Yesterday was my stepmother’s birthday. I haven’t been home for a long time, so I wanted to stop by the house to see her on this special day.

    I have been struggling on a low income so I was afraid that I couldn’t afford the long trip. Gas is so expensive nowadays! Anyway, I filled my tank with gas and set off. 

    I stopped at a shopping mall and found a present. It was the perfect gift and I knew she would love it. But when I got to the cashier, my card was declined! I didn’t have enough money in my account to pay for the gift!

So I pondered the issue for a few minutes. I could put it back and get something cheaper, but I knew there was nothing else in the store she would have liked as much. So, I got to my smart-phone and transferred some money from my saving account and was able to buy the gift. It took a big part of my savings but I wanted her to have something special.

    It turned out that she loved the gift and I felt that even though I had spent almost all my money, my stepmother deserved the best. I was glad I gave her the best I could.

    Before I left my parents’ house, my dad took me to one side and, with our secret handshake, he gave me some money. I hadn’t said anything to him about my financial condition, but I guessed my dad just knew it. When I got to the car, I saw the amount he gave me was three times what I had spent on the gas and the gift!

It goes to show that doing the right thing always comes with great rewards.

1. Why was the writer unwilling to have a long trip?

A. Because gas was hardly available.

B. Because the writer was short of money.

C. Because the writer didn’t like driving.  

D. Because the road was difficult to drive on.

2.The underlined word “pondered” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.           

A. thought about       B. tried on         C. depended on         D. got through

3.From the passage, we can infer that ________.

A. the writer loves his stepmother very much

B. the gift the writer bought was loved by his father very much

C. the writer spend all his savings buying the gift for his stepmother

D. the gift the writer bought was the most expensive one in the shop

4.Why did the writer’s father shake hands with the writer in secret?

A. Because he wanted to ask the writer for something special.

B. Because he wanted to give the writer some money.

C. Because he knew the writer had been struggling financially.

D. Because he didn’t want others to copy their handshake.

I went into Harrods in London (a huge department store I am sure you have heard of) to buy some Minton china plates for a wedding anniversary which was to be a group gift from friends to other friends in Geneva.
Having only 30 minutes between meeting. I whizzed there in a taxi from the office and battled through the milling people on the 2nd day of the sales on the ground floor up to the 5th to the china department. There was a man standing there who was obviously a sales person who I rushed up to and asked if he had this particular china in stock and if it would take long to wrap, etc. He was amazing. He got the plates in seconds, wrapped them up and asked me if I wanted a store card, to which I replied no, because I lived in Switzerland, to which he replied asking if, as I lived abroad, would like a tax rebate form(退税表). After that he showed me what to do, produced a map of the store and told me where I should go for the formalities(程序). That was fabulous! I thanked him and said what wonderful service he had given me. I even asked if he gave this to everyone, to which he answered: “I’m just doing what is required at Harrods”. With that, a tall man in a gray suit approached me and offered his hand to shake mine saying, “Can I introduce myself? I am the Chief Executive of Harrods and what an interesting conversation I have just heard…” He had been wandering through the store (as you should do as a hands-on CEO) and had overheard me thanking this salesman, whose face, I can hardly describe, was frozen in a mixture of delight awe and astonishment!
Can you imagine the salesman going home to his family and friends recounting what the CEO spoke to him after overhearing him being praised by a customer?
【小题1】The writer went to Harrods to __________.

I still remember my first day at school in London and I was half-excited and half-frightened. On my way to school I wondered what sort of questions the other boys would ask me and practiced all the answers: “I am nine years old. I was born here but I haven’t lived here since I was two. I was living in Farley. It’s about thirty miles away. I came back to London two months ago.” I also wondered if it was the custom for boys to fight strangers like me, but I was tall for my age. I hoped they would decide not to risk it.

No one took any notice of me before school. I stood in the center of the playground, expecting someone to say “hello”, but no one spoke to me. When a teacher called my name and told me where my classroom was, one or two boys looked at me but that was all.

