My aunt has worked in a clinic ____2008.

        A. after      B.before       C.till       D. since

---Why do you look so happy?

---My aunt has bought a new car and she will invite me to go for a _____ this weekend.

A. surf               B. ride                    C. run                  D. hike

Dinah is one of the most good-natured children that ever lived, but she is very, very lazy. There is nothing she likes, or used to like, so much as to curl up in some warm corner in the sun and do nothing.
Dinah’s mother wished very much that her child should learn to read, but the lady who tried to teach her soon give it up. “It is no   16  ,” she said, “Dinah   17  not learn. She is not stupid, but too lazy.”
It happened soon that a young man from Massachusetts came to the house where Dinah lived. He brought with him something no one else in the neighborhood had ever seen before－a pair of roller-skates.
When Dinah saw the young man going rapidly up and down the piazza (广场) on his skates she was so   18 . She ran after him like a cat, her black eyes shining.
One day the young man allowed her to   19  the skates. The child was too happy for words. Of course she fell down, but did not   20  at all.
“Look here, Dinah,” said the young man, “I understand that my aunt has been trying to teach you to read. Why didn’t you learn? Now, if you can read, I will send you a pair of good roller-skates.”
For a moment she said  21 , then exclaimed decidedly, “I’ll have those skates, sure.”
And she did. When she   22  her mind on her work, she could always do it well,  23  it was.
The lady who had before this found her   24   difficult a child to teach, now had no trouble. If Dinah showed the least   25  of her former laziness, the word SKATES was enough to draw her attention back to her lesson instantly.
On New Year’s morning she received a box marked in large printed letters:
MISS DINAH MORRIS,
Care of Mrs. Lawrence Delaney,
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
If she can read what is on the outside of this box she can have what is inside.
And as Dinah read every word clearly and quickly, of course she had the fine roller-skates the box held. And now sitting curled up in the sun, doing nothing, is not the thing she likes to do best.

Dinah is one of the most good-natured children that ever lived, but she is very, very lazy. There is nothing she likes, or used to like, so much as to curl up in some warm corner in the sun and do nothing.

Dinah’s mother wished very much that her child should learn to read, but the lady who tried to teach her soon give it up. “It is no   16  ,” she said, “Dinah   17  not learn. She is not stupid, but too lazy.”

It happened soon that a young man from Massachusetts came to the house where Dinah lived. He brought with him something no one else in the neighborhood had ever seen before－a pair of roller-skates.

When Dinah saw the young man going rapidly up and down the piazza (广场) on his skates she was so   18 . She ran after him like a cat, her black eyes shining.

One day the young man allowed her to   19  the skates. The child was too happy for words. Of course she fell down, but did not   20  at all.

“Look here, Dinah,” said the young man, “I understand that my aunt has been trying to teach you to read. Why didn’t you learn? Now, if you can read, I will send you a pair of good roller-skates.”

For a moment she said  21 , then exclaimed decidedly, “I’ll have those skates, sure.”

And she did. When she   22  her mind on her work, she could always do it well,  23  it was.

The lady who had before this found her   24   difficult a child to teach, now had no trouble. If Dinah showed the least   25  of her former laziness, the word SKATES was enough to draw her attention back to her lesson instantly.

On New Year’s morning she received a box marked in large printed letters:

MISS DINAH MORRIS,

Care of Mrs. Lawrence Delaney,

NEW ORLEANS, LA.

If she can read what is on the outside of this box she can have what is inside.

And as Dinah read every word clearly and quickly, of course she had the fine roller-skates the box held. And now sitting curled up in the sun, doing nothing, is not the thing she likes to do best.

My aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart disease.

Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily .She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBekey, of Houston ,Texas .He had saved the life of someone with the same illness .The article said Dr. DeBekey’s fees were very high ;Aunt Edith couldn’t possibly pay them .But could he tell her of someone whose fee she could pay?

So Aunt Edith wrote to him .She simply listed her reasons for wanting to live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years, her little - girl dreamt of traveling and seeing the world .There wasn’t a word of self-pity-only warmth and humor and the joy of living .She mailed the letter, not really expecting an answer.

A few days later, my doorbell rang .Aunt Edith didn’t want to come in ;she stood in the hall and read aloud. “Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply .If you can come to Houston ,there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation. Signed Michael DeBekey.”

That was seven years ago. Since then, Aunt Edith has been around the world .Her three children are happily married. For her age, she is one of the youngest, most alive people I know – all because of an open heart surgeon who knew how to honor his profession, and how to open his own heart.

1．How old is my aunt Edith now?

       A．50 years old.        B．57 years old.        C．60 years old.        D．67 years old.

2．Aunt Edith wrote a letter to Dr. Debakey to         .

       A．ask for his advice                                B．beg him to operate on her

       C．ask him to introduce another doctor       D．ask for his sympathy

3．The underlined phrase “open heart” in the last paragraph means          .

       A．open – minded     B．kind – hearted      C．patient                 D．skillful

4．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A．My aunt told a lie to Dr. DeBakey.

       B．My aunt married happily after the open heart operation.

       C．Since the operation, my aunt has traveled around the world and lived happily.

       D．My aunt paid back the money to the doctor after the operation.

5．What can we conclude from the passage?

       A．Dr. DeBakey is willing to operate on anyone free of charge.

       B．Dr. DeBakey is expert in getting along with his patients.   

       C．My aunt Edith is very poor and mean.

       D．My aunt Edith is optimistic and strong – minded.