We always celebrated Dad’s birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home. When we knew it might be his last birthday, the whole family decided to get together for a huge birthday celebration at the nursing home.
Dad was a good storyteller and we were always his listeners. During a quiet moment, I announced it was now Dad’s turn to listen to stories for a change. I wanted everyone to tell Dad what we loved about him. The room became quiet. Then one after another, people told stories from their hearts, while Dad listened with tears in eyes.
Everyone seemed to have more than one story. Even the little grandchildren couldn’t wait to tell Dad why they loved him. For a man who had been kind to so many hundreds of people in his life, here was our chance to tell him how much we love him. A few months later, at Dad’s memorial service, we more fully realized what we had given to Dad that night. Those are the stories people normally tell at a funeral (葬礼) after a loved one is no longer alive to hear the words. They tell stories, full of tears. But we had given those memories to Dad in his life, and we had told them through laughter, together with hugs and joy. He had them to hold and enjoyed them from time to time in his mind during his last days and months.
Words do matter, and they are enough. We just need to say them or to speak them publicly the ones we love. That’s the ways to give back love and that’s our chance to celebrate a person in his or her life. 
【小题1】The writer’s family decided to have a huge birthday celebration because______.

Here is a photo __11__ a bedroom. __12__my bedroom. Look __13___the walls. __14__ very white. You can see (看见)__15__ old picture __16__ the wall. And a map of China __17__ on the wall, too. __18__ my books? Oh, They’re under my backpack. My computer game is __19__ it, too. Look! My __20__ are on the sofa.

先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从下面四个答案中选择可以填入空白处的最佳答案。（本大题共10分，每小题1分）

Everybody wants a new start for a new school year. So, students often go back-to-school shopping. They buy school things and shoes. But, the story is not so easy.

"Mum, I want this pair of shoes!"

"Dear! Those are 900 yuan! That is too __16___ !"

"But all the boys in my class wear this brand (牌子)!"

So the real story is: Kids___17____to catch up with school fashion.

Chinese students __18__ uniforms at school. Parents think all the kids look the same, but kids know the differences. The "rich" kids wear amazing watches, ride good 19__and use cool pencil cases. They show off their expensive things to 20__ kids. Then everyone else wants them too. For example, some "rich" kids use a pencil box that _21_1,000 yuan! It not only holds pencils, but also has a thermometer (温度计), a compass (指南针), a music box and even games in it! But think about it. Do you really need ____22___ a special pencil box? What can you do with a compass or a thermometer in class? They only distract (分散注意) you.

As for these "rich" kids, they are not rich at all. 23__ parents buy them all their school things. They may have an advantage now, but it won't last forever. If you want to show off __24__ money you have, you have to make it yourself first. So, study hard. You will get a great job in the future.

Parents should also learn __25___to refuse their kids' demands (要求). They should tell their kids: as students, what is really important is not school fashion but good school grades.

1. A. expensive     B. cheap            C. ugly             D. nice

2. A. hate          B. give up          C. want             D. get

3.A. put on        B. take off          C. buy              D. wear

4.A. cars          B. bicycles         C. MP3            D. CDs

5. A. another       B. the others       C. others            D. other

6.A. pays          B. costs           C. spends            D. buys

7. A. so            B. such           C. as                D. like

8. A. His           B. Her            C. Their             D. Your

9.A. how many     B. how much       C. how long          D. how often

10.A. how          B. what            C. why             D. where