It was unusually quiet in the emergency room on December 25.

I was nurse on duty that day. I didn’t think there would be any patients, sighing about having to work on Christmas. Just then five bodies showed up at my desk, a pale woman and four small children.

“Are you all sick?” I asked suspiciously.

“Yes,” she said weakly and lowered her head.

But when it came to descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little vague. Two of the children had headaches, but the headaches weren’t accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying to keep it still. Two children had earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was affected. The mother complained of a cough but seemed to work to produce it.

Something was wrong, but I didn’t say anything but explained that it might be a little while before a doctor saw her. She responded, “Take your time; it’s warm here.”

On a hunch (出于直觉), I checked the chart after the admitting clerk had finished registering the family. No address---they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.

I looked out at the family huddled by the Christmas tree. The little one was pointing at the television and exclaiming something to her mother. The oldest one was looking at an ornament on the Christmas tree.

I went back to the nurses’ station and mentioned we had a homeless family in the waiting room. The nurses, grumbling about working Christmas, turned to compassion for a family just trying to get warm on Christmas. The team went into action, much as we do when there’s a medical emergency. But this one was a Christmas emergency.

We were all offered a free meal in the hospital cafeteria on Christmas Day, so we claimed that meal and prepared a banquet for our Christmas guests. We needed presents. We put together oranges and apples in a basket. We collected from different departments candies, crayons and other things available that could be presents. As seriously as we met the physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, our team worked to meet the needs, and exceed the expectations, of a family who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.

Later, as the family walked to the door to leave, the four year old came running back, gave me a hug and whispered, “Thanks for being our angels today.”

1.Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

A．Working Christmas Day                   B．Christmas Day is Coming

C．A Happy Family                         D．A Pale Woman and Four Small Children

2.What kind of person do you think the author is?

A．Hardworking and outgoing                B．Serious and careful

C．Hardworking and warmhearted             D．Serious and stubborn

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Something was wrong with one of the children’s heads.

B．The pale woman forgot to write the address.

C．The author did not understand the truth.

D．The children’s mother told a lie.

4.It can be inferred from the text that______.

A．The author didn’t think there would be any patients on Christmas Day

B．The woman was uncomfortable when she lowered her head

C．The family appeared in the emergency room on Christmas Eve

D．The woman and four small children were satisfied and grateful

It was a spring day for end-of-the-year conferences(会议). Mrs. Lake reminded everyone that both parents and students should take part in these important reports, 20 minutes for each family.

Lauri’s name was at the end of the list. But it didn’t matter much to her. Despite the many phone calls her teacher had made, Lauri knew her parents would not be coming. Her father always got drunk, and her mother could do nothing but cry and quarrel with him.

Now Lauri watched all day long as each child went to the door leading into Mrs. Lake’s office, where parents would greet their sons and daughters with proud smiles. Lauri imagined how it might feel to have her parents greet her at the door.

When at last everyone else’s name had been called, Mrs.Lake opened the door and signed for Lauri to come in. Silently Lauri went in and sat down on a chair. As she felt rather uneasy that her parents had not come, she looked down. Mrs Lake had Lauri raise her face so she could see her in the eye. “First of all,” the teacher began, “I want you to know how much I love you.” Lauri saw things she’d never seen: kindness.

   “Second,” the teacher continued, “you need to know it is not your fault that your parents are not here today.” Again Lauri looked into Mrs Lake’s face. No one had ever talked to her like this. No one.

“Third,” she went on, “you deserve to hear how well you are doing and how wonderful I think you are.” In the following minutes, Mrs Lake held a conference just for Lauri. She showed Lauri her grades, papers and projects, praising her efforts. She had ever saved a pile of watercolors Lauri had painted.

Lauri didn’t know exactly when, but at some point in that conference she heard the voice of hope in her heart. And somewhere a change started. It was then that Lauri realized, for the first time in her life, that she was lovable. 

