I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the more wonderful thing in the world.

Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she’d said again, “it’s for Elizabeth.”

I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.

They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易动感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.

As years passed I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.

I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came.

My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace— it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.

Now the present of her desk told, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside —a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded and refolded many times.

Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.

1.The passage shows that ______.

A．mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

B．mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done

C．mother cared much about her daughter in words

D．mother wrote to her daughter in careful words

2.The word “gulf” in the passage means ______.

A．deep understanding between the old and the young

B．different ideas between the mother and the daughter

C．free talks between mother and daughter

D．part of the sea going far in land

3.What did mother do with her daughter’s letter asking forgiveness?

A．She had never received the letter.

B．For years, she often talked about the letter.

C．She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D．She read the letter again and again till she died.

4.What’s the best title of the passage?

A．My letter to Mother                     B．Mother and Children

C．My mother’s Desk                     D．Talks between Mother and Me

Health is the most important thing in the world. Nothing is more important than health. If we take away our money, houses, or even our clothes, we can still survive. —  【小题1】  That is why we always try to eat in a healthy way and exercise regularly.
How can we keep healthy? In order to eat healthily, I usually avoid eating food high in fat, like French fries or cookies, which are junk food. 【小题2】  I eat a lot of vegetables and fresh fruit which are full of vitamins (维生素).
 【小题3】  Taking exercise every day helps us build a strong body. Regular exercise is an important part of keeping me healthy.
What’s more, I think friends are an important part of one’s health. 【小题4】 I always feel better when I am with friends than I am alone. When I am with friends, I always laugh. Laughing is also in important part of health. It’s good to stay with my friends.
By eating properly and exercising regularly, I can keep my mind as well as my body happy. These things sound easy to do, but not many people can manage them. 【小题5】  

When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy holiday presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.

I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a hand basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Mark over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter (交款处) and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.

Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. "You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you," said the woman. "It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I  would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, 1 know you will feel as good about it as I do now."

Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.

I would like to say '"thank you" to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets (毯子) and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.

1.When did the story probably happen?

A. On Christmas Day.       B. Before Christmas Day,

C. On New Year's Day.      D. After New Year's Day.

2.Why did the writer want to say '’thank you" to the woman?

A. Because she bought Mark a nice present.

B. Because she always paid money for others.

C. Because she collected clothes for the homeless.

D. Because she taught Mark to help people in need.

3.What's the best title for this passage?

A. A big supermarket       B. A kind woman

C. A happy family          D. A wonderful gift

So there are four of them in this car heading north from Coleman in the heart of Texas to the town of Abilene (阿比林), some 53 miles away. It is a hot day, and the drive is dusty and boring. Someone has had the bright idea to interrupt a nice family game of dominoes (多米诺) to go on a four-hour round-trip to eat at a really not very good restaurant.

When they are back home again, one family member admits that she hasn’t enjoyed herself all that much. One by one they all confess that they would rather have stayed at home. “I only went along with it because I thought the rest of you wanted to go,” says everyone. No one wanted to go to Abilene. It had just happened.

This story was first told by Professor Jerry Harvey in an article published in 1974 called The Abilene Paradox (悖论) and other meditations on management. It offers a wonderful insight into the way that decisions can sometimes just emerge, without ever being consciously “made”.

Whether they mean to or not, groups exert a pressure to conform (顺从). A senior management team can find itself a long way down the track to a bad decision without realizing that the idea has very little support around the table.

Close-knit (组织严密的) teams are easily influenced by the pull of groupthink. The late Professor Janis suggested several ways in which teams can avoid it. Two key steps are to invite experts from outside into meetings, and to appoint at least one person to the role of “devil’s advocate” — a role that should be played by different people in different meetings.

1.The four family members have decided to go on a four-hour round-trip to the town of Abilene because _______.

A．they really like the restaurant they are going to

B．they are tired of the game they have been playing

C．they have not been to Abilene for a long time

D．everyone thinks all the other family members want to go

2.When they are back home, they find that______.

A．they have not really trusted each other

B．they have all enjoyed the trip except one family member

C．they would have had a better time if they had stayed at home

D．they have all had a good time although none of them wanted to go

3.A senior management team can make a bad decision because ______.

A．the idea has the support of everyone around the table

B．everyone on the team is too tired to think clearly

C．the group puts a pressure to conform

D．they understand what each member means

4.According to Professor Janis, at least one person should be appointed to the role of “devil’s advocate ” at each meeting so that _______.

A．the pull of groupthink can be avoided

B．each member will play a different role

C．team members can agree with each other more easily

D．experts from the outside can be invited into meetings

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I used to give a lot of money to the homeless, feeling  31  for them. But as time passed, I became a mom with no home, a huge 32    , and hardly any income. As a result, I  33 giving money to the people on the side of the road and became very  34 .

Things started to change for me  35 . I had a home, a backyard for my daughter, and plenty of food, and I started to  36 myself out of debt. One day we saw a homeless person with the  37 , “Will work for food.” I  38 . My daughter commented. “Mommy, you used to always give money to those people in  39 .” I replied, “Honey, they just use that money for  40 , or other bad things.” She didn’t respond.  41 when I said that, I didn’t feel right.

Three days later, I was driving to  42 my daughter from school. A man was standing on the corner, and something deep  43 me said, “Just help the guy.” So I  44 down my window, and he ran over excitedly. He said, “God bless you, I only need 77 cents.” I  45 into my ashtray (烟灰缸) and strangely enough, there  46 three quarters and two pennies.

I picked them up and gave them to him. He  47 with joy and tears in his eyes. “Wow, you just made it  48 for me to see my mom for Christmas! Thank you so much; the  49 that had this great sale is leaving in 20 minutes!” It was a moment I’ll  50 forever. I think that man won’t forget it either, but I was the one who got the best gift in life—GIVING.

1.                A．angry          B．grateful         C．sorry D．strange

2.                A．problem        B．burden         C．disease   D．debt

3.                A．continued       B．stopped        C．hated    D．appreciated

4.                A．rich            B．bitter          C．relaxed   D．pleased

5.                A．slowly          B．immediately     C．quickly   D．greatly

6.                A．save           B．pull            C．run  D．feed

7.                A．determination    B．sign            C．child D．advertisement

8.                A．ran away        B．turned back     C．passed by     D．sped up

9.                A．danger         B．love           C．need D．sadness

10.               A．life            B．book           C．food  D．smoking

11.               A．And           B．So             C．But   D．Even

12.               A．bring up        B．carry out       C．pick up    D．take out

13.               A．on            B．inside          C．behind    D．over

14.               A．rolled          B．pushed         C．blew  D．took

15.               A．reached        B．went           C．knocked   D．shouted

16.               A．hid            B．stood          C．sat   D．slept

17.               A．burst out       B．turned up       C．set out    D．stood up

18.               A．wonderful      B．meaningful      C．possible   D．interesting

19.               A．plane          B．man           C．woman    D．bus

20.               A．thank          B．remember      C．respect   D．hold