I recently ran into a friend I hadn’t seen for a long while．Our conversation was lively and full of news from both sides．Before we parted she said，“You'll have to drop in sometime.” I immediately sensed that if I simply  “dropped in’’  I would take my friend by surprise，and I would be discouraged by the image of her standing in her doorway，staring at me，and asking，“Oh，err …what brings you here?”

Whatever happened to the unannounced drop-in visit? When I was growing up in the 1960s, it seemed that people - mostly relatives, but also friends - were always popping in. My parents would put coffee on，and my mom would find something in the kitchen to serve along with it．Then the conversation would begin…The neighbor lady，a worrier，was unloading her sadness while my mom quietly listened．The Irish man next door had such an accent that I remember asking what language he spoke．My Polish relatives arrived in packs…But I never heard my parents say anything like “We weren’t expecting you’’ or “This isn’t a good time．”Drop-in visitors had a certain right of way and became No．1．

What happened to such visits? Actually I know the answer．Times have changed．Everybody gets busy with work．There is no longer a stay-at-home mom keeping a pot of hot coffee or tea ready throughout the day for a surprise guest．Exploding malls and stores are now replacing homes as a central form of entertainment．

Just the other day a former student of mine showed up．“I'm sorry for the surprise visit．”my student began．“I just wanted to see if you still lived here．I'll only stay a minute．”My response was immediate.“ No, you won’t,” I said.“Just come in, sit, have coffee, and we’ll talk.’’

I had nothing in the kitchen but we ordered pizza．And we had a lovely time．I have tried to keep the drop-in tradition alive though it takes some effort．

1.The author thought of his friend’s invitation --- “You’ll have to drop in sometime”--- as _______.

A．a nice way of refusal

B．an excuse of leaving

C．a kind of politeness

D．an expression of surprise

2.The underlined phrase “ pop in”  in the second paragraph means _________.

A．make many friends

B．make a special date

C．have a good time

D．pay a sudden visit

3.The woman from the neighborhood used to visit the author’s home to ________.

A．seek comfort from my parents

B．make new friends

C．1isten to my parents’ story

D．taste nice dishes

4.From the third paragraph of the passage，we can infer that __________．

A．the author misses the lost good days

B．unexpected visitors are still welcome now

C．modern people prefer outdoor activities

D．there are more jobs for the housewives now

5.The author writes the passage intending to __________.     

A．encourage people to be drop-in visitors

B．explain how to deal with unexpected visitors

C．share his feelings about the drop-in tradition

D．show the importance of making friends

I had the meanest mother in the world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast．I had to have cereal, eggs and toast．Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'．But at least I was not alone in my suffering．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing．We had to wear clean clothes every day．Other kids always wore their clothes for days． We reached the height of disgrace （耻辱） because she made our clothes herself, just to save money．

The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning．So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law．She made us work I

believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us．Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks．None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout （辍学者）．

She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children．I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world．

1.From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was____．

    A．not generous at all                  B．very cruel to her children

    C．very mean with money matters         D．very strict with her children

2.Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

    A．Eating differently from other kids．                     B．Letting mother know where they were．

    C．Going to bed early and getting up early．                D．Wearing clean clothes made by mother．

3.It can be inferred from the passage that____．

    A．the writer's family lived a miserable life              

    B．all the other kids studied better than the writer

    C．Mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

    D．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

    A．The writer is very thankful to her mother．

    B．The writer has a deep hatred for her mother．

    C．Mother practiced economy in running her home．

    D．The writer is strict with her children when bringing them up．

5.The passage was written in a way of__   __tone．

    A．humorous    B．hateful         C．ridiculous      D．impatient

I devote myself to music because of my grandmother. My mom and I lived with grandparents from the time I was two until I was eight. And even then, I was at their house before and after school every day while my mother was at work.

     Grandma loved music. It was her that first _31  me to Elvis Presley as a very young child, and once I heard his music, I was truly in 32 with it. Most five-year-olds ask for 33  for birthdays, but I wanted Elvis’albums. I would play them non-stop and 34 to the music in my grandma’s family room though my movements didn’t look good.

    Grandma played the piano and 35  me to sing “America the Beautiful” and “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. I 36 started playing music on the piano, and soon Grandma was paying for me to take piano lessons from a lady living in the 37 . I would come home from __38 and walk three houses down for my lesson. I _39 took about nine months of lessons, but it was enough to give me a(n) 40  and allow me to continue  to teach myself.

