D

It was the afternoon of December 24, the day before Christmas, and as the newest doctor in our office, I had to work. The only thing that brightened my day was the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in our waiting room and a gift sent to me by a fellow I was dating—a dozen long-stemmed red roses.

As I was cleaning my office, I was told a lady urgently needed to speak with me. As I stepped out, I noticed a young, tired-looking woman with a baby in her arms. Nervously, she explained that her husband—a prisoner in a nearby prison—was my next patient. She told me she wasn’t allowed to visit her husband in prison and that he had never seen his son. Her request was for me to let the boy’s father sit in the waiting room with her as long as possible before I called him for his appointment. Since my schedule wasn’t full, I agreed. After all, it was Christmas Eve.

A short time later, her husband arrived—with chains on his feet and hands, and two armed guards as bodyguards. The woman’s tired face lit up like our little Christmas tree when her husband took a seat beside her. I kept glancing out to watch them laugh, cry and share their child. After almost an hour, I called the prisoner back to my office. The patient seemed like a gentle and modest man. I wondered what he possibly could have done to be held under such conditions. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible.

At the end of the appointment, I wished him a Merry Christmas—a difficult thing to say to a man headed back to prison. He smiled and thanked me. He also said he felt saddened by the fact that he hadn’t been able to get his wife anything for Christmas. On hearing this, I was inspired with a wonderful idea.

I’ll never forget the look on both their faces as the prisoner gave his wife the beautiful, long-stemmed roses. I’m not sure who experienced the most joy—the husband in giving, the wife in receiving, or myself in having the opportunity to share in this special moment.

67.What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A. The writer was a newcomer to her office. 

B. A fellow sent her a dozen red roses as Christmas present.

C. She was in low spirits because she had to work before Christmas.

D. She was at work with a light heart.

68. The young woman came to the writer’s office for the purpose of         .

A. having her baby examined      

B. giving her husband a chance to make his escape

C. having her husband examined  

D. getting a chance for her family to get together

69.The underlined part in Paragraph 3 most probably means          . 

A. to be sent to hospital             B. to be separated from his family

C. to be comfortable                    D. to become a prisoner

70. What does the writer learn from the story?

A. The wife experienced the most joy in receiving. 

B. An act of kindness can mean a lot.

C. The prisoner was treated with mercy.      

D. Whoever breaks the law should be punished.

It s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．It has been there for the past 10 years or so．It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas—the commercial aspects of Christmas-overspending．Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to avoid the usual presents．The idea came in an unusual way．

       Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by a church．These youngsters, dressed in ragged clothes, presenting a sharp contrast to our boys in their beautiful dresses and shoes．As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury that the poor team obviously could not afford．Well, we ended up defeating them．Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said．"They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．" That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought wrestling headgear and shoes for the youngsters and sent them anonymously （匿名地） to the church．On Christmas Eve? I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in the following years．

       For each Christmas, I followed the tradition．The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed expectation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to show its contents．As the children grew, they joined．

       May we all remember the reason for Christmas, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always．God bless梡ass this along to your friends and loved ones．

The author avoids usual Christmas presents because her husband _____．

       A．likes cheap Christmas presents

       B．likes expensive Christmas presents

       C．dislikes spending much on large Christmas presents

       D．dislikes spending much on unmeaningful Christmas gifts

The underlined word "luxury" in Paragraph 2 means "_____"．

       A．something of poor quality          B．something abundant

       C．something strange        D．something expensive

From the passage we can infer that in character the husband is _____．

       A．modest and mature     B．kind and practical

       C．strong-willed and vain             D．optimistic and outgoing

What is the most exciting thing for the family at Christmas?

       A．Preparing gifts．             B．Exchanging gifts．

       C．Opening the envelope．        D．Writing Christmas cards．

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night．The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently．

       My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him．I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same．I' m so glad I did．

       On the way to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea．As we got on board, we noticed two big humps （脊背） in the distance．

       On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby．We couldn't believe it — there aren't any whales along the coast here．The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive．

       The little baby whale —actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move．The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools （漩涡） and waves．"She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said．At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently．With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water．Then it swam up right beside its mum．They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction．We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel．Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe -- and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes．Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance．

       In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half．That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day．Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea．

The author says "I' m so glad I did．" （ in Para．2） because _________．

       A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

       B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

       C．he experienced the rescue of the whales

       D．he spent the weekend with his family

The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________．

       A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

       B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

       C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

       D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

What is the theme of the story?

