This was my grandmother’s first Christmas without grandfather. When we reached her house, it did seem a little 36 without grandfather.

Grandfather had always said the Christmas  37 was the most important. So we set to work assembling（组装）the beautiful  38 tree that was stored in grandfather’s closet（储藏室）. After we finished, we stepped back to  39 our work. It looked wonderful. But something was  40 .

“Where’s the star?” I asked. It was my grandmother’s  41 . As we emptied box after box and found no star, my grandmother’s eyes  42 with tears. Grandfather had given it to Grandmother fifty years ago. Now, on her first Christmas without  43 , the star was gone, too.

“Let’s  44 in the closet where the tree was,” my sister Donna said. We  45 under beds and over shelves, inside and outside  46 we had exhausted every possibility. We could see Grandmother was  47 , although she tried not to show it. By now, it was  48 outside, and time for bed, as Santa would soon be here.

The next morning, my sisters and I  49 early to see what Santa had left under the tree. After breakfast, the family sat together to  50 presents. “The last gift is to Grandmother from Grandfather.” Father said, in a puzzled voice.

“From who?” There was  51  in my grandmother’s voice.

“I found that  52 in the closet when we got the tree down,” Mother explained.

My grandmother opened it. Her face lit up when she pulled out a(n)  53  golden star. There was a note attached. Her voice trembled（颤抖）as she read it:

Don’t be  54  with me, dear. I broke your star while putting away the tree. Thought it was time for a new one, I hope it brings you as much  55  as the first one. Merry Christmas.

1.                A．empty          B．cold           C．slow D．absent

2.                A．wish           B．tree           C．spirit D．work

3.                A．unique         B．artificial         C．widespread    D．alive

4.                A．follow          B．show           C．judge D．admire

5.                A．losing          B．happening       C．missing   D．falling

6.                A．doubt          B．reward         C．honour   D．treasure

7.                A．filled           B．covered        C．put  D．removed

8.                A．them          B．it              C．her  D．him

9.                A．stop           B．move          C．start D．stay

10.               A．hid            B．searched       C．lay   D．found

11.               A．as             B．until           C．because   D．though

12.               A．disappointed    B．amazed         C．excited    D．shocked

13.               A．snowing        B．raining         C．blowing   D．darkening

14.               A．cheered up     B．picked up       C．woke up   D．took up

15.               A．pack           B．open          C．pick  D．exchange

16.               A．happiness       B．fright          C．surprise   D．hope

17.               A．gift            B．book           C．note  D．letter

18.               A．big            B．old            C．shining    D．broken

19.               A．generous       B．angry          C．strict D．important

20.               A．sadness        B．concern        C．peace D．joy

We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions. But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
【小题1】What were Kristen and Kelly asked to do last Sunday evening? (No more than 20 words.)
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【小题2】Why did the guests praise Kelly so much rather than Kristen? (No more than 15 words.)
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【小题3】The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” in Paragraph 4 means ________________. (No more than 5 words.)
【小题4】Why did Kristen feel sad and cry? (No more than 15 words.)
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【小题5】In your opinion, how should adults treat children? (No more than 15 words.)
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I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast，I had to have cereal，eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch，while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess，my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself，just to save money.

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9：00 each night and up at 7：45 the next morning. So while my friends slept，my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years，our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing，red for failing. My mother, however，would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.

She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background，I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.

1.From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was __________.

A．not generous at all                      B．very strict with her children

C．very mean with money matters             D．very cruel to her children

2.Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

A．Eating differently from other kids.

B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother.

C．Going to bed early and getting up early.

D．Letting mother know where they were.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that____________.

A the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

B. mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

C. all the other kids studied better than the writer

D. the writer’s family lived a miserable life

It was 4 o'clock in the morning when I received the phone call．

“This is the emergency room calling and your son was just  36 in with severe burns on his face，neck and arms．We have called for a（n）  37  and are going to fly him to the burn unit in Seattle．” Seattle was 350 miles from his college，so we knew immediately this was  38 ．

The doctor described the  39 ，which caused the burns．At 6 am，our son and his friends decided to barbecue hamburgers in the courtyard of their apartment．When they   40  the charcoal（木炭），it burst into flames because they had sprayed too much gasoline（petrol）．The flames  41 my son’s shirt tail and shot from his waist to well over his head．

  42 ，one of the boys was quick-minded，grasped my son，and  43 him on the grass．While it saved his life，it was not in  44  to save him from severe burns and the terrible scars（伤疤）．

After he  45 from the treatments，the doctors told him they would not do plastic surgery（整容）for 6 months  46 it takes that long for the skin to stop shrinking and wrinkling．So，he had to return to college with scars typical of severe burns．

