For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know."
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.
I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no-frills budget.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by. I looked out the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on - and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin."
Marvin kept his promise, too. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen foot bed for me. And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis (棚架), a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books.
That was three years ago. My garden's now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me.
I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short. But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes - every time.
I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!
【小题1】By saying “Do you see a money tree outside .….,” the mother actually means “    ”

              A middle-aged stranger visited us late on a dark rainy night when my father was working the night shift (a job for a period during the night). The stranger asked if he could wait under the eaves of our roof for the rain to stop. Then he disappeared, and we started hearing footsteps and creaking boards in the attic(the space or room at the top of a building, under the roof, often used for storing things). Was the stranger inside our house? My whole body couldn’t help but stiffen. In my mind’s eye, I could imagine the stranger pushing through the attic door and approaching us.
We immediately called Jerry, our neighbor, for help. He searched everywhere, but the visitor was nowhere to be found. As Jerry looked in the garage, he found the stranger lying underneath the car. Jerry exclaimed with fright, “You are not allowed to enter the house. Get off the property right now.”
We were determined to leave the house immediately. As we drove away, we saw the man blocking our way on the road and staring at us. We had to swerve to miss him. After that, I never saw the stranger again.
【小题1】The text is mainly about                .

A car that runs on coffee is unveiled（shown to the public for the first time）today but at between 25 and 50 times the cost of running a car on petrol, the invention won’t please any motor industry accountants.
Nicknamed the Car-puccino, it has been created using a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco bought for £400 and it was chosen because it looked like the time-traveling DeLorean in the movie Back To The Future.The car will be driven the 210 miles between Manchester and London powered only by roasted coffee granules （颗粒）.It has been built by a team from the BBC1 science programme Bang Goes The Theory and will go on display at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester to show how fuels other than traditional petrol can power vehicles.
The team calculates the Car-puccino will do three miles per kilo of ground coffee （咖啡粉） — about 56 cups of espressos （浓咖啡） per mile.The journey will use about 70 kilos of ground coffee which, at supermarket prices of between £13 and £26 a kilo depending on brand and quality, will cost between £910 and £1,820, or between 25 and 50 times the £36 cost of petrol for the journey.In total, the trip will cost 11,760 espressos, and the team will have to take ‘coffee breaks’ roughly every 30 to 45 miles to pour in more granules.They will also have to stop about every 60 miles to clean out the ‘coffee filters’ to rid them of the soot and tar which is also generated by the process.So despite a top speed of 60mph, the many stops mean the going will be slow, with the journey taking around ten hours.
Sadly, the inventors will still have to pay duty on their coffee fuel---even though tax collectors at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom haven’t yet worked out how much.
Nick Watson, producer of Bang Goes The Theory, said, “Coffee, like wood or coal, has some carbon content so you can use it as a fuel.The coffee needs to be very dry and in granules to allow the air to move through the pile of coffee as it burns.The brand doesn’t matter.” He said the same technology could be used to power a car on other unusual fuels, such as woodchips or nut shells, construction or agricultural waste.

1. 1.

   Which is the right way to choose the coffee used as fuels to run the Car-puccino?

   1. A.
      It should be very dry.
   2. B.
      The stronger, the better.
   3. C.
      The smaller the granules are, the better.
   4. D.
      It should be of a certain brand.
2. 2.

   What can be inferred from the passage?

   1. A.
      All kinds of materials can be used as fuels.
   2. B.
      The Car-puccino will be put into the market soon.
   3. C.
      Nick Watson is the designer of the Car-puccino
   4. D.
      Much remains to be improved for the Car-puccino.
3. 3.

   The Car-puccino has its disadvantages EXCEPT that ________.

   1. A.
      it makes a lot of noise
   2. B.
      it runs at a very high cost
   3. C.
      it has to stop to be refueled very often
   4. D.
      it’s not good enough for long-distance journey
4. 4.

   How much ground coffee will be used to cover a distance of 126 miles in this car?

   1. A.
      About 70 kilos
   2. B.
      About 42 kilos.
   3. C.
      About 32 kilos
   4. D.
      About 30 kilos
5. 5.

