Things of Value

Our area was just a few miles from the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history. We were on “evacuation alert (疏散警报)”. If we got the   1  to evacuate, we would have to leave immediately.

We   2  suitcases with some clothes and set them by the door. We didn’t  3 these things were valuable, but time was. We moved the computers, with which I wrote for newspapers and made a   4 . We took family pictures off the   5  and packed them in boxes. These were truly valuable and could not be replaced.

Then we took a hard look at all that   6 . There was a lamp that belonged to my great grandmother. It was a   7  to my family. And there was the piano my wife   8  to play when she was a little girl. Not of great   9  in itself, but another family connection. It was impractical to move everything from our home and store them for an indefinite (无限的) time. Some important items would have to stay behind.

The thought of   10  something passed down from our families saddened me deeply,   11  I’d never been much attached to things. It’s about what they   12  —family and love. They each had a(n)   13  to tell, and some of them spoke in the   14  of our parents and grandparents.

The fire   15  reached our home. We were lucky. And though I felt grateful that all was   16 , I also realized just how fortunate I had been   17 . I saw just how rich my life had been.

Someone  18 said, “There are people so poor that the only thing they have is money.” And now I  19  I was indeed rich. I was rich in family, rich in memories, rich in everything that really  20 to me. I am wealthier than I ever believed possible.

It took a fire to teach me, I wonder if there is any other kind of wealth worth seeking.

1.                A．answer         B．task            C．chance   D．call

2.                A．packed         B．bought         C．searched D．sold

3.                A．worry          B．think           C．care D．doubt

4.                A．mark           B．sign            C．living D．plan

5.                A．albums         B．ceilings         C．windows  D．walls

6.                A．left            B．remained       C．burnt D．unmoved

7.                A．connection      B．present         C．symbol   D．treasure

8.                A．forgot          B．agreed         C．learned   D．refused

9.                A．quality         B．taste           C．sense    D．value

10.               A．knocking out     B．leaving behind   C．giving away D．picking out

11.               A．even though     B．unless          C．but   D．or

12.               A．contained       B．included        C．represented    D．gathered

13.               A．idea           B．lie             C．right  D．story

14.               A．sounds         B．speeds         C．voices D．feelings

15.               A．once          B．never          C．seldom    D．finally

16.               A．spared         B．returned       C．stopped   D．found

17.               A．at last          B．in return        C．in another way  D．at most

18.               A．curiously       B．accidentally     C．coldly D．wisely

19.               A．knew          B．promised       C．announced D．thanked

20.               A．affects         B．matters         C．helps D．desires

Since the pre-historic times, man has had an urge to satisfy his needs. Be it hunger, shelter or search for a mate, he has always controlled the situations to his advantage. Probably this might be the reason why we humans are the most developed of all living species on the earth. As we climbed the steps of development, we somehow left behind common sense and logical thinking -- we forgot that we have stopped thinking ahead of time.
If you are hungry, what do you do? Get a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet. Just like your stomach, even your mind is hungry. But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many such things. So it silently began to care about your needs and never let itself grow. When mind looses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?" "Why am I always given the difficult problems?" Well, this is the result of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things.
Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through reading. Now why reading and not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to turn to reading. You have innumerable number of books in this world which will answer all your "How to?" questions. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed, if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, of which you would have never thought in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity. More the number of books you read, your mind will open up like never before.
【小题1】What is the function of the first paragraph?

I ran across an old photo of him the other day, thinking of some old things. He’s been dead for 25 years. His name was Rex.

1_____ was his favorite recreation(娱乐). He had so much 2_____ in the water as any person I have known. You didn’t have to throw a stick in the water to 3_____ him to go in. Of course, he would bring back a stick to you if you 4 _____ throw one in.

