John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.

????????????? During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was starting Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting —7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. “You’ll recognize me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel.” So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he’d never seen.

????????????? I’ll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I stared at her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, attractive smile curved her lips. “Going my way , sailor?” she murmured.

????????????? Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own.

????????????? And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.

????????????? This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.　　"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"
　　The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"
? ????????????? It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are． "

1.How did John Blanchard get to know Miss Hollis Maynell?

A. They lived in the same city．????????????????

B. They were both interested in literature．

C. John knew Hollis's name from a library book．??

D. John came across Hollis in a Florida library．

2.Hollis refused to send Blanchard a photo because ?????????? .

A. she was only a middle - aged woman??????????

B. she wasn't confident about her appearance

C. she thought true love is beyond appearance?????

D. she had never taken any photo before they knew

3.How could Blanchard recognize Hollis?

A. She would be wearing a rose on her coat．?????

B. She would be holding a book in her hand．

C. She would be standing behind a young girl．???

D. She would be wearing a scarf around her neck．

4.What was the real Miss Hollis Maynell like?

A. She was a plump woman with graying hair．???

B. She was a slightly fat girl, with blonde hair．

C. She was a middle - aged woman in her forties．??

D. She was a young, pretty girl wearing a green suit．

5.When Blanchard went over to greet the woman, he was????????? ．

A. satisfied and confident

B. disappointed but well - behaved

C. annoyed and bad - mannered

D. shocked but inspired

6.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. A Test of Love??? ????????????? ????????????? B. The Symbol of Rose

C. Love is blind??? ????????????? ????????????? D. Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

Moths are very ugly creatures．At least that is what I always thought until a reliable source told me otherwise．My brother Joseph and I once stayed overnight at our Aunt Linda’s house, our favorite relative．She spoke to us like adults, and she always had the best 21 ．Joseph was only four and still afraid of the dark．Just as I dozed off to sleep, he woke me up and asked, “Jennie, what are those ugly things near the light?” He was pointing to the moths fluttering around the hall light．“They’re just moths, go to sleep,” I told him．

He wasn’t 22 with that answer, so the next time my Aunt walked by the door he asked her to make the ugly moths go away．When she asked why, he said 23 , “Because they’re ugly and scary!” She laughed, rubbing his head, and asked, “Do you know why moths are brown?” Joe just shook his head．

“ 24 , moths were the most beautiful animals in the animal kingdom．They have always been helpful, kind, and 25 creatures．One day the angels up in heaven were crying．They were sad because it was cloudy and they couldn’t 26 the people on earth．Their tears fell down to the earth as 27 raindrops．Now that the sweet little moths 28 to see everyone so sad, they decided to make a rainbow．The moths 29 that if they asked their cousins, the butterflies, to help, they could all give up just a little bit of their colors and 30 , make a beautiful rainbow．

One of the littlest moths flew to ask the queen of the butterflies for help．31 , the butterflies were too vain and selfish to give up any of their colors for neither the people nor the angels．So, the moths decided to make the rainbow themselves．They 32 their wings very hard and the powder on them formed little clouds．They kept giving a little more and more 33 the rainbow stretched all the way across the sky．They had given away all their colors except brown, which didn’t 34 their beautiful rainbow．

Now the once colorful moths were 35 and brown．At the rainbow, the angels up in heaven became joyous．They smiled and the 36 of their smiles shone down on the earth as sunshine．It made the people on earth cheerful and they smiled, too．Now every time it rains the baby moths, who still have their colors, spread them 37 the sky to make more rainbows．”

My brother sank into deep 38 with that story and hasn’t feared moths 39 ．The story my aunt told us had been gathering 40 in the back corners of my brain for years．

