I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree.

    He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. “What are you doing?” I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.

    He then answered me with a simple statement“TEACH THE CHILDREN！”

    I was puzzled; what did he mean?

    Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR(杉木) TREE .“Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round，describing the everlasting hope of mankind，all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.”

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. “Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a savior(救世主) for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of his promise.”

    He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. “Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of he who displaces(取代) the darkness.”

    Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. “Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.”

    Santa looked back and was pleased. I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, “Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but an humble servant of the one that is, and I bow down to worship HIM, our LORD, our GOD.”

1.Author opened the door when he was going to sleep because________.

A. he heard something unusual

B. he was not sleeping at the moment

C. he saw the Santa at the moment

D. he wanted to step out of the room

2.According to Santa, the star was ________.

A. a symbol of man's thoughts turning towards heaven

B. the sigh of fulfillment of the Santa's promise

C. the symbol of the light of the world

D. the sound of the bell which ring mankind to the fold

3.What does the underlined word “twinkle” refer to?

A. Tears.　　B. Smiles.　　C. Glasses.　　D. Eyes.

A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town. But it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.

On his way home he saw a person lying on the snow. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking the baskets with him.

The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked: “Are these yours?” “Yes, sir.” the farmer answered timidly(胆怯地)。”Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” the farmer said in a hurry.” When did you see the dead man?” ”About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, Sir.” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” ”No, Sir.’ The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and send him into prison.

That evening the officer went on trying .Pointing to the knife, he asked again,” Have you seen it yet?” ”Yes, Sir.” The officer was happy and asked,” When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”

1.The farmer decided to sell the vegetables to           .

A．buy some food for his family

B．buy some medicine for his wife

C．go to see a doctor

D．go to the cinema

2.The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because           .

A．they were too bad

B．they were very expensive

C．it rained hard that morning

D．few people liked to go out on such a bad day

3.As          , the farmer decided to help the person to stand up.

A．he wanted to get some money from him.

B．the person was one of his friends

C．he thought the person would thank him.

D．he thought the person had drunk too much

4.The farmer ran away quickly because        .

A．the policemen were coming towards him.

B．his wife was waiting for him at home

C．he was afraid to see a dead man.

D．it was so late that he couldn’t stay there any longer.

5.The officer tried the farmer to        .

A know who had killed the man.

B. know if he had seen the dead man

C .ask when he saw the dead man

D .ask if he had seen the knife

The worker I hired to repair my house had just finished a difficult first day on the job. A broken wheel made him an hour late; his ladder (????) fell down when he was painting the roof and now his old truck wouldn' t start. With each problem he shouted angrily, more at himself than at his things. As I drove him home, the man didn't say a word.

I tried talking to the man to kill time. I managed to find out that he had come up from Blue Hills in Victoria with his family six months ago to find a job. This was his first job since moving here. I now knew why his price was lower than any other worker I could find in the local newspaper. He really needed the job. His clothes told me as much.

On arriving, much to my surprise, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked through his front garden he suddenly stopped at a small tree and placed his hands on it. Then, when he opened the door he completely changed. Instead of his troubled face, there was now a warm smile, hugs for his two children and a kiss for his wife.

The following day, I asked him about the tree.

"That's my trouble tree," he answered. "Work troubles aren't welcome at home with my wife and the children. So I hang them on that tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again. "

"And you know what else?" he said smiling,"The next morning I find that there aren't as many as I remember hanging up the night before. "

1.Which of the following things did NOT happen to the worker?

A. His truck broke down.       B. He was late for work.

C. He fell onto the roof.      D. His ladder fell down.

2.When did the worker first arrive in this town?

A. Today.      B. Last night.

C. Six weeks ago.       D. Six months ago.

3.Where did the writer find the worker?

A. Through a newspaper.       B. Beside the trouble tree.

C. In his old house.      D. In Blue Hills, Victoria.

4.Why did the worker touch the tree?

A. To get good luck,         B. To leave his trouble outside.

C. To send good wishes to his family.  D. To clean his hands.

A Strange Greeting, a True Feeling Last week I was invited to a doctor’s meeting at the Ruth hospital for incurables. In one of the wards a patient, an old man, got up shakily from his bed and moved towards me. I could see that he hadn't long to   1   , but he came up to me and placed his right foot close mine on the floor.

    “Frank！” I cried in astonishment. He couldn’t   2  , as I knew, but all the time   3   his foot against mine.

