Siberia is a huge territory in Russia. It is more than half of Russia and is 4,000 miles wide.  Most of this area is a forest with animals and birds. In autumn, the forests in Siberia are full of mushrooms and berries(浆果). Many people like picking mushrooms, but that is not as simple as you might think. Old people who live in the villages know places where you can pick lots of mushrooms. Some mushrooms grow in colonies. If you find one, you only need to look around because nearby you'll find more of them.
However, when picking mushrooms, it is important not to choose the wrong kind. You have to be careful because some mushrooms are poisonous even though they look good. The smell can help you choose them, because good mushrooms smell very good.
Siberian people are very friendly and hospitable. If someone invites you home for dinner, you'll soon be full. You should try everything the host is having.
The climate there depends on the territory. Some places have very comfortable climates with hot summers and cold winters. In my opinion, the best season is spring, when nature wakes up after a long winter. It is the time for blossoms and love. Birds come back from other warm countries. Trees become dressed in green. The sun becomes warm and the days are longer. The mood is wonderful and people smile a lot. It is an amazing time.
In winter, you have opportunity for sports. The most popular sport in winter in Russia is cross-country skiing. During weekends, many people go into the country and ski. Noses freeze and cheeks hurt, but people continue to enjoy these times.
【小题1】What is the best title for the passage?

Siberia is a huge territory in Russia. It is more than half of Russia and is 4,000 miles wide.  Most of this area is a forest with animals and birds. In autumn, the forests in Siberia are full of mushrooms and berries(浆果). Many people like picking mushrooms, but that is not as simple as you might think. Old people who live in the villages know places where you can pick lots of mushrooms. Some mushrooms grow in colonies. If you find one, you only need to look around because nearby you'll find more of them.

However, when picking mushrooms, it is important not to choose the wrong kind. You have to be careful because some mushrooms are poisonous even though they look good. The smell can help you choose them, because good mushrooms smell very good.

Siberian people are very friendly and hospitable. If someone invites you home for dinner, you'll soon be full. You should try everything the host is having.

The climate there depends on the territory. Some places have very comfortable climates with hot summers and cold winters. In my opinion, the best season is spring, when nature wakes up after a long winter. It is the time for blossoms and love. Birds come back from other warm countries. Trees become dressed in green. The sun becomes warm and the days are longer. The mood is wonderful and people smile a lot. It is an amazing time.

In winter, you have opportunity for sports. The most popular sport in winter in Russia is cross-country skiing. During weekends, many people go into the country and ski. Noses freeze and cheeks hurt, but people continue to enjoy these times.

1.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Siberia, an interesting and beautiful place.

B．The climate in Siberia.

C．The four seasons in Siberia.

D．Collecting mushrooms in Siberia.

2.Which of the following can help to choose the right mushrooms for dinner?

A．The places.        B．The colonies.       C．The smell.         D．The outlook.

3.Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Siberia in spring?

A．The night is longer.                      B．Tress turn green.

C．It is warmer.                           D．There are many birds.

4.What can we conclude about the climate in Siberia?

A．It's cold all the year round.

B．It's hot in summer.

C．The climate is very comfortable.

D．It depends on where your are in Siberia.

It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Children were upstairs unpacking , and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. My parents lived nearby ,and Dad had visited us several times already. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him .He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” Knowing my father, I thought it could be just about anything. A self-employed jobber, he was always building things out of odds and ends. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.

   Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught ups in the busyness of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise. Until one gloomy day the following March when I glanced out of the window. Any yet… I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花), throughout the front lawn. Lavender, blue, yellow and my favorite pink ---- little faces moved up and down in the cold wind.

    Dad! I smiled, remembering the things he had secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?

    My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next four or five seasons, bringing the same assurance every time they arrived: hard times was almost over. Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon.

    Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms. The next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses. I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs. But I never did.

    He died suddenly one October day. My family was in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith. I missed him terribly.

    Four years passed, and on a dismal spring afternoon I was driving back when I found myself feeling depressed. “You’ve got the winter depression again and you get them every year.” I told myself.

    It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual --- my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith. Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man.

    Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. And there on the muddy grass and small gray piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.

    How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years old, one that had not blossomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.

Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day. But it built my faith for a lifetime.

1.According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that _________.

A. the writer was unpacking when her father was making the surprise

B. the writer knew what the surprise was because she knew her father

C. it was not the first time that the writer’s father had made a surprise

D. it kept bothering the writer not knowing what the surprise was

2.Which of the following would most probably be the worst time of the year as seen by the writer?

A. Spring.  B. Summer.        C. Autumn.        D. Winter.

3.Which of the following is NOT true, according to the passage?

A. The writer’s father planted the crocus to lift her low spirit.

B. The crocuses bloomed each spring before the writer’s father died.

C. The writer often thought about her father since her father died.

D. The writer’s father died some years after he planted the crocus.

4.The writer’s father should be best described as_________.

A. a full-time gardener with skillful hands

B. a part-time jobber who loved flowers

C. a kind-hearted man who lived with faith

D. an ordinary man with doubts in his life

5.Crocus was viewed as the symbol of _________ by the writer.

A. faith      B. family    C. love       D. friendship