It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago．The old man was waiting for a ride across the   1  ．The wait seemed   2 ．

At last he heard the slight, steady rhythm of approaching hooves （马蹄） coming along the frozen path．Anxiously, he   3   as several horsemen came around the bend （转角处）．He let the first one   4  ．Then another, and another．Finally, as the   5   rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue, the old man   6   the rider’s eye and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t appear to be a passage way by  7  ．”

The rider replied, “Sure．” Seeing the old man was unable to  8   his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman got down and helped the old man onto the horse．The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination．

As they neared the tiny but cozy （舒适的） cottage, the horseman’s   9  caused him to ask, “Sir, I notice that you let several other riders go by without making a（n）   10   to get a ride．Then I came up and you  11   asked me for a ride．I’m curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider．12   I had refused and left you there?”

The old man replied, “I’ve been  13   here for some time．I think I know people pretty good．” He continued, “I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no   14  for my situation．But when I looked into your eyes,  15   was evident．I knew,   16  , that your gentle spirit would   17   the opportunity to give me help in my time of   18  ．”

Those heartwarming comments  19   the horseman deeply．

 “I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man．“May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I   20   to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion．”

With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House．

1．A．town                    B．river                    C．country               D．island

2．A．meaningless           B．useless                C．careless               D．endless

3．A．watched                B．asked            C．waved                 D．approached

4．A．come over             B．get off                 C．pass by               D．take off

5．A．coming                 B．leaving                C．next                    D．last

6．A．missed                  B．caught                 C．avoided               D．saw

7．A．bus                       B．car                      C．foot                    D．horse

8．A．feel                      B．push                   C．lift                      D．stand

9．A．honesty                 B．courage               C．enthusiasm          D．curiosity

10．A．choice                 B．stop                    C．effort                  D．scene

11．A．immediately         B．hurriedly              C．friendly               D．strangely

12．A．What about          B．What if                C．How come          D．If only

13．A．in                       B．out                      C．around                D．beyond

14．A．concern              B．doubt                  C．chance                D．reason

15．A．meaning              B．kindness              C．seriousness          D．help

16．A．then and there      B．for a moment     C．all of a sudden     D．sooner or later

17．A．offer                   B．create                  C．find                    D．welcome

18．A．need                   B．danger                 C．fortune                D．happiness

19．A．influenced           B．excited                C．touched               D．hit

20．A．happen                B．try                      C．disagree              D．fail

阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。
Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The angels were   26   a small space in the cold basement instead of in the comfortable guestroom. As they made their   27   on the hard floor, the older angel saw a   28   in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked   29  , the older angel replied, "Things aren’t always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to he house of a very poor but  30 farmer and his wife. After   31   what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they   32   have a good night’s rest. When the sun   33  the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife   34 . Their cow, whose milk had been their only   35   , lay dead in the field. The younger angel was angry and asked the older angel, “How could you   36   this happen? The first man had everything,   37   you helped him. The second family had   38   but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die   39   help them. ”
"Things aren’t always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we   40   in the basement, I   41   there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.   42  the owner was greedy and unwilling to share, I covered the wall so that he wouldn’t   43   it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came   44   his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem."
Sometimes that is   45  what happens when things don’t turn out the way they should.
【小题1】

阅读下面短文,从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The angels were   26   a small space in the cold basement instead of in the comfortable guestroom. As they made their   27   on the hard floor, the older angel saw a   28   in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked   29  , the older angel replied, "Things aren’t always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to he house of a very poor but  30 farmer and his wife. After   31   what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they   32   have a good night’s rest. When the sun   33  the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife   34 . Their cow, whose milk had been their only   35   , lay dead in the field. The younger angel was angry and asked the older angel, “How could you   36   this happen? The first man had everything,   37   you helped him. The second family had   38   but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die   39   help them. ”

"Things aren’t always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we   40   in the basement, I   41   there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.   42  the owner was greedy and unwilling to share, I covered the wall so that he wouldn’t   43   it."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came   44   his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem."

Sometimes that is   45  what happens when things don’t turn out the way they should.

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When I decided to get married, my father decided to share some wisdom. “Lori, it is just as easy to love a rich man as it is to love a poor man, “ he said. My boyfriend didn’t have much money, but I loved him. “What?” I cried. “ How can you say that? I want to marry for love, NOT for money.” “ But why not marry someone you love who has money?” he asked. “Rich men are materialistic（物质主义的）. I’d rather marry a poor man who loves me,” I said and he gave in.

And as we went on, with my family growing, I learned why my father put such importance on money. We had to cover the rent, car, electricity, food, and medical bills. We were under lot of pressure. The worries over whether we would be asked to move out or if we had the money to wash our clothes at the Laundromat this week made me question if I did the right thing by marrying a “poor” man.

I realized that I had entered the ranks of the poor. Not that I’d ever been rich. Most of my life, I considered us in the lower middle-class rank. We had a house of our own, food on the table, cars, clothes, and money for college. But now, as I listened to an apartment neighbour talk about her monthly “Mother’s Day” gift, I realized she was talking about her welfare check（政府发放的救济金）. And another young mother tried to “help” me out by connecting me with a friend who stole baby clothes from a department store. “ For a small cut,” she said, “ I could return my ‘purchase’(购买的东西）for cash.” It made me sick. How poor was I?

I had a college education but wasn’t using it. I insisted on not missing a minute of our children’s childhood and it came at a price. My husband was working as hard as he could and it wasn’t enough. But somehow we made it.

The kids grew. Today, we look back and see the great values gained by going through those hard years. My children are not materialistic. They never thought they were poor growing up because we always managed to give a little bit of food, money, or clothes to the “poor”. They were satisfied with the simple things in life that come free such as a beach day or a horse back ride from their dad.

We had our worries, but we still treasured our very favorite part of the day when we’d nest (栖息地）under the covers and talked about our future, the kids and how much we loved each other. Sure our financial(财政的) troubles caused a lot of fights, but we didn’t leave each other. We began to live a better life. We moved to a better community(社区）with good schools for the kids. And soon, we’ll face a new challenge with wealth. But we’ll never give up.

My father died three years ago. Before he died, he knew I made the right choice. I’m proud of my decision.

1..The writer argued with her father because _________________.

2..After getting married, the writer questioned if she had done the right thing to marry her husband because___________.

3..After their children were born, the writer_______________.

4.. Why didn’t the writer’s children think they were poor growing up?

5..What do you think is the theme(主题）of the story?