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 on stage, 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.

1.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

2.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.

3.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.

By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me   16  . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.
　　The morning bell rang. I walked   17  through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces  18  me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to   19  their smiles. Back into the classroom, they   20 , comparing plans for the   21  . I had to remove one student from each arm   22  I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book（点名册） my desk was covered with   23  and gifts followed by a   24  of “Merry Christmas” wishes.
　“Oh, thank you,” I must have  25  a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my   26  mood. It was kind of them to  27  me. After a while, I heard a small nervous   28  say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing   29  by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”
　 “Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.
　“Um, could you   30  it now?”
　I gently tore at the paper and tape. “  31  ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament（装饰物）, complete with a hook already 32 . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my   33  back.
　Later that day, I sat   34  the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I   35  pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.
【小题1】.

A．eagerly

B．aimlessly

C．gently

D．heavily

Do you know that men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
　　The largest study of the effects of ageing(变老) on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
　　“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
　　“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the aging process.”
　　What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
　　“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
　　The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.
【小题1】 The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.

By the third year of teaching I’d begun to expect Christmas break more for the school holiday and less for the excitement of the children. I was teaching fourth grade and my students had made me   36  . I just had to get through one of the hardest days of the school year.

  　　The morning bell rang. I walked   37   through the cold into the overly heated school building. Twenty-two smiling faces   38   me at the school bus stop. I forced myself to   39   their smiles. Back into the classroom, they   40  , comparing plans for the   41  . I had to remove one student from each arm   42   I could take a seat at my desk for my morning duties. Before I could find my roll book（点名册） my desk was covered with   43   and gifts followed by a   44   of “Merry Christmas” wishes.

  　“Oh, thank you,” I must have   45   a million times. Each gift was truly special to me, except my   46   mood（情绪）. It was kind of them to   47   me. After a while, I heard a small nervous   48   say my name. I looked up to see Brandon standing   49   by my desk, holding a small, round gift. “This is for you.”

  　 “Thank you, Sweetheart.” I laid it on my desk with the others.

  　“Um, could you   50   it now?”

  　I gently tore at the paper and tape. “  51  ,” he said, “it’s breakable.” Slowly I opened a small, green Christmas tree ornament（装饰物）, complete with a hook already   52  . It dawned on me what he had done. Then a nearby student said that he just pulled that off his own tree. I tried to keep my   53   back.

   　Later that day, I sat   54   the ornament in my hands. Was I really so important to this child that he had searched for something to give me? Now every year as I   55   pull a green Christmas ball from my ornament box, I remember the deep influence my students have on me.

1.A. excited               B. tired                                  C. amazed                 D. relaxed

2.A. eagerly          B. aimlessly                          C. gently                   D. heavily

3.A. watched            B. greeted                            C. delighted               D. warned

4.A. return                 B. forget                                     C. ignore                    D. refuse

5.A. calmed               B. settled                                   C. chatted                  D. argued

6.A. study                  B. weekend                          C. vacation                D. lesson

7.A. before                B. when                                 C. after                       D. because

8.A. letters                B. books                                      C. chalks                     D. cards

9.A. knowledge        B. collection                       C. series                     D. bunch

10.A. confirmed       B. assessed                          C. responded            D. explained

11.A. pleased            B. low                                     C. thrilled                   D. angry

12.A. talk about           B. think of                             C. turn to                   D. connect with

13.A. call                    B. sound                                     C. shout                      D. voice

14.A. shyly                 B. bravely                             C. rudely                     D. sadly

15.A. classify             B. collect                                    C. open                       D. arrange

16.A. Careful             B. Dangerous                                C. Patient                            D. Hasty

17.A. exposed           B. adapted                            C. adjusted                D. attached

18.A. trees                    B. hooks                                      C. gifts                        D. tears

19.A. looking into     B. turning over                    C. giving away D. packing up

20.A. anxiously         B. hurriedly                               C. delicately              D. casually

On a hot summer day in late August, I sought shade and a cool drink at a waterfront cafe on a Greek island. Over hundred degrees in   21   air. Crowded. Tempers（脾气）of both the tourists and waiters had   22   to meet the situation, making it a rather quarrelsome environment（环境）.

At the table next to mine sat an attractive,   23  couple, waiting for   24  . They held hands, whispered, kissed, and laughed. Suddenly they stood, picked up their   25   and stepped together   26   the edge of where they were sitting to place the table in the sea water. The man stepped   27   for the two chairs. He politely   28   his lady in the knee-deep water and then sat down himself. All people around laughed and cheered.

  29   appeared. He paused for just a second, walked into the water to   30   the table and take their   31  , and then walked back to the   32   cheers of the rest of his   33  . Minutes later he returned carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. Without pausing, he went

  34   into the water to   35   the wine. The couple toasted（祝酒）each other, the waiter and the crowd. And the crowd   36   by cheering and throwing flowers to them. Three other tables   37    to have lunch in the water. The place was now filled with laughter.

One doesn’t step into water in one’s best summer clothes. Why not?

    Customers are not served   38  . Why not?

    Sometimes one should consider   39   the line of convention（常规）and enjoy   40   to the fullest.

21. A. fresh                  B. cool                       C. still                  D. thin 

22. A. managed            B. expected            C. attempted         D. risen 

23. A. lonely                B. curious　　       C. well-dressed      D. bad-tempered　　　

24. A. cheers                B. service                     C. attention           D. flowers

25. A. metal table         B. empty bottle　　C. chairs              D. bags

26. A. on                     B. off                   C. around             D. along

27. A. outside               B. forward　　      C. down                      D. back　　

28. A. led                    B. seated               C. watched            D. received

29. A. The manager      B. A friend　         C. A waiter           D. The servant　

30. A. set                     B. wash                C. remove             D. check

31. A. menu                 B. bill                  C. food                 D. order

32. A. loud                  B. anxious             C. familiar            D. final

33. A. tourists              B. customers         C. fellows             D. assistants

34. A. at last                B. in time            C. once more               D. as well

35. A. change                      B. drink　             C. sell                  D. serve　

36. A. replied　            B. insisted　          C. agreed　           D. understood　

37. A. prepared            B. joined in           C. settled up          D. continued　

38. A. with pleasure       B. in the café               C. in the sea          D. with wine

39. A. following           B. keeping            C. limiting            D. crossing　

40. A. life                    B. wine                C. lunch                      D. time