For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year__ that their sick daughter survives until December 25.
Fifteen –year-old Paige suffers from a rare brain condition. The disease affects as few as 12 people in the world, and can kill her any day without warning. And her condition has deteriorated in recent months. Each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up. Rachael and Leigh Badman are worried that she couldn’t live through Christmas. They filled their house with Christmas decorations on November1, so she could enjoy her favorite day of the year in advance.
Paige was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. Mrs. Badman described the condition as “being on death row” as she never knows if she will wake up and still have a daughter. She said, “ Paige always loves Christmas and it’s heartbreaking to see her suffering like this.”
In the last months, Paige has been unable to eat and has never walked or spoken. But she loves music, and enjoys watching pop stars’ DVDs. And in May she also went on holiday to Florida with her parents and little brother, Kefton. The family , who have already organized parts of Paige’s funeral, also saw the teenager swimming with dolphins during the trip. Since then, however, her condition has worsened.
Mrs Badman, who is separated from her husband and works as Paige’s full-time carer, said, “Now she can’t eat or drink anymore, and her brain is shrinking.(萎缩) With all her problems, we just thought, ‘Let’s get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible.’ We’re praying she lives to see Christmas Day.”
【小题1】Paige’s parents got the Christmas tree up on November 1 to ____.

For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year__ that their sick daughter survives until December 25.

Fifteen –year-old Paige suffers from a rare brain condition. The disease affects as few as 12 people in the world, and can kill her any day without warning. And her condition has deteriorated in recent months. Each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up. Rachael and Leigh Badman are worried that she couldn’t live through Christmas. They filled their house with Christmas decorations on November1, so she could enjoy her favorite day of the year in advance.

Paige was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. Mrs. Badman described the condition as “being on death row” as she never knows if she will wake up and still have a daughter. She said, “ Paige always loves Christmas and it’s heartbreaking to see her suffering like this.”

In the last months, Paige has been unable to eat and has never walked or spoken. But she loves music, and enjoys watching pop stars’ DVDs. And in May she also went on holiday to Florida with her parents and little brother, Kefton. The family , who have already organized parts of Paige’s funeral, also saw the teenager swimming with dolphins during the trip. Since then, however, her condition has worsened.

Mrs Badman, who is separated from her husband and works as Paige’s full-time carer, said, “Now she can’t eat or drink anymore, and her brain is shrinking.(萎缩) With all her problems, we just thought, ‘Let’s get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible.’ We’re praying she lives to see Christmas Day.”

1.Paige’s parents got the Christmas tree up on November 1 to ____.

A．let her enjoy the great time with visitors

B．let her understand her parents’ love

C．let her enjoy Christmas early before her death

D．let her receive more good wishes from others

2.Mrs Badman described Paige as “ being on death row” because ______.

A．Paige could die at any time without warning

B．she found Paige struggling painfully

C．she had organized Paige’s funeral

D．Paige lost the abilities to walk and speak

3.The underlined word can be replaced by “_____”.

A．proved satisfying    B．grown stronger     C．got improved       D．become worse

4.What can be learned from the passage?

A．Christmas is Paige’s favorite festival.

B．12% of children in the world suffer from the disease.

C．Paige enjoyed watching pop stars’ DVDs on a trip.

D．Paige travelled with her family before suffering the disease.

As a young man, Al was a skilled artist．He had a wife and two fine sons．One night, his  oldest son developed a severe stomachache．Thinking it was only some   1  intestinal （肠内的）disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously．But the boy   2   suddenly that night．

       Knowing the death could have been   3   if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al's emotional health became worse under the huge burden of his   4     To make matters worse his wile   5  him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son．The hurt and pain of the two   6   were more than Al could handle, and he   7   to alcohol．In time Al became an alcoholic．

       8___ the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he   9   — his home, his land, his art objects, everything．  10   Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room．

       When I heard of Al's death, I thought that Al's life was a complete   11 ．

       As time went by, I began to re-evaluate my earlier judgment．I knew Al's now   12   son, Ernie．He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known．I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free   13   of love between them．I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere．

       I hadn't heard Ernie talk much about his  14__．One day I worked __15_ my courage to ask him．"I'm really _16__ by something," I said．"I know your father was  17   _ the only one to raise you．What on earth did he do that you became such a special person?"

