My best friend, Tom, and I live in a senior-citizen apartment in a lovely small town. Tom is a ten-year-old dog and I am a sixty-nine-year-old lady .

Years ago, I __36__  when I retired I would get a dog to __37__  my golden years. From the very beginning, Tom has always been __38_ and I never have to tell him anything more than once. He is extremely __39___ and always puts back the toys where they were after __40__.He is a wonderful companion. We sometimes play a ___41___together. He does many amusing things that make me laugh. As a result, I enjoy his__42___.

One afternoon, Tom started acting ___43__. I was sitting on the floor playing with him, __44___he started sniffing at the right side of my chest. He had never done anything like this before, suddenly he threw his entire__45__at the right side of my chest, and I cried in___46___.

Soon after this, I felt a lump(肿块). After X-rays and tests, doctors told me I __47__cancer. When cancer started, for an unknown __48___, a wall of calcium(钙化壁) built. Then the lump or cancer _49__ itself to the wall. When Tom __50__on me, the force broke the lump away from the calcium wall, which made me ___ 51__the lump. Before that, I couldn’t see or feel it, so there was no way for me to know it was there.

I had a complete __ 52___ and the cancer did not spread. The doctors told me if the cancer had gone unfound even six more months, it would have been too late.

Was Tom ___53__ of just what he was doing? I’ll never really know. What I do

know is that I’ m glad I made a promise to_ 54 __my golden years with this wonderful creature---- for Tom not only shares his life with me; he has made sure that I will be ___55___to share my life with him.

1.A. suggested       B. insisted       C. told        D. promised

2.A. take            B. bring         C. share       D. carry

3.A. well-behaved     B. well-built     C. well-dressed D. well-known

4.A. dirty            B. neat         C. lazy        D. sad

5.A. working         B. sleeping      C. eating      D. playing

6.A. joke            B. fun          C. game       D. face

7.A. company        B. kindness      C. care       D. comfort

8.A. happily         B. luckily        C. strangely   D. sadly

9.A. while           B. when         C. as         D. before

10.A. power           B. energy       C. devotion    D. weight

11.A. joy             B. surprise      C. pain        D. relief

12.A. enjoyed         B. had          C. lived       D. treated

13.A. cause           B. excuse       C. reason      D. idea

14.A. attached         B. devoted      C. fell        D. dropped

15.A. jumped          B. sat          C. stood      D. put

16.A. watch           B. witness      C. observe     D. notice

17.A. task             B. work        C. operation   D. job

18.A. fond            B. aware        C. ashamed   D. afraid

19.A. waste           B. spend        C. cost       D. make

20.A. in              B. around       C. out        D. outside

It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire.
He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness.
Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat. 
“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”
No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence.
Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”
Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.”
“I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”
Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”
“Isn’t that work?”
Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”
“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.”
“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom.
Ben stopped munching his apple.
Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.”
“Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.”
“No, Ben, I’m afraid—”
“I’ll give you all the apple!”
Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys.
Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village.
Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

1. 1.

   By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.

   1. A.
      made mistakes
   2. B.
      damaged things
   3. C.
      was natural
   4. D.
      wasn’t concentrating
2. 2.

   The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.

   1. A.
      kindness
   2. B.
      discouragement
   3. C.
      sympathy
   4. D.
      eagerness
3. 3.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________

   1. A.
      Tom did not want to go swimming at all
   2. B.
      Tom was asked to help Aunt Polly paint the fence
   3. C.
      Tom did not get along well with his friends
   4. D.
      Tom was very busy that Saturday afternoon.
4. 4.

   We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.

   1. A.
      forbidden fruit is sweet.
   2. B.
      a friend in need is a friend indeed.
   3. C.
      all good things must come to an end.
   4. D.
      a bad excuse is better than none.

It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire.

He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness.

Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat. 

“Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?”

No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence.

Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?”

Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.”

“I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?”

Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?”

“Isn’t that work?”

Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.”

“Do you mean that you enjoy it?”

“I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.”

“Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom.

Ben stopped munching his apple.

Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.”

“Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.”

“No, Ben, I’m afraid—”

“I’ll give you all the apple!”

Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys.

Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village.

Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

1.By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.

2.The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________

4.We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.

— Tom, Miss Lee asked you to go to her office as soon as you arrived.
— ____ What did she say?

— Tom, Miss Lee asked you to go to her office as soon as you arrived.

— ____ What did she say?

A．I’ve got it.                            B．I beg your pardon?

C．Excuse me.                            D．Thank you.