Pete Richards was the loneliest man in town on the day that little Jean Grace opened the door of his shop.

         Pete's grandfather had owned the shop until his death. Then the shop became Pete's. The front window was full of beautiful old things: jewelry of a hundred years ago, gold and silver boxes, carved figures from China and Japan and other nations.

         On this winter afternoon, a child stood there, her face close to the window. With large and serious eyes, she studied each piece in the window. Then, looking pleased, she stepped back from the window and went into the shop. Pete himself stood behind the counter. His eyes were cold as he looked at the small girl. “Please,” she began, “would you let me look at the pretty string of blue beads in the window?” Pete took the string of blue beads from the window. The beads were beautiful against his hand as he held the necklace up for her to see.

         “They are just right,” said the child as though she were alone with the beads. “Will you wrap them up in pretty paper for me, please? I've been looking for a really wonderful Christmas present for my sister.”

         “How much money do you have?” asked Pete.

         She put a handful of pennies on the counter. “This is all I have,” she explained simply. “I've been saving the money for my sister's present.”

         Pete looked at her, his eyes thoughtful. Then he carefully closed his hand over the price mark on the necklace so that she could not see it. How could he tell her the price? The happy look in her big blue eyes struck him like the pain of an old wound.

         “Just a minute,” he said and went to the back of the shop. “What's your name?” he called out. He was very busy about something.

         “Jean Grace,” answered the child.

         When Pete returned to the front of the shop, he held a package in his hand. It was wrapped in pretty Christmas paper.

         “There you are,” he said. “Don't lose it on the way home.”

         She smiled happily at him as she ran out of the door. Through the window he watched her go. He felt more alone than ever.

         Something about Jean Grace and her string of beads had made him feel once more the pain of his old grief. The child's hair was as yellow as the sunlight; her eyes were as blue as the sea. Once upon a time, Pete had loved a girl with hair of that same yellow and with eyes just as blue. And the necklace of blue stones had been meant for her.

         But one rainy night, a car had gone off the road and struck the girl. After she died, Pete felt that he had nothing left in the world except his grief. The blue eyes of Jean Grace brought him out of that world of self-pity and made him remember again all that he had lost. The pain of remembering was so great that Pete wanted to run away from the happy Christmas shoppers who came to look at his beautiful old things during the next ten days.

         When the last shopper had gone, late on Christmas Eve, the door opened and a young woman came in. Pete could not understand it, but he felt that he had seen her before. Her hair was sunlight yellow and her eyes were sea-blue. Without speaking, she put on the counter a package wrapped in pretty Christmas paper. When Pete opened the package, the string of blue beads lay again before him.

         “Did this come from your shop?” she asked.

         Pete looked at her with eyes no longer cold. “Yes, it did,” he said.

         “Are the stones real?”

         “Yes. They aren't the best turquoise(绿松石), but they are real.”

         “Can you remember to whom you sold them?”

         “She was a small girl. Her name was Jean. She wanted them for her sister's Christmas present.”

         “How much were they?”

         “I can't tell you that,” he said. “The seller never tells anyone else what a buyer pays.”

         “But Jean has never had more than a few pennies. How could she pay for them?”

         “She paid the biggest price one can ever pay,” he said.

         For a moment there was no sound in the little shop. Then somewhere in the city, church bells began to ring. It was midnight and the beginning of another Christmas Day.

         “But why did you do it?” the girl asked.

         Pete put the package into her hands.

         “There is no one else to whom I can give a Christmas present,” he said. “It is already Christmas morning. Will you let me take you to your home? I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas at your door.”

         And so, to the sound of many bells, Pete Richards and a girl whose name he had not yet learned walked out into the hope and happiness of a new Christmas Day.

1.When Pete saw Jean Grace, he was ______.

A. very enthusiastic, hoping for some business to be done

B. cold but he still served the young customer

C. cold, unwilling to serve the young customer

D. very warm to the young customer though he did not want to sell anything to her

2.Pete did not say the price of the necklace because ______.

A. the seller never tells anyone else what a buyer pays

B. he priced the necklace too high

C. he knew it would disappoint the girl

D. he didn't want to sell the necklace

3.The eyes of Jean Grace brought Pete out of his world of self-pity and he ______.

