Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.
I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.
Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.
The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.
“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.
And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.
“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.
“Then what am I getting?” I asked.
She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...
My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.
Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Para-graph 1 means _____.

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no address. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it; overspending, running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and powder for Grandma…
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, at 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended and before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear to protect a wrestler’s ears. They obviously could not afford.
Mike shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”
Mike loved kids—all kids—and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came.
That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
【小题1】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

                              A

A priest(牧师) had a cat that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The priest persuaded, offered warm milk, et  The kitty would not come down. The tree was not strong enough to climb, so the priest decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitty. He did so, checking his progress in the car frequently, then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent enough for him to reach the kitty. But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went “boing!” and the kitty at once sailed through the air —out of sight. The priest felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen his kitty. Nobody had seen a lost kitty.

So, he prayed, “God, I just give this kitty to your keeping,” and went on about his business.

Several days later he was at the grocery store, meeting one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. Now this woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?”

She replied, “You won’t believe this,” and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, “Well, if God gives you a cat, you can keep it.” She told the priest, “I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. You won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A cat suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws spread out, and landed right in front of her.” 

1.The priest drove his car to bend the tree in order to ________. 

A. get his kitty down from the tree

B. persuade his kitty to come down

  offer the kitty some warm milk

D. see if the rope was strong enough

2.The underlined sentence probably means that the priest _______.

A. was happy he didn’t have to care for the kitty

B. hoped his neighbors would look after his cat

  thought his kitty might be lost or killed

D. didn’t want to see his kitty any more

3. Why was the priest amazed when he saw the woman had bought much cat food?

A. Because he couldn’t imagine she had her own cat.

B. Because the woman was his church member.

  Because he thought she would live on cat food.

D. Because he knew clearly she didn’t like a cat.

4.Which may be the best title of this passage?

A. A flying cat                            B. A lucky girl

  God sent her a cat                    D. An unlucky priest   

完型填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41-60各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

I ran into a stranger as he passed by. “I’m so sorry!” was my reply. Then he said, “Excuse me too… I wasn’t   41   watching for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I. Then we went   42   our way after saying goodbye.

But at   43  , a different story is told. How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later in the kitchen, as I   44   the meal, my daughter walked up to me, very still. When I turned, I      45   knocked her down. “Get out of the way!” I shouted with a frown (皱眉). She stepped away silently, with her little heart   46  . I didn’t realize how rudely I had spoken.

That night, when I lay   47   in bed, God’s quiet voice spoke to me and said, “While    48   with a stranger, you are calm and polite, but with those you love, you are QUICK to excite… Go look around on the kitchen floor, you’ll find some flowers there by the   49  . Those are the flowers she brought for you. She   50   them herself — pink, yellow, and your favorite blue. She stood there quietly and you never saw the   51   in her eyes.”

By this time, I felt sad and small and now my own tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt (跪) by her   52  . “Wake up, my,” I said. “Are these the flowers you picked up for me?” She smiled, “I found them out by the tree, I   53   them in a napkin（纸巾）, just for you. I knew you’d like them, especially the   54  .” I said, “I am so sorry that I missed them today… And I   55   have fussed (大惊小怪) at you that way…”

And she whispered, “Mommy, that’s OK… I still love you   56  .” I hugged her and said, “I love you, too and I LOVE the flowers.”

Do you know that: if you die tomorrow, the   57   you are working for could easily replace you in a matter of days. But the family you leave   58   will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into our   59   than into our families--- an unwise investment (投资) indeed.

Remember that   60   =" (F)ATHER" + (A)ND + (M)OTHER + (I ) + (L)OVE + (Y)OU.

41.   A.    ever B.    even C.    just  D.    right

42.   A.    to    B.    in    C.    on    D.    for

43.   A.    school     B.    work       C.    home      D.    office

44.   A.    cooked    B.    had  C.    ate   D.    took

45.   A.    already    B.    hardly     C.    rudely     D.    nearly

46.   A.    lost  B.    missed     C.    beaten     D.    broken

47.   A.    asleep      B.    awake     C.    afraid      D.    alive

48.   A.    dealing    B.    meeting   C.    going      D.    talking

49.   A.    floor       B.    kitchen    C.    window   D.    door

50.   A.    grew       B.    bought    C.    picked     D.    fetched

51.   A.    tears B.    expressions     C.    smiles     D.    joy

52.   A.    desk B.    bed  C.    body       D.    knees

53.   A.    wrapped  B.    covered   C.    put   D.    help

54.   A.    pink B.    yellow     C.    blue D.    black

55.   A.    needn’t    B.    shouldn’t C.    mustn’t   D.    can’t

56.   A.    indeed     B.    besides    C.    anything  D.    anyway

57.   A.    company B.    country   C.    place       D.    state

58.   A.    for   B.    with C.    behind     D.    to

59.   A.    books      B.    loss  C.    meal       D.    work

60.   A.    RESPECT      B.    WARMTH      C.    FAMILY D.    FRIEND

完形填空
My husband Jack hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of ___16___, but the commercial aspects of it. Knowing he felt this ______17___, I decided one year to___18___the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so on. I reached for something _____19__just for Jack. The idea came in an unusual way.
　　 Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was______20______at the junior level at the school he attended and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match____21_____a team sponsored by a church.
　　 These youngsters from the church, dressed in shoes so_______22_____that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together,____23______our son’s team were in their beautiful new wrestling shoes.
　　 As the match began, I was_____24_____to see that the other team was wrestling without a helmet designed to____25_____a wrestler’s head. They clearly could not_____26_____ them. Well, our son’s team ended up defeating them and took every weight class. But as the other team ______27_____up from the mat, they walked around with a sense of pride that couldn’t admit______28______.
　　 Jack, seated beside me, shook his head_____29_____, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but______30_____like this could take the heart right out of them.” Jack loved_____31_____and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball. That’s when the ____32______for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and _____33______some wrestling helmets and shoes and sent them to the church.
　　 On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Jack what I had done and that this was his_______34_____from me. His smile was the_______35______ thing about Christmas that year.