    Last month when I came home to visit Grandma in the hospital, I brought along my guitar with me. She was in a lot of pain, but the music seemed to _41 her soul. She had me sing some songs and when I started to sing “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, her weakened voice 42 in with mine for a few lines. That experience was one of the most 43 of my lifetime and one I will certainly cherish forever. I told her of my music career and she was very _44  and said, “That’s wonderful!” I _45 to play for her throughout the week I was home.

    My grandma passed away two days ago. In my opinion, part of her will live on through every song I write or sing in my life.

1.A. sent       B. left         C. remembered       D. introduced

2.A. debate     B. love         C. agreement        D. doubt

3.A. music          B. space        C. gifts            D. toys

4.A. wave           B. sleep        C. dance            D. play 

5. A. forced   B. prepared     C. enabled          D. taught

6.A. generally      B. finally      C. fortunately      B. suddenly

7.A. hotel          B. apartment   C. neighborhood     D. countryside 

8.A. school     B. hospital     C. street           D. office

9.A. exactly   B. only         C. completely       D. seldom

10.A. explanation   B. celebration   C. translation   D. foundation 

11.A. comfort       B. blame        C. attract          D. find

12.A. joined   B. poured       C. moved            D. fell

13.A. surprising   B. moving   C. puzzling         D. tiring 

14.A. sad           B. calm         C. bored            D. pleased 

15. A. refused      B. expected     C. continued        D. pretended

A few weeks ago, I was on vacation with my family in Malaysia. We visited lots of places. One of the hotels we stayed __1._ was near a China Town.

Everything was cheap there __2.__ we did a lot of shopping. I was looking for a watch for myself and __3._ for my girlfriend. There were many shops that were selling _4._ same watch —— but for different prices.

I finally found the best price, so I bought the watches while my sister and mom were buying other things from the shop. __5.__ it was time to pay, I realized I was 10 dollars short, so I suggested __6.__ (return) one of the watches. The _7.__ ( own) of the shop asked why and I explained I didn’t have enough money with me. She smiled and said, “You can take it, but promise me you’ll pay tomorrow!”

So I asked her what time she __8._ (be) there the next day and said, “Okay, I promise.”

Unfortunately we changed our hotel and the new one was much ___9.__ (far) away from China Town, but I still walked all the way to her shop and gave her the money. She smiled and said, “You’re a good person.”

It’s so beautiful when people ___10.__ you don’t know trust you.

One Sunday morning in June 1959 my mother walked into my room. “Surprise!” she said, proudly holding up a yellow dress. “I made it just for you. What do you think?”

         I bit my tongue. How could I tell Mom it was the ugliest dress I had ever seen?

         “It’s perfect for church,” my mother continued delightedly.“I wish someone had made a dress like this for me.”

         Too bad you can’t wear it, I thought. But I knew Mom had spent a lot of time on the dress. No one should refuse.

         Unwillingly I put it on.

         All through church I prayed（祈祷）,Lord, let me get out of here without anyone seeing me. Especially Dennis Pearce, the boy I had a crush on, one of the coolest boys at Neptune High School. Although we were in some of the same classes, Dennis had never taken any notice of me. Every time I got near him, I became tongue-tied.

         At the end of the service I rushed for the door. But I had to wait on the steps while my parents chatted with their friends. Just a little while longer…Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the Pearces coming near. Before I could escape, Dennis was right beside me.

         I started talking, hoping if I kept it up he wouldn’t notice my ugly dress. “I’m going to college in September,” I said.

         “That’s great,” Dennis replied “I got accepted to police academy（学院）.”

         “Wow!” I said. Somehow I kept the conversation going. The next thing I knew Dennis had asked me out on a date!

         We courted（恋爱）through college, and eventually got married. Months after our wedding I asked Dennis if he remembered the day he had first asked me out.

“Certainly I do,” he said.“You were always quiet in school. I didn’t think you’d be much fun. But you were so lively when we talked on the church steps, I wanted to get to know you better.” Maybe that yellow dress wasn’t what I would have chosen, but that day it was the perfect dress for me.

1.Why did she accept such a dress?

         A．She was fond of its new pattern.

         B．Her Mom just brought it for her.

         C．It was proper to go to church in it．

         D．She understood her Mom’s love．

2.The author tried to carry the dialog on，hoping        .

        A．she would catch other boys’ attention

        B．Dennis would get her out for a date

        C．Dennis wouldn’t take notice of her dress

        D．she could be noticed by Dennis’s parents

3.The underlined part“had a crush on’’ in Paragraph 6 probably means：“      ”.

       A．10ved deeply          B．met by chance      C．100ked down on   D．worried about

4.What would be the best title for the text?

         A．An Ugly Dress                                                B．A Perfect Dress

    C．A Dress for the Church                                 D．A Dress for the Date