A very old tree had been growing quite slowly for many years. It was nearly the   1  tree in the forest, and it raised its head high above the   2   trees towards the sky like a king of trees.

One spring day, the wind brought a little seed and dropped it   3   the roots of the tree. Soon it grew into a plant. “I’ll climb to the top of the tree,” said   4   little plant. “They’ll see how quickly I can grow.” So it held tightly to the tree, climbed and climbed 5   it climbed up to the top branch. It said to the tree, “You have grown for a great many years, and I only began this summer – see   6   high I have got!”

But the old tree just said nothing at all. Later, a great storm came, bringing snow and heavy winds. The old tree didn’t mind the cold at all, but the poor little plant had grown so fast   7   it had forgotten to grow well.   8   that cold night it fell onto the ground. And that was the end of the little plant.

  When I was thirteen, my family moved from Boston to Tucson, Arizona.  36  the move, my father  37  us in the living-room on a freezing January night. My sisters and I sat around the fire, not   38  that the universe would suddenly change its course. "In May, we're  39  to Arizona."

     The words, so small, didn't seem  40  enough to hold my new life. But the world changed and I awoke on a tram moving across the country. I watched the  41_  change from green trees to flat dusty plains to high mountains as I saw strange new plants that  42  mysteries(奥秘) yet to come. Finally, we arrived and  43  into own new home.

     44  my older sisters were sad at the loss of friends, I   45   explored(探索) our

new surroundings.

     One afternoon, I was out exploring  46  and saw a new kind of cactus(仙人掌). I crouched (蹲) down for a closer look. "You'd better not  47  that."

     I turned around to see an old woman

     "Are you new lo this neighborhood?" I explained that I was,  48 , new to the entire state.

     "My name is Ina Thorne. Have you got used to life in the  49 ? It must be quite a   _50  after living in Boston."

     How could I explain how I  51  the desert? I couldn't seem to find the right words.

     "It's vastness," she offered. “That vastness  52  you stand on the mountains overlooking the desert -- you can  53  how little you are in comparison with the world.  _54 , you feel that the possibilities are limitless.”

     That was it. That was the feeling I'd bad ever since I'd first seen the mountains of my new home. Again, my  55  would change with just a few simple words.

     "Would you like to come to my home tomorrow? Someone should teach you which plant you should and shouldn't touch."

Now let’s compare the Chinese diet with the Western diet. Some say that the Western food is better than the Chinese food. Do you think so?
First, let’s make a standard(标准) of the better diet. We don’t have to care much about the shape, the colour and the taste of the food. We say the one that has more nutrition, is easier to be digested and absorbed(吸收) by the body and then makes us more energetic should be the better. In this way, I believe, our Chinese food should be better than the Western food. Why?
I think the Western food contains too much fat and sugar. I know both fat and sugar are a kind of nutrition we need in our body, but too much of them will make your body harmed. That’s why so many westerners get ill when young. Besides, westerners have to use knives, forks and spoons to help them have their meals. It seems that they couldn’t have their meals without force.
But in Chinese food we have those mainly from plants including their seeds, leaves and roots together with a little meat such as chicken, fish, pork, mutton and so on. With so much plant food we can get enough calories as it is rich in fiber, protein, calcium and fat. With a little meat we can make our body even stronger. Besides, we use chopsticks, bowls and plates to help us have our meals. All of these make us harmonious to nature and everybody around us. So I say our Chinese food makes us wise, happy, healthy and wealthy.
1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The taste of the Chinese food.
B. The taste of the Western food.  
C. The comparison between the two kinds of food.     
D. The tastes of both of the two kinds of foods.
2. Which is the standard of measuring a diet?
A. Quantity of nutrition in the food.
B. Whether it is easy to be digested and absorbed.
C. Whether it can offer us enough energy.      
D. All of the above.
3. Which is the writer’s attitude towards diet according to the passage?
A. Western food should be better because it contains much fat and sugar.
B. Western food should be better because contains much calories.
C. Chinese food should be better because it doesn’t contain too much fat or sugar
D. Chinese food should be better because it doesn’t have much nutrition.
4. According to the passage, which statement is true?
A. The standard (标准) of a better diet depends on the shape, color and the taste of the food.
B. Fat and sugar in the food do harm to our body.
C. Westerners use knives, chopsticks and spoons to help them have meals while Chinese use bowls, forks and plates.
D. Chinese food and the way Chinese have meals show Chinese are more harmonious with nature.

