andrea and how she had answered my question.

Two weeks later, my teacher returned everyone’s essays. I  12  an A+ along with a little note my teacher had written at the top: “Always do the right thing and give Andrea an A+, too!”

1.                A．By             B．Over           C．About    D．For

2.                A．answers        B．plans           C．advice    D．information

3.                A．look through     B．keep on        C．make up of    D．come up with

4.                A．left            B．meant          C．decided  D．explained

5.                A．since          B．because        C．while D．before

6.                A．task           B．chance         C．step D．choice

7.                A．quickly         B．normally        C．seriously  D．possibly

8.                A．dirty           B．tired           C．sleepy    D．unhappy

9.                A．pride          B．fear            C．surprise  D．worry

10.               A．any            B．all             C．some D．none

11.               A．read           B．found          C．included   D．returned

12.               A．prepared       B．expected       C．introduced D．received

While we are still children ,most of us live at home with our parents, more or less peacefully . But as we become teenagers , things change ,and we begin to grow apart from our parents . This means we are almost ready to leave the house where we grew up and make a new home of our own .
All humans must do this ,but they don’t all do it in the same way . If ,for instance ,you belong to a primitive tribe (原始部落) ，then as you grew up ,you’d learn the skills you needed as an adult---how to catch fish ,how to keep the house and look after children . You would be ready to marry in your early teens and you would build a house and live near your family in the village.
This seems a very old way of life , but it is what humans have been used to through hundreds of years. And it is what we are still used to in the 21st century ,for man hasn’t changed in the short time since he became civilized(文明的). But could you leave home and look after yourself during the teen years ? Most people would not do very well . Why ? Because although man hasn’t changed very much , the society he lives in has changed greatly ,which means that we have to learn more and more before we are ready to leave our parents’ shelter( 居所 ) and live alone .
However ,sometimes it is very frustrating to live at parents’ home . Parents can be very upset about late nights ,criticizing friends and always saying that we are noisy and dirty . But we still need our emotional (情感的) shelter till we finish our studies , and that is why we usually stay in our parents’ home until we feel grown up enough to deal with living alone .
【小题1】When does the relationship with parents start changing ?

With a determined(坚定的) look on his face, Chicago’s Michael McCarthy held on to the banister(扶手) and climbed to the top of the Willis Tower not long ago. The Tower stands 1,451 feet(442 meters) tall,the21 building in the US.

As he got to the last step, McCarthy 22 fell down, but that didn’t stop him. The 14-year-old boy finally finished climbing the 2,109 steps and arrived at the top, where he 23 cheers from many people.

“I just want to show people that 24 a kid with no legs can do it, anyone can do it,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy, who was born without legs, has to wear prosthetic legs(假肢) and use a stick to walk. But McCarthy has a strong 25 . He believes having a disability(残疾) shouldn’t stop anyone 26 achieving his or her success.

He has been in a special school 27 he was four. When he decided to climb the Willis Tower, his teacher, Jeff Kohn, was 　28 by his determination(决心) and offered to help train him. They 　29 more than ten hours practicing climbing stairs and keeping balance with the prosthetics and sticks on the steps every day. “ 30 seems that he never knows how difficult it is. 31 I was so tired that I asked him to rest for a day,”said Kohn. “But he said he was still full of energy and wanted more 32 .”

Kohn always walked with McCarthy for the climb. “I 　33 the last 10 floors, he went faster,” said Kohn. “He’s the most craven sportsman I’ve ever trained.”

McCarthy said he was 　34 of himself and that the tower now holds special meaning. “When I’m older, I’ll 　35 to the building and say ‘Look at this building I climbed’,” he said.

21. A. largest　　　　 B. highest　　　 C. earliest　　 D. latest

22. A. seldom　　　　 B. hardly　　　 C. always　　 D. almost

23. A. enjoyed　　　　 B. needed　　　 C. made 　　 D. kept

24. A. while　　　　　 B. after　　　　 C. if　　　　 D. though

25. A. heart　　　　　 B. hope　　　　 C. body　　　 D. love

26. A. by　　　　　　 B. for　　　　 C. in　　　　 D. from

27. A. as　　　　　　 B. since　　　　 C. until　　　 D. before

28. A. pleased　　　　 B. beaten　　　 C. moved　　　 D. asked

29. A. used　　　　　 B. spent　　　 C. took　　　　 D. wasted

30. A. Here　　　　　 B. There　　　 C. He　　　　 D. It

31. A. However　　　 B. Sometimes　 C. Again　　　 D. Then

32. A. friends　　　　 B. helpers　　　 C. time　　　　 D. exercise

33. A. tried　　　　　 B. saw　　　　 C. did　　　　 D. met

34. A. thinking　　　　 B. talking　　 C. worried　　 D. proud

35. A. point　　　　　 B. go　　　　 C. turn　　　　 D. hurry