Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach.

In time, the labor pains come. But complications arise during delivery. Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With alarm in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. The days go by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric (儿科的) specialist tells the parents, “There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.”

Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby, but now they plan a funeral. Michael keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says. But kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.

Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive.

She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts, "Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed. Never disturb patients here.” The mother rises up strongly and said," He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"

Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings:" You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray......" Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate begins to calm down and becomes steady.

“Keep on singing, Michael." encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away."

The next day, the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it "the miracle of a brother's song". The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of Gods love!

Never give up on the people you love.

1.What may the underlined words "the infant" refer to?

2.What do we know about the little sister after she was born?

3.Why did Karen firmly let little Michael see his sister in ICU?

4.What do we know about the head nurse?

5.What is the general idea of the text?

Four years ago, I felt lucky after escaping one of those terrible 2-mile runs. I hated running; it was just something that   1  came easily to me. At that time, if you had told me that I would one day run a marathon, I’ d have told you honestly that I had a better   2  of winning the lottery（彩票）.
The turning   3  came when I met Mrs. Green. She was fifty years old, going through chemotherapy（化学疗法）for her cancer, and still managed to run 30 miles a week. I thought that if Mrs. Green could run 6 miles at a time, I could run at least two. In February, in cold weather, I started a 2-mile   4  around my neighborhood. Two months later, I   5  the running for the first time. I felt very tired, but I felt happy.
Over the next several years, I continued to push each run for a few   6  minutes, slowly building my endurance（耐力）. I didn’t need to  7  against other runners, for my most important competitor was myself.
After continuing to   8  myself, I knew it was time to step my training up. I   9  I would train for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon.
The race day   10  came, and I was filled with excitement and worry. It was final time to see what I was made of. The   11  ended up surprisingly. I did   12  through the last few miles, but after my running, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d finished. As I   13  the finish line, I experienced the strongest sense of   14  and happiness I had ever had in my life. I am now a marathoner.
As John Bingham once said, “The miracle（奇迹）isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the   15  to start.”

Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it．It is not the amazing complexity of television, nor the impressive technology of transport．The universal wonder we share and experience is our ability to make noise without mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other’s minds．This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle （奇迹） it is．

       Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animal．Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing, Birds can fly thousands miles by observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year．In Nature’s talent show, humans are a species of animal that have developed their own special act．If we reduce it to basic terms, it’s an ability for communicating information to others, by varying sounds we make as we breathe out．

       Not that we don’t have other powers of communication．Our facial expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or joy, or disappointment．The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad．This is so-called “body language”．Bristling （直立的） fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals．Similarly, the bowed head or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering．

       Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display．Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skills ? Biologist can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn’t tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history．

According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is         ．

       A．our ability to use language

       B．the miracle of technology

       C．the amazing power of nature

       D．our ability to make noises with mouth

What feature of “body language” mentioned in the passage is common to both human an animals?

       A．Lifting heads when sad．

       B．Keeping long faces when angry．

       C．Bristling hair when ready to attack．

       D．Bowing heads when willing to obey．

What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

       A．Body language is unique to humans．

       B．Humans are no different from animals to some degree．

       C．Humans have other powers of communication．

       D．Animals express emotions just as humans do．

This passage is mainly about           ．

       A．the development of body language．

       B．the special role humans play in nature

       C．the power to convey information to others

       D．the difference between humans and animals in language use

   An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money left. When she heard her daddy say to her 31 mother with whispered desperation, " 32   a miracle can save him now", the little girl went to her bedroom and took out her piggy bank. She  33    all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Then she  34  her way six blocks to the local drugstore.

"And what do you want?" asked the chemist.

"It’s 35 my little brother," the girl answered back. "He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a  36 . His name is Andrew and he has something 37     growing inside his head and my daddy says a miracle can save him."

"We don’t  38     miracles here, child. I’m sorry," the chemist said, smiling 39     at the little girl.

In the shop was a  40   customer. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of miracle does your brother  41    ?"

"I don’t know," she replied. "He’s really sick and mommy says he needs 42  . But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought my  43   ."

"How much do you have?" asked the man.

"One dollar and eleven cents, 44  I can try and get some more," she answered quietly.

"Well, what a coincidence（巧合）," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents — the 45  price of a miracle for little brothers. 46  me to where you live. I want to see your brother and 47   your parents."

That man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon. The operation was completed without 48   and it wasn’t long 49   Andrew was home again and doing well.

The little girl was happy. She knew exactly how much the miracle cost ... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the  50   of a little child.

31. A. tearful          B. hopeful         C. helpless       D. kind

32. A. Simply         B. Just            C. Only          D. More than

33. A. drew            B. pulled         C. put                 D. poured

34. A. followed         B. made            C. took           D. found

35. A. to              B. as               C. for                D. on

36. A. hope             B. doctor         C. favor          D. miracle

37. A. bad              B. small          C. extra           D. impossible

38. A. have             B. offer           C. sell                  D. store

39. A. gently          B. sadly           C. strangely        D. coldly

40. A. well- dressed   B. kind- hearted   C .cold-blooded     D. absent-minded

41. A. have             B. need           C. care             D. like

42. A. a doctor              B. a surgeon        C. an operation      D. a kindness

43. A. savings         B. wishes          C. ideas             D. suggestions

44. A. since            B. as                    C. after            D. but

45. A. same            B. exact           C. proper                D. necessary

46. A. Show           B. Help           C. Take             D. Follow

47. A. help             B. encourage      C. persuade           D. meet

48. A. difficulty        B. delay            C. charge           D. result

49. A. until             B. unless         C. after             D. before

50. A. cleverness       B. faith             C. courage                D. devotion

Hanukkah

Hanukkah (光明节) is a Jewish festival. It is celebrated on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (犹太教历), which is usually sometime in December. It is often called the festival of lights. The festival celebrates the time, over 2,000 years ago, when the Jewish people fought against an emperor who would not let them follow their own traditions and religion. When the Jewish people won back their temple in Jerusalem, they found there was only enough holy oil to keep the sacred light burning for one day. However, to their surprise, this small amount of oil kept the light burning for eight days and nights, until the people had time to make more oil.

At the center of the Hanukkah celebrations is a candlestick (called a Menorah) that holds nine candles. On the first night of Hanukkah the first candle is lit, and each day this candle is used to light another candle, until on the eighth day, the last day, all the candles are lit. During Hanukkah, people go to the synagogue (犹太教堂) to pray and to remember the miracle (奇迹) of the holy oil. Hanukkah is a time for family and friends to come together. People exchange gifts and greeting cards, and children go to parties. Parents often give their children money at Hanukkah. Potato cakes, called latkes, are a traditional Hanukkah food.

1.For how many days does Hanukkah last?

A．7                B．10               C．9                D．8

2.According to the passage, what is necessary when celebrating Hanukkah nowadays?

A． Candles.          B．Money.           C．Oil               D．Cards.

3.What does the Menorah remind Jewish people about?

A．The war that they fought 2,000 years ago.

B．The God that they honored best.

C．The miracle of the holy oil that happened 2,000 years ago.

D．The church they built 2,000 years ago.

4.The passage mainly tells us about _____.

A．the history of Hanukkah and how it is celebrated

B．why Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah

C．why Jewish people protect their traditions

D．the miracle of the holy oil in the Jewish temple