This Mother’s Day will be the 8^th year I have spent without my own mother. She passed away less than a month before Mother’s Day in the year 2000. She had been ill for almost two years, and I didn’t cry when she died, or at her funeral, but on that first Mother’s Day without her. On that day, I realized that this person I loved and depended on was gone forever.

She still lives in family memories, in the thoughts of her friends and co-workers, in the values she had instilled(灌输) in her children, and in the lovely flower gardens that she had so carefully tended.

She loved her gladioli and irises. Each fall she would dig the bulbs out of the soil and carefully wrap them in paper. The bulbs would be stored until the following spring when they would be replanted. It seemed like a lot of effort to me, but each year her flower garden was more glorious than the year before. She put the same hard work into caring for her family, instilling in her children a sense of justice and fair play, compassion, and strong moral values so that we blossomed.

Share anecdotes about your mother’s life at your Mother’s Day party. Too often, we avoid speaking of those loved ones who have passed away, fearful that we will unearth sad feelings. It doesn’t have to be that way. Sharing fond memories and stories of the life we shared with her can be a healing process that binds（捆绑）the family together.

My mother passed away when her oldest grandchild was only eight years old. Children will enjoy sharing pictures and stories of the grandmother they may have never known or have little memory of. Sharing anecdotes to pass on to the next generation will give children a feeling of family history and continuity, and may be one of the best ways to honor our mothers and grandmothers who have gone before us.

1.What does the underlined words “passed away” ( in Paragraph 1)mean?

A．died             B．continued         C．started           D．lasted

2.On the first Mother’s Day after mum died the author realized_______ .

A．mum had been dead for a long time         B．mum had suffered a lot from the illness

C．it was true that mum had been dead         D．it was impossible to depend on mum

3.From the third paragraph we can infer that mum_______ .

A．loved her gladioli and irises                B．showed kindness to all her children

C．taught the children to plant patiently         D．had a good influence on the author

4.At the Mother’s Day party people don’t mention their lost mums only because_______ .

A．they are simply afraid of causing sad feelings

B．they have forgotten their mums completely

C．they don’t love their mums any longer

D．they think their mums have passed away

5.In order to show honor to our mothers and grandmothers we can _____ .

A．spend the Mother’s Day with our children

B．share the stories of them with the children

C．hold the Mother’s Day party every year

D．plant beautiful flowers in the family garden

Now let’s compare the Chinese diet with the Western diet. Some say that the Western food is better than the Chinese food. Do you think so?

    First, let’s make a standard(标准) of the better diet. We don’t have to care much about the shape, the colour and the taste of the food. We say the one that has more nutrition, is easier to be digested and absorbed(吸收) by the body and then makes us more energetic should be the better. In this way, I believe, our Chinese food should be better than the Western food. Why?

    I think the Western food contains too much fat and sugar. I know both fat and sugar are a kind of nutrition we need in our body, but too much of them will make your body harmed. That’s why so many westerners get ill when young. Besides, westerners have to use knives, forks and spoons to help them have their meals. It seems that they couldn’t have their meals without force.

    But in Chinese food we have those mainly from plants including their seeds, leaves and roots together with a little meat such as chicken, fish, pork, mutton and so on. With so much plant food we can get enough calories as it is rich in fiber, protein, calcium and fat. With a little meat we can make our body even stronger. Besides, we use chopsticks, bowls and plates to help us have our meals. All of these make us harmonious to nature and everybody around us. So I say our Chinese food makes us wise, happy, healthy and wealthy.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

      A. The taste of the Chinese food.

      B. The taste of the Western food.  

      C. The comparison between the two kinds of food.     

D. The tastes of both of the two kinds of foods.

2. Which is the standard of measuring a diet?

      A. Quantity of nutrition in the food.

      B. Whether it is easy to be digested and absorbed.

      C. Whether it can offer us enough energy.      

      D. All of the above.

3. Which is the writer’s attitude towards diet according to the passage?

A. Western food should be better because it contains much fat and sugar.

B. Western food should be better because contains much calories.

C. Chinese food should be better because it doesn’t contain too much fat or sugar

D. Chinese food should be better because it doesn’t have much nutrition.

4. According to the passage, which statement is true?

A. The standard (标准) of a better diet depends on the shape, color and the taste of the food.

B. Fat and sugar in the food do harm to our body.

C. Westerners use knives, chopsticks and spoons to help them have meals while Chinese use bowls, forks and plates.

D. Chinese food and the way Chinese have meals show Chinese are more harmonious with nature.