D
STAGE

In most western countries, on April Fool’s Day，people often play _____  trick on each other; children especially have great  _______  fun.

A fried of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a naughty street boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Mister?” he asked..

Paul nodded, “My brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you anything? I wish…” He hesitated（犹豫）.

Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said made Paul think all the way.

“I wish ,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.”

Paul looked at the boy in surprise, adding, “Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?”

“Yes, I’d love that.” After a short ride, the boy turned and said, “Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Paul smiled, He thought he knew what the boy wanted. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.

He ran up the steps. Then in a while Paul heard him coming back, but he didn’t come fast. He was carrying his little crippled（伤残） brother. He pointed to the car and said, “There it is, Buddy, just like I told you up stairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas. And some day I’m going to give one just like it and then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying tell you about. ”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what “It is more blessed to give” means.

1.The naughty street boy wished to _____________ .

A．have a brother like Paul’s

B．get a present from his brother

C．become a brother like Paul’s

D．take a ride in his automobile

2.When the boy asked for a ride home, Paul thought the boy wanted to ______________.

A．play a trick on him

B．own a car like Paul’s

C．pick up someone important to him.

D．show off by riding home in a car

3.What did the boy want to show to his crippled brother?

A．His pride.         B．His bravery.        C．His love.          D．His generosity.

4.What would be the best title for text?

A．A brother like that

B．A Christmas present

C．A boy’s crippled brother

D．An unforgettable Christmas

5.(Originally created)  The last sentence “It is more blessed to give” in this story means following EXCEPT____.

A．It is better to help than to get helped.

B．The more help you give to others, the happier you will feel.

C．To help other people is a way to make a person to become a true man.

D．To give away all your wealth, otherwise, you won’t be blessed by God.

第三部分阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑
Immediately I got up and dressed, stuck my violin under my jacket, and went out into the streets to try my luck. I wandered about for an hour, looking for a likely spot, feeling as though I were about to commit a crime. Then I stopped at last under a bridge near the station and decided to have a try.
I felt tense and nervous. One moment I was part of the hurrying crowds, the next I stood apart, my back to the wall, my hat on the pavement before me, the violin under my chin.
The first notes I played were loud and raw, then they settled down and began to run more smoothly. To my surprise I was neither caught nor told to shut up. Indeed, nobody took any notice at all. Then an old man without stopping secretly threw a penny into my hat, as if getting rid of some guilty evidence.
Other pennies followed, slowly but steadily, dropped by shadows who appeared not to see or hear me. It seemed too easy, like a secret trick.
I worked there for several days, gradually getting the truths of the trade by trial and error（反复试验）.It was not a good thing, for example, to let the hat fill up with money; nor was it wise to empty it completely. Placing a couple of pennies in the hat to start the thing going soon became a regular rule.
41．When he first began to play the violin, he expected           .
A．to get into trouble                                                               B．to play better than he did
C．people to stop and listen to him             D．to be told to move somewhere else
42．The first man who gave him money           .
A．was too busy to stop                            B．wanted to get rid of him               
C．dropped the money by mistake              D．did not want to attract attention
43．He gradually became confident that day because           .
A．nobody looked at him                          B．he played the violin very well       
C．people continued to give him money      D．he earned a lot of money
44．On the following days, he           .
A．made a lot of mistakes                         B．learned how to do the job better    
C．get better at playing the violin               D．did not make so much money
45．He found that the best way of encouraging people to give him money was to          .
A．play in different streets                        B．leave all the money in the hat        
C．empty the hat at regular times               D．leave a small amount of money in the hat

You’d better not play ________trick on Jack; it’s said hat he is deeply in ________debt.