Polly Jones lived on a farm. She had lived there all her life, all twelve years of it. Her father, who managed the farm, had just lifted the potato crop. Prices were high; he wanted to sell the crop as quickly as he could.

    Polly wandered over the rough field looking for the smaller potatoes that the pickers had accidentally missed. She found one, then another, then a handful. She was pleased. They were delicious once cooked. Then she caught sight of something else. It looked like a piece of colored stone. Polly picked it up and thought how pretty it was. She could see a pattern on it: a picture of a fish and a part of a leaf. She scraped (擦去) the soil away around her feet and found that she was standing on what seemed to be a piece of pavement (铺路石). Stuck to another piece of stone was something small and round like a button. She realized it was an old coin.

    The field was busy the next morning though not with potato pickers. In front of the house where the farm machinery usually stood were several cars and a police van. A group of distinguished-looking men and women had appeared the morning after her father's telephone all. The local television station had shown some pictures of the field with Polly pointing to the place where she had found her pavement. It was proving to be of Roman origin and was being described as the most exciting thing that had happened in the area since the end of the Second World War. In those days an American airbase had occupied the site of the potato field.

    A week later about forty students arrived from the local university. That afternoon a truck with equipment arrived. The excavation (挖掘) was officially under way. Permission had been given and “dig”, as it was called, was expected to last several months. Polly wondered how the everyday work of the farm would get done with so many strange people around and cars coming and going all day long. All the unusual activity had made the cows and sheep restless. Her father said their cows produced less milk.

    Still, it was interesting and great fun. They had let her keep the gold coin.

    From then on, Polly would always walk carefully over potato fields.

1．There were still potatoes in the field because the pickers ________.

    A. had left them for Polly on purpose

    B. thought they were too small

    C. would pick them later

    D. had failed to notice them

2．When Polly was looking for potatoes, ________ caught her attention first.

    A. a part of a leaf

    B. an old coin

    C. a piece of pavement

    D. a button

3．Why did the findings cause great excitement?

    A. Because the coin was priceless.

    B. Because an ancient Roman site was discovered.

    C. Because few old coins had been found since the war.

    D. Because such old coins had been found in American airbases.

4．How did the “dig” affect the life on the farm?

    A. It reduced milk production.

    B. It prevented Polly from attending class.

    C. It attracted more farmers to the potato fields

    D. It brought the farmers wealth overnight

阅读理解

Polly Jones lived on a farm. She had lived there all her life, all twelve years of it. Her father, who managed the farm, had just lifted the potato crop. Prices were high; he wanted to sell the crop as quickly as he could.

    Polly wandered over the rough field looking for the smaller potatoes that the pickers had accidentally missed. She found one, then another, then a handful. She was pleased. They were delicious once cooked. Then she caught sight of something else. It looked like a piece of colored stone. Polly picked it up and thought how pretty it was. She could see a pattern on it: a picture of a fish and a part of a leaf. She scraped (擦去) the soil away around her feet and found that she was standing on what seemed to be a piece of pavement (铺路石). Stuck to another piece of stone was something small and round like a button. She realized it was an old coin.

    The field was busy the next morning though not with potato pickers. In front of the house where the farm machinery usually stood were several cars and a police van. A group of distinguished-looking men and women had appeared the morning after her father's telephone all. The local television station had shown some pictures of the field with Polly pointing to the place where she had found her pavement. It was proving to be of Roman origin and was being described as the most exciting thing that had happened in the area since the end of the Second World War. In those days an American airbase had occupied the site of the potato field.

    A week later about forty students arrived from the local university. That afternoon a truck with equipment arrived. The excavation (挖掘) was officially under way. Permission had been given and “dig”, as it was called, was expected to last several months. Polly wondered how the everyday work of the farm would get done with so many strange people around and cars coming and going all day long. All the unusual activity had made the cows and sheep restless. Her father said their cows produced less milk.

    Still, it was interesting and great fun. They had let her keep the gold coin.

    From then on, Polly would always walk carefully over potato fields.

1．There were still potatoes in the field because the pickers ________.

    A. had left them for Polly on purpose

    B. thought they were too small

    C. would pick them later

    D. had failed to notice them

2．When Polly was looking for potatoes, ________ caught her attention first.

    A. a part of a leaf

    B. an old coin

    C. a piece of pavement

    D. a button

3．Why did the findings cause great excitement?

    A. Because the coin was priceless.

    B. Because an ancient Roman site was discovered.

    C. Because few old coins had been found since the war.

    D. Because such old coins had been found in American airbases.

4．How did the “dig” affect the life on the farm?

    A. It reduced milk production.

    B. It prevented Polly from attending class.

    C. It attracted more farmers to the potato fields

    D. It brought the farmers wealth overnight

Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia(栀子花) was delivered anonymously to me at my house. No card or note came with it. Calls to the florist (花商) were always in vain ---- it was a cash purchase. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender's identity.

