As kids, my friends and I spent a lot of time out in the woods. “The woods” was our part-time address, destination, purpose, and excuse. If I went to a friend’s house and found him not at home, his mother might say, “Oh, he’s out in the woods, ” with a tone(语气) of airy acceptance. It’s similar to the tone people sometimes use nowadays to tell me that someone I’m looking for is on the golf course or at the gym, or even “away from his desk.” For us ten-year-olds, “being out in the woods” was just an excuse to do whatever we feel like for a while.
We sometimes told ourselves that what we were doing in the woods was exploring(探索). Exploring was a more popular idea back then than it is today. History seemed to be mostly about explorers. Our explorations, though, seemed to have less system than the historic kind: something usually came up along the way. Say we stayed in the woods, throwing rocks, shooting frogs, picking blackberries, digging in what we were briefly persuaded was an Italian burial mound.
Often we got “lost” and had to climb a tree to find out where we were. If you read a story in which someone does that successfully, be skeptical: the topmost branches are usually too skinny to hold weight, and we could never climb high enough to see anything except other trees. There were four or five trees that we visited regularly----tall beeches, easy to climb and comfortable to sit in.
It was in a tree, too, that our days of fooling around in the woods came to an end. By then some of us has reached seventh grade and had begun the rough ride of adolescence（青春期）. In March, the month when we usually took to the woods again after winter, two friends and I set out to go exploring. We climbed a tree, and all of a sudden it occurred to all three of us at the same time that were really were rather big to be up in a tree. Soon there would be the spring dances on Friday evenings in the high school cafeteria.
【小题1】The author and his fiends were often out in the woods to _______.

Ifhas anyone noticed how, with the passage of time, one’s relationship with one’s grown-up daughters and sons becomes changed? I’ve been aware of this for some time but I’m not quite sure how to deal with it.

Take the kitchen sink for example.

Following a family get-together at my place, I walked into the kitchen to find Kate, my daughter, carefully cleaning the sink.

“Don’t do that; what are you doing that for?” I said, unhappy about the hidden criticism.

“Mum,” she said, “you really ought to put your glasses on when you clean the sink. Behind the tap here was black!”

But it’s not just things like kitchen sinks. Another time Kate arrived to pick me up to lunch. She looked at me and then asked, “Mum, why do you use brown eyebrow pencil when your hair is grey?”

A sudden memory of her, aged 14, going to her first mixed party flooded back. She had come in to say goodbye. For a moment I thought she’d been an accident. Both eyes were black. I remember suggesting that perhaps a little less eye make-up might be more effective.

Now I told her, “My hair used to be brown.”

“It looks absurd.(荒唐)”

“Mrs. Menzies had dark eyebrows with grey hair.”

“Yes, but you’re not Mrs. Menzies, are you?” she said triumphantly, as if that proved her point.

But a recent event made me realize that something really must be done.

She had returned home for a few weeks before getting married. One evening I went out on a dinner date. By the time my companion left me at the front door, it was about 2am. As I stepped in, an angry figure in a white nightgown（睡衣）stopped me.

“Well, what time of night is this to be coming home?” she shouted. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

Shades of the past come back to disturb me. But what should I do about all this? Nothing, probably. Maybe, after all, it’s only a stage young people are going through.

1.The daughter thought her mother didn’t clean the kitchen sink well because of her       .

2.From the passage we know the daughter         .

3.How does the mother feel after all these have happened?

4.The author writes the stories to prove that         .

On Christmas morning, I went to the Cockhedge Mall. People there were all busy buying their last minute requirements. I needed to buy a birthday card for my son-in-law whose birthday is the 29th of December. Picking up a few more things as well as my cared I went to join the line for the express checkout which was for people who only had a few items in a basket and not a trolley load. This line was next to the Customer Service desk.

Seemingly waiting quite a long time, I was jogged out of my thoughts by a voice behind me making comments on the things I bought.

It was so funny when I realized that she was describing the contents of my basket. The owner of the voice was a very pretty young lady. I said to her that I was going to buy a box of Christmas cookies but the only ones left were not to my liking. The lady told me that just opposite Cockhedge in Superdrug they had lots of cookies. I said, “I’m not going to bother now. I had enough of shops and I’m going home.”

The assistant from the Customer Service came across at this time saying “If there is anyone in the line with a few items in their basket, none of which needed to be weighed, I will check out their groceries at the desk.” Because I had the sprouts which needed to be weighted, the young lady accepted the offer and walked away waving goodbye.

Eventually my turn came at the checkout. I was walking away when I met my new friend once again who handed me a beautiful box of Christmas cookies. With a big hug she said “Hope you have a lovely Christmas.” She had been into Superdrug to buy me the cookies while I was still queuing in Cockhedge.

