Ellen and Bill County are both teachers. They met in college and became good friends because of their shared love for children. Two years after the couple got married, Ellen saw a huge change in the life of one of her students, a 9-year-old girl. Three years ago both of the little girl’s parents had died and there was no one to take care of her. She was taken away to live in a government office. But finally she was taken in and adopted by a family and became their daughter. Ellen said that she noticed the difference in the child’s life after she was placed in a permanent home and thought that maybe she and her husband could help a child in a similar way.
They decided to become temporary parents and to take a child into their home on the weekends when the real parents could not take care of him or her. The pair planned to have their own children in a few years, but decided that this would be a way to give to the community in the meantime.
The couple quickly grew to love one of the children they looked after. When he became legally available, Billy became the first child they took in permanently. Six months after adopting Billy, Ellen was told by her doctor that she was unable to have children naturally. Ellen says she knew then that adoption was the way she was meant to have a family.
Since adopting Billy, now 17, Ellen and Bill have adopted five more children --- Rose,16； Albert, 11; Joshua, 5 and in June 2003, they added biological brother and sister Tyler and Rylee to the County family.
The County family has been recognized for their work on adoption, and have received many awards for their efforts. Last June, the family was even interviewed on the television show, “Adoption Stories”.
Ellen says she would like to encourage other families to adopt children. She adds that the best part of being a mother of six is: “Giving Josh a bath, putting a band-aid on a cut knee or just the everyday mom things, that makes motherhood such an honor and a privilege.”
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?

Ellen and Bill County are both teachers. They met in college and became good friends because of their shared love for children. Two years after the couple got married, Ellen saw a huge change in the life of one of her students, a 9-year-old girl. Three years ago both of the little girl’s parents had died and there was no one to take care of her. She was taken away to live in a government office. But finally she was taken in and adopted by a family and became their daughter. Ellen said that she noticed the difference in the child’s life after she was placed in a permanent home and thought that maybe she and her husband could help a child in a similar way.

  They decided to become temporary parents and to take a child into their home on the weekends when the real parents could not take care of him or her. The pair planned to have their own children in a few years, but decided that this would be a way to give to the community in the meantime.

  The couple quickly grew to love one of the children they looked after. When he became legally available, Billy became the first child they took in permanently. Six months after adopting Billy, Ellen was told by her doctor that she was unable to have children naturally. Ellen says she knew then that adoption was the way she was meant to have a family.

  Since adopting Billy, now 17, Ellen and Bill have adopted five more children --- Rose,16； Albert, 11; Joshua, 5 and in June 2003, they added biological brother and sister Tyler and Rylee to the County family.

  The County family has been recognized for their work on adoption, and have received many awards for their efforts. Last June, the family was even interviewed on the television show, “Adoption Stories”.

  Ellen says she would like to encourage other families to adopt children. She adds that the best part of being a mother of six is: “Giving Josh a bath, putting a band-aid on a cut knee or just the everyday mom things, that makes motherhood such an honor and a privilege.”

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. How a couple first met at college                B. Where you can adopt a child

C. The benefits of adoption to the community        D. How adoption created a happy family

2.Why did Ellen and Bill first decide to adopt a childe?

A. Because they had always loved children very much

B. Because they saw the benefits of adoption for a child

C. Because they were not able to have children of their own

D. Because they wanted to receive awards for their community work

3.Which of the children are related to each other by blood?

A. Rylee and Tyler                              B. Billy and Tyler

C. Albert and Joshua                            D. Rose and Albert

4.What can be inferred from this passage?

A. Ellen had thought of adopting a child before getting married.

B. Only kids under 16 can be adopted by a family

C. A loving family is important to a child’s happiness

D. Adopting a child always makes the family become famous

Ellen and Bill County are both teachers. They met in college and became good friends because of their shared love for children. Two years after the couple got married; Ellen saw a huge change in the life of one of her students, a 9-year-old girl. Three years earlier both of the little girl’s parents had died and there was no one to take care of her. She was taken away to live in a government office. But finally she was taken in and adopted by a family and became their daughter. Ellen said that she noticed the difference in the child’s life after she was placed in a permanent（长久的） home and thought that maybe she and her husband could help a child in a similar way.

They decided to become temporary parents and to take a child into their home on the weekends when the real parents could not take care of him or her. The pair planned to have their own children in a few years, but decided that this would be a way to give to the community in the meantime.

