NEW YORK— Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, or a couple of hours if they head for the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.
Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone's breath away.
Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that makes more attractive Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
“I'm always looking for a tree,” the center's chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It' s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”
And if he gets it wrong, there's nothing hiding it.
“Every day it's up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,”he says.
This year’s tree, a 74-foot Nomy spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world's largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.
The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York — a tradition dating back to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small tree with ornaments (装饰品). 
The search for the next year's tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.
Murbach has three standards: The tree must be at least 65 feet high, at least 35 feet across and leaves dense (密集的) enough not to see through.
That's not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snow regions often break under the weight, making trees unbalanced.
Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”
Though there was occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the effect the tree has on people: “It's for bringing people together, attempting to bring together people you love. That's what I hope it sets off.”  But Murbach says he's always too worn out to celebrate Christmas

1. 1.

   Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?
   a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.
   b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.
   c. The tree is flown to New York.
   d. It was lighted on December 2.
   e. The tree is chopped up.
   f. Murbach searches for the tree

   1. A.
      a, b, c, d, e, f
   2. B.
      c, d, b, f, e, a
   3. C.
      c, d, e, b, a, f
   4. D.
      a, f, c, d, b, e
2. 2.

   Murbach spends a lot of time         that are exhibited in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season

   1. A.
      taking care of Christmas trees
   2. B.
      deciding on the perfect evergreens
   3. C.
      sorting the letters from people
   4. D.
      deciding the TV programs
3. 3.

   Why does Murbach take his job seriously?

   1. A.
      Because he wants everyone to be happy with his choice
   2. B.
      Because he hopes to make everybody unable to breathe
   3. C.
      Because he enjoys showing off
   4. D.
      Because he wishes to attract people's attention to himself
4. 4.

   According to Murbach' s standard of trees, the best tree must_______

   1. A.
      be evergreen
   2. B.
      have lots of space between their branches
   3. C.
      be tall enough not to see through
   4. D.
      be equally balanced
5. 5.

   What kind of person do you think Murbach is?

   1. A.
      A person always ignoring his family
   2. B.
      A person full of love
   3. C.
      A person devoted to his work
   4. D.
      A person with great anxiety

To Design Perfect School Uniforms

Believe it or not, there are good reasons for wearing a school uniform. It makes you   1__  proud of your school. It builds a common spirit of unity (整体) among students and   2them of the values and history of their school. But for most students, school uniforms are not something to be proud of   3.

“Why   4the school uniform just one day a week? Always wearing the same clothes makes me feel boring,” a senior student from a high school complained (抱怨). “I don’t like the big English letters of the name of our school on the back,” said a junior student “They could be   __5.” The main student complaints about school uniforms are: simple colors, boring designs and bad   6. And a teacher at a middle school in Guangzhou said that   7a teacher and a mother, she eagerly   8the quality of school uniforms will be improved soon.

What has caused all these problems? Chen Hong, a uniform designer in Shenzhen, pointed out that problems   9because the whole society doesn’t see the   10of the school uniform.

“Most designers are  11to stick to the same old fashion,  12there are no professionals (专业人员)   13work for students,” Chen said.

His company   14most of the awards in the first national competition for school uniforms last month in Nanning, Guangxi.

“Besides, high quality calls for a high price,” said Chen. “But in some schools, the annual (一年一度) expense for each student’s uniform is only 50 to 60 yuan. How can we produce high quality clothes with so   15money?”

Even with these problems, efforts have been made   16the situation, according to Zhai Shiliang,   17of the School Uniform Administration and Service Center in Beijing. A school clothes competition was held in April in Beijing. Thirty-seven uniforms,   18in schools next spring, were selected from 570. “We will offer the samples (样品) for schools to choose,” Zhai said.

“The perfect uniform should remind the students of the school’s honor and cause them to be proud of it  19they are,” Chen said. Zhai added, “During the 2009 Olympic Games, the whole world will see the new appearance of our   20century young generation with new school uniforms.”

1.A. take                     B. feel                  C. to take             D. to feel

2.A. remains                B. remember          C. reminds           D. recalls

3.A. at all                    B. in all                C. for all              D. after all

4.A. not to wear            B. to wear            C. not wear          D. wear

5.A. large                    B. larger               C. small               D. smaller

6.A. quantity               B. amount            C. quality             D. unit

7.A. as                 B. like           C. for                 D. with

8.A. wishes          B. needs               C. wants              D. hopes

9.A. come through       B. come up          C. come in           D. come on

10.A. importance         B. important         C. design             D. possibility

11.A. like                    B. possibly           C. unlikely            D. likely

12.A. if        B. although          C. because           D. because of

13.A. what                  B. which              C. that                 D. ×

14.A. won                   B. has won           C. wins                D. had won

15.A. few                   B. little   C. much               D. many

16.A. improve             B. develop            C. change            D. to change

17.A. a head                B. the head           C. Head               D. head

18.A. being seen          B. to be seen        C. to see              D. will be seen

19.A. whenever and wherever                   B. when and where 

C. what and who                                D. whatever and whoever

20.A. 19th                   B. 20th                       C. 21st                       D. 22nd

Believe it or not, there are good reasons for wearing a school uniform. It makes you   1__  proud of your school. It builds a common spirit of unity (整体) among students and   2   them of the values and history of their school. But for most students, school uniforms are not something to be proud of   3  .

“Why   4   the school uniform just one day a week? Always wearing the same clothes makes me feel boring,” a senior student from a high school complained (抱怨). “I don’t like the big English letters of the name of our school on the back,” said a junior student “They could be   __5  .” The main student complaints about school uniforms are: simple colors, boring designs and bad   6  . And a teacher at a middle school in Guangzhou said that   7   a teacher and a mother, she eagerly   8   the quality of school uniforms will be improved soon.

What has caused all these problems? Chen Hong, a uniform designer in Shenzhen, pointed out that problems   9   because the whole society doesn’t see the   10   of the school uniform.

“Most designers are  11   to stick to the same old fashion,  12 _ there are no professionals (专业人员)   13   work for students,” Chen said.

His company   14   most of the awards in the first national competition for school uniforms last month in Nanning, Guangxi.

“Besides, high quality calls for a high price,” said Chen. “But in some schools, the annual (一年一度) expense for each student’s uniform is only 50 to 60 yuan. How can we produce high quality clothes with so   15   money?”

Even with these problems, efforts have been made   16   the situation, according to Zhai Shiliang,   17   of the School Uniform Administration and Service Center in Beijing. A school clothes competition was held in April in Beijing. Thirty-seven uniforms,   18   in schools next spring, were selected from 570. “We will offer the samples (样品) for schools to choose,” Zhai said.

“The perfect uniform should remind the students of the school’s honor and cause them to be proud of it   19   they are,” Chen said. Zhai added, “During the 2008 Olympic Games, the whole world will see the new appearance of our   20   century young generation with new school uniforms.”

1. A. take                    B. feel                  C. to take             D. to feel

2. A. remains               B. remember          C. reminds           D. recalls

3. A. at all                   B. in all                C. for all              D. after all

4. A. not to wear           B. to wear            C. not wear          D. wear

5. A. large                   B. larger               C. small               D. smaller

6. A. quantity               B. amount            C. quality             D. unit

7. A. as                       B. like                  C. for                  D. with

8. A. wishes                       B. needs               C. wants              D. hopes

9. A. come through      B. come up          C. come in           D. come on

10. A. importance        B. important         C. design             D. possibility

11. A. like                    B. possibly           C. unlikely            D. likely

12. A. if                      B. although           C. because           D. because of

13. A. what                 B. which              C. that                 D. ×

14. A. won                  B. has won           C. wins                D. had won

15. A. few                   B. little          C. much              D. many

16. A. improve             B. develop            C. change            D. to change

17. A. a head               B. the head           C. Head               D. head

18. A. being seen                B. to be seen        C. to see              D. will be seen

19. A. whenever and wherever                  B. when and where 

C. what and who                                     D. whatever and whoever

20. A. 19th                  B. 20th                       C. 21st                       D. 22nd

Believe it or not, there are good reasons for wearing a school uniform. It makes you   1__  proud of your school. It builds a common spirit of unity (整体) among students and   2   them of the values and history of their school. But for most students, school uniforms are not something to be proud of   3  .

“Why   4   the school uniform just one day a week? Always wearing the same clothes makes me feel boring,” a senior student from a high school complained (抱怨). “I don’t like the big English letters of the name of our school on the back,” said a junior student “They could be   __5  .” The main student complaints about school uniforms are: simple colors, boring designs and bad   6  . And a teacher at a middle school in Guangzhou said that   7   a teacher and a mother, she eagerly   8   the quality of school uniforms will be improved soon.

What has caused all these problems? Chen Hong, a uniform designer in Shenzhen, pointed out that problems   9   because the whole society doesn’t see the   10   of the school uniform.

“Most designers are  11   to stick to the same old fashion,  12 _ there are no professionals (专业人员)   13   work for students,” Chen said.

His company   14   most of the awards in the first national competition for school uniforms last month in Nanning, Guangxi.

“Besides, high quality calls for a high price,” said Chen. “But in some schools, the annual (一年一度) expense for each student’s uniform is only 50 to 60 yuan. How can we produce high quality clothes with so   15   money?”

Even with these problems, efforts have been made   16   the situation, according to Zhai Shiliang,   17   of the School Uniform Administration and Service Center in Beijing. A school clothes competition was held in April in Beijing. Thirty-seven uniforms,   18   in schools next spring, were selected from 570. “We will offer the samples (样品) for schools to choose,” Zhai said.

“The perfect uniform should remind the students of the school’s honor and cause them to be proud of it   19   they are,” Chen said. Zhai added, “During the 2008 Olympic Games, the whole world will see the new appearance of our   20   century young generation with new school uniforms.”

1. A. take                    B. feel                 C. to take             D. to feel

2. A. remains               B. remember          C. reminds           D. recalls

3. A. at all                   B. in all               C. for all              D. after all

4. A. not to wear           B. to wear            C. not wear          D. wear

5. A. large                   B. larger              C. small               D. smaller

6. A. quantity              B. amount            C. quality             D. unit

7. A. as                       B. like                 C. for                  D. with

8. A. wishes                 B. needs               C. wants              D. hopes

9. A. come through      B. come up          C. come in           D. come on

10. A. importance        B. important         C. design             D. possibility

11. A. like                   B. possibly           C. unlikely           D. likely

12. A. if                      B. although          C. because            D. because of

13. A. what                 B. which              C. that                 D. ×

14. A. won                  B. has won           C. wins                D. had won

15. A. few                   B. little                C. much               D. many

16. A. improve            B. develop           C. change             D. to change

17. A. a head               B. the head           C. Head               D. head

18. A. being seen                B. to be seen        C. to see              D. will be seen

19. A. whenever and wherever                  B. when and where 

C. what and who                                D. whatever and whoever

20. A. 19th                  B. 20th                       C. 21st                 D. 22nd