阅读理解

　　Sailors used to speak of a “Jack”when they meant a flag which was set near the bow of a sailing ship. The flag showed the country to which the ship belonged. The Union Jack became the flag of Great Britain. Australia's flag has the Union Jack in the top left hand corner together with the stars of the Southern Cross. They have kept this small part of Britain on their flag because their country was first settled by people from Britain.

　　Australia's flag is the same color as the Union Jack--red, white and blue. The act of joining together is called a“ Union”. The Union Jack was the name of the flag made when England, Scotland and Ireland joined together to make one country.

　　It all began in 1707 when England and Scotland joined together to become one nation. A flag was made using two crosses--one for the patron saint of each country. The word “patron” means protector. Many centuries before the English had taken St George as their patron saint, his emblem (标志 ) was a red cross on a white background. The Scottish patron saint was St Andrew. In memory of him, they used a white cross on a blue background. This cross was shaped like the letter “X”. The new flag was a mixture of both flags with two sets of crosses. When Ireland joined England and Scotland in 1800,another cross was added. St Patrich's cross of Ireland was red and also shaped like an “X”. All three flags now made up the Union Jack.

(1)The Union Jack is a kind of ________ and contains

[　　]

A. flag; three crosses

B. ship; four crosses

C. flag; two crosses

D. ship; three crosses

(2)How many crosses were there in the flag before Ireland joined England and Scotland?

[　　]

(3)Why does Australia have the Union Jack in its flag?

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A. Because Australians respect the English.

B. Because the Union Jack is colorful.

C. Because people from Britain settled in Australia first.

D. Because people from Britain brought the Union Jack to Australia.

(4)Which of the following is not true?

[　　]

A. The emblem (象征) of the English was a red cross on a white background.

B. The Scottish used a white cross on a blue background in memory of St Andrew.

C. Australia's flag is the same color as the Union Jack.

D. The Irish used a red cross on a blue background in memory of St George.

(5)The colors of the flag of Great Britain now are ________.

[　　]

A. red, black and blue

B. white, yellow and blue

C. red, white and black

D. red, white and blue

完形填空

　　During the dust-blown thirties, everyone fell on hard times. The year 1 10, we drew names at our little school to see whom we'd 2 Christmas gifts with. I picked Helen's name. Helen was a new girl. Her family 3 in a house someone had deserted.

　　Every day Helen wore the 4 brown dress to school, some of the neighbors whispered that Helen's daddy was 5 , and that he drank. Some didn't 6 want their kids to be friends with Helen.

　　One day in December I said to Mom,“Wouldn't it be nice to get Helen a 7 for Christmas?”Mom agreed, 8 I could see from her expression that there was no extra money for material. She had bought the material for me and my sisters and our dresses were almost 9 “There must be a way,”I 10 . Mom hugged me.“I wish there was a way,”she said.

　　The next morning Mom called me into the kitchen.“I have a(an) 11 ,”she said.“You and Helen are the same 12 . If you gave her your new red dress, I could fix you up the wool plaid（格子花呢）one that your cousin Esther sent.”I got a special feeling in my stomach. Give Helen my new dress? 13 I could respond, Mom said quickly,“I'll go ahead and fix the plaid dress and you can give her that, so she will have a 14 dress to wear for Christmas.”

　　“Give the red dress to Helen,”I said.“I want her to have it.” “Are you 15 ?” “I am sure. Absolutely.”When Helen came into the room Mom handed her the new red dress. A look of 16 filled Helen's face. She hugged Mom. Helen took it and 17 it in front of her.“Thank you, thank you, thank--”she said to me.“I'm so 18 .”I was feeling happy, too. Helen moved away shortly after that and I never 19 her again. Me, the plaid dress became one of my 20 .