I’ll never forget my first daughter, who died too early from a bad accident. During those years, life was   36  . One Christmas I found my 3-year-old daughter   37  with a roll of golden wrapping paper. I had bought the paper to finish a rather important project. So I became   38  and scolded her loudly, “You are not good. And you are   39  your father’s money. You don’t know how hard your parents are working.” She was   40  and cried bitterly, running away.

    41 , she brought a gift, a golden   42  made of golden wrapping paper to me the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” I was   43  of my earlier hurting words, but my anger rose again when I found out the box was   44 . I shouted at her, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?” She   45  at me with tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew   46  into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”

I was completely   47 . I put my arms around her and begged for her   48 . A year later, a serious   49  took the life of my daughter. I was so sad that I   50  in bed for three days and three nights, saying nothing with tears rolling down my cheek. From then on, I hated cars and kept the golden box by my bed for many years. Whenever I was   51  , I would take out an imaginary kiss and   52  the love of my daughter who had put it there.

In a very real   53  , each one of us, as humans beings, has been given a golden container   54  with unconditional love and kisses ... from our children, family members, friends, and God. There are   55  no other possessions that anyone could hold more precious than this.

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

A

Imagine landing in a foreign country where you cannot speak the language, understand the culture and don’t know anybody. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend who could help you out?

John Smith, an English explorer who landed in America in 1607, found the best friend ever. She was a Native American named Pocahontas (1595-1617). And she did more than teach Smith the language: she saved his life, twice.

Smith was captured by members of Pocahontas’s tribe (部落) and was going to be killed. But for some reason, the Chief’s daughter, Pocahontas, felt sorry for Smith (who was probably the first white man she had ever seen) and threw her body over his to protect him. Smith returned safely to the small village he was living in.

During the winter the English settlers did not know how to get food from nature. Pocahontas often brought food for Smith and his friends.

A year later Pocahontas’s father tried to kill Smith again because the Native Americans were very scared the English would try to take over their land. Pocahontas warned him and he was able to escape.

Later she became a Christian and eventually married an Englishman named John Rolfe.

She spent the last year of her life in London.

Pocahontas has become an American legend (传奇). Her life story has been re-created in many books and films, including Disney’s 1995 film, Pocahontas.

One of the reasons she is so popular is that many Europeans look at Pocahontas as an excellent example of how a minority can adjust into the majority. Pocahontas is also respected because of her selfless love. She proved that people can be kind and loving even to people of a different race or culture. John Smith was very different from Pocahontas but she could see he was a good man and that was all that mattered. No race or country owns goodness, love and loyalty.

1.What difficulties might early European settlers meet in America EXCEPT ______?

A. the fierce conflict with Native Americans

B. bad-tempered natives who enjoyed killing

C. unfamiliarity with a foreign land

D. lack of food in winter

2.Pocahontas saved John Smith twice because ______.

A. he was the first white man she had ever seen in her life

B. she wanted to become a Christian and marry an Englishman

C. she believed in general kindness even to people of a different race

D. she was on the settlers’ side and against her cruel father

3.Which is NOT an element to make Pocahontas a legend?

A. Her tribal background and her marriage to a white settler.

B. Her selfless help to people regarded as enemy of her tribe.

C. Her complicated life story different from common people’s.

D. The recreation of her life story in the 1995 Disney film.

4.According to the text, Europeans think Pocahontas _____.

A. was brave to break away from her own tribe

B. set a good example for other natives to accept the white settlers

C. was a selfless Christian who can love her enemy

D. was open to a more advanced culture

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The battles between early settlers and Native Americans resulted from their               fighting for land.

B. The Europeans think the early settlers should have learned to adjust to the local cultures.

C. The creation of America is based on the settlers’ victory over the Native  Americans.

D. People from different cultures can never really get along well with each other.

B

Chinese students aren’t the only ones who have a sleep loss problem. In Australia, teenagers are also missing out on, on average, one hour’s sleep every night during the school week.

Organized activities and homework push bedtimes later, the first large-scale Australian study of children’s sleeping habits has revealed (显示). Their sleep deprivation (剥夺) is enough to cause “serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory”, and governments should consider later or flexible school start times, said the study’s leader, Tim Olds.

 His survey, of more than 4,000 children aged 9 to 18, found those who slept least did not watch more television but spent their time socializing (相处) with family or friends or listening to music.

“Almost all children get up at 7 or 7:15 — they have to get to school on time,” said Olds. He favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sports and activities would still consume the latter end of the day.

Olds’research also establishes lack of sleep as a cause of weight gain in children, and a possible source of future problems with depression, anxiety and increased susceptibility (易感性) to illness.

It was already known that overweight children sleep less, but Professor Olds found sleep duration (时长) was strongly linked to weight across the full range of body sizes. The thinnest children sleep 20 minutes more than the obese. This showed being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times stimulate (刺激) appetite and make kids hungry.

The US National Sleep Foundation says teenagers aged 13 to 18 need eight to nine hours’ sleep a night. Younger school-aged kids need 9 to 11 hours.