    My   4   raced back more than thirty years to the   5   days of 1941, when I was a student in London. The   6   was an air-raid shelter, in which I and about hundred other people slept every night. Two of the regulars were Mrs. West and her son Frank.

      7   wartime problems, we shelter-dwellers got to   8   each other very well. Frank West   9   me because he wasn’t   10  , not even at birth. His mother told me he was 37 then, but he had   11   of a mind than a baby has. His “  12  ” consisted of rough sounds——sounds of pleasure or anger and   13   more. Mrs. West, then about 75, was a strong, capable woman, as she had to be, of course, because Frank   14   on her entirely. He needed all the   15   of a baby.

    One night a policeman came and told Mrs. West that her house had been flattened by a 500-pounder. She   16   nearly everything she owned.

    When that sort of thing happened, the rest of us helped the   17   ones. So before we   18   that morning, I stood beside Frank and   19   my right foot against his. They were about the same size. That night, then, I took a pair of shoes to the shelter for frank. But as soon as he saw me he came running and placed his right foot against mine. After that, his   20   to me was always the same.

1．A．work         B．stay   C．live   D．expect

2．A．answer       B．speak C．smile        D．laugh

3．A．covering     B．moving     C．fighting    D．pressing

4．A．minds        B．memories  C．thoughts   D．brains

5．A．better         B．dark  C．younger          D．old

6．A．cave          B．place C．sight         D．scene

7．A．Discussing        B．Solving    C．Sharing           D．Suffering

8．A．learn from        B．talk to      C．help         D．know

9．A．needed      B．recognized       C．interested        D．encouraged

10．A．normal           B．common   C．unusual           D．quick

11．A．more       B．worse       C．fewer       D．less

12．A．word       B．speech      C．sentence          D．language

13．A．not          B．no     C．something       D．nothing

14．A．fed          B．kept  C．lived        D．depended

15．A．attention         B．control     C．treatment        D．management

16．A．lost         B．needed      C．destroyed        D．left

17．A．troublesome     B．unlucky    C．angry       D．unpopular

18．A．separated        B．went  C．reunited          D．returned

19．A．pushed     B．tried  C．showed           D．measured

20．A．nodding          B．greeting    C．meeting          D．acting

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从16~35各题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A handsome, middle aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down. Befor he  16  ,he couldn’t help but  17  a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was  18  that they were making fun of something about him and it wasn’t until he remembered he was  19  a small pink ribbon-on the lapel(翻领) of his suit that he became aware of what the  20  was all about.
The man paid  21  attention to all this, but the whisper and laughter began go get to him. He looked one of the   22  men straight into the eye, placed his hand beneath the    23  and asked, “This?”
With that the young men all began to laugh out loud. The man he had   24  said, “Hey, sorry man, but we were just commenting on how   25  your little pink ribbon looks against your blue jacket!”
The middle-aged man   26  invited the joker to come over to his table, and politely seated him.   27  as he was, the young guy had to, not really sure why. In a   28  voice, the middle-aged man said, “I wear this ribbon to bring   29  about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother’s   30  .”
“Oh, sorry. She died of breast canner?”
“No, she didn’t. She’s alive and   31  . But her breasts nourished me as a baby, and were a soft   32  place for my   33  when I was scared or   34  as a little boy. I’m very grateful   35  my mother’s breasts, and her health.”
16.A.ordered    B.sponsored    C.realized    D.left
17.A.notice    B.meet    C.glance   D.catch
18.A.common    B.strange    C.natural    D.obvious
19. A.showing    B.wearing    C.hanging    D.fixing
20. A.fun    B.talk    C.joke    D.story
21. A.a lot    B.much    C.many    D.no
22. A.happy    B.rude    C.dishonest    D.selfish
23.A.ribbon    B.lapel    C.jacket     D.suit
24.A.interrupted    B.spoken to    C.scolded    D.questioned
25.A.ugly    B.small    C.big   D.pretty
26.A.quickly    B.calmly    C.cleverly    D.carefully
27. A.Unfortunate    B.Uncertain    C.Unfair    D.Uncomfortable
28. A.high    B.sharp    C.soft    D.loud
29. A.awareness    B.promotion    C.changes    D.lessons
30. A.name    B.honour    C.request    D.sense
31.A.suffering    B.wealthy    C.lucky     D.well
32.A.hiding      B.healing     C.resting    D.sleeping
33.A.hand       B.arm        C.head      D.mind
34.A.hungry     B.lonely     C.proud     D.nervous
35.A.with       B.by         C.in         D.for