But I never stopped imagining who the anonymous sender might be.

My mother often contributed to these imaginings. She'd ask me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness who might be showing appreciation. Perhaps the neighbor I'd help when she was unloading a car full of groceries. Or maybe it was the old man across the street whose mail I retrieved(取回) during the winter so he wouldn't have to venture down his icy steps.

When I was 17, a boy broke my heart. The night he called for me the last time, I cried myself to sleep. When I awoke in the morning, there was a message scribbled(乱涂) on my mirror in red lipstick: “Heartily know, when half-gods go, the gods arrive.” I thought about that quotation from Emerson (爱默生) for a long time, and I left it where my mother had written it. When I finally went to get the glass cleaner, my mother knew everything was all right again. I don't remember ever slamming(砰地关上) my door in anger at her and shouting, “You just don't understand!” because she did understand. 　　

One month before my high-school graduation, my father died suddenly of a heart attack. My feelings ranged from grief to abandonment, fear and over-whelming anger that my dad was missing some of the most important events in my life. I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation, the senior-class play and the prom-events(舞会) that I had worked on and looked forward to.

But my mother, in the midst of her own grief, would not hear of my missing out any of those things. The day before my father died, she and I had gone shopping for a prom dress and found a spectacular(引人注目的) one. Wearing it made me feel like a princess, but it was the wrong size, and when my father died the next day, I forgot all about the dress.

My mother didn't. The day before the prom, I found that dress-in the right size, draped over the living room sofa, presented to me -- beautifully, artistically and lovingly. I didn't care about having a new dress, but my mother did. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable, creative and imaginative.

My mother died when I was 22, only ten days after I was married. That was the year the gardenias stopped coming.

26. The underlined word “anonymously” in Paragraph 1 is the closest in meaning to________.

A.      secretly     B. happily     C. sadly     D. openly

27. Why did Mother try to arouse the author’s imagination about the gardenia sender?

A.      Because she wanted her child to feel cherished and loved not just by her but by the world.

B.      Because she had a great curiosity like a child.

C.      Because she was romantic and she once experienced such the same thing at her young age.

D.     Because she wanted to give her child some tips about the gardenia sender.

28. We can infer from the passage that________.

A.      the gardenia sender kept sending flowers to the author for 22 years.

B.      the author showed little interest in her graduation prom

C.      after the author’s father died, Mother bought her a dress to the prom

D.     Mother care how her child felt and gave her the ability to see beauty even in the face of adversity (厄运)

29. According to the passage, who was probably the gardenia sender?

  A. Father              B. A neighbor who was often helped by the author

C. Mother             D. The old man across the street

30. The best title for this passage would be “__________”.

  A. A romantic mother    B. The mystery of the white gardenia

  C. My anecdote         D. Mother and I

By my third day in the hospital, I realized Tom didn’t visit. I couldn’t understand  36 my best friend wouldn’t come to see me. Struggling against the   37 , I phoned his __38 . His mother answered, and when I asked for Tom, she got   39  . “He’s not here right now,” she said. I thought it was  40 that she didn’t tell me where he was or  41  to have him call me. But I was so weak, I just let it  42 . I found out later that Tom’s mother called my parents right after we rang   43 . My phone call really made her   44 , and she   45 they talk to me. Later that night, my mom   46 . Did I remember drinking? Did I remember in a car？I had   47  what she was talking about, so she finally told me the news: I’d hit a tree. Tom, in the   48  seat, was thrown from the car and killed instantly. The only reason I’d lived was because of my   49 .
My first   50  was of shock. I’d been drink-driving? Hit a tree? Killed Tom? I felt like the   51  person in the world. Even after I was able to   52 several weeks later, I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to talk. I just   53  at the wall in my  54  and cried. The only person I wanted to see was Tom. I didn’t feel like   55  with any of my old friends.

By my third day in the hospital, I realized Tom didn’t visit. I couldn’t understand  36 my best friend wouldn’t come to see me. Struggling against the   37 , I phoned his __38 . His mother answered, and when I asked for Tom, she got   39  . “He’s not here right now,” she said. I thought it was  40 that she didn’t tell me where he was or  41  to have him call me. But I was so weak, I just let it  42 . I found out later that Tom’s mother called my parents right after we rang   43 . My phone call really made her   44 , and she   45 they talk to me. Later that night, my mom   46 . Did I remember drinking? Did I remember in a car？I had   47  what she was talking about, so she finally told me the news: I’d hit a tree. Tom, in the   48  seat, was thrown from the car and killed instantly. The only reason I’d lived was because of my   49 .

My first   50  was of shock. I’d been drink-driving? Hit a tree? Killed Tom? I felt like the   51  person in the world. Even after I was able to   52 several weeks later, I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to talk. I just   53  at the wall in my  54  and cried. The only person I wanted to see was Tom. I didn’t feel like   55  with any of my old friends.