       Ernie sat quietly and _18_ for a few moments．Then he said, "From my earliest _19_ as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ' I love you, son．' "

       Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to __20_ Al as a failure．He had not left any material possessions behind．But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known．

1．A．certain                 B．common       C．rare                   D．basic

2．A．died                    B．choked          C．starved            D．worsened

3．A．cured                  B．prevented        C．forbidden          D．saved

4．A．disease            B．debt           C．guilt                 D．duty

5．A．left                  B．scolded        C．quarreled            D．forgave

6．A．disasters          B．adventures                                      C．conflicts           D．situations

7．A．got                B．drank          C．turned               D．sank

8．A．As               B．Though        C．Because              D．If

9．A．needed            B．shared         C．benefited           D．possessed

10．A．Eventually        B．Gradually        C．Therefore          D．Meanwhile

11．A．trouble              B．hardship            C．failure            D．waste

12．A．teen             B．adult             C．aged               D．adolescent

13．A．win           B．fall                    C．space               D．flow

14．A．mother          B．brother               C．father                 D．child

15．A．up                B．with                  C．on                D．through

16．A．worried        B．puzzled              C．interested           D．attracted

17．A．especially        B．basically             C．merely              D．specially

18．A．argued         B．searched             C．analyzed            D．reflected

19．A．thoughts       B．ideas                C．minds            D．memories

20．A．treat           B．call                  C．judge               D．feel

There is a virtue (美德)in China－Respecting the  36 and care for the young”. About the above two aspects, we will discuss the former one in this passage.
Why should we  37 the old? because they are ahead of us in age, in wisdom and in experience. Our elders have done a lot for us, directly or indirectly and most of us   38  everything to their kindness and love.
When we show them respect, whether it is by bowing to them, or   39   them with a smile, or offering them any help they need, it is one way of   40  our own love and gratitude to them.   41 , elders have also been through all the years you are   42  and know a little more about the world than you do.
It is   43  that you do not agree with the belief of your elders, but this is nothing new. All younger generations have always   44  with their elders and it is these differences that bring changes in human   45 . However much you disagree with them, give them credit for their   46 .
With changing times and   47  influences, youngsters no longer know what is interpreted as disrespect to elders. Youngsters should   48  express their views and if there are arguments, they should not   49  their voices.
If there is no space on sofas or chairs, children will immediately   50  their places, and sit on the carpet. In buses and trains, youngsters are   51  to give up their places to older people. This is not a   52  of who has more rights. It is simply that those who are younger have the strength to bear   53 , or tolerate unpleasantness, so it is natural to show consideration to those who are older and perhaps at a   54  disadvantage.
When you do simple things as a mark of respect, elders become   55  that youngsters care for them, and they respond with affection and kindness.

It was 3:12 a. m. when nine-year-old Glenn Kreamer awoke to the smell of burning. Except for the crackling（爆裂声）of flames somewhere below there was not a sound in the two-storey house at Baldwin, Long Island. With his father away on night duty at a local factory, Glenn was worried about the safety of his mother, his sister Karen, 14 and his 12-year-old brother Todd. He ran downstairs through the smoke filled house to push and pull at Karen and Todd until they sat up. Then he helped each one through the house to the safety of the garden. There, his sister and brother, taking short and quick breaths and coughing, collapsed on the lawn.
The nine-year-old raced back into the house and upstairs to his mother’s room. He found it impossible to waked her up. Mrs. Kreamer, a victim of the smoke, was unconscious, and there was nobody to help Glenn carry her to the garden. But the boy remained calm and , as a fireman said later, “acted with all the self-control of a trained adult.”
On the bedroom telephone, luckily still working, Glenn called his father and, leaving Mr. Kreamer to telephone the fire brigade and ambulance service, got on with the task of saving his mother.
First he filled a bucket with water from the bathroom and threw water over his mother and her bed. Then, with a wet cloth around his head he went back to the garden.
He could hear the fire engine coming up, but how would the firemen find his mother in the smoke-filled house where flames had almost swallowed up the ground floor?
Grasping firmly a ball of string（线绳） from the garage, Glenn raced back into the house and dashed upstairs to his mother’s room. Tying one end of the string to her hand， he ran back, laying out the string as he went, through the hall and back out into the garden.
Minutes later he was telling fire chief John Coughlan: “The string will lead you to mother.” Mrs. Kreamer was carried to safety as the flames were breaking through her bedroom floor.
【小题1】Why did Glenn run downstairs first?

A．By throwing water all over her and her bed.

B．By carrying her to safety with his brother.

C．By pushing and pulling at her.

D．By tying a string to her hand.