Christmas is over. And I got my wanted radio-controlled truck. But you would not believe the ___1___ and work that went into getting this holy toy.

For over a month I stared at ___2___ magazines I received from my friend until I had made up my ___3___: I wanted a Pumpkin truck. I ___4___ to work immediately, dropping hints to my father about it.

My first job was to tell him about how the steering(操纵杆) on my old car didn’t ___5___, but he just blamed the problems on my bad ___6___.

My next plan would have to be more ___7___. “Look at this, Dad, the truck with controller and battery pack—all for only US$250!” You can’t ___8___ to miss out on this bargain!”

His ___9___ was that he certainly could afford to miss this ___10___ and for US$250 you could buy ___11___ educational like a telescope. “A telescope? To look at the moon? I’ll look at it when I’m 97 years old and living in a ___12___ home! This is my youth! I am supposed to run about.”

I went to my room, ___13___ at how mean(吝啬的) my father was. It was obvious that he didn’t ___14___ that I would die if I did not get the Pumpkin radio-controlled truck.

When I ___15___ on Christmas morning I wasn’t excited. I had been ___16___. I opened all my presents until there was just one big package ___17___. “The telescope,” I thought. I ___18___ the packaging and looked at the top of the box—it was a Pumpkin truck. I had ___19___! I loved my parents! I felt like I could do anything! I could ___20___ get an A+ in English class.

1. A. pain B. attempt       C. joy      D. shyness

2. A. housing  B. fishing C. car     D. fashion

3. A. mind      B. idea     C. opinion       D. head

4. A. get  B. set      C. searched    D. went

5. A. operate   B. run     C. start    D. work

6. A. riding     B. driving       C. thinking      D. keeping

7. A. strong    B. practical     C. ideal    D. obvious

8. A. afford     B. pay     C. allow  D. stand

9. A. talk B. expression  C. face    D. response

10. A. truck    B. telescope    C. chance       D. bargain

11. A. one       B. something   C. everything  D. nothing

12. A. heating  B. loving  C. nursing      D. finding

13. A. pleased B. good   C. expert D. angry

14. A. say       B. believe C. care    D. learn

15. A. went off      B. woke up     C. rang up      D. found out

16. A. worried B. instructed   C. warned      D. defeated

17. A. opened  B. wrapped     C. left     D. faded

18. A. recovered     B. refused       C. reopened    D. removed

19. A. won     B. done   C. beaten D. failed

20. A. ever      B. already       C. still     D. even

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出最佳选项

My father was driving us to our grandparents’ house for our annual Christmas dinner. The closer we got to the turnoff (岔道) for my grandparents’ house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said: “I can’t stand it!”

“What?” asked my mother.

“It’s those people back there at the Pan Am, standing in the rain. They’ve got children. It’s Christmas. I can’t stand it.”

When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children – two girls and a small boy.

My father rolled down his window. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Howdy (您好),” the man replied. He was very tall and had to stoop (弯腰) slightly to peer into the car.

My sisters Jill, Sharon, and I stared at the children, and they stared back at us.

“You’re getting wet standing here. Just a couple miles up the road there’s a shed (小棚) with a cover there, and some benches,” my father said. “Why don’t you all get in the car?”

The man thought about it for a moment, and then he waved to his family. They climbed into the car.

Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three unhappy faces gave him the answer.

“Well, I didn’t think so,” my father said, winking at my mother, “because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We’ll just go to get them before I take you to the bus stop.”

All at once, the three children’s faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.

When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jill’s doll and hugged it to her breast. The little boy grabbed Sharon’s ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine.

We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, looking back at the little girl hugging her new doll.

That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.

56. The writer’s father U-turned in the middle of the road because ______.

A. he could not stand the people at the service station

B. he could not bear the thought of leaving the people behind

C. he wanted to do something special for his parents

D. he wanted to help the family standing in the rain

57. The reason the father asked the kids if Santa had found them was probably that _____.

A. he knew the mention of Santa would lift their spirits

B. he once promised to receive them as guests in his house

C. he wanted to avoid embarrassing the family

D. he had met Santa and got the presents for the kids

58. How did the author feel at the end of the story?

A. She was pleased that they had been able to give the kids presents and make them happy.

B. She was unhappy remembering that they had been late for the Christmas dinner.

C. She was angry because she realized that she didn’t receive a Christmas gift that year.

D. She was puzzled by why her father had done this on Christmas.

59. What is the article mainly about?

A. How my family found the lost Santa.

B. The people at the service station.

C. The art of celebrating Christmas.

D. The joy of making others happy.

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.

????????????? During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was starting Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting —7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. “You’ll recognize me,” she wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel.” So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he’d never seen.

????????????? I’ll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I stared at her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, attractive smile curved her lips. “Going my way , sailor?” she murmured.

????????????? Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own.

????????????? And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.

????????????? This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.　　"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"
　　The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"
? ????????????? It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are． "

1.How did John Blanchard get to know Miss Hollis Maynell?

A. They lived in the same city．????????????????

B. They were both interested in literature．

C. John knew Hollis's name from a library book．??

D. John came across Hollis in a Florida library．

2.Hollis refused to send Blanchard a photo because ?????????? .

A. she was only a middle - aged woman??????????

B. she wasn't confident about her appearance

C. she thought true love is beyond appearance?????

D. she had never taken any photo before they knew

3.How could Blanchard recognize Hollis?

A. She would be wearing a rose on her coat．?????

B. She would be holding a book in her hand．

C. She would be standing behind a young girl．???

D. She would be wearing a scarf around her neck．

4.What was the real Miss Hollis Maynell like?

A. She was a plump woman with graying hair．???

B. She was a slightly fat girl, with blonde hair．

C. She was a middle - aged woman in her forties．??

D. She was a young, pretty girl wearing a green suit．

5.When Blanchard went over to greet the woman, he was????????? ．

A. satisfied and confident

B. disappointed but well - behaved

C. annoyed and bad - mannered

D. shocked but inspired

6.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. A Test of Love??? ????????????? ????????????? B. The Symbol of Rose

C. Love is blind??? ????????????? ????????????? D. Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching  (紧握)  at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three- year-old Meghan.
“ We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing,” I said.“We’ll share what we have with them.”
I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.
“I’ll help you find something for the little girl when I’m done with this,” I said.
The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy’s flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said.“You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. ‘”Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy, too．”
Swallowing hard, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you value most.
Honest benevolence  (善行)  is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little girl she doesn’t know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.
The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.
A slow smile spread across Brett’s face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars.
Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan’s gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.
Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.
It’s easy to give that which we don’t want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn’t it? However, the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart..
【小题1】Why does the author give a detailed description of a particular picture in the Sunday newspaper?

Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes． Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher． Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself． “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task． This was the first real talk I received in my new school． It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington． Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before． As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America． I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant． I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip （掷） a coin． Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy． Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver．

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost． Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong． As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution．” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful． Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around． I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade． I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance． Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year． Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation． I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade． Justice is sweet!

1.What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

2.Why was the author confused about the task?

3.The underlined word “burning” in Para． 3 probably means _______．

4.In the end, the author turned things around _______．