The drug store was closing for the night. Young Alfred Higgins, the shop-assistant, was ready to go home. Mr. Carr, the boss, stared at him and said: “Hold on, Alfred. Maybe you'd be good enough to take the things out of your pockets and leave them here before you go.”Alfred's face got red. After a little hesitation, he took out what he had stolen. Mr. Carr said, “Maybe I should call your mother and let her know I'm going to have to put you in prison.”

Alfred thought his mother would come rushing in, eyes burning with anger. But, to his surprise, she arrived wearing a smile. “Hello, I'm Alfred's mother. Is he in trouble?”she said. Mr. Carr was surprised, too. He had expected Alfred's mother to come in nervously, shaking with fear, asking with wet eyes for a mercy for her son. But no, she was most calm, quiet and pleasant and was making Mr. Carr feel guilty…. Soon Mr. Carr was shaking his head in agreement with what she was saying. “Of course”, he said, “I don't want to be cruel. You are right. Sometimes, a little good advice is the best thing for a boy at certain times in his life and it often takes the youths long time to get sense into their heads.”And he warmly shook Mrs. Higgins's hand.

Back home, without even looking at Alfred, she said, “You are a bad luck. It is one thing after another, always has been. Why do you stand there so stupidly? Go to bed.”In his bedroom, Alfred heard his mother in the kitchen. There was no shame in him, just pride in his mother's strength. He felt he must tell her how great she was. As he got to the kitchen, he saw his mother drinking a cup of tea. He was shocked by what he saw. His mother's face was a frightened, broken one. It was not the same cool, bright face he saw earlier in the drug store. As she lifted the tea cup, her hand shook. And some of the tea splashed on the table. Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old. He watched his mother without making a sound. The picture of his mother made him want to cry. He felt his youth coming to an end. He saw all the troubles he brought his mother in her shaking hand and the deep lines of worry in her grey face. It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

1.The reason why Mr. Carr felt guilty was that ________.

A．he found Alfred was in fact innocent

B．he should have called a policeman in first

C．Alfred's mother appeared polite and gentle

D．he thought he was partly responsible for it

2.Which of the following is probably said by Mrs. Higgins while talking to Mr. Carr?

A．“Please, for God's sake, you know, he is just a kid.”

B．“I can't believe it! You are treating my son like that!”

C．“You know, it takes time for a youth to truly grow up.”

D．“Punishment makes sense because it teaches about the law.”

3.What does the underlined phrase "his mother's strength"(Para. 3) refer to?

A．Mrs. Higgins's calmness and communicating skills.

B．Mrs. Higgins's attitude towards parental sufferings.

C．Mrs. Higgins's love and care for her son Alfred.

D．Mrs. Higgins's greatness as a woman.

4.After the incident, young Alfred would probably ________.

A．feel ashamed of her mother

B．change his attitudes towards life

C．learn to live an independent life

D．hate Mr. Carr for hurting her mother

13-year-old Frank had received many presents he wanted. But Frank was not __36__ because this was his first Christmas without his brother. Frank said to his parents that he would __37__ to see a friend. __38__ it was cold outside, Frank put on his new jacket and took presents on his new sled(雪橇).
As Frank walked, he saw a house with the __39__ hanging over a fireplace. A woman was seated near them __40__. The stockings reminded Frank of the ones beside him and his brother. A sudden thought __41__ Frank.
So he knocked on the door. “__42__?” the sad voice of the woman answered. “May I come in?” “Please” she said, seeing his __43__ full of gifts, and thinking he was making a collection, “but I have no food or gifts for you. I even have __44__ for my own children.”
“That’s not why I am here,” Frank replied. “Please __45__ any present you like for your children from this sled.”
“Why, God bless you!” the __46__ woman answered. She chose until the stockings were full. “Won’t you tell me your __47__?” she asked. “Just call me the Christmas Scout,” Frank replied.
The visit __48__ the boy touched, with an unexpected __49__ in his heart. He understood that his sorrow(悲伤) was not the only sorrow. He __50__ all the gifts, including the new jacket.
“Where are your presents, Frank?” asked his father as he __51__ the house. “ I handed them out to other children.”
“Frank, how could you do so?” his mother asked in anger. The next morning, he came downstairs and __52__ his parents listening to Christmas news on the radio. Then the announcer spoke: “Merry Christmas! Several families __53__ their children were made happy by the gifts from a boy. No one could __54__ him.” Frank felt his father’s arms go around his shoulders, and he saw his mother smiling __55__ her tears.

第三部分：阅读理解：（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Once many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming. Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide. In closing she called me a hero.
That got me thinking about what a hero is. Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someone’s life?
Today I looked up the word “hero” in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant. It read “a person who does something brave” and also “a person who is good and noble”.
That statement impressed me more than the part about being brave. So I thought about something very important. And I remembered what happened to me years ago.
After my marriage of twenty years ended, I was in such a condition. I was within hours trying to get up enough courage to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they would appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.
The many stories I kept writing in the following years saved the life of a teenage boy. In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero. I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages (孤儿院). Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and bitter attitude against the world. The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten. Hopefully, most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared. If it works, we will also become "heroes".
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is _______________.

When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.

She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.

After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (愤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”

Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet.

We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.

A. rose from a low social class

B. had an unhappy marriage

C. lived with a dog alone on a farm

D. won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show

At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.

A. looked forward to her wonderful performance

B. was attracted by her beautiful dress

C. looked down upon her

D. placed great hope on her

We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.

A. the judges   B. the Internet   C. the newspaper   D. the advertisement

The 4^th paragraph intends to tell us ______.

A. how Susan Boyle achieved her success

B. the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher

C. Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA

D. Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle