If I ever end up in a police missing-persons report, it will be because I went out to run some errands （跑差事） for my wife and never returned．

My adventure begins when I announce that I am going out to get a haircut, or to pick up my suit at the cleaner’s, or to do something that shouldn’t take very long．

As I look for my car keys, my wife utters （说出） those terrible words: “While you’re out …” This is a signal for me to make sure the car has enough gas for a cross-country trip because God knows when I will come back．

Of course my wife runs 95 percent of the errands, or that she is the one who keeps the household running smoothly．If it were up to me, the whole family would come to an end．The simple reason is that I am not good at doing anything more complicated than going out to get a haircut．

Here is what often happens:

“I’m going out to get a haircut,” I announce．

“While you’re out,” my wife says, “can you drop off the movie we rented last week? It’s due back today and I don’t want to pay a late charge．” “Sure,” I say．

Then she adds, “And stop at the post office for a book of stamps．” At last, I become nervous．I can handle a haircut and two errands．One more errand and I’m finished．

“And stop at the vet’s to pick up a bag of dog food．”

It doesn’t matter if all of these places are in the same shopping center （they aren’t）．Three errands are more than my brain can process （处理）．So I write them down．

“You mean you can’t remember three little errands?” my wife asks unbelievably．

Sadly, I can’t．I can remember to return the movie because it will be in the car． But with no visible reminders of my other two errands, I will almost certainly forget one of them．

I have to figure out where to go first．Should I get a haircut and then run my errands?

Should I stop at the post office first, get a haircut and then go to the video store and the vet’s on my way home?

Later in the day, I return home．With no small amount of pride, I hand her the book of stamps and the bag of dog food．She holds up a small box and says, “You forgot to give the movie back．”

It’s the story of my life: In one ear and out of the other．

1．The use of the word “terrible” in paragraph 3 shows that the writer ______．

A．does not love his wife

B．has deep hatred for his wife

C．gets frightened by his wife’s voice

D．is anxious about his wife’s request

2．The wife asks her husband to do three things after his haircut because ______．

A．she thinks they are easy errands

B．she likes to do housework at home

C．she is not satisfied with her lazy husband

D．she does not want to do these things herself

3．Why does the husband write down the three things?

A．He is serious．                          B．He is joking．

C．He is forgetful．                        D．He is foolish．

4．When the husband returns home, he is ______．

    A．rather tired       B．very happy          C．rather proud               D．very nervous

An acrobatic（杂技的）master performed a tightrope（钢丝）walk between two mountains, which attracted thousands of people.

   When the __36___ started, he went to one end of the tightrope, __37__ straight at the goal ahead, with open arms, walking slowly step by step to the opposite side of the mountain. Immediately, the audience__38__ loud applause.

   “If my hands are tied, do you also believe I can __39__?” he asked the audience.

__40___, some people didn’t believe, but in order to know the __41___, they said, “We believe you!”

 Then, he had his hands tied with a rope and walked past __42___.

 He looked around and said, “If I’m blindfolded（蒙着眼睛的）with my hands tied, do you __43___believe I can go past?”

 This time, the people said without __44___, “We believe you!”

 In this way, his eyes were __45___with a black cloth. He moved slowly to the tightrope and walked along it inch by inch. This time, he went past once again. The audience burst into__46___.

  Then, he __47___ a child and asked all the people, “If I put him on my shoulders __48___ I’m blindfolded with my hands tied as well, do you still believe I can make it?”

All the people replied before __49___, “We believe you!”

“I ask you again, do you really believe me?”

  “Yes, we believe you completely!”

Then, he said, “Well then, since you believe me, __50___my child with yours. Who will?”

All of a sudden, the audience fell __51___. The silence lasted for nearly ten minutes.

 After ten minutes, the acrobatic master said nothing, just put the child on his shoulders and walked past along the tightrope. Sure enough, this time he __52___once more.

   Faced with things far from their own __53___, people can often make judgments easily and quickly, but once involved in（牵涉）it, most of people “cannot __54___ it clearly”. Only those who are really confident, like the master in the tightrope walk, can stay__55___at any time.

