Hope in my arms
Last year, I was invited to participate in a carnival for Tuesday’s Child, an organization that helps children with AIDS.
All the children that had gathered at one particular room could   36  a square on a piece of cloth. Later the squares would be sewn(缝) together to  37  a quilt. The quilt would be  38  to a man who had devoted his life to the  39  and would soon be   40 .
The kids were given paints in bright colors and asked to paint something that would make the quilt  41 . As I looked around at all the squares, I saw pink hearts, blue clouds, orange sunrises and red flowers. The pictures were all bright and  42 . All   43  one.
One boy was painting a heart, but it was dark and lifeless. It  44  the bright colors that his fellow artists had used.I asked why. He told me that he was very   45  and so was his mom. He said that his sickness was not ever going to get better and neither was his mom’s. He looked   46  into my eyes and said, “There is no hope in my life.”
I told him I was sorry and I could understand why he had made his heart a dark color. I told him that   47  we couldn’t make him better, we can give  48 , which can really help when you are feeling sad. I told him that if he would like, I would be   49  to give him one so he could see what I meant.  50 , he crawled into my lap. I thought my own heart would burst for this sweet little boy.
He sat there for a long time. Finally he  51  down to finish his coloring.
As I was getting ready to  52  home, I felt a tug (猛拽) on my jacket. Standing there was the little boy,  53 . He said, “My heart is changing  54 . It is getting brighter. I think those hugs really do  55 .”
On my way home I felt my own heart. It too had changed to a brighter color.

We can give you a lift to the airport _______ you don’t mind the crowdedness, for there have already been four of us in the car.

A. unless                              B. though                    C. provided                 D. until

“It is a dreadful thing to be poor a fortnight before Christmas, ” said Clorinda, with the mournful sigh of seventeen years.

Aunt Emmy smiled. Aunt Emmy was sixty, and spent the hours she didn’t spend in a bed, on a sofa or in a wheel chair; but Aunt Emmy was never heard to sigh.

“The gifts which money can purchase are not the only ones we can give,” said Aunt Emmy gently, “nor the best, either.”

“Oh, I know it's nicer to give something of your own work,” agreed Clorinda, “but materials for fancy work cost too. That kind of gift is just as much out of the question for me as any other.”

“That was not what I meant,” said Aunt Emmy.

“What did you mean, then?” asked Clorinda, looking puzzled.

Aunt Emmy smiled.

“Suppose you think out my meaning for yourself,” she said. “That would be better than if I explained it. Besides, I don't think I could explain it. Take the beautiful line of a beautiful poem to help you in your thinking out: 'The gift without the giver is bare.”

“I'd put it the other way and say, 'The giver without the gift is bare,” said Clorinda. “That is my predicament(窘境)exactly. Well, I hope by next Christmas I'll not be quite bankrupt. I'm going into Mr. Callender's store down at Murraybridge in February. He has offered me the place, you know.”

“Won't your aunt miss you terribly?” said Aunt Emmy gravely. “I think she would rather have your companionship than a part of your salary, Clorinda,” said Aunt Emmy. “But of course you must decide for yourself, dear.”

“Well, I must say bye-bye and run home.” Clorinda lived just across the road from Aunt Emmy in a tiny white house behind some huge willows. But Aunt Mary lived there too--the only relative Clorinda had, for Aunt Emmy wasn't really her aunt at all. Clorinda had always lived with Aunt Mary ever since she could remember.

Clorinda puzzled over Aunt Emmy's meaning for days. Then all at once it came to her. On Christmas Day, Clorinda went over to Aunt Emmy's. Aunt Emmy was lying on the sofa before the fire, and Clorinda sat down beside her.

“I've come to tell you all about it,” she said. “Aunt Emmy, I thought for days over your meaning ... And then one evening it just came to me. At first I didn't think I could give some of them, and then I thought how selfish I was. I would have been willing to pay any amount of money for gifts if I had had it, but I wasn't willing to pay what I had. I got over that, though, Aunt Emmy. Now I'm going to tell you what I did give.”

“First, there was old Aunt Kitty. You know she was my nurse when I was a baby. She is always glad when I go to see her, but I've never gone except when I couldn't help it. She is very deaf, and rather dull and stupid, you know. Well, I gave her a whole day. I took my knitting yesterday, and sat with her the whole time and just talked and talked. She was so pleased and proud; she told me when I came away that she hadn't had such a nice time for years. ”

“Then there was ... Florence. You know, Aunt Emmy, we were always intimate friends until last year. Then Florence once told Rose Watson something I had told her in confidence. I found it out and I was so hurt. I couldn't forgive Florence, and I told her plainly I could never be a real friend to her again. Florence felt badly, because she really did love me, and she asked me to forgive her, but it seemed as if I couldn't. Well, Aunt Emmy, that was my Christmas gift to her ... my forgiveness.”

“I gave Aunt Mary her gift this morning. I told her I wasn't going to Murraybridge, that I just meant to stay home with her. She was so glad--and I'm glad, too, now that I've decided so.”

“Your gifts have been real gifts, Clorinda,” said Aunt Emmy. “Something of you--the best of you--went into each of them.”

