When I was 8, a gentleman came to my orphanage（孤儿院）and taught us how to do woodworking projects.

I remember my first project—a small table. I was so      of it that I looked upon it as if I had created a(an)       . It was absolutely beautiful and it had taken me six weeks to       it. I could hardly wait to give it to Mother Winters as a         . She was the head mistress of our orphanage, who was always       with us.

As the tables were not dry from the clear coating, the man told us to wait a few days before taking them to our dormitories. But I was just so        and happy that I couldn’t wait. I dashed out like a        , carrying my table, smiling from ear to ear.

When I reached the dormitory I placed the little table beside my bed. I was         it when Mother Winters entered. She walked over to the table. Running her hand         it, she noticed that it was still wet.

“Were you          to bring this home?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” I         with my head down.

She ordered me to throw the table out and so I did. After she left, I immediately opened the door to get it back. There was         stuck all over. I brushed and cried, but it would not come off.

I hid the table in my closet and never         it. A year later while cleaning up, I gave the table to Mother Henderson, my houseparent（宿管员）, thinking that she would         it away.

Thirty years later at a reunion, I         that Mother Henderson was living nearby, so I drove up to see her. We talked cheerfully for long. As I was about to leave, she asked me to come down to her          to get something important. I followed her         into a dark corner. She picked something up.          she turned around, I could see that she was holding a little table.

Mother Henderson kept the little table that I had given up for lost so long ago.

Today, I look at that table with bittersweet memories but full of         to Mother Henderson, who kept it for a young orphan who tried very hard to        .

1.A. tired                     B. ashamed                 C. proud                          D. aware

2.A. award                            B. wonder              C. record               D. product

3.A. design                      B. invent            C. paint                                    D. complete

4.A. gift             B. reward                       C. prize                           D. souvenir

5.A. satisfied             B. strict                           C. patient                              D. angry

6.A. upset              B. amazed           C. confident                         D. excited

7.A. thief          B. hero                           C. sword                               D. flash

8.A. drying                      B. observing                 C. admiring                           D. hiding  

9.A. into                 B. across                  C. above                                 D. after

10.A. supposed                   B. embarrassed          C. encouraged               D. determined

11.A. agreed                  B. sighed                       C. whispered                  D. argued

12.A. dirt                     B. glue                         C. paint                            D. wood

13.A. removed           B. touched                  C. shook                          D. split

14.A. put                         B. give                           C. take                                   D. throw

15.A. learned        B. expected           C. remembered     D. recommended

16.A. bathroom                   B. balcony              C. basement         D. bedroom

17.A. curiously           B. unwillingly         C. doubtfully                    D. worriedly

18.A. Before                   B. Since                         C. As                             D. Until

19.A. admiration                 B. gratitude           C. sympathy                           D. regret

20.A. adapt                          B. study                       C. perform                           D. please

Solar energy for your home is coming. It can help you as a single home owner. It can help the whole country as well. Whether or not solar energy can save your money depends on many things. Where you live is one factor. The type of home you have is another. Things like insulation(绝缘) present energy costs and the type of system you buy are added factors.
Using solar energy can help save our precious fuel. As you know, our supplies of oil and gas are very limited. There is just not enough on hand to meet all our future energy needs. And when Mother Nature says that’s all, the only way we can delay hearing those words is by starting to save energy now and by using other sources, like the sun.
We won’t have to worry about the sun’s running out of energy for another several billion years or so. Besides begin an endless source of energy, the use of the sun has other advantages as well. The sun doesn’t offer as many problems as other energy sources. For example, fossil fuel plants add to already high pollution levels. With sola energy, we will still need sources of energy, but we won’t need as much. That means we can cut down on our pollution problems.
With all these good points, why don’t we use more solar power? There are many reasons for this. The biggest reason is money. Until now, it was just not practical for a home owner to put in a solar unit. There were cheaper sources of energy. All this is changing now. Solar costs are starting to equal the costs of oil and electricity. Experts say that gas, oil and electricity prices will continue to rise. The demand for electricity is increasing rapidly. But new power plants will use more gas, oil or coal. Already in some places the supply of electricity is being rationed. Solar energy is now in its infancy. It could soon grow to become a major part of our nation’s energy supply.
57. Which statement best expresses the main idea?
A. Something about Solar Energy and Pollution.        B. Solar Energy.
C. Energy and Pollution                                           D. Energy and Money
58. Solar energy can help us save ____.
A. the earth and nature resources                                  B. mother nature
C. the sun                                                                     D. our precious fuel
59. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. Energy from coal would not pollute our living environment.
B. Energy from natural gas would not pollute our living environment.
C. Energy from the sun would not pollute our living environment.
D. Energy from oil would not pollute our living environment.
60. Solar energy is in its infancy, ____.
A. but it will be considered as an important part of our nation’s energy supply
B. yet we will build more power plants
C. and the supply of electricity will be rationed
D. but we don’t need practice energy rationing now

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(表面)”.
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(原谅) me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came.
My hope turned to disappointment(失望), 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(折叠) 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.
【小题1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk ______.

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 most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is 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 and 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 me, 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 (折叠) 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.
【小题1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk _______.

B

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

Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she said again, “is for Elizabeth.”

I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed in action. But as a young girl. I wanted to have 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 (表面)”.

As years passed and 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.

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.

But the present of her desk told me, 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-paper letter, folded and refolded many times. It was my letter.

“In any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.”

1.The writer began to love her mother’s desk________.

A．after Mother died                       B．after she wrote the letter

C．when she was a child                     D．when Mother gave it to her

2.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 her daughter in words

C．Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words

D．Mother wrote to her daughter in careless words

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The author may work as a writer

B．The author and her mother love each other, but didn’t say it out

C．Neither the author nor her mother had a happy family.

D．The author’s mother is a person who prefers act to words.

4.What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for 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.

5.What’s 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