On that basis, Professor Olds said, half of Australian children are under-sleeping on weekdays and a quarter on weekends.

6. The Australian students surveyed don’t sleep enough because they spend more time on the following EXCEPT _____.

A. organized activities and homework

B. communication with friends and family

C. watching television programs

D. enjoying music 

7. What effects does lack of sleep directly have on the students according to the survey?

A. They become overweight but begin to eat less than before.

B. They feel more depressed and anxious about their school work.

C. They are more likely to be affected with illness in the future.

D. They pay less attention in class and their memory declines.

8. Which of the following suggestions did Mr. Olds raise?

A. The students should go to bed earlier to have longer sleeping time.

B. The students should participate less in organized activities.

C. The school should put off the start time in the morning.

D. The school should finish earlier in the afternoon.

9. What does "obese" in the sixth paragraph mean?

A. average      B. fat     C. sleepless   D. overeating

10. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Australian students usually take part in activities in the afternoon.

B. More students are short of sleep on weekends than on weekdays.

C. Being overweight has an effect on the length of the sleeping time.

D. The survey suggests that teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep a night.

C

By day he is just a normal cat but when the lights go out, he glows (发光) in the dark.

Scientists have genetically modified (更改) a cat as part of an experiment that could lead to treatments for diseases.

Named Mr. Green Genes, he looks like a six-month-old cat but, under ultraviolet (紫外线的) light, his eyes, gums (牙龈) and tongue glow green. That is the result of a genetic experiment at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans, US.

Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent (荧光的) cat in the US and probably the world, said Betsy Dresser, the center's director.

The researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into a cat's genetic sequence (次序).

If so, it would be the first step in a process that could lead to the development of ways to treat diseases via gene therapy (治疗).

The gene, which was added to Mr. Green Genes' DNA, has no effect on his health, Ms Dresser said.

Cats are ideal for this project because their genetic makeup is similar to that of humans, said Dr Martha Gomez, a scientist at the center.

To show that the gene went where it was supposed to go, the researchers settled on one that would glow.

The gene "is just a marker"，said Leslie Lyons, an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis. Lyons is familiar with the center's work.

 "The glowing part is the fun part," she said.

 Glowing creatures made international news earlier this month when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who had discovered the gene through their work with jellyfish (水母).

11.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. A Glowing Cat                  B. Mr. Green Genes

C. One Cat’s Life                  D. An experiment on cats

12. What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Fortunately, scientists have found ways to treat diseases via gene therapy.

B. Scientists think cats’ genetic makeup is the same as that of human beings.

C. Three scientists who had discovered the gene were given Nobel Prize in  Physics.

D. Scientists have managed to introduce a gene into a cat’s genetic sequence.               

13. What does “settled on” most probably mean in Paragraph 9?

A. chose         B. killed        C. took          D. raised

14. From the passage we can see that ____.

A. Mr. Green Genes was made by researchers to treat diseases

B. the cat named Mr. Green Genes can glow when it is dark

C. Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent cat in the world

D. Mr. Green Genes is a cat of seven months old up to now

15. Which of the following is WRONG according to the text?

A. The gene added to Mr. Green Genes’ DNA doesn’t affect its health at all.

B. The scientists came up with the idea of the glowing genes totally for fun.

C. Earlier this month glowing creatures became news all through the world.

D. Scientists had discovered the gene from the jellyfish they worked with.

It’s certain that the following tale is a nice example that can teach us a good lesson. One day, a young man  16 begged from door to door along the street.  17 an old wallet in hand, he was asking for a few coins to buy something to eat. He kept complaining about his bad  18  and kept wondering why those who had so much money were never   19  and were always desiring more.

“As for me, if I had only enough to eat and to wear, I would not want anything more."

Just at that moment Goddess Fortune  20 the beggar among the crowd and approached him, greeting, “Hi, young man, I have wished to   21  you for a long time. If you open your wallet, I will pour my gold into it. But keep in mind that I will do that only on this   22 : All that falls into the wallet will be pure gold belonging to you; but every piece falling upon the ground  23 become dust, worth nothing. Are you clear?”

“I see. Now I’m ready. ” said the beggar with confidence.

“Then you should   24 ! It’s obvious that your wallet is a/an   25 one, so don’t load it too heavily,” said the Goddess Fortune. 

The excited beggar could hardly   26 to have gold. He quickly opened his wallet, and a   27  of yellow coins was poured into it. The wallet became heavier and heavier.

“Is that enough? Isn’t it cracking? Will your wallet strong enough for more?” warned the Goddess.

“Never  28 .It’s still strong enough now” replied the beggar firmly.

The wallet was filled with so many coins that the beggar’s hands began to   29 . “Ah, if only the golden stream would   30  forever! Just a little more,” said the beggar, “  31  just a handful or two.”

“There! It’s full. The wallet will   32 .” warned the Goddess again, but the beggar insisted, “ I know it will  33  a little more, just a little more.”

One more piece was added and the wallet split. The   34  fell upon the ground and became dust. The greedy beggar had now   35  but his broken wallet.