My daughter is a single parent, who works hard to provide for herself and her three young sons.. She manages money matters 16 and succeeds in planning for few expensive things and amusements that 17 take for granted.

When her eldest son, David, wanted a 　18 so that he could do an after-school newspaper delivery job, the family 19 and soon he was the proud owner of a good second-hand bicycle. One afternoon my 　20 asked David to go to the local shop on business. He rode his bicycle, but foolishly 　21 it outside the shop without putting on the lock. When David came out of the shop, it was 　22 . He walked home in tears and then, together with his exasperated mother, went to the local police station to report the theft（盗窃案）.

Imagine their 　23 when they arrived at the station: a car parked out front had David’s bike wedged in the boot. The 　24 told my daughter how he’d seen a group of kids 25 for the bike once my grandson had gone 　26 the shop. The driver – in his late teens – had 27 out to them to leave the bike alone. Despite this, one of the kids in the group had 　28 on the bicycle and ridden it away while the others followed.

The teen got in his car, 　29 after them and demanded the stolen bike back. He was happy to be able to 　30 it to my grandson together with a lecture about the folly of failing to use the bike 31 . Then, in all the excitement, he 　32 away, without even giving his name or telephone number.

Helping children learn to deal with poverty and constantly struggle to become 33 in their lives is what my daughter pursues（追求）in her parenting; 34 , to the best of her belief, experiencing the world outside and learning from others 35 her children a lot.

16．A．carefully　　　　　　 B．carelessly　　　　　 C．formally　　　　　　 D．secretly

17．A．much　　　　　　　　 B．few　　　　　　　　　　 C．many　　　　　　　　 D．little

18．A．car　　　　　　　　　　 B．taxi　　　　　　　　　　 C．truck　　　　　　　　 D．bicycle

19．A．turned up　　　　　 B．saved up　　　　　　 C．made up　　　　　　 D．stayed up

20．A．son　　　　　　　　　　 B．son-in-law　　　　　 C．nephew　　　　　　　 D．daughter

21．A．remained　　　　　　 B．forgot　　　　　　　　 C．left　　　　　　　　　　 D．dropped

22．A．moved　　　　　　　 B．gone　　　　　　　　　 C．borrowed　　　　　 D．robbed

23．A．sadness　　　　　　　 B．confidence　　　　　 C．expectation　　　　 D．joy

24．A．policeman　　　　　 B．guard　　　　　　　　 C．driver　　　　　　　　 D．officer

25．A．go　　　　　　　　　　 B．steal　　　　　　　　　 C．hunt　　　　　　　　　 D．search

26．A．beyond　　　　　　　 B．over　　　　　　　　　 C．inside　　　　　　　　 D．outside

27．A．called　　　　　　　　 B．spoken　　　　　　　 C．found　　　　　　　　 D．hung

28．A．turned　　　　　　　　 B．jumped　　　　　　　 C．lain　　　　　　　　　　 D．played

29．A．walked　　　　　　　 B．looked　　　　　　　　 C．bargained　　　　　 D．drove

30．A．lock　　　　　　　　　 B．throw　　　　　　　　 C．return　　　　　　　　 D．devote

31．A．lock　　　　　　　　　 B．brand　　　　　　　　 C．license　　　　　　　 D．instructions

32．A．ran　　　　　　　　　　 B．flew　　　　　　　　　 C．escaped　　　　　　　 D．slipped

33．A．stronger　　　　　　 B．taller　　　　　　　　　 C．fatter　　　　　　　　 D．greater

34．A．instead　　　　　　　 B．however　　　　　　 C．moreover　　　　　 D．otherwise

35．A．harms　　　　　　　　 B．benefits　　　　　　　 C．influences　　　　　 D．hurts

Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away; besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.

All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift while her teacher was giving a lecture. Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”

“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”

“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”

Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”

Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”

“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.

“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.

Vicki’s cheeks flushed（脸红）.

1. We can learn from the text that Vicki___________.

2. Vicki’s mother became angry because ___________.

3. What kind of person is Uncle Tom?

4.What did Uncle Tom want to teach Vicki?

Uncle Tom gave little Vicki Black a birthday gift one week before her birthday. He told her not to open it until her birthday. She knew her mother wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect to the kind man who helped them out after Vicki’s father passed away. Besides, Vicki didn’t want Uncle Tom to get angry. But little Vicky didn’t want to just hold it and guess what was in it. After all, she looked forward to his coming to show her interesting things, like how to turn an old sock into a doll.

All the day, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about the gift. While her teacher was giving a lecture¸ Vicki sat still in her seat, drawing paper dolls inside the box. When school was done, she raced home. Walking into the room, again, she shook the present, but she heard nothing. Holding her breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Seconds later, she cried. When Mrs. Black saw the box, she said angrily, “Didn’t I tell you to leave it alone?” Vicki sobbed and said, “Mommy, you don’t understand.”

“Don’t cry to me. You have missed everything now, just because you couldn’t wait,” Mrs. Black accused. “What will Uncle Tom think now?”