That 5 ____ me of that night, 6_____ he brought back a small box that he found somewhere--- how 7_____ nobody ever knew. Since it was Rex, it 8_____ easily have been half  a race. The box wasn’t a god one. It was just a 9______ old piece that somebody 10______. Still it was something he wanted, probably 11_____ there was some difficulty in transportation（运输）. And that he thought could test his courage. We first knew about his achievement when, deep in the night, we 12 _____ him trying to get the box up onto the porch(门 厅). It sounded 13_____ two or three people were trying to tear the house 14 _____. We came downstairs and turned on the 15_____ light. Rex was on the top step trying to pull the thing up, but it had 16_____somehow. And he was just holding his own(坚持着). I suppose he would have held his own 17_____ dawn if we hadn’t helped him. The next day we carried the box miles away and threw it out. If we had thrown it out in a 18____ place, he would have brought it home again, as a small token(象征)of his strength in such matters. 19____, he had been taught to carry heavy wooden objects about and he was 20_____ of his skill.

1.A.Fighting         B. Swimming       C. Barking         D. Running

2.A.fun             B. trouble           C. danger         D. difficulty

3.A.stop            B. make             C. get            D. have

4.A.will             B. do               C. did            D. would

5.A.reminds          B. warns           C. tells            D. suggests

6.A.which           B. while            C. as             D. when

7.A.Far             B. long             C. old            D. heavy

8.A.could           B. can             C. should          D. would

9.A.priceless        B. worthless         C. valuable         D. important

10.A.kept           B. forgot           C. deserted（遗弃） D. remained

11.A.because        B. only if          C. even if           D. in case

12.A.saw           B. heard           C. watched          D. caught

13.A.like           B. that             C. as if             D. at least

14.A.up            B. in              C. away             D. down

15.A.hall           B. kitchen           C. bedroom         D. porch

16.A.rolled         B. stopped           C. caught           D. broken

17.A. at           B. before             C. till              D. during

18.A.distant        B. nearby            C. silent            D. busy

19.A.In all          B. As a result        C. At last           D. After all

A.proud         B. tired             C. ashamed          D. doubtful

As I sat beside the window of our classroom that afternoon, my heart sank further with each passing car. This was a day I’d looked forward to for weeks: Miss Pace’s fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party. I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace looked for cookie volunteers. Mom’s chocolate chips were well-known, and I knew they’d be a hit with my classmates. But two o’clock passed, and there was no sign of her. Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their sweet offerings. The three o’clock bell soon took me away from my thoughts and I took my book bag from my desk. I decided I would slam the front door, and refuse to return her hug.
But when I arrived, she wasn’t at home. I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door. “Robbie,” she called out a bit urgently. “Where are you?” I could then hear her rushing anxiously from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent. Coming through the door, she said: “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “I just forgot. I got busy and forgot.” Then my mother did something completely unexpected. She began to laugh! How could she laugh at a time like this? I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see my rage (愤怒). But my mother wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I let you down. I let my little boy down.”
I was moved by her tears. I tried to remember her kind words from times past when I’d skinned knees or cut myself, times when she knew just the right thing to say. “It’s okay, Mom. We didn’t even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat. Don’t cry. It’s all right. Really.” We didn’t say another word. We just held each other. When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.
【小题1】The author was pretty down because ________.

Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.

He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.

In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."

He found a taxi and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.

"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."

1.Dick flew to New York because ___.

A．he went there for a holiday

B．he had work there

C．he went there for sightseeing (观光)

D．his home was there

2.Why did his wife want a telegram from him?

A．Because she didn't know his address yet

B．We don’t know, it isn’t metioned in the passage.

C．Because she might send him another telegram

D．Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York

3.Who would send him the name and address of his hotel?

A．The manager of his hotel.                 B．The police office.

C．The taxi driver.                         D．His wife.

4.Which of the following is not true?

A．Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city.

B．Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival.

C．Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram.

D．Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi.

5.From the passage,we can know that Dick is a _____ person.

A．stupid and foolish                       B．smart and clever

C．warmhearted and good looking             D．careless and forgetable