When Millie got up this morning, it was a beautiful spring day. She saw  1  clouds far away, but she didn’t think about them. She got her dog, Eddie, and put him in the car. Then she drove out into the country  2 a picnic with her dog.
An hour later, the wind began to blow and it turned  3 . Millie and Eddie were warm from running, so they weren’t cold. Then when Eddie  4  with the ball, Millie saw snowflakes ( 雪花 ) in the sky. She called Eddie, picked up the picnic things and got back in the car. As she was driving home, the snow became  5 . Soon all Millie could see was white all round  6  . The road became slippery ( 滑的 ) and she had to drive very  7 . Then the car hit into a piece of ice and it went around in circles . It went down a hill and finally stopped.
Millie reached over for Eddie. He was shaking because he was cold,   8 he was OK. She got her mobile phone and asked for  9  . At last, the police  10  them. Next time Millie will listen to the weather report before going for a picnic.

As a child, I was really afraid of the dark and of getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some uncomfortable moments.
Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my own room at night that scared me so much. There was never complete darkness, but always a streetlight or passing car lights, which made clothes on the back of a chair take on the shape of a wild animal. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the curtains seem to move when there was no wind. A very low sound in the floor would seem a hundred times louder than in the day. My imagination (想象) would run wild, and my heart would beat fast. I would lie very still so that the “enemy” would not discover me.
Another of my childhood fears was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning I got on the school bus right near my home. That was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the street, I was afraid that I would get in the wrong one and be taken to some other strange places. On school or family trips to a park or a museum, I wouldn’t let the leaders out of my sight.
Perhaps one of the worst fears of all I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. Being popular was so important to me then, and the fear of not being liked was a serious one.
One of the processes growing up is being able to realize and overcome our fears. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps us achieve greater success later in life.
【小题1】The author had _______ kind(s) of fears when she was a child.

Dragon Head-Raising (龙抬头) Day is a traditional Chinese festival. It comes on the   46   day of the second lunar (农历的) month. In 2010, it is   47  March 7.
On the day in ancient times, people put paths of ashes (灰) into kitchens and around water vats (缸). This was   48  the dragon into the house.
On this day people eat noodles, dumplings and fried pancakes. All the day’s foods are   49   after dragons. For example, people eat “dragon whisker (龙须)”   50  called “dragons teeth”.
In some ancient Chinese stories, dragons have power over the wind and rain. They often   51  rain to the world on the second day of the second lunar month.
It is said that after that day there will be more and more rain. This is   52  the day is often called “Spring Dragon Day”. It was hoped that   53  the help of the dragon, ploughing (耕种) would be easier and the autumn would bring a good harvest.
It was said that a haircut during the first lunar month brought   54  luck to the uncles in family. This is why you still see many people   55  their hair cut on Dragon Head-Raising Day.

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled(毁坏) them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.

He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots(根), and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He'd planted an oak(橡树)and instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.

Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They're very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There's always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won't be beaten down.

1. We know from the passage, the doctor______.

A. didn't know how to plant trees at all  

B. wasn't good at his own medical job

C. had his own ways of planting trees   

D. had nothing to do but plant trees

2. When Dr. Gibbs said "... pick out the weaker trees early on.", he meant that______.

A. some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning

B. he would choose the weak trees to water earlier

C. the weak trees would be sent to his patients later

D. he would not plant weak trees so early anymore

3. The passage tells us that the writer______.

A. should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper 

B. didn't often water his trees

C. didn't have a large field                     

D. took too much care of his trees

4.The writer wants to change his prayer, hoping that______.

A. his trees will be stronger than Dr. Gibbs'  

B. his trees will not be beaten down

C. his sons will be better at planting trees    

D. his sons will be able to face difficulties

5.Which can be the best title of the reading?

A. Watering Trees                 B. Growing Roots 

C. Doctor and his Neighbor         D. Father and his Children