I have a close friend who has a good family tradition, that is, each year after Thanksgiving dinner, all of the people sit around in the living room and each person takes a few minutes and gives thanks for what really matters and what has added value to their life over the last year. This is something I valued and followed. I have thought about a lot in the last year, and I finally came up with two things.

The first one is the healthiness of my daughter. She’s as healthy as she can be, and her weight and height are in good condition and she has no illnesses or genetic diseases. I am so thankful for having this wonderful baby in my life, and thankful that she has the gift of good health.

Secondly, I am thankful for the discovery of the value of writing in my life. A year ago, my website. The simple Dollar was only a few weeks old and was far from popular, but on Thanksgiving Day Last year it had about three score readers who ordered it in advance. The process of writing was bringing me enjoyment, but I hadn’t yet realized that I could be successful in it and attract many readers. This past year showed me a lot and I am deeply thankful for it.

After thinking for a while, I began to realize that it was a very powerful and wonderful positive exercise. You spend time reflecting deeply on the positive things in your life, and you often realize that even when things are bad, you do have a lot to be thankful for because there is lots of good in your life, and it can shine a bright light even in a dark spot in your life.

1.What is the good family tradition of the author’s friend’s?

       A．Learning from the past and planning for the future.

       B．Taking about the things that are most worth appreciation.

       C．Learning from the strong points of other family members.

       D．Having Thanks giving dinner together with family members.

2.The author is thankful for all the following thins EXCEPT      .

       A．her success with writing                      B．the enjoyment in writing

       C．the healthiness of her daughter              D．the founding of a magazine

3.How many people had ordered The simple Dollar by Thanksgiving Day last year?

       A．About 30.            B．About 20.            C．About 60.            D．About 40.

4.What’s the purpose of this passage? It tells us that people should         .

       A．hold a positive attitude                          B．reflect on their mistakes

       C．have low expectations of life                 D．neglect their disadvantages

I am not one who is frightened easily, but I must admit that one night I saw a figure that really struck terror into my heart．

I   1   it was a cold moon - lit night when I was walking home．It was the first night of my whole life that I had been outside   2   at such a late time．There were   3  few people on the road at night．Even during the day, the road was used by only some．On that night, it seemed even   4  ．While I was walking, I could hear some   5   made by creatures that love the night world．I moved really fast towards home．It was   6   because I was hungry．More importantly, I was eager to get back home for warmth．All of a sudden, I   7   an old lady in a short distance away．Her   8   was covered with a white cloth．She was   9  to me, I think．

I was a bit   10  ．I wanted to know   11   she was there at that time of the late night．I stopped walking for a while．As I   12  there, stories about ghosts （鬼） began to come to my mind one after   13  ．I was soon   14   fear and started to run as fast as I could．When I reached home I could   15   speak．

The next day, however, I   16   that place again to make sure that the woman was not a ghost but indeed a real person．But I could find no footprints there   17   a banana plant．I realized then that it was the banana plant with its leaves moving in the gentle wind that   18   like a woman waving her hand．I had indeed made a fool of myself; but after the   19  night’s experience, this   20   was small relief to me．

1．A．realized                 B．recognized           C．remembered        D．reminded

2．A．alone                    B．asleep                  C．awake                 D．lonely

3．A．never                    B．often                   C．seldom                D．rarely

4．A．busier                   B．noisier                 C．quieter                D．wider

5．A．noises                   B．quarrels               C．songs                  D．voices

6．A．completely            B．mainly                 C．obviously            D．partly

7．A．made sense of       B．caught sight of     C．got ahead of        D．took hold of

8．A．waist                    B．leg                      C．head                   D．hand

9．A．smiling                  B．waiting                C．whispering          D．waving

10．A．mysterious          B．cautious              C．conscious            D．curious

11．A．why                    B．when                  C．what                   D．how

12．A．lay                      B．sat                      C．stood                  D．walked

13．A．another               B．other                   C．others                 D．the other

14．A．addicted to          B．filled with            C．far from              D．short of

15．A．clearly                 B．easily                  C．hardly                 D．loudly

16．A．traveled               B．visited                 C．appreciated          D．went

17．A．over                    B．without               C．than                    D．except

18．A．felt                     B．looked                 C．smelt                  D．sounded

19．A．previous              B．next                    C．last                     D．following

20．A．invention             B．achievement         C．contribution         D．discovery

My mother was a household servant. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and write book reports. She would mark them up with check marks. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother had only received a third-grade education. Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.

When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went form being an A- student to a B- student to a C-student, but I didn’t care.

One night my mother came home and I complained about not having enough shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week cleaning floors and bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the shirts you want.”

I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating(分配) money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.

I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual(理智的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. I dreamed of becoming a doctor when I was just a kid. And now I have achieved my dream.

Over the years my mother’s changeless faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I found myself faced with my own medical illness. A few years ago I discovered I had a very serious cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine(脊柱). My mother believed in God very much. She never worried. She said that God would never throw me away forever; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in spine turned out to be not bad; I was able to have surgery and am cured.

My story is really my mother’s story －a woman little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of her children.

The underlined word “ruse” in the first paragraph probably means           .

A. discovery  B. success  C. trick   D. pleasure

When the author asked his mother to buy him shirts, she           .

A. advised him to earn money by himself

B. asked him to try to manage their money

C. persuaded him not to buy them patiently

D. agreed to buy them for him immediately

What do we learn about the author?

A. He now works as a doctor.

B. He disliked watching TV as a kid.

C. He received little formal education.

D. He often did housework when young.

The underlined word “this” in the last but one paragraph refers to        .

A. God’s throwing me away

B. my own medical illness

C. the operation on my spine

D. my mother’s changeless faith in God

In writing the passage, the author mainly shows us         .

A. the happy relationships in his family

B. the benefits of reading for young children

C. the importance of formal education for adults

D. his mother’s great influence on his development

My mother was a household servant. Through her work, she observed that successful people spent a lot more time reading than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three pre-selected TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each from the Detroit Public Library and write book reports. She would mark them up with check marks. Years later we realized her marks were a ruse. My mother had only received a third-grade education. Although we had no money, between the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.

When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang out with the guys. I went form being an A- student to a B- student to a C-student, but I didn’t care.

One night my mother came home and I complained about not having enough shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you all the money I make this week cleaning floors and bathrooms, and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With everything left over, you can have all the shirts you want.”

I was very pleased with that arrangement but once I got through allocating(分配) money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a roof over our heads and any kind of food on the table, much less buy clothes.

I also realized that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success required intellectual(理智的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. I dreamed of becoming a doctor when I was just a kid. And now I have achieved my dream.

Over the years my mother’s changeless faith in God has inspired me, particularly when I found myself faced with my own medical illness. A few years ago I discovered I had a very serious cancer; I was told it might have spread to my spine(脊柱). My mother believed in God very much. She never worried. She said that God would never throw me away forever; there was no way that this was going to be a major problem. The abnormality in spine turned out to be not bad; I was able to have surgery and am cured.

My story is really my mother’s story －a woman little formal education or worldly goods who used her position as a parent to change the lives of her children.

1. The underlined word “ruse” in the first paragraph probably means           .

2.When the author asked his mother to buy him shirts, she           .

3. What do we learn about the author?

4.The underlined word “this” in the last but one paragraph refers to        .

5.In writing the passage, the author mainly shows us         .