“I didn't forget you, Aunt Emmy,” she said, as she unpinned the paper.

There was a rosebush. Aunt Emmy loved flowers. She put her finger under one of the roses and kissed it.

“It's as sweet as yourself, dear child,” she said tenderly. “And it will be a joy to me all through the lonely winter days. You've found out the best meaning of Christmas giving, haven't you, dear?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Aunt Emmy,” said Clorinda softly.

1.Clorinda felt anxious before Christmas because___________.

A. She had to leave Aunt Mary

B. She didn’t know what kind of Christmas gifts she should buy

C. She had not enough money to buy Christmas gifts

D. She had no time to make a proper decision

2. Which of the following sentences can best explain the line “The gift without the giver is bare.”？

A. A gift is valued by the mind of the giver.

B. Forgiveness is a gift for the giver and the receiver.

C. You cannot buy love or respect with expensive gifts.

D. Think twice before you give gifts to somebody

3.What is the gift that Clorinda gave to old Aunt Kitty?

A. Passion?? ????????????? ????????????? B. Sympathy?? ????????????? ????????????? C. Kindness?? ????????????? ????????????? D. Company

4.What does the underlined phrase “in confidence” mean?

A. respectfully??? ????????????? B. confidently??? ????????????? ????????????? C. secretly??? ????????????? ????????????? D. willingly

5. Which two words can best describe Aunt Emmy?

A. cute and joyful??????????????????? ????????????? B. kind-hearted and emotional

C. optimistic and wise???????????????? ????????????? D. gentle and timid (羞怯的)

6.Which of the following is the best title?

A. A Special Christmas?????????????????? B. Clorinda’s Gifts

C. Aunt Emmy????????????????????????? D. Clorinda’s Choice

The malls were filled with people seeking gifts for their loved ones. Some of the malls remained open around the clock, partly to satisfy our needs to buy gifts.

Behind the materialistic aspect of shopping for gifts lies the idea of caring, being attentive to the desires of special people in our lives. However, to use a well-worn play on words: it is our presence, not our presents, that truly counts. Many of us, unfortunately, can be so inattentive, even in the presence of our loved ones, that we might as well not be there at all.

Attention is one of the greatest gifts we can give each other. Companies around the globe spend billions every year on advertising to catch our attention for just a short moment at a time. Whole industries – media, entertainment, education – rely on the precious gift of our attention for their continued existence. A baby lacking attention for a long time is likely to he psychologically unhealthy.

In earlier times, both diet and attention could be left unregulated without major cause for concern. There were natural checks and balances: limited availability of food meant few got fat, for example. Similarly, in bygone times we might have spent a few hours communicating with the village storyteller, today, watching an entire TV series, while speaking to nobody, is common. In traditional societies, with smaller population, everyone would get a fair deal of attention. On many issues we might go to see Grandma or Grandpa; now we have Google and Wikipedia.

“She just wants attention.” people tend to think little of those doing things simply for attention. But the truth is that human beings need attention, and giving attention to each other is, to a large extent, what human civilization is based upon. This perhaps explains the runaway success（一举成功）of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. While we use such sites for “micro blogging”, “idea voicing” and “status updates” – the reality is that we are often doing no more or less than fulfilling our basic human drive for attention exchange.

I friend you, you friend me, I retweet you, you retweet me. The charming case with which we can now get and give attention is why many people appear overly attached to their smartphones. It is also a vicious（恶性）circle. As ever more people are busy exchanging attention online, there is increasingly less attention to be paid in the real world, which forces more people to seek their attention exchange online, or else risk attention-starvation.

The very nature of attention exchange is being rapidly transformed, and there is a danger that some of us will develop unhealthy practices. Just as eating red meat every day is a bad idea, so it is with too much attention exchange. The biological consequences of our technological advancement in food production are highly visible; heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The consequences of our transformed attention exchanges will be psychological and social, and so may take longer to identify, but they will be equally damaging.

Face-to-face attention is becoming rarer, and therefore more valuable. In a sense it is priceless. And it is a gift that can be given all-year-round.

1.In the first two paragraphs the author        .

A．offers advice to attention givers            B．analyses the present problems

C．states the necessity of presents             D．puts forward his point of view

2.People use social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to     .

A．obtain information                      B．give attention to others

C．voice their opinions                      D．notice and get noticed

3.Attention exchange was not a major concern in traditional societies because of      .

A．limited availability of food                 B．natural checks and balances

C．a much smaller population                D．the guidance from old people

4.What can we infer from Paragraph 6-7?

A．More people will risk attention-starvation in future.

B．The nature of attention exchange is rarely changed.

C．Technological advancement contributes to all diseases.

D．Transformed attention exchanges do harm to society.

5.The writer’s purpose for writing the passage is to      .

A．advocate more focus on real life attention

B．analyze the necessity of attention giving

C．give practical tips on attention exchange

D．recommend some social networking sites

—We can give you a ride into town.

--_________Thank you.                                    

A. Yes,why not?    B. Oh,it would be my pleasure.

C. Yes,please.     D. Oh,that would be great.