“Uncle Tom gave me nothing,” Vicki cried and handed the empty box to her mother. “He played a trick on me.”

Mrs. Black said doubtfully, “Uncle Tom is not like that. You must have dropped it.”

Vicki kept crying. Only a rapid knock on the door made the house quiet. It was Uncle Tom. He looked at the empty box. “You have already done it? I told you to wait for your birthday.”

“You didn’t give me a gift.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.

“I try to give you something. I know your birthday is a special day. I tell myself to give you something valuable to last your whole life. I think hard and get the idea to give you an important lesson. If you open it on birthday, I see you learn. Then I will make a big party to celebrate. Maybe next year you listen and then you will understand the gift better.

Vicki’s cheeks flushed.

1.We can learn from the text that Vicki_______.

2.What do the underlined words “done it” refer to?

3.What kind of person is Uncle Tom?

4.What did Uncle Tom want to teach Vicki?

On a popular teachers’ website, there is a classroom activity to help make children aware of the implications of the different generations of the same family living far from each other. It’s a story about Mrs. Eiderdown, an elderly lady whose grandchildren have moved to Australia with their parents. She lives alone and rarely sees her family.

First of all, the children speculate about Mrs. Eiderdown’s life. What does she have for breakfast? What does she do all day? How does she feel about her life?

One day, Mrs. Eiderdown decides that she wants a pet to keep her company and puts an advertisement in a local shop window. Then she waits at home to see if anyone will answer her advertisement.

A tall thin man rings her doorbell. He is holding a cardboard box. Mrs, Eiderdown chats with the man for ten minutes before she realizes that she hasn’t looked inside the box to see what the pet is. She can hear a hissing sound. The children guess what is in the box (a snake). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the man but says she doesn’t think the snake is a good idea.

The next time the doorbell rings, there’s lady on the doorstep, also carrying a cardboard box. In the bottom of the box, Mrs. Eiderdown sees something black and hairy with eight legs. Again, the children say what they think it is(a spider). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the lady for her kindness but says that a spider is not the sort of pet she has in mind.

At last, the little girl next door brings her a dog. Mrs. Eiderdown’s life improves a lot because of the dog. More importantly, of course, the little girl, whose own granny lives a long way away, starts to visit Mrs. Eiderdown more often. This interactive classroom idea has led to a greater awareness among children about the possible loneliness of older people who live quite near them.

1．What’s the main idea of the passage?

       A．Children get to know about the trouble of the elderly.

       B．Neighbours help select pets for Mrs Eiderdown.

       C．Society helps the lonely people in the UK.

       D．Schools send pets to the lonely elderly.

2．When Mrs Eiderdown advertised for a pet,           .

       A．she was offered a frightening, hissing dog

       B．her neighbour’s daughter gave her a lovely dog

       C．a thin woman wanted to give her a large spider

       D．a man brought her a snake and a spider in a box

3．What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?

       A．They talk about how she feels about being old.

       B．They try to experience her loneliness.

       C．They try to imagine how she lives.

       D．They write about her life story.

4．What can we infer from the passage?

       A．The little girl often visits her own granny.

       B．The people who offer pets are the lady’s neighbours.

       C．The farther the elderly live, the more lonely they feel.

       D．The little girl begins to care more about Mrs Eiderdown.

After too long on the Net, even a phone call can be a shock. My boyfriend’s Liverpudlian accent suddenly becomes too difficult to understand after his clear words on screen; a secretary’s tone seems more rejecting than I’d imagined it would be. Time itself becomes fluid—hours become minutes, and alternately seconds stretch into days. Weekends, once a highlight of my week, are now just two ordinary days.
For the last three years, since I stopped working as a producer for Charlie Rose, I have done much of my work as a tele-commuter. I submit（提交） articles and edit them by E-mail and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists. My boyfriend lives in England; so much of our relationship is computer-mediated.
If I desired, I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything. I can order food, and manage my money, love and work. In fact, at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at home, going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries. I watched most of the blizzard(暴风雪) of ’96 on TV.
But after a while, life itself begins to feel unreal. I start to feel as though I’ve merged（融合） with my machines, taking data in, spitting them back out, just another node（波节） on the Net. Others on line report the same symptoms. We start to strongly dislike the outside forms of socializing. It’s like attending an A. A. meeting in a bar with everyone holding a half-sipped drink. We have become the Net opponents’ worst nightmare.
What first seemed like a luxury, crawling from bed to computer, not worrying about hair, and clothes and face, has become an avoidance（逃避），a lack of discipline. And once you start replacing real human contact with cyber interaction, coming back out of the cave can be quite difficult.
At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to chatter in the background, something that I’d never done previously. The voices of the programs relax me, but then I’m jarred by the commercials. I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or needing to keep up with the latest news and the weather.　“Dateline”, “Frontline” , “Nightline,” CNN, every possible angle of every story over and over and over, even when they are of no possible use to me. Work moves from foreground to background.
【小题1】Compared to the clear words of her boyfriend on screen, his accent becomes______.