My teacher was called Mr. Jones. There were 42 boys in the class, so I didn’t stand out there, either, until the first lesson of the afternoon. Mr. Jones was very fond of Charles Dickens and he had decided to read aloud to us from David Copperfield, but first he asked several boys if they knew Dickens’ birthplace, but no one guessed right. A boy called Brian, the biggest in the class, said: “Timbuktu”, and Mr. Jones went red in the face. Then he asked me. I said: “Portsmouth”, and everyone stared at me because Mr. Jones said I was right. This didn’t make me very popular, of course.

“He thinks he’s clever,” I heard Brian say.

After that, we went out to the playground to play football. I was in Brian’s team, and he obviously had Dickens in mind because he told me to go in goal. No one ever wanted to be the goalkeeper.

“He’s big enough and useless enough.” Brian said when someone asked him why he had chosen me.

I suppose Mr. Jones, who served as the judge, remembered Dickens, too, because when the game was nearly over, Brian pushed one of the players on the other team, and he gave them a penalty (惩罚). As the boy kicked the ball to my right, I threw myself down instinctively (本能地) and saved it. All my team crowded round me. My bare knees were injured and bleeding. Brian took out a handkerchief and offered it to me.

“Do you want to join my gang (帮派)?” he said.

One of the greatest contributions to the first Oxford English Dictionary was also one of its most unusual. In 1879, Oxford University in England asked Prof. James Murray to serve as editor for what was to be the most ambitious dictionary in the history of the English language. It would include every English word possible and would give not only the definition but also the history of the word and quotations(引文) showing how it was used.

      This was a huge task so Murray had to find volunteers from Britain, the United States, and the British colonies to search every newspaper, magazine, and book ever written in English. Hundreds of volunteers responded, including William Chester Minor. Dr. Minor was an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War and was now living in England. He gave his address as “Broadmoor, Crowthorne, Berkshire,” 50 miles from Oxford.

      Minor joined the army of volunteers sending words and quotations to Murray. Over the next 17 years, he became one of the staff’s most valued contributors.

      But he was also a mystery. In spite of many invitations, he would always decline to visit Oxford. So in 1897, Murray finally decided to travel to Crowthorne himself. When he arrived, he found Minor locked in a booklined cell at the Broadmoor Asylum(精神病院) for the Criminally Insane.

      Murray and Minor became friends, sharing their love of words. Minor continued contributing to the dictionary, sending in more than 10000 submissions in 20 years. Murray continued to visit Minor regularly, sometimes taking walks with him around the asylum grounds.

      In 1910, Minor left Broadmoor for an asylum in his native America. Murray was at the port to wave goodbye to his remarkable friend.

      Minor died in 1920, seven years before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed. The 12 volumes defined 414 825words, and thousands of them were contributions from a very scholarly and devoted asylum patient.

1.According to the text, the first Oxford English Dictionary________.

A. came out before Minor died

B. was edited by an American volunteer

C. included the English words invented by Murray

D. was intended to be the most ambitious English dictionary

2.How did Dr. Minor contribute to the dictionary?

A. He helped Murray to find hundreds of volunteers.

B. He sent newspapers, magazines and books to Murray.

C. He provided a great number of words and quotations.

D. He went to England to work with Murray.

3.Which of the following best describes Dr. Minor?

A. Brave and determined.                             B. Unusual and scholarly.

C. Considerate and optimistic.                      D. Cautious and friendly.

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

A. Minor and the first Oxford English Dictionary.

B. The friendship between Murray and Minor.

C. The history of the English language.

D. Broadmoor Asylum and its patients.

根据题中所给的中文提示或首字母写出符合句意的单词的正确形式。
【小题1】The telephone is one of the __________(手段、方法) of communication.
【小题2】They has __________(选举) Smith mayor.
【小题3】He gave us a __________(率直的、坦诚的) explanation.
【小题4】Most smokers are perfectly __________(意识到) of the dangers of smoking.
【小题5】Don’t ___________(打断) the speaker;ask your questions afterwards.
【小题6】__________(不知怎么地) I don’t like the way he speaks.
【小题7】If you need any help, don’t __________(犹豫) to call us.
【小题8】It is hoped that the education __________（改革） being carried out now will bring about the desired results.
【小题9】The student __________（达到、得到） ‘ A ’ in all his exams through his hard work.
【小题10】There is __________(无处) for those who lost their homes in the earthquake to live now.