________ it was cold and wet, none of us complained about having to work in such terrible weather．

1. A.
   Even though
2. B.
   Even
3. C.
   As
4. D.
   For

It was a cold and cloudy afternoon. I was on the bus with my children, aged four and two, heading home when it started to rain. I realized this would mean a wet walk home   1.   the bus stop.

Home was only two blocks away   2.  it was not a pleasant walk with one small boy fast asleep in the pram (手推婴儿车), the other one in a raincoat and no umbrella for myself. A pick-up truck passed us on the road and, a few minutes later, I saw it  3.  (pull) back and the driver looking directly at us.

A young man put the window down. “Hey, here’s an umbrella for you --- please take it.” He called out.

I stood there   4.  (astonish), barely believing that the man,  5.  existence was unknown to me only moments ago, could be so   6.  (thought). “Come on, give this to your mummy,” he said to my older son. I gratefully accepted the offer,  7.  (thank) him and watched the truck disappear down the road.

This man might have needed the umbrella for   8. later during the day but preferred to give it to me. It was a lesson to me  9.   it’s possible to give without expecting anything   10.  return.

                      It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together inside the storm door on the top step.

“Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.

I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow.

“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”

They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.

The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”

I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said “Thank you.” They didn’t need to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.

I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these matched, too.

I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.

46. Two children came to the writer’s front door because _________________.

A. it was Thanksgiving Day

B. they were beggars

C. they wanted old papers

D. they wanted a cup of cocoa

47. Why did the writer let the children in?

A. She showed great pity on them

B. She had old papers to sell

C. She wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving feast

D. She wanted them to see how rich she was

48. The girl thought the writer was rich perhaps because ________________.

A. she saw that the lady’s room was comfortable

B. she saw the cups matched the saucers

C. the writer’s slipcovers were very new

D. the writer was preparing a big meal while she was too hungry.

49. From the passage, we can infer that whether you are rich depends on ____________.

A. how much money you have had        B. how you feel about your life

C. how you have helped others            D. what job your husband is doing

50. The writer left the muddy prints of small sandals on the floor for a while to ____________.

A. show her husband that someone had come

B. remind her that she had helped two children

C. remind her that she was very rich in the neighborhood

D. remind her how life should be

It was December 22．The bitter wind swept the countless snowflakes（雪花） across my front yard．My dad was there sweeping the  1 ．His nose was red as a cherry．With every breath he took, a white puff escaped  2  the air．

       Inside, my mother was _3_the last of the boxes． 4  I entered the front door, the thought that after today I wouldn’t enter through that  5 ever again burned a hole in my stomach．I picked up my dog and sat Indian style with him in my lap on the  6 , wooden floor．I had no 7  but to sit on the floor, for there was no longer any furniture in my house．I sat there in a daze （恍惚）, just 8 ．There was no reason for my parents to make me, a once 9 12-year-old kid, 10．I had two best friends right across the street; I did well in school and I always kept my room clean． 11 , this was “my house”．By no means did I want a couple of  12 living here．These recurring （重复） thoughts  13  around in my mind and I couldn’t find an answer．

       Out of the front window I could see the orange top of a truck pulling in along the cleaned driveway and I knew it was the other U-Haul．At once their men came  14  in through the back door like World War Ⅲ was starting．

       I watched  15  as the men, my mother and my dad loaded the truck．My dog even winced （畏缩） as he stared out of the window．I wondered if he was  16  , too, or if he just wished to play outside in the snow．

       My mum came in, looking solemn （凝重）．She turned  17  the overhead light, put the  18  in my arms and took me out of the back door．A totally 19  feeling filled my heart．For the first time in my life, I wondered what  20  would be like to me tomorrow．

1．A．stairs                    B．garden                 C．sidewalk              D．driveway

2．A．into                      B．down                  C．on                      D．over

3．A．piling                    B．packing               C．collecting            D．locking

4．A．Though                 B．Since                  C．As                      D．While

5．A．yard                     B．door                    C．box                     D．flat

6．A．cold                      B．wet                     C．broken                D．dirty

7．A．choice                  B．way                    C．solution               D．means

8．A．dreaming               B．thinking               C．sleeping               D．laughing

9．A．intelligent              B．clever                  C．happy                 D．honest

10．A．remain                B．cry                     C．suffer                 D．move

11．A．However             B．Besides                C．Therefore            D．Yet

12．A．neighbors            B．strangers             C．visitors                D．elders

13．A．came                  B．traveled               C．danced                D．flowed

14．A．running               B．flying                  C．driving                D．riding

15．A．curiously             B．happily                C．interestingly         D．helplessly

16．A．afraid                  B．angry                  C．sad                     D．lonely

17．A．down                  B．off                      C．on                      D．up

18．A．box                     B．dog                     C．bag                     D．hand

19．A．excited                B．eager                   C．empty                 D．unknown

20．A．weather             B．school           C．home             D．world