A. tried to forget the memory of his sweetheart

B. began to look at the world optimistically

C. remembered his lost love

D. no longer felt the pain in him

4.A young woman came into the shop because ______.

A. she was afraid that there might be some mistake

B. she thought that the stones she had bought were not real

C. she was not sure if she could get more stones like those

D. she did not like what she had once bought

5.By saying “She paid the biggest price one can ever pay,” Pete meant that Jean Grace     .

A. gave the most money for the necklace

B. gave all she had with her for the necklace

C. appreciated the value of the necklace

D. wanted to have the best thing in the shop

6. At the end of the story we see that Pete _____.

A. found another girl that he could trust

B. met someone who truly loved him

C. found a place to go at last

D. regained his ability to love

“The pen is more powerful than the sword（刀）.” There have been many writers who used their pens to fight things that were wrong. Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them.

　　She was born in the U.S.A. in 1811.One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race. The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won.

　　This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin. There was time when every English-speaking man, woman, and child has read this novel that did so much to stop slavery.  Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting. The book has shown us how a warm-hearted writer can arouse (唤起) people's sympathies. The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor been a slave. The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were wildly excited over it and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free.

According to the passage______

　A. every English-speaking person has read Uncle Tom's Cabin

　B. Uncle Tom's Cabin was not very interesting

　C. those who don't speak English cannot have read Uncle Tom's Cabin

　D. the book Uncle Tom's Cabin did a great deal in the American Civil War

What do you learn about Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe from the passage?

　A. She had been living in the north of America before the American Civil War broke out.

　B. She herself encouraged the Northern Americans to go to war to set the slaves free.

　C. She was better as writing as swinging (挥舞) a sword.

　D. She had once been a slave.

Why could Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe's book cause a civil war in America?

　A. She wrote so well that Americans loved her very much.

　B. She disclosed the terrible wrongs that had been done to the slaves in the Southern States.

　C. The Southern Americans hated the book while the Northern Americans like it.

　D. The book had been read by many Americans.

What can we learn from the passage?

　A. We needn't use weapons (武器) to fight things that are wrong.

　B. A writer is more helpful in a war than a soldier.

　C. We must understand the importance of literature and art.

　D. No war can be won without such a book as Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”

“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice(临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器).

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

At dawn, she suddenly said,” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I said.

“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”

1. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to ______.

2.The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he ______.

3.What can we learn from the story?

Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a.m. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark exvept for a single light in a ground floor window.

I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated. ”

“Oh, you’re such a good man.”  She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “ Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.

“ Oh, I’m in no hurry.” She said, “I’m on my way to a hospice (临终医院)。 I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器)

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

At down, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

“How much do I owe you?” She asked.

“Nothing.” I said.

“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment joy.”

1.The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to           .

   A. Show she was familiar with the city

   B. reach the destination on time

   C. let the driver earn more money

   D. see some places for the last time.

2.The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he             

   A. wanted to do her a favor

   B. shut off the meter by mistake

   C. had received her payment in advance

   D. was in a hurry to take other passenhers

3.What can we learn from the story?

   A. Giving is always a pleasure

   B. People should respect each other

   C. An act of kindness can bring people great joy.

   D. People should learn to appreciate others’ concern.

单词拼写：根据所提供的首字母，写出符合句意的单词。一个空只能填一个单词。（共10小题；每小题0.5分，共5分）

1. The Big House of Qiao Family (乔家大院) is a perfectly p__________________ old house.

2. It suddenly o_____________ to her that she had once seen the man somewhere before.

3. Bank cards are p________________ useful when travelling and there are often insurance benefits if you pay for your travel with them.

4. The police want those who have w____________ the accident to call them and provide them with enough evidence.

5. More often than not, it is difficult to c______________ the exact meaning of a Tang poem in English.

6. She wrote several letters to the government about the air pollution, but got no r_____________.

7. Today, the boss announced that smoking was f__________________ during office hour.

8. Akitt was u_______________ about the time of the recovery so he looked very depressed.

9. Though rich, she lives a simple life. She r____________ wears expensive jewellery.

10. I was very d_________________ by the failure, but I still hoped we could find a solution.