The afternoon on December 25 in the waiting room , I was the nurse on duty . When I felt sad about having to_36_on Christmas Day , a woman and four small children showed up at my desk .
“ Are you all sick ?” I asked. “ Yes,” the woman said _37_and lowered her head. But when it came to telling me about their_38_ ,things got a little surprising. They all seemed to be well and there was nothing _39_ with their body.
Why did they tell a _40_that they were all sick? I did not say anything but _41_ that it might be a little time before a doctor could _42_ them . The mother said,“Take your time.We can _43_ here. It’s so warm.” When she finished the register chart , I noticed she didn’t write down their address----were they _44_ ?
I looked at the _45_ around the Christmas tree. The children were excited and _46_ to be healthy. The littlest one was pointing at the Christmas tree and say something to the mother. Then I was sure that they came here not because of _47_ but only for warmth.
I went back to the nurses’ station and _48_ the homeless family. The nurses, _49_ about working on Christmas Day like me, turned to feel sorry for the family and decided to _50_.
We bought delicious food in the hospital restaurant and _51_ a big dinner for our guests. We needed _52_. So we put apples in a basket and collected candies and clothes. Just as we were seriously prepared to meet the physical needs of the _53_, our team worked to meet the needs of a family who just wanted to be _54_ on Christmas Day.
Later, as the family was to _55 _ , the youngest child ran to me and said,“Thank you very much. Good bye.’
【小题1】A choose               B work              C shop             D clean
【小题2】A angrily              B joyfully          C weakly           D loudly
【小题3】A plans                B jobs              C habits           D problems
【小题4】A wrong                B new               C special          D strange
【小题5】A story                B lie               C joke             D secret
【小题6】A explained            B agree          C promised     D replied
【小题7】A visit                B educated       C see          D encouraged
【小题8】A sleep                B eat               C dance            D wait
【小题9】A careless             B homeless          C impolite         D unhappy
【小题10】A family               B team              C class            D police
【小题11】A seemed               B wanted            C decided          D happened
【小题12】A fun              B hunger            C illness     D tiredness
【小题13】A introduced        B mentioned         C reported         D greeted
【小题14】A writing    B learning          C worrying         D complaining
【小题15】A leave                B stop              C watch            D help
【小题16】A prepared             B cooked            C ordered          D started
【小题17】A vegetables           B materials         C presents         D fruits
【小题18】A doctors             B patients           C leaders           D nurses
【小题19】A satisfied           B excited            C warm              D full
【小题20】A watch              B sing               C win               D leave

For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called latchkey children. They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work. And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.

Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached. I was constantly telling them to put them inside shirts. There were so many keys, it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned they were house keys.

She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact(影响) working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.

The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it at high volume. It’s hard to get statistics on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.

1. The main idea about “latchkey children” is that they _______. 

A. are growing in numbers              

B. are also found in middle-class neighborhoods

C. watch too much television during the day 

D. suffer problems from being left alone

2.Which sentence in the second paragraph is the topic sentence?

A. We had a school rule against wearing jewelry.

B. A lot of kids had chains around their necks.

C. I was constantly telling them to put inside their shirts.

D. They were house keys.

3. The main feeling these children have when they are at home by themselves is _______. 

A. tiredness       B. freedom      C. loneliness       D. fear

4.We may draw a conclusion that _______. 

A. latchkey children enjoy having such a large amount of time alone

B. latchkey children try to hide their feeling

C. latchkey children often watch TV with their parents

D. it’s difficult to find out how many latchkey children there are

The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” —and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer —which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet —adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear —popular in the US and UK—that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”.

A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.

In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came to use..

Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.

But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College. London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines.” Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.

“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability(轻便),” adds Thorne.

Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.

But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared.

(   ) 1..  People use iPlayer to        .

    A. listen to music                              B. make a call         

C. watch TV programs online                     D. read newspapers

(   ) 2.. We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is aimed at         .