36. A. talent                B. play                 C. program          D. show

37. A. stepping           B. staring                    C. wandering              D. pointing

38. A. broke into         B. came into         C. gave off           D. sent out

39. A. get through              B. walk down        C. go across        D. pass around

40. A. Finally               B. Actually            C. Hopefully         D. Especially

41. A. result                B. experience              C. challenge        D. trick    

42. A. slightly                     B. luckily                     C. smoothly          D. nervously

43. A. even                 B. just                  C. always                    D. still

44. A. difficult                     B. hesitation         C. concern           D. mercy

45. A. blocked                    B. hidden                    C. covered           D. equipped

46. A. cheers                     B. joy                   C. tears                D. laughter

47. A. chose               B. supported        C. pushed            D. held       

48. A. till                      B. before                     C. while                D. since

49. A. arguing                    B. thinking            C. refusing           D. wondering

50. A. exchange          B. compare          C. take                 D. treat

51. A. silent                 B. noisy                C. doubtful           D. anxious

52. A. won                   B. walked             C. acted               D. succeeded

53. A. children                   B. fears                C. interests          D. performances

54. A. sense               B. see                  C. understand             D. realize

55. A. wake                 B. encouraged            C. patient                    D. focused

I knew I was all right now.  Nobody else would come a­hunting after me. I got my traps out of the canoe and made me a nice camp in the thick woods. I made a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so the rain couldn't get at them. I caught a catfish and towards sundown I started my camp fire and had supper.

         When it was dark I sat by my camp fire, feeling pretty satisfied; but by and by it got sort of lonesome, so I went and sat on the bank and listened to the current crashing along, and counted the stars and drift logs and rafts that came down, and then went to bed; there was no better way to put in time when you are lonesome; you can't stay so, and you soon get it over.

         And so for three days and nights. No difference—just the same thing. But the next day I went exploring around the island.  I was boss of it; it all belonged to me, and I wanted to know all about it; but mainly I wanted to spend the time. I found plenty of strawberries and green summer grapes; and the green blackberries were just beginning to show.

         Well, I went fooling along in the deep woods till I judged I wasn't far from the foot of the island. I had my gun along, but I had shot nothing; it was for protection. About this time I almost stepped on a good­sized snake, and it moved quietly and smoothly through the grass and flowers, and I was after it, trying to get a shot at it. I clipped(疾驰) along, and all of a sudden I bounded(跳) right on to the ashes of a camp fire that was still smoking.

         My heart jumped up among my lungs. I never waited to look further, but unlocked my gun and went sneaking back on my tiptoes as fast as I could. Every now and then I stopped a second among the thick leaves and listened, but my breath came so hard that I couldn't hear anything else. I moved quietly along another piece further, then listened again; and so on, and so on. If I saw a stump(树桩), I took it for a man; if I stepped on a stick and broke it, it made me feel that a person had cut one of my breaths in two and I only got half, and the short half, too.

         There was no time to be fooling around. When getting to the camp, I got all my traps into my canoe again to have them out of sight. I put out the fire and threw the ashes around to look like an old last year's camp, and then climbed a tree.

         I suppose I was up for two hours; but I didn’t see or hear anything—I only thought I heard and saw as much as a thousand things. Well, I couldn’t stay up there forever, so at last I got down, but I kept in the thick woods and on the lookout all the time. All I could get to eat was berries and what was left over from breakfast.

1.The underlined part “put in time” in the second paragraph probably means _____.

A. kill the time            B. take the time

C. employ the time    D. waste the time

2.Why did the boy always carry his gun with him wherever he went?

A. To show off his gun.

B. To hunt some animals for food.

C. To protect himself.

D. To play with it for fun.

3.How did the boy feel when he saw the ashes of a camp fire that was still smoking?

A. Surprised.                       B. Excited.                            C. Frightened.         D. Puzzled.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The boy brought with himself a tent