21．A．jokes 　　　　　　　　　 B．editions 　　　　　　　　 C．stories 　　　　　　　　 D．memories

22．A．familiar 　　　　　　　　 B．content 　　　　　　　　 C．impressed 　　　　　　 D．confirmed

23．A．cautiously 　　　　　　 B．casually 　　　　　　　　 C．simply 　　　　　　　　 D．anxiously

24．A．By all means 　　　　 B．In any circumstance C．To be honest 　　　 D．At one time

25．A．generous 　　　　　　　 B．aggressive 　　　　　　 C．considerate 　　　　　 D．faithful

26．A．hang out with 　　　 B．show concern for C．take control of 　　　 D．look down upon

27．A．constant 　　　　　　　 B．endless 　　　　　　　　 C．occasional 　　　　　　 D．permanent

28．A．hesitated 　　　　　　　 B．declined 　　　　　　　 C．intended 　　　　　　　 D．hated

29．A．clarified 　　　　　　　 B．figured 　　　　　　　　 C．recommended 　　　 D．predicted

30．A．moreover 　　　　　　 B．therefore 　　　　　　　 C．meanwhile 　　　　　 D．instead

31．A．Unexpectedly 　　　　 B．Obviously 　　　　　　 C．Eventually 　　　　　　 D．Strangely

32．A．expanded 　　　　　　 B．struck 　　　　　　　　　 C．beat 　　　　　　　　　　 D．stretched

33．A．until 　　　　　　　　　　 B．before 　　　　　　　　　 C．while 　　　　　　　　　 D．after

34．A．adapt to 　　　　　　　 B．bring out 　　　　　　　 C．make up 　　　　　　　 D．fit into

35．A．ordinary 　　　　　　　 B．common 　　　　　　　 C．plain 　　　　　　　　　　 D．awful

36．A．warmth 　　　　　　　　 B．strength 　　　　　　　 C．truth 　　　　　　　　　　 D．wealth

37．A．beyond 　　　　　　　　 B．through 　　　　　　　　 C．under 　　　　　　　　　 D．across

38．A．thought 　　　　　　　　 B．dream 　　　　　　　　　 C．sleep 　　　　　　　　　 D．curiosity

39．A．though 　　　　　　　　 B．since 　　　　　　　　　　 C．anyway 　　　　　　　 D．later

40．A．powder 　　　　　　　　 B．rainbows 　　　　　　　 C．dust 　　　　　　　　　　 D．shadows

I was in a charity shop looking at the second hand books. It just so happened that the book shelves were next to the toy section. After a few minutes I became aware of a group of women standing behind me. They were poorly dressed and spoke in what sounded like an eastern European language. As they looked through the clothes rails a little girl, about three years old, came over to the toy section. Immediately her attention was caught by a toy pram（婴儿车）. What is it about little girls and toy prams? I don't know, but whatever it is its incredibly cute!

She spoke to her mother and, in halting English her mother asked the shop assistant how much it cost. Three pounds was the answer---about five dollars. The mum looked down at her child, perhaps calculating what she still had to buy and how much money she would have left. Then she simply shook her head.  

The child didn't react badly as some might. Being told “no” was obviously not a new experience for her. But she couldn't keep the disappointment from her face.

 I had the grand total of four pounds in my pocket, two two-pound coins. A moment later I tapped the mother on the shoulder, pointed to the coins which I had left in the pram and said, "Buy her a dolly too."

 I didn't hang about to see the end result. After all, it's not about being thanked. I made my way out of the shop and into the sunshine.

 The money was an investment in the happiness of the world. Was there any better way, I wondered, to get so much happiness for so little money than to buy a little girl a toy pram? And a dolly to sit in it!

26. What did the little girl say to her mother according to the second paragraph?

A. She asked her mother to calculate her money.

B. She asked her mother to buy the toy pram for her.

C. She asked her mother to borrow money from the author.

D. She asked her mother to ask the shop assistant the price of the toy pram.

27. The mother shook her head because ________.

A. she thought the toy wasn’t worth the money.

B. she found it difficult to calculate her money.

C. she found she didn’t take enough money with her.

D. she thought the toy was not suitable for her daughter.

28. It can be inferred from the third paragraph that _________ .

A. the girl usually behaved badly.

B. the mother usually treated her daughter badly.

C. the mother was not rich enough to meet her daughter’s need often.

D. the little girl was often refused because she asked for too many toys.

29. What would the girl probably get finally?

A. Both a toy pram and a dolly

B. Either a toy pram or a dolly

C. Two two-pound coins.

D. Nothing

30. What words can be used to describe the author?

A. Optimistic and energetic.

B. Pleasant and grateful

C. Wealthy and healthy.

D. Sympathetic and helpful

People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(选择权). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.
【小题1】We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.