    A. young readers        B. old readers              C. fashionable women        D. engineers

(   ) 3..  The underlined word “ambiguous” means         .

    A. popular          B. uncertain                C. definite             D. unique

(   ) 4..  Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are         .

    A. portable         B. environmentally friendly C. advanced             D. recyclable

(   ) 5... The writer suggests that         .

    A. “i” products are often of a high quality          

B. the popularity of “i” products may not last long

    C. the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products

    D. iTeddy is a live bear

.

Israeli paintings Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman will hold a solo (个人的) show entitled "Flock of Sheep" from November 26 to December 20, at the China National Art Museum. On show are 550 colorful oil paintings of sheep heads.  His works have been displayed in many important galleries over the past 30 years. They may be seen in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and Tate Gallery in London.

Time: 9am-4pm, November 26-December 20.

Place: China National Art Museum, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing.

Tel: 6401-2252

Russian Ballet The Kremlin Ballet from Russia will perform two immortal classical ballets

"Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker" -at the Beijing Beizh'an Theatre.Set up in 1990, the theatre has a number of first-class ballet dancers. Most of their performances are classical.

Time: 7:15. December 5 and 6 ("Swan Lake"); 7:15pm, December 7 ("Nutcracker")

Place: Beizhan Theatre, Xiwai Dajie, Xicheng District, Beijing.

Tel: 6500-3388

Folk concert The Central Conservatory of Music will hold a folk concert to commemorate the late musician Situ Huacheng. On the programme are many popular folks such as "Moon Night on the Bamboo Tower", "Celebrating Harvest", "Deep and Lasting Friendship", "Golden Snake Danoes Wildly", and "Children's Holiday".

Time: 7:30pm, November 25.

Place: Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie.

Tel: 6605-5812

60. If your child is very fond of dancing, you may take your child to__________.

A. China National Art Museum             B. Beizhan Theatre

C. Beijing Concert Hall                   D. 1 Wusi Dajie

61. Menashe Kadishman is famous for painting

A. deer          B. birds           C. sheep          D. flowers

62. If you dial the telephone number 6500-3388 on Dec. 8, you can

A. go to the folk concert                B. visit the Art Museum

C. watch the ballet                     D. none of the above

Joy in the journey

If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on. For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.

    Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to      . “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “We plan to dig a hole all the way through the      !” one of the brothers volunteered      .

    The older boys began to      , telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was      . After a long silence, one of the         picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and many other kinds of insects. He       the lid and showed the wonderful       to the scoffing（嘲笑的）visitors. Then he said quietly and      , “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look at what we have found       the way!”

    Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is       a goal is for — to cause us to move in the       we have chosen, in other words, to keep us      ! But not every goal will be fully      . Not every job will end      . Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every dream will be      . But when you fall       of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things       my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging       life is lived. And I believe it is the joy in the journey, in the end, that truly      .

1.A. rest             B. work        C. watch          D. laugh

2.A. house           B. earth        C. wall          D. road

3.A. calmly          B. patiently      C. excitedly              D. impatiently

4.A. laugh           B. think        C. stare                   D. smile

5.A. important       B. difficult       C. impossible        D. interesting

6.A. passers-by       B. watchers    C. visitors                D. diggers

7.A. moved           B. removed  C. broke          D. pushed

8.A. contents         B. scenes     C. pictures                D. jars

9.A. properly         B. confidently          C. carefully        D. happily

10.A. in               B. along               C. to                 D. out

11.A. what            B. how                    C. where              D. which

12.A. way             B. direction    C. life                D. sight

13.A. thinking         B. moving        C. digging           D. living

14.A. made            B. prepared            C. kicked                D. achieved

15.A. hopelessly        B. pleasantly            C. surprisingly      D. successfully

16.A. come true        B. realized              C. made              D. treasured

17.A. short             B. lost          C. out                D. behind

18.A. breaking into     B. turning to            C. coming into       D. holding to

19.A. when            B. where         C. which                D. that

20.A. matters          B. happens      C. appears           D. exists