What a generosity to a stranger! I was so surprised you could have knocked me down with a feather. My Good Samaritan would never know what a joyful Christmas day I had with my family. Telling them this story, as we ate around the table, kept everyone spellbound.

1.The underlined word “spellbound” in the last paragraph probably means          .

    A．interested       B．disappointed     C．astonished       D．frightened

2.Which of the following could be the best title of the story?

    A．A Piece of Lucky Feather             B．A Surprise Christmas Gift

    C．The Boring Shopping Experience       D．The Unforgettable Big Hug

3.How does the writer feel about the pretty young lady?

    A．Worried          B．Satisfied        C．Grateful         D．Proud

4.What can we learn from the story?

    A．Nobody is sure what will happen the next moment.

    B．A simple action can bring other people happiness.

    C．Being patient will decrease the waiting time.

    D．Life without hope and faith is a full thing.

After lunch,I walked back home. I was just to cross the street when I heard the sound of a coin dropping. It wasn’t much but,as I turned, my eyes caught the heads of several other people turning too. A woman had dropped what appeared to be a dime.
The tinkling sound of a coin dropping on pavement is an attention-getter．It Can be nothing more than a penny．Whatever the coin is，no one ignores the sound of it．It got me thinking about sounds again．We are surrounded by so many sounds that attract the most attention．
People in New York City seldom turn to look when a fire engine，a police car or an ambulance comes screaming along the street．When I’m in New York，I’m a New Yorker．I don’t turn either．Like the natives，I hardly hear a siren(警报)there．
However，at home in my little town in Connecticut，it’s different．The distant sound of a police car, all emergency vehicle or a fire siren brings me to my feet if I’m seated and brings me to the window if I’m in bed．It’s the quietest sounds that have most effect on us．not the loudest．In the middle of the night, I can hear a dripping tap a hundred yards away thigh three closed doors．I’ve been hearing little creaking noises and sounds which my imaginnation turns into footsteps in the middle of the night for twenty-five years in our house．How come I never hear those sounds in the daytime?
I’m quite clear in my mind what the good sounds are and what the bad sounds are,I’ve turned against whistling，for instance：I used to think of it as the mark of a happy worker but lately I’ve been associating the whistler with a nervous person making unconscious noises．The tapping，tapping，tapping of my typewriter as the keys hit the paper is a lovely sound to me．I often like the sound of what I write better than the looks of it．
41．The sound of a coin dropping makes people         ．
A．think of money    B．look at each other
C．pay attention to it    D．stop crossing the street
42．The author dislikes whistling because         ．
A．he has got tired of it    B．it reminds him of tense people
C．he used to be happier D．he doesn’t like workers
43. What kind of sound does the author find pleasant?
A．Tapping sound of his typewriter．    B．Clinking sound of keys．
C．Tinkling sound of a coin dropping．D．Creaking sound of footsteps．
44．How does the author feel about sounds in general?
A．They make him feel al home．      B．He thinks they should be ignored．
C．He prefers silence to loud noises．D．He believes they ale part of our life．

Tears came into this mother’s eyes when she talked about waking up her son. Every morning, her ten-year-old boy puts up one finger with his eyes still closed, begging for one more minute to sleep.

Why is he so sleepy? Because, like thousands of student “early birds” in China, he has to get up before 6 a.m. every morning.

School students usually need eight to ten hours’ sleep a night. But in Shanghai, it’s reported that 90% of the students do not get enough sleep. And studies show that without a good night’s sleep, students seem to be weaker than they should be. Many become near-sighted as a result.

Li Ming, a student at Qinghua High School, said that he usually goes to bed after 11 p.m. But when he has exams coming up, he can stay up as late as midnight. This “night bird” lifestyle has made many students nod off in class. Li Ming said that it is during afternoon classes that he feel most sleepy. “My parents are usually happy to see me studying so late,” he said. “They think I work very hard and they make me cups of coffee.”

However, not all parents are happy about this. “My daughter gets up so early. She looks tired and it really hurts me.” said one of the parents. Why don’t so many students get enough sleep? Now many members of society began to think about it.

1.Why did the ten-year-old boy’s mother talk about waking up her son with tears in her eyes?

A. Because her son’s lack of sleep hurt her but she had to wake him up.

B. Because her son wasn’t good at lessons.

C. Because she thought her son was too lazy.

D. Because her son was badly ill.

2.Which is NOT the result of lack of sleep?

A. The body’s weakness.                              B. Nodding off in class.

C. Near-sighted eyes.                                D. Poor academic developments.

3.How does Li Ming’s mother feel to see him studying late?

A. Sorry.               B. Worried.        C. Not unhappy.            D. Angry.

4.Which one is True according to the passage?

A. All the parents hope their children stay up.

B. No students complain about their lack of sleep.

C. Most students watch TV or play computer games deep into night.

D. Some parents are worried about the fact that most of the students don’t have enough sleep.