When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.

"Where did it come from?" I asked.

"I asked the Gates boy to cut it," my mother said. "I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need... such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon."

The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal（水晶） Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly（难看） at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.

"It's not like the one you used to find," my mother went on. "Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)."

"Don't worry," I told her. "It's perfect."

It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: All Christmas trees are perfect.

What did his mother's Christmas tree look like?

From the passage we can infer (推断) that______.

A. all the soldiers had the three-day holiday

B. the writer could not go home for Christmas

C. the writer spent his first Christmas during the war

D. not all the soldiers went home for Christmas during the war

From the passage, we can conclude that ______ .

A. his mother didn't like Christmas trees

B. the writer didn't like the tree cut by someone else

C. the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees

D. his mother didn't want to have a Christmas tree during wartime

The best title for this passage would be ______.

A. The Perfect Christmas Tree

B. How to Choose a Christmas Tree

C. How Soldiers Spent Their Christmas

D. A Christmas with an Ugly Christmas Tree

What does the writer mean by saying “All Christmas trees are perfect”?

A. Nothing is as perfect as Christmas.

B. Once at home, everything is so nice.

C. During the war, trees are hard to find.

D. All Christmas trees are the most beautiful.

I made up my mind to drive to South Carolina to meet my friends in my used car. Though I had only been there once  36  and did not know the  37  very well, I was on the  38  after I had made some inquiries (询问).
At Ashvelle, there was a crossroad where I could go on along the main road or I could take a short cut. The short cut was to  39  several hills and was dangerous, I hesitated (犹豫)for a little while and then chose the main road, for I wanted to be  40 .
Something strange happened after I drove a long  41  and found it was not the correct road that I wanted to  42 , but the hilly road I decided to avoid. I realized that it was at the  43  that I had made the  44  mistake. “What shall I do?” I asked myself. If I went back to take that road again, it would be very late by the time I got to Columbia. Thinking it  45 , I decided to go on. “If  46  people can go along this road, why can’t I?” I  47  myself
The short cut, to my surprise ,was not that  48 . In fact, it was only a very peaceful country road,  49  up and down two low  50 .There was  51  traffic. On both sides of the road, you could see trees, wild flowers, and  52  with cows and horses. My fear was  53  with the wind. Listening to the beautiful country music over my car stereo (立体声), I drove on and  54  the scenery which was so quiet and so natural. Even my used car forgot to give me  55 . It was just in this light heartedness that I arrived at my destination. My friends, after they heard what had happened to me, all said it sounded like an adventure.

 “Hey, Dad，” one of my kids asked the other day, “what was your favourite fast food when you were growing up？”

“We didn't have fast food when I was growing up，” I informed him. “All the food was slow.”

“Come on, seriously. Where did you eat？”

“It was a place called ‘home’” I explained.“Grandma cooked every day and when Grandpa got home from work, we sat down together at the dining table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I liked it.”

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it：

I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza. It was called “pizza pie”. When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, and plastered itself against my chin. It's still the best pizza I ever had.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was. Bread and rolls came from the Omar man. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered a newspaper, six days a week even when the snow was 18 inches deep. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents, I had to get up at 4：00 a．m. every morning. On Saturdays, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

1. Hearing what the author said, his child probably thought ________.

A. he was lucky to have fast food

B. it was unbelievable to live without fast food

C. how happy his own life was

D. his father was joking with him

2. When he used to have meals with the adults, the author ________.

A. had to watch his table manners

B. could choose what he liked

C. was not given much freedom

D. had to eat everything offered to him

3. What do we know about the first pizza the author had?

A. It left a good memory on him.

B. The author didn't like it at all.

C. It was too poorly made.

D. He didn't know how to eat it.

4. Why did the author talk about his experience of delivering newspapers?

A. To show that his family used to be quite poor.

B. To show that children before had to make a living by themselves.

C. To show that he had gained a lot from the experience.

D. To show that growing experience was quite different before.

5. What's the author's attitude towards today's children?

A. He thinks they are spoiled.

B. He thinks they are too obsessed with fast food.

C. He thinks they should go through some hardship.

D. He doesn't give his personal opinion.

Dear Editor,

Brockingham is run by people who are more interested in tourists than its residents. The problem is that the people running the government refuse to accept new ideas. By banning(禁止) all fast-food restaurants and discount stores, they take away all the places kids can afford to shop.

These people forget that when they were young, they could go to the South Street Soda Fountain and get an ice-cream soda for 25 cents. Today you can’t find an ice-cream soda anywhere in Brockingham for less than $2! Where can kids go for a snack?

There is not a single restaurant in Brockingham where a family of four can eat dinner for less than $100. Add a 15% tip and sales tax and you have spent nearly $125 to eat a meal you could prepare at home for about $12. Have you noticed that Brockingham families never dine in Brockingham?

Fast-food restaurants are also a good place for school kids to get an after-school job. Fast-food restaurants are busiest during the early supper hours when students are able to work, whereas the fancy food restaurants cater to late-night diners. Working in one of these establishments requires working shifts that are too late for most students.

The City Council claims that local merchants, rather than national chains, should benefit from the tourist business. I agree that it is important to support local businesses, but I think the fast-food restaurants would encourage more people to shop in Brockingham.

Another thing that disturbs me is that we must travel 25 miles to the nearest discount store. If I need a tire for my bike, I have a choice of buying one at Surf and Peddle Sport Shop for $15 or driving to Parkersburg Discount Center where I can buy the same kind of tire for $9. Again, I think the ban on all food chains and discount houses is counterproductive for our city.

Wes Woodrow

9th-Grade Student at Brockingham High School

Why does Wes Woodrow write this letter to the editor?

Because the government bans all fast-food restaurants and discount stores in Brockingham.

Because the writer can’t find an ice-cream soda anywhere in Brockingham for less than $2.

Because a family of four can’t find a restaurant in Brockingham to eat dinner for less than $100.

Because the writer has to travel 25 miles to the nearest discount store.

     From the letter we can infer that _____.

the writer used to buy a lot of ice-cream soda

the students refuse to work in fancy food restaurants

the government’s ban benefits local merchants much

discount stores usually offer a discount of 40%

     The underlined word “counterproductive” in paragraph 6 of the letter probably means _____.

A. cheap, not expensive                             B. surprising, not expected

C. harmful, not helpful                                    D. doubtful, not sure

     One way the writer of this letter tries to convince the reader is by _____.

complaining that someone has to drive him to Parkersburg

getting an after-school job in fast-food restaurant himself

suggesting that many businessmen have the same opinion

giving specific examples of the high costs in Brockingham