James’s New Bicycle　

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully __1__ the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! __2__ on earth was he going to get the __3_ of the money?　

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was __4__ to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no __5__ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to __6__.　

There was only one way to get money, and that was to __7__ it. He would have to find a job. __8__ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had __9__ on most things.　

“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr. Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”　

That was the _10__ of James’s odd-job（零工） business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the __11__ of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the __12__ of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the __13__ increased and he knew that he would soon have __14__ for the bicycle he longed for.　

The day __15__ came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He __16__ no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode __17__ home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard __18__ for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more __19__ he had bought it with his own money. He had __20__what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.　

难易度：难

1. A. cleaned　　　 B. covered　　 C. counted　　　　 D. checked　

2. A. How　 B. Why　 C. Who　 D. What　

3. A. amount　 B. part　 C. sum　 D. rest　

4. A. brave　 B. hard　 C. smart D. unfair　

5. A. point B. reason　 C. result　 D. right　

6. A. split　 B. spend　 C. spare　 D. save　

7. A. borrow B. earn　 C. raise　 D. collect　

8. A. Or　 B. So　 C. For　 D. But　

9 A. decisions B. experience 　C. opinions D. knowledge　

10. A. beginning B. introduction　 C. requirement　 D. opening　

11. A. similarity B. quality　 C. suitability　 D. variety　

12. A. brand　 B. number C. size　 D. type　

13. A. effort　 B. pressure C. money D. trouble　

14. A. all　 B. enough　 C. much　 D. some　

15. A. finally B. instantly C. normally D. regularly　

16. A. gave　 B. left　 C. took　 D. wasted　

17. A. patiently B. proudly　 C. silently　 D. tiredly　

18. A. applying　 B. asking　 C. looking　 D. working　

19. A. since B. if　 C. than　 D. though　

20. A. deserved B. benefited C. achieved D. learned

It doesn’t matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That’s what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.

Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.

The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure.

Herpin died at the age of 94.

1. The doctors came to Herpin’s home in order to ______.

　 A. treat him for his illness

　 B. find the reason why some old people didn’t need any sleep

　 C. get some proof to show his sleeplessness was not really true

　 D. help him to have a rest in some day

2. After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin ______.

A. needed some kind of sleep　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. needed no sleep at all

　 C. was too old to need any sleep　　　　　　　　　　　 D. often slept in a chair

3. Al Herpin’s condition could be regarded as ______.

　 A. an unusual one　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. a common one

　 C. very healthy　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. very funny

4. The word “puzzle” in this passage probably refers to “______”.

　 A. make you think a lot because you do not understand it

　 B. make you worry a lot because you cannot sleep well

　 C. make you sad because something unusual has happened

　 D. make you fear because something terrible has happened

5. The main idea of this passage is that ______.

　 A. large numbers of people do not need sleep　　　　　　　　

　 B. everyone needs some sleep to stay alive

　 C. people can live longer by trying not to sleep at all

　 D. a person was found who actually didn’t need any sleep