41. Why were parents required to come to the conferences?

   A. To see how important it was to encourage their children.

   B. To learn how their children had performed in their studies.

   C. To report to the teacher how their children were doing at home.

   D. To see how their children were getting along with their classmates.

42. How did Lauri feel at the end of the conference?

   A. Encouraged     B. Ashamed     C. Challenged    D. Disappointed

43. What does the underlined word “deserve” mean?

   A. 必需　　　　　B. 得到　　　  C.　应该　　　　D.　可能

44. We learn from the text that Mrs. Lake ____________.

   A. disliked Lauri’s parents    

B. filled Lauri with hope and self-respect.

   C. was worried about her poor performance

   D. was dissatisfied with the end-of-the-year conferences.

45. What is the best title of this text?

   A. A Parents’ Meeting                  B. Mrs Lake’s Kindness

   C. Lauri’s Spring Day                  D. A Progress Reports Meeting

Every Friday we have a fire alarm test at nine o'clock sharp, and even though the sound is very noisy, I am so happy because when I heard that it reminded me today is Friday and tomorrow is weekend, it is the last working day of the week and I have two days off, it’s so excited!Sometimes we have a fire drill, when you hear the fire alarm, everybody have to run out through the fire exit.
One Monday at nine o’clock, the alarm was sounded and I was working behind the fish house and didn’t hear it. The department manager and staff were looking for me thoroughly, finally they found me and asked me to stop my job and follow them went out.
"I am busy, No problem! You leave, I work." I said.
"No, this is the law, everybody has to leave." The manager said.
I understood that if I insisted not to leave, they must carry me out. I went out with them together finally, no choice.
One afternoon, when I was working outside, the fire alarm cropped up（突然出现） sounding wildly, nobody knew what’s happening, some were standing and looking around, some were asking questions, some were running, I knew this wasn’t a test or drill, must be a real one. At that moment, one lady called me from a distance:"Jinglebell: leave your job, go out quickly."I joined the crowded flow of customers and staff going out. I asked somebody what's happened? And they told me this is a real one as there was some smoke on the shop floor.Finally I found out, actually there was no problem, that it was an electrician who used the equipment for the carpet and made a little smoke.
After that I asked somebody how to deal with the customer’s food in the restaurant in that case, because they went out to leave because of the fire, but hadn't finished their food. They told me that the customers who had bought food or drinks there could get a new one.
I don't understand, if in China, under that situation, everybody must carry a bucket（桶） or some other water containers to the fire spot, to fight the flames.
I agree with the English emphasis the human right, but maybe a very small problem could become a big problem while everybody had withdrawn from the shop, because the fire fighters could not come at once.
I was just thinking.
【小题1】Despite the noise from the fire alarm, the author still feels happy because _____.

Every Friday we have a fire alarm test at nine o'clock sharp, and even though the sound is very noisy, I am so happy because when I heard that it reminded me today is Friday and tomorrow is weekend, it is the last working day of the week and I have two days off, it’s so excited!Sometimes we have a fire drill, when you hear the fire alarm, everybody have to run out through the fire exit.

One Monday at nine o’clock, the alarm was sounded and I was working behind the fish house and didn’t hear it. The department manager and staff were looking for me thoroughly, finally they found me and asked me to stop my job and follow them went out.

"I am busy, No problem! You leave, I work." I said.

"No, this is the law, everybody has to leave." The manager said.

I understood that if I insisted not to leave, they must carry me out. I went out with them together finally, no choice.

One afternoon, when I was working outside, the fire alarm cropped up（突然出现） sounding wildly, nobody knew what’s happening, some were standing and looking around, some were asking questions, some were running, I knew this wasn’t a test or drill, must be a real one. At that moment, one lady called me from a distance:"Jinglebell: leave your job, go out quickly."I joined the crowded flow of customers and staff going out. I asked somebody what's happened? And they told me this is a real one as there was some smoke on the shop floor.Finally I found out, actually there was no problem, that it was an electrician who used the equipment for the carpet and made a little smoke.

After that I asked somebody how to deal with the customer’s food in the restaurant in that case, because they went out to leave because of the fire, but hadn't finished their food. They told me that the customers who had bought food or drinks there could get a new one.

I don't understand, if in China, under that situation, everybody must carry a bucket（桶） or some other water containers to the fire spot, to fight the flames.

I agree with the English emphasis the human right, but maybe a very small problem could become a big problem while everybody had withdrawn from the shop, because the fire fighters could not come at once.

I was just thinking.

1.Despite the noise from the fire alarm, the author still feels happy because _____.

2.If there is a fire breaking out in a restaurant, what will happen in China?

3.What’s the author’s attitude to the human right?

4.Why does the author think that a very small problem may become a big one while everybody had withdrawn from the shop?