阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项。?

During the years of depression(萧条), food and money were very hard to find and people had to trade things with each other.

One day I was   36   some potatoes from Mr Miller. I noticed a small poor boy hungrily   __37   a full basket of freshly picked green peas. Then I was _ 38   to see that Mr Miller sold the boy a bag of peas for just a marble (弹球).

Mrs Miller, who had been standing nearby,   39__ and told me that Mr Miller loved to trade with the three boys in the village for peas, tomatoes, and other things  _40   he didn’t really need any marbles. I left the stand, smiling to myself,   41   by this man.

Several years went by. One day I learned that Mr Miller had died. I took part in the funeral(葬礼), _ 42__  three young men. They came over to Mrs Miller, hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke with her and moved on, __43__ their eyes.

Our __44__ came to meet Mrs Miller. I mentioned __45_  she had told me about the __46__ . She told me, “Those three young men above were the boys I told you about. They just told me    how they appreciated the things Jim ‘_ 47 _ ’with them. Now, at last, they came to pay their debt.”

“We’ve _ 48__ had a great deal of the wealth in this world,” she __49__, “but right now, Jim wouldW#W$W%.K**S*&5^U consider himself to be the __50__ man.”

Then she gently lifted the  _51_  fingers of her husband. Resting underneath were three red marbles.

At that time I realized that we would not be  _52   by our words, but by our kind  _53 _ . It is said that it takes a minute to find a  _54_  person, an hour to appreciate him, a day to love him, but an entire life to _55  him.

A.buying                   B. selling                      C. borrowing                D. hunting

A.reaching for            B. glancing at               C. staring at                  D. picking up

A. astonished              B. pleased                     C. annoyed                   D. worried

A.turned over      B. went over                 C. came over                D. looked over

A.but                         B. otherwise                 C. or                            D. although

A.suspected         B. impressed               C. regretted          D. embarrassed

A.discovering             B. watching           C. finding                     D. seeing

A.closing                   B. rolling                            C. cleaning                   D. wiping

A. time                   B. chance                      C. turn                         D. decision

A. the story          B. the proverb            C. the legend                D. the joke

A. marbles                B. men                         C. debt                         D. life

A. talked           B. traded                      C. shared                      D. left

A. ever                    B. always                         C. never                       D. seldom

A. laughed            B. cried                        C. sighed                      D. added    

A. honest                 B. happiest                   C. coldest                         D. richest

A. lifeless                 B. regretless                  C. useless                     D. hopeless

A. thought                B. touched                    C. remembered             D. affected

A. deeds                   B. things                      C. remarks                    D. rewards

A. strict                   B. honest                      C. special                         D. learned

A. ignore                 B. forget                      C. recognize                 D. remind

Once a group of 17-year-old schoolboys decided to break the world basketball marathon（马拉松）record. They wanted to play for 90 hours ,breaking the record by adding 6 hours . Each team had 9 players, with 5 at a time. The boys decided each person would play 21.5 hours and then rest for 2 hours. Then they started at 6 o’clock in the evening.
The first night was very hard for the players. When it was their turn to rest, they were too excited to fall asleep at once. On the second night,they fell asleep as soon as they stopped.Some of them had trouble with their feet and hands, but the only serious problem was a psychological（心理学的）one. Each boy was thinking: Why am I doing this? How can I play any longer? After the third night, the players knew they could finish the 90 hours. The basketball on the fourth nigth was very slow. But in the final hours, the players got better. For the last few minutes, the players looked as fresh as when they started. How happy everyone was!
【小题1】Before this basketball marathon, the world record was      .

WELLINGTON, September 19 (Xinhua) -- If your teenage son won't get out of bed in the morning, then take comfort from the fact that he might be sleeping his way to a healthier future, according to a new research from New Zealand.

Researchers in human nutrition at the University of Otago have found that teenage boys who sleep less have more body fat when compared to girls, for whom lack of sleep has no noticeable effect on their body fat ratios.

The study of 386 boys and 299 girls aged 15 to 18 found that average-sized 16-year-old boy weighing 69.5 kg and 176 cm tall, who slept for eight hours a day, had a waist size l.8 cm bigger and l.6 kg, or 9 percent, more body fat than the average-sized boy who slept 10 hours a day.

"The boys who slept eight hours a day would also have l.8 kg more lean (bone and muscle) mass compared to the boys who slept 10 hours, but that's only a 1.4-percent increase, compared to the 9- percent increase seen in body fat," said lead researcher from the Department of Human Nutrition, Dr. Paula Skidmore.

"Our results suggest that for older teenage boys, making sure that they get enough sleep may help to maintain a healthier body. It seems to be that, within reason, the more sleep the better for boys," Skidmore said in a statement Thursday.

"It was unexpected that we did not find the same result in girls, who may actually be more aware of their diet and more in tune with a healthier lifestyle."

The researchers ruled out the effects of food choice and number of screens, such as televisions, games and consoles, which the teenagers had in their bedrooms.

1.What's the research really about?

A. Boys and girls.      B. Food and weight.           C. Sleep and health.          D. Screens and fat.

2.What's the result of less sleep for teenage boys?

A. Bigger waist and more fat in the body.

B. An increase in weight and height.

C. More concerned with their diet.

D. A decrease in bone and muscle.

3.From the sixth paragraph we can infer that ______.

A. girls usually sleep less and have healthier lifestyles than boys

B. the researchers expected to see the same result in girls

C. peoples' diet has a great effect on their health

D. boys are usually lazier than girls

4.Who would be the most pleased to hear the news?

A. Teachers.    B. Girls.         C. Parents. .            D. Boys.

(2013·高考四川卷，B)On a sunny day last August，Tim heard some shouting.Looking out to the sea carefully，he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.

Two 12?year?old boys，Christian and Jack，rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters，a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.

Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.

“Everything went quiet in my head，”Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”

Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so，he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point，I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.”After 30 minutes of struggling，he was close enough to yell to the boys，“Take down the umbrella！”

Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing，but the waves were almost too strong for him.

“Let’s aim for the pier(码头)，”Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward，waves crashed over the boat，and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？”he cried.“A little bit，”the boys said.

Once they were in the water，Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’faces.

“Are we almost there？”they asked again and again.“Yes，”Tim told them each time.

After 30 minutes，they reached the pier.

1.Why did the two boys go to the sea?

A．To go boat rowing.

B．To get back their football.

C．To swim in the open water.

D．To test the umbrella as a sail.

2.What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The beach. B．The water.

C．The boat. D．The wind.

3.Why did Tim raise his head regularly?

A．To take in enough fresh air.

B．To consider turning back or not.

C．To check his distance from the boys.

D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella.

4.How did the two boys finally reach the pier?

A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim.

B．They swam to the pier all by themselves.

C．They were washed to the pier by the waves.

D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back.

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids but we made them worse. For my naughty boys, I’d know better. I’d really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.
My cherished boys, I hope you learn humility (谦逊) by surviving failure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking. I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in. I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. And it is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl (爬) under the covers (被子) with you because he’s scared, I hope you’ll let him. And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.
　　I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to add and subtract (减) in your head.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole (旗杆). I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don’t care if you try beer once, but I hope you won’t like it.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go fishing with your uncle.
I hope your father punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor’s window, and that your mother hugs you and kisses you when you give her a plaster of pared mold (一个石膏模型) of your hand.
　 These things I wish for you—tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.
【小题1】Who wrote the letter?