As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, rooms to be cleaned. Parents are  with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real . On Christmas Eve, young children find the  almost unbearable（难以忍受的）. They are  between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to  up late so that they will not  the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie  for a long time, hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.
　　Last Christmas, my wife and I  managed to hide a few large presents in the storeroom. I feared the moment when my son, Jimmy, would  me where that new bike had come from, but  he did not see it.
　　On Christmas Eve, it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly  when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began  stockings. Then I pushed in the  I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get  sleep that night, for the children were  to get up early. At about five o'clock the next morning, we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children's room － they were shouting excitedly!  I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came  into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary,  close behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived, he moved  the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke  up completely. The day had really begun with a bang（巨响）.

完型填空（共20小题，满分30分）

Our three-year-old daughter Becky wanted a dog.But we were too busy to buy one.One day, Becky ran in, shouting, “Mom! Come to see my dog!” Her face was red with   36 .

　　I followed her to the bush and found a   37 ! He was hurt.Seeing me, he stood up   38 ! I could see his teeth! God! My mouth felt dry.“Don’t be afraid.That’s Mom.She  39 you, too.” Becky said.Then he became friendly.It was  40 !

　　I   41  to find my husband and told him about the wolf.We should have  42  the wolf, but Becky loved him.Besides, he was gentle(温柔的) to Becky.So we called the vet finally.

　　Becky named the wolf (狼) Ralph ,  43  she carried food to him every day.Later, Ralph got well.They played together in the daytime.At night, Ralph would return to the mountains.Sometimes he   44  but came back several days later.

　　On Becky’s first day of school, we could see Ralph’s   45 .After the school bus left, Ralph lay by the side of the road and   46  .When Becky returned, he got happy again.This    47  throughout Becky’s school years.

　　Twelve   48  passed.

　　One day we heard that a she-wolf was killed.The other wolf was hurt and ran away.We were   49  about Ralph.That night, Ralph returned with a wound (伤).Fifteen-year-old Becky held his head and   50  him.We hope he could come through.However, he   51 .

　　Becky cried.I noticed something strange in the bush — two little yellow eyes! Ralph’s  52 ! Before he died, Ralph   53  his child to us! He knew he would be  54  here, as he had been.Ralph, Ralph...I was   55 .

　　“Don’t be afraid, little ...Ralphie.That’s Mom.She loves you, too.”

1.                A．encouragement  B．entertainment    C．agreement    D．excitement

2.                A．dog            B．fox            C．wolf D．tiger

3.                A．lovely          B．finally          C．suddenly  D．patiently

4.                A．hurts          B．loves           C．kills  D．hates

5.                A．wonderful      B．unhappy        C．unbelievable   D．normal

6.                A．prepared       B．rushed         C．pretended D．wanted

7.                A．loved          B．found          C．damaged  D．killed

8.                A．and            B．but            C．so   D．or

9.                A．disappeared     B．turned         C．passed   D．came

10.               A．sadness        B．dream         C．understanding  D．anger

11.               A．slept           B．left            C．sang  D．waited

12.               A．stopped        B．joined          C．lived  D．continued

13.               A．days           B．weeks          C．months    D．years

14.               A．surprised       B．puzzled         C．worried   D．careful

15.               A．comforted      B．beat           C．washed   D．amused

16.               A．succeeded      B．died           C．cried D．woke

17.               A．mother         B．father          C．wife  D．child

18.               A．posted         B．brought        C．sold  D．threw

19.               A．safe           B．happy          C．warm D．friendly

20.               A．confused       B．disappointed    C．moved    D．frightened

For a moment nothing happened. Then 　　　　 all shouting together.

Back in my country, when I was a child, I used to go to “market day” with my mother. One day each week, farmers used to ___1___ their fruit and vegetables into the city. They ___2___ one street to all cars, and the farmers set up tables for their ___3___. This outdoor market was a great place to ___4___. Everything was fresher than produce in grocery stores because the farmers brought it in ___5___ after the harvest. My mother and I always got there early in the morning to get the ___6___ produce.

The outdoor market was a wonderful adventure for a small child, ___7___ was like a festival — full of colors and ___8___. There are red tomatoes, yellow lemons, green lettuce, peppers, grapes, onions. The farmers did their own ___9___. They all shouted loudly for ___10___ to buy their produce. “Come and buy my beautiful oranges! They’re juicy and delicious and full of vitamins to ___11___ your children healthy and strong!”

Everyone used to ___12___ with the farmers over the ___13___ of their produce. It was like a wonderful drama in a theatre; the buyers and sellers were the “___14___” in this drama. My mother was an ___15___ at this. First, she picked the freshest, most attractive tomatoes, for example. Then she asked the price. The seller told her.

“What?” she said. She looked very surprised. “ So ___16___?”

The seller looked terribly ___17___. “My dear lady!” he replied. “I’m a poor, ___18___ farmer. These are the cheapest tomatoes on the market!”

They always argued for several minutes before agreeing ___19___ a price. My mother took her tomatoes and left. Both buyer and seller were ___20___. The drama was over.

1. A. carry      B. take　      C. bring D. fetch

2. A. opened　       B. closed　　      C. started　　 D. stopped

3. A. produce　     B. goods　　  C. food　　   D. product

4. A. buy B. sell　　   C. bargain　　     D. shop

5. A. hurriedly       B. immediately      C. directly      D. straightly

6. A. best　　 B. finest　　  C. freshest      D. cheapest

7. A. who　    B. that　　　      C. which　　 D. what

8. A. voices    B. noises　　       C. sounds　　       D. accent

9. A. shopping       B. business　  C. shouting　 D. advertising

10. A. customers    B. producers　     C. themselves  D. sellers

11. A. keep            B. let　　     C. expect D. make

12. A. argue    B. talk　　　      C. discuss　　       D. speak

13. A. order    B. price　　　      C. quality　　       D. form

14. A. viewers B. listeners　  C. actors  D. directors

15. A. actress　      B. inventor　  C. advancer　 D. expert

16. A. wonderful    B. exciting      C. cheap　　　     D. expensive

17. A. injured　     B. hurt　　  C. damaged　 D. wounded

18. A. excellent      B. fair　　　 C. honest　　 D. easy

19. A. with     B. to　　　    C. in　　　　       D. on

20. A. disappointed　    B. encouraged C. satisfied　　　 D. tired