The couple quickly grew to love one of the children they looked after. When he became legally available, Billy became the first child they took in permanently. Six months after adopting Billy, Ellen was told by her doctor that she was unable to have children naturally.  Ellen says she knew then that adoption was the way she was meant to have a family.

Since adopting Billy, now 17, Ellen and Bill have adopted five more children ―Rose, 16; Albert, 11; Joshua, 5 and in June 2003, they added biological brother and sister Tyler and Rylee to the County family.

 The County family has been recognized for their work on adoption, and has received many awards for their efforts. Last June, the family was even interviewed on the television show, “Adoption Stories”.

Ellen says she would like to encourage other families to adopt children. She adds that the best part of being a mother of six is: “Giving Josh a bath, putting a braid-aid on a cut knee or just the everyday Mom things, which makes motherhood such an honor and a privilege.”

41. What is the passage mainly about?

A. How a couple first met at college.

B. Where you can adopt a child.

C. The benefits of adoption to the community.

D. How adoption created a happy family.

42. Why did Ellen and Bill first decide to adopt a child?

A. Because they had always loved children very much.

B. Because they saw the benefits of adoption for a child.

C. Because they were not able to have children of their own.

D. Because they wanted to receive awards for their community work.

43. Which of the children are related to each other by blood?

A. Rylee and Tyler.                     

B. Billy and Tyler.

C. Albeit and Joshua.                  

D. Rose and Albert.

44. What can be inferred from this passage?

A. Ellen had thought of adopting a child before getting married.

B. Only kids under 16 can be adopted by a family.

C. A loving family is important to a child’s happiness.

D. Adopting a child always makes the family become famous.

45. The final paragraph __________.

A. tells the reader how they can adopt a child

B. describes the things that make Ellen happy

C. says what Ellen does every day

D. lists the problems Ellen has with the kids

With a heavy heart Sally arrived early on the morning of the auction （拍卖）. It was almost a year since her dear grandmother passed away in this house.   1  the family business had failed and left them with heavy debts. So the bank had 2  the family to have an auction sale to repay their debts．  3  the past several weeks, she had managed to save $450 in order to bid（出价）on the  4   that her grandmother liked very much. Surely this would be enough, she had thought．

Now the  5  moment arrived．Looking around, Sally was surprised to see so many people had   6  ．As the auction began, Sally waited．Finally, the time came to bid on the quilt．She held her   7  tightly and listened．The first bid was $45. She was  8  . It was so high．Quickly other people bid and soon the bidding   9 $85. Sally cried out “$450!” For a moment there was silence．Hope   10  her. She glanced again at the quilt, thinking how   11  her grandmother would have been with her at this moment．Just then, from the back, another person shouted “$475!” She lost her   12  ．Suddenly she couldn’t help wondering   13  so many  people would be interested in that old, dirty quilt．Finally the quilt was sold for $500 to a complete   14  .

　　 After the sale, she went to the counter to pay for the few items that were now hers．The woman at the cash desk handed her the quilt．“There must be some  15  ．Someone else has got it.” she said．A hand-written   16  was pinned to the quilt, which   17  :

Dear Madam,

　　 I noticed you admiring the quilt．Clearly, it was 18  to you．Please accept this quilt as my  19  . I don’ t expect any repayment from you, but do a   20   favor in the future for a stranger who happens to cross your path．

Yours,

                                                                      A stranger

1．A．Naturally　　       B．Unfortunately　   C．Luckily　            D．Probably

2．A．hoped                B．waited                C．expected             D．forced

3．A．With                  B．At                     C．By                     D．Over

4．A．house                B．present               C．furniture            D．quilt

5．A．interesting         B．necessary           C．big               D．sad

6．A．turned over        B．turned up         C．turned back       D．turned on

7．A．purse                 B．picture                C．book              D．quilt

8．A．glad                   B．frightened           C．moved               D．shocked

9．A．rose                   B．climbed              C．reached            D．raised

10．A．told                  B．helped                C．filled                  D．gave

11．A．pleased             B．anxious               C．angry                D．familiar

12．A．thought            B．chance               C．way                  D．money

13．A．whether           B．what                  C．how                  D．why

14．A．relative             B．customer            C．friend                D．stranger

15．A．reason              B．secret                 C．mistake          D．fun

16．A．check              B．wallet                 C．address            D．note

17．A．read                 B．wrote                 C．spoke                D．showed

18．A．wonderful        B．basic                  C．pretty              D．important

19．A．honor               B．respect               C．gift               D．thank

20．A．particular       B．common             C．major              D．similar