When I was a child, my mother told my sister，who had a 10-inch, very 47__ scar on her arm，“Nancy，if you ignore the scar，other people will ignore it．It does not mean they will not  48 it，but it means it will not matter to them if it doesn’t matter to you．’’

I  49 this wisdom on to my son．He took my advice to 50 and returned to school with his head held high--glad he was alive．

By the end of the six-month waiting period，he decided that the scars did not  51 , sohe made the  52 to give up any plastic surgery．

We all have “scars” that we believe  53 people to keep away from us．And we spend a lot of time thinking that if only we looked different，or dressed differently，people would like us better． 

But you see，people will only judge you by your looks，or your clothes，if you are judging yourself by these same  54 standards．Put your imperfections out of your mind and concentrate on what you value  55 yourself，and your beauty will shine through．

1.                A．brought        B．given           C．turned   D．showed

2.                A．doctor         B．hospital         C．aircraft   D．ambulance

3.                A．serious         B．terrible         C．painful   D．important

4.                A．event          B．process         C．reason   D．accident

5.                A．got            B．lit             C．burned   D．moved

6.                A．took           B．held           C．caught   D．attracted

7.                A．Fortunately      B．Surprisingly      C．Happily   D．Slowly

8.                A．pushed         B．threw          C．dropped  D．rolled

9.                A．shape          B．place           C．fact D．time

10.               A．benefited       B．recovered      C．suffered   D．relaxed

11.               A．if             B．while          C．because   D．although

12.               A．normal         B．violent         C．obvious   D．popular

13.               A．mention        B．notice          C．laugh D．hide

14.               A．sent           B．kept           C．handed    D．passed

15.               A．heart          B．life            C．practice   D．consideration

16.               A．grow          B．matter         C．exist D．appear

17.               A．mistake         B．effort          C．decision   D．request

18.               A．invite          B．cause          C．allow D．remind

19.               A．false           B．strict           C．moral D．general

20.               A．by            B．over           C．beyond   D．within

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

      Armed with two over-packed suitcases, we arrived at the airport just in time for my flight. As I watched her unload my luggage, I could see the ___36___ in her eyes. One last hug and a final good-bye, and I would be on my way to a new life ___37____. “You'd better go or you'll miss your flight,”she said.

   “I'll __38_____ you,”I replied , and with those words I __39___. By the time I reached the customs I was __40__. While boarding the plane I was still crying. I did not have the ___41__ to put my bag in the overhead locker, so I put it on the empty seat next to mine.

   Born barely fifteen months __42___, we not only looked alike, we were alike. We both had that same mix of ___43___ and fear of all things unknown to us. One sunny summer day I was playing outside when she came ___44___ to me and said, “Want to come to the attic(阁楼)?”The answer was always “___45__”. We were frightened of the attic but also ___46_____ by its smells and sounds. Together we would flight many spiders and battle through the numerous boxes __47_____ we found what we needed.

   The plane shook ___48___ and my bag fell on the floor. My aspirin, hairbrush and some other things were __49___ on the floor. I __50_____ over to gather them up when I saw a (an) ___51___ little book in the middle of my belongings. It was a diary.

   Immediately I __52___ my sister's handwriting. “Hi Sis. What a day it has been today. You let me know that you are moving abroad...”Only __53___ did I realize that my sister had been ___54___ a diary for the past month.

I read about my sister's coming and going during the flight. Even though a large ocean ____55___ us, at some point it felt like she was actually there.

A. honesty        B.concern       C.sadness       D.satisfaction

A.abroad         B.home         C.again         D.along

A.remember       B.remind       C.miss          D.think of

A.was cut        B.was off        C.left off        D.left away

A.smiling        B.sneezing       C.sighing        D.sobbing

A.courage        B.energy        C.idea           D.spirit

A.before         B.after          C.between       D.apart

A.curiosity       B.anxiety        C.sympathy      D.worry

A.about         B.across         C.down          D.up

A.No           B.Yes           C.Sorry          D.Certain

A.surprised       B.bored         C.attracted       D.interested

A.until          B.unless         C.though         D.since

A. hardly        B.slightly        C.weakly         D.heavily

A. spread        B.thrown        C.dropped         D.pushed

A. turned        B. went          C. bent           D. looked

A. familiar       B. unfamiliar      C.important       D.unimportant 

A. knew         B. saw           C.observed        D.recognised

A.when         B.that            C.then            D.this

A.keeping       B.writing         C.using           D.making

A.faced         B.separated       C.surrounded       D.blocked