Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting. They say things like, “My Dad’s car is bigger than your Dad’s,” and “My Mom is smarter than yours.” They particularly like to boast about their families.
There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting. Gavin was the worst. Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive.
Whatever the others said, he could always go on better. One day when they were walking to
school, Harry said, “My father had a bath twice a week,” Ted spoke next. “That’s nothing,” he said. “Having a bath twice a week is dirty. My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day.” Ted looked at Gavin. Now it was his turn. But what could he say? “This time,” Ted thought, “I’m going to win.” Gavin didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t say that his father had a bath three times a day. That was silly. He walked on in silence. Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin. They reached the school gates. Still Gavin said nothing. “We’ve won,” Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon. On the way home, Gavin said, “My Dad is so clean that he doesn’t have to bathe at all.”
【小题1】According to the passage, the meaning of the word “boast” is __________.

A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting （诱人的）apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater,  36 a bar of chocolate if given the choice,     37   , as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the   38   he felt and the more he wanted that apple.
39  as high as he could, but even as his tallest  40  he was unable to touch It. He began to  41 up and down , as high as he could, at the  42  of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple . Still it remained out of 43 .   Not giving up , he though , if only he had something to  44  on . His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to  45  the things inside , like his lunch box , pencil case , and Gameboy. Looking  46  , he hoped he might find an old box , a rock , or ,   47  luck , even a ladder , but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use. He had tired everything he could think to do.   48  seeing any other choices , he gave up and started to walk   49  . At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his  50  , and how he really wanted that apple . The more he  51 like this , the more unhappy he became.
52  ,the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what get he wanted .He started to say to himself . This isn’t    53    ,I   don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well.There’s 54   more I can do to get the apple-that is unchangeable-but we are supposed to be able to  55  our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?

I was tired and hungry after a long day of work.

When I walked into the living room, my 12-year-old son 36 up at me and said,“I love you.”I didn't know what to say. For several   37 all I could do was to  38 there and looked down at him.My first thought was that he must need   39 with his homework or he was trying to  40 me for some news.

Finally I asked,“What was that all about?”

“Nothing,”he said.“My teacher said we should   41 our parents that we love them and see what they say.It is  42 .”

The next day I called his teacher to find out more about this “experiment”and how the other parents had  43

“Most of the fathers had the   44 reacting（反应）as you did ,”the teacher said.“When I first  45we try this , I asked the children what they thought their parents would say . Some of them thought their parents would have heart trouble.“The 46 is,”the teacher explained, “feeling loved is an important part of  47.It is something all people 48 .What I'm trying to tell the children is that it's too  49 we don't all express those feelings.A boy should be  50 to tell his dad he loves him.”

The teacher, a middle-aged man , understands how  51 it is for some of us to say the things that would be good for us to say.

When my son came to me that evening ,I held on to(抱着)him for  52 second.And just before he  53 away, I said in my deepest, most manly(男子气慨)voice,“Hey, I love you ,too.”

I don't know if saying that made either of us healthier, but it did feel pretty good(感觉很好)，Maybe next time one of my children said“I love you”，it wouldn't take me a whole  54 to think of the right 55 .

I remember my math teacher Mr. Young very well. He stood out because the kids made fun of him. He was missing one of his fingers, and always pointed at students with his middle finger. w.w I was not very good at English and math. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not figure out why I did not understand what all the other kids found so easy to learn.

One day, I was told that if I got one more E on my report card, I would be taken to the “big prison for kids”.

 I tried really hard for weeks. I just couldn’t understand how to make different parts of numbers into whole things.

The day before report cards were to come out, I knew that Mr Young would give me an E, just like he always did.

I went to Mr. Young and told him that the orphanage (孤儿院) was going to send me to the big prison if I got another E on my report card. He told me there was nothing he could do; it would be unfair to the other kids if he gave me a better grade than I had actually earned. I smiled at him and said, “Mr. Young, do you know how the kids make fun of you because you’re missing your finger?”

He looked at me, moved his mouth to one side and said nothing.

“They shouldn’t do that to you because you can’t help not having a finger, Mr Young. Just like I can’t help not being able to learn numbers and stuff like that,” I said.

The next day, when I got my report card, I tucked it into one of my books. While on the school bus, I opened it: Geography, B+; Mechanical Drawing, C-; English, D-; History, C-; Gym, B+; Art, C; Math, D-.

That math grade was the most favorite one I ever received. Because I knew that someone in the world finally understood what it was like for me to be missing a finger inside my head.

1. From the second paragraph we can infer that the boy is ______ in some subjects.

A. mind-blowing          B. slow-witted             C. fun-loving       D. badly-behaved

2. Where may the boy live according to the passage?

A. In an orphanage.                                                            B. In a big prison.    

C. In the school dormitory.                                         D. In his home.

3. What grade should the boy have got in the math test this time?

A. D-.                             B. C.                    C. B+.             D. E.

4. The underlined word “tucked” in the passage most probably means “________”.

A. stuck                             B. listed              C. hid           D. copied

5. The reason why the boy remembers Mr Young is that _________.

A. he missed one of his fingers                    B. he treated his students very well

C. he understood the boy              D. he taught his students in a special way

A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting （诱人的）apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater, 36  a bar of chocolate if given the choice,    37   , as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the   38   he felt and the more he wanted that apple.
He stood on tiptoe(脚尖)， 39   as high as he could , but even as his tallest  40  he was unable to touch it. He began to 41  up and down , as high as he could, at the  42  of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple . Still it remained out of  43  .  
Not giving up , he thought , if only he had something to  44  on . His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to  45  the things inside , like his lunch box , pencil case , and Gameboy . Looking  46  , he hoped he might find an old box , a rock , or ,  47  luck , even a ladder , but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use . 
He had tired everything he could think to do .   48   seeing any other choices , he gave up and started to walk   49  . At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his  50  , and how he really wanted that apple . The more he  51  like this , the more unhappy he became.
52  ,the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what get he wanted .He started to say to himself ,“This isn’t   53  .I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s  54   more I can do to get the apple ---that is unchangeable---but we are supposed to be able to  55  our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?”