       A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness．

       B．Fishing provides excitement for children．

       C．It's necessary to live in harmony with animals．

       D．It's vital to protect the whale in the ocean．

It’s not entirely true that kids learn a second language easily, but it’s still the best time to learn. Babies are basically equipped to hear and distinguish every possible language and dialect, but once they reach 6 months old, they begin to focus on the particular sounds that exist in the languages that they’re exposed to. In this way, kids will naturally and automatically be bilingual(双语的) if they hear multiple languages on a daily basis when they are still babies..

One lady told me of her son who grew up in a very multi-cultural community working at a resort. He would naturally and easily switch from Dutch, to French, to Italian, German and English depending on who he was talking to. Of course that’s an extreme case, but it’s completely possible and easy.

It’ s not true that they will get mixed up by learning multiple languages. They may mix them up purposely simply because certain words or expressions are easier, but they won’t develop any permanent language disabilities. Quite the contrary, bilingual children have been shown to be as much as a year more advanced in learning ability development for 2 and 3 years olds.

Some kids who simply aren’t gifted at learning languages, just as some aren’t gifted at sports or music, will find it difficult to continue schooling in a foreign language. In that case, it may be better not to continue with the foreign language school. Still, it will have been an excellent opportunity for Grade One. Perhaps for Grade Two you could try a bilingual school.

In any case, learning even a small amount of a foreign language, maintaining the ability to hear and pronounce it by listening to music and movies will keep a foundation for later learning. Knowing a second language can be a great benefit for gaining employment.

What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

       A. It’s difficult for kids to learn a second language.

       B. Kids are able to learn multiple languages.

       C. Kids should be exposed to the native language.

       D. Kids enjoy all kinds of different dialects.

What did the lady tell us about her son?

       A. He could speak five kinds of languages.

       B. He was learning some different languages.

       C. He could talk with many people at the same time.

       D. He was working in a multi-community.

In which way can learning multiple languages benefit kids according to the text?

       A. Mixing up different languages.

       B. Distinguish different dialects.

       C. Developing learning ability.

       D. Developing language disabilities.

What should you do if your kids are not good at learning language?

       A. Ask them to turn to sports or music.

       B. Encourage them to remain in Grade One.

       C. Let them remain in the foreign language school.

       D. Send them to a bilingual school later.

A few months ago I was at a bus stop in town in the evening. The bus came on time and I took the window seat. The bus route was by the seashore and I was enjoying the breeze (微风) while watching the sea waves. After a few minutes the bus made its next stop. A young boy and a girl got on. They were standing on my left when the bus pulled off. I looked at them curiously and realized that all the window seats were occupied (占据). They could sit but not together. Suddenly a different wave passed through my body and my inner mind gave me the advice to get up. I got up and offered them my seat. The young lady smiled kindly and said thanks. I occupied another seat and we parted our ways. I don’t remember whether I got off the bus before them or not.

       Months passed by. Suddenly one day while I was standing at the same bus stop waiting some time for the bus to arrive I heard a voice.

       “Excuse me, Uncle.” I looked in the direction of the voice. It was a beautiful young lady.

       Puzzled, I said, “I do not recognize you.”

       She said, “Do you remember you gave us your window seat?”

       Puzzled, I said, “Maybe, but what is so great in that?”

       She said, “If you had not given your seat that day, perhaps I would have not sat with my friend. By sitting together it helped us bridge a misunderstanding that had been between us forever. Do you know we are getting married next month?”

       “Good! God bless both of you,” I replied.

       The young lady again said thank you and went on her journey. I realized the importance of giving that day.

Why were the young boy and the girl standing on the bus?

A. Because they wanted to enjoy the sea view.

B. Because they couldn’t sit together.

C. Because there were no empty seats.

D. Because they preferred to stand.

The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means that the author had a feeling that ______.

A. he wanted to do something special        

B. the sea wave made him upset

C. a wave from the sea flooded him  

D. he wanted to make a sea wave in his heart

From the story, we can conclude that ______.

A. small things can create great happenings in life

B. it is giving rather than receiving that matters

C. offering one’s seat to others may win respect

D. we sometimes forget what happened in the past