When I was in the third grade, I was picked to be the princess(公主)in the school play. For weeks my mother had helped me practice my lines. But once onstage, every word disappeared from my head. Then my teacher told me she had written a narrator’s(解说者的) part for the play, and asked me to change roles. Though I didn’t tell my mother what had happened that day, she sensed my unhappiness and asked if I wanted to take a walk in the yard.

It was a lovely spring day .We could see dandelions(蒲公英)popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with bits of gold. I watched my mother carelessly bend down by one of the bunches. “I think I am going to dig up all these weeds,” she said. “From now on, we’ll have only roses in this garden.”

“But I like dandelions,” I protested. “All flowers are beautiful―even dandelions!”

My mother looked at me seriously. “ Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn’t it?” she asked thoughtfully. I nodded. “And that is true of people, too,” she added.

When I realized that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry and told her the truth.

 “But you will be a beautiful narrator,” she said, reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her.

Over the next few weeks, with her continuous encouragement, I learned to take pride in the role. The big day finally came. A few minutes before the play, my teacher came over to me. “Your mother asked me to give this to you,” she said, handing me a dandelion. After the play, I took home the flower, laughing that I was perhaps the only person who would keep such a weed.

56．The girl did not play the role of the princess mainly because                .

      A．she felt nervous on the stage

       B．she lost her interest in that role

       C．she preferred the role of the narrator

       D．she had difficulty memorizing her words

57．Why did the mother suggest a walk in the garden?

       A．To remove the dandelions

       B．To enjoy the garden scene.

       C．To have a talk with her daughter.

       D．To help her daughter with the play.

58．What is the main idea of the story?

       A．Everybody can find his or her own way to success.

       B．Everybody has his or her own value in the world.

       C．Everybody should learn to play different roles.

       D．Everybody has some unforgettable memory.

When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from China．
When India had not opened up its markets to the world, I carried suitcase loads of dark glasses and jeans．Thankfully, we can get all these anywhere in India now．
Still, her answer surprised me: “Green tea．”
As long as I can remember she didn’t even drink Indian tea ．
I dutifully bought a big packet of Longjing and headed home to hear the story．My mother and her brother, both regular newspaper readers, believed that Chinese green tea was the wonder drug for all illnesses．
At the turn of the century, China was not really familiar to the average Indian．It was a strange country．
How things change! And how soon!
Now every town of any size seems to have a “China Market”．And everyone is talking about China．
The govemment of Indin has planned to send a team to China to see how things are done．A minister once said that India must open the doors for more foreign investment(投资)and such a step would “work wonders as it did for China”．
But it’s a two-way street．I just heard about a thousand Shenzhen office workers who have gone to Bangalore to train in software．Meanwhile, all the Indian IT majors are setting up a strong presence in China．
No wonder that trade, which was only in the millions just ten years ago, is expected to hit about US $15 billion for last year and US $20 billion by 2008, a goal set by both governments．
No wonder, my colleague wrote some weeks ago about this being the Sino-Indian(中印)century as the two countries started on January 1 the Sino-Indian Friendship Year．
But what is still a wonder to me is my mother drinking Chinese tea．
41．According to the passage, the author left _____ for ______．
A．India; China            B．China; India     
C．China; Longjing         D．India; Shenzhen
42．The reason why the writer’s mother asked for Chinese green tea is that_____．
A．she had a son working in China         B．she believed it had a curing effect
C．she enjoyed Chinese products     D．she was tired of Indian tea
43．The underlined part “it’s a two-way street” in Paragraph 10 probably means ____．
A．The exchanges between Indian and China benefit both．
B．China and India have different traffic rules．
C．Tea trade works wonders in both India and China．
D．Chinese produces are popular in both China and India．
44．It can be inferred from the passage that _______．
A．the author was concerned for his mother’s health
B．the author was in favor of drinking Chinese green tea
C．the author was surprised at China’s recent development
D．the author was curious about the growth of India’s IT industry

Mary was seven years old. Her parents recently moved to a new town, and so Mary was going to a 36   school, which was a few kilometers from the house they lived in now. A school bus going around picked up 37 every morning and brought them back to their  38  every afternoon, and as both of Mary’s parents  39 to go to work, she always went on this bus.

Mary’s parents always 40  their alarm clock for seven o’clock so that none of them would be 41   . But one morning the alarm  42  to go off, and it was not until a quarter past eight that Mary’s mother suddenly 43  , looked at the clock and said, “What’s ever happened to that clock?” and then 44   into Mary’s room to wake her up.

“I’m sorry, dear,” she said, “ 45 you’ll have to wash and dress very quickly, have an even  46 breakfast and then I’ll  47  you to school on my way to the office.”

“But how can you find the   48, Mum?” Mary said, “You’ve been to school only once.”

“Yes,” her mother answered, “but you’ve done the   49   several times now on the bus, so you can be my guide to get there, can’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” said Mary, “I suppose so.” She washed, and  50  and had a quick breakfast, and then they set off. Mary told her mother to turn each time they came to a place she 51  .In this way she made her mother drive round most of the town   52  they got to her school. When they arrived, her mother saw that it was not really very far from her house.

“Why ever did you make me go such a long way round, Mary, instead of the most    53    way?” her mother asked her.

“Well, Mum,” answered Mary, “it was because I didn’t know   54  else to get here. That’s the way our bus always goes to   55   the other children to school.

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
【小题1】Why did the boy start his job young?

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight.It was my mother’s idea.She wanted me to“make something”of myself,and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue.The crowds were there.There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union.For several hours I made myself highly visible,making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.When it was suppertime,I walked back home.

“How many did you sell,my boy?”my mother asked.

“None.”

“Where did you go?”

“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“What did you do?”

“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“You just stood there?”

“Didn’t sell a single one.”

“My God,Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in,“Well,I’ve decided to take the Post.”I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币).It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman.I would have to ring doorbells,address adults with self-confidence(自信),and persuade them by saying that no one,no matter how poor,could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day,I told my mother I’d changed my mind.I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,”she replied,“you’ll become a good-for-nothing.”She insisted that,as soon as school was over,I should start ringing doorbells,selling magazines.Whenever I said no,she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember.My mother,dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life,determined that I would not grow up like him and his people.But never did she expect that,forty years later,such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

A.He wanted to be famous in the future.

B.The job was quite easy for him.

C.His mother had high hopes for him.

D.The competition for the job was fierce.

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother,we learn that the mother was _______.

A.excited                                   B.interested

C.ashamed                               D.disappointed

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A.She forced him to continue.

B.She punished him.

C.She gave him some money.

D.She changed her plan.

4.What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

A.The war between the boy’s parents.

B.The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C.The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

D.The fight between the boy and his father.

5.What is the text mainly about?

A.The early life of a journalist.

B.The early success of a journalist.

C.The happy childhood of the writer.

D.The important role of the writer in his family.