   Why can coffee be used as a fuel?

   1. A.
      It looks like wood or coal.
   2. B.
      It contains some carbon content.
   3. C.
      It is very cheap.
   4. D.
      It is much better than woodchips or nut shells.

A car that runs on coffee is unveiled（shown to the public for the first time）today but at between 25 and 50 times the cost of running a car on petrol, the invention won’t please any motor industry accountants.

Nicknamed the Car-puccino, it has been created using a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco bought for ??400 and it was chosen because it looked like the time-traveling DeLorean in the movie Back To The Future. The car will be driven the 210 miles between Manchester and London powered only by roasted coffee granules (颗粒). It has been built by a team from the BBC1 science programme Bang Goes The Theory and will go on display at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester to show how fuels other than traditional petrol can power vehicles.

The team calculates the Car-puccino will do three miles per kilo of ground coffee (咖啡粉) — about 56 cups of espressos (浓咖啡) per mile. The journey will use about 70 kilos of ground coffee which, at supermarket prices of between ??13 and ??26 a kilo depending on brand and quality, will cost between ??910 and ??1,820, or between 25 and 50 times the ??36 cost of petrol for the journey. In total, the trip will cost 11,760 espressos, and the team will have to take ‘coffee breaks’ roughly every 30 to 45 miles to pour in more granules. They will also have to stop about every 60 miles to clean out the ‘coffee filters’ to rid them of the soot and tar which is also generated by the process. So despite a top speed of 60mph, the many stops mean the going will be slow, with the journey taking around ten hours.

Sadly, the inventors will still have to pay duty on their coffee fuel---even though tax collectors at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom haven’t yet worked out how much.

Nick Watson, producer of Bang Goes The Theory, said, “Coffee, like wood or coal, has some carbon content so you can use it as a fuel. The coffee needs to be very dry and in granules to allow the air to move through the pile of coffee as it burns. The brand doesn’t matter.” He said the same technology could be used to power a car on other unusual fuels, such as woodchips or nut shells, construction or agricultural waste.

49. Which is the right way to choose the coffee used as fuels to run the Car-puccino?

       A. It should be very dry.       B. The stronger, the better.

       C. The smaller the granules are, the better.   D. It should be of a certain brand.

50. What can be inferred from the passage?

       A. All kinds of materials can be used as fuels.

       B. The Car-puccino will be put into the market soon.

       C. Nick Watson is the designer of the Car-puccino

       D. Much remains to be improved for the Car-puccino.

51. The Car-puccino has its disadvantages EXCEPT that ________.

       A. it makes a lot of noise            

       B. it runs at a very high cost

       C. it has to stop to be refueled very often.     

       D. it’s not good enough for long-distance journey

52. How much ground coffee will be used to cover a distance of 126 miles in this car?

       A. About 70 kilos   B. About 42 kilos.  C. About 32 kilos          D. About 30 kilos

A mouse looked through a hole in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package； what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!
Running to the farmyard，the mouse shouted，warning everyone，“There is a mouse trap in the house，there is a mouse trap in the house．”The chicken，with her head high，glared at the mouse and said，“Shut up．Little Ugly．This is a great concern to you，but it has nothing to do with me：I can’t be troubled by it．”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him．“There is a mouse trap in the house．”“I am so sorry，Mr Mouse，”said the pig sympathetically，“but there is nothing I can do about it but pray；you are always in my prayers．”
The mouse turned to the cow，who said，“A mouse trap，am I in great danger，huh?”
Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone．
That very night a sound was heard through the house，like that of a mouse trap catching its prey．The farmer’wife rushed to see what was caught．In the darkness，she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught．The snake bit the farmer’s wife．The farmer rushed her to the hospital．She returned home with a fever．It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever，so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient．His wife’s sickness continued，so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock．To feed them，the farmer killed the pig．The farmer’s wife did not get well，in fact，she died，and so many people came for her funeral．The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat．
So next time when someone is facing a problem，don’t say that it has nothing to do with you．
【小题1】We could see from the passage that the mouse was          ．