B. The boy felt a bit lonely on the island.

C. The boy was surely the only person on the island at that time.

D. The boy might be bitten by some animal when the story happened.

I knew I was all right now.  Nobody else would come a­hunting after me. I got my traps out of the canoe and made me a nice camp in the thick woods. I made a tent out of my blankets to put my things under so the rain couldn't get at them. I caught a catfish and towards sundown I started my camp fire and had supper.
When it was dark I sat by my camp fire, feeling pretty satisfied; but by and by it got sort of lonesome, so I went and sat on the bank and listened to the current crashing along, and counted the stars and drift logs and rafts that came down, and then went to bed; there was no better way to put in time when you are lonesome; you can't stay so, and you soon get it over.
And so for three days and nights. No difference—just the same thing. But the next day I went exploring around the island.  I was boss of it; it all belonged to me, and I wanted to know all about it; but mainly I wanted to spend the time. I found plenty of strawberries and green summer grapes; and the green blackberries were just beginning to show.
Well, I went fooling along in the deep woods till I judged I wasn't far from the foot of the island. I had my gun along, but I had shot nothing; it was for protection. About this time I almost stepped on a good­sized snake, and it moved quietly and smoothly through the grass and flowers, and I was after it, trying to get a shot at it. I clipped(疾驰) along, and all of a sudden I bounded(跳) right on to the ashes of a camp fire that was still smoking.
My heart jumped up among my lungs. I never waited to look further, but unlocked my gun and went sneaking back on my tiptoes as fast as I could. Every now and then I stopped a second among the thick leaves and listened, but my breath came so hard that I couldn't hear anything else. I moved quietly along another piece further, then listened again; and so on, and so on. If I saw a stump(树桩), I took it for a man; if I stepped on a stick and broke it, it made me feel that a person had cut one of my breaths in two and I only got half, and the short half, too.
There was no time to be fooling around. When getting to the camp, I got all my traps into my canoe again to have them out of sight. I put out the fire and threw the ashes around to look like an old last year's camp, and then climbed a tree.
I suppose I was up for two hours; but I didn’t see or hear anything—I only thought I heard and saw as much as a thousand things. Well, I couldn’t stay up there forever, so at last I got down, but I kept in the thick woods and on the lookout all the time. All I could get to eat was berries and what was left over from breakfast

1. 1.

   The underlined part “put in time” in the second paragraph probably means _____

   1. A.
      kill the time
   2. B.
      take the time
   3. C.
      employ the time
   4. D.
      waste the time
2. 2.

   Why did the boy always carry his gun with him wherever he went?

   1. A.
      To show off his gun
   2. B.
      To hunt some animals for food
   3. C.
      To protect himself
   4. D.
      To play with it for fun
3. 3.

   How did the boy feel when he saw the ashes of a camp fire that was still smoking?

   1. A.
      Surprised
   2. B.
      Excited
   3. C.
      Frightened
   4. D.
      Puzzled
4. 4.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   1. A.
      The boy brought with himself a tent
   2. B.
      The boy felt a bit lonely on the island
   3. C.
      The boy was surely the only person on the island at that time
   4. D.
      The boy might be bitten by some animal when the story happened

Alice’s mother died when she was five. Although her brothers and sisters were loving and caring, their love couldn’t take the place of a mother’s. In 1925 Alice became my mother and told me that her family couldn’t even afford her a doll.

One afternoon in December 1982, when I was getting ready for Christmas, I suddenly decided to buy two dolls, one for my five-year-old daughter, Katie, and one for my old mother.

Things went smoothly when a friend told me that his dad, who played Santa Claus in my area, would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home with the gifts! Knowing that my parents would also come to my house, I began to get ready for the most memorable day of my mother’s life.

Christmas Day arrived and so did Santa Claus at the planned time. Katie was very excited and happy all the time to welcome the Santa. My mother was enjoying watching Katie welcoming this special guest. As Santa turned to leave he looked again into his bag and took out one more gift. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, without thinking of her name being called, said that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift with a message card that read:

For Alice:

I was cleaning out my sleigh (雪橇) before my trip this year and came across this package that should be sent on December 25, 1925. The gift inside has aged, but I felt that you might still wish to have it. Many apologies for the lateness of the gift.

Love,

Santa Claus

My mother was very excited and deeply moved to tears. She couldn’t speak but only held tightly in her arms the doll she had waited fifty-seven years to receive as tears of joy flew down her face. That doll made my mother the happiest “child”.

1.Why couldn’t Alice get a doll as a child?

A. Because her mother died quite early.

B. Because her family disliked her.

C. Because her family was very poor.

D. Because Alice didn’t love dolls.

2.What did the friend’s father do that Christmas morning?

A. He acted as Santa Claus to send Christmas gifts.

B. He went to her home to see Alice.

C. He bought some Christmas gifts for Katie.

D. He helped her to get Christmas gifts ready.

3.Why didn’t Alice expect there was also a gift for her?

A. The gifts from Santa Claus were usually for children.

B. The gift was forgotten many years ago.

C. The gift for her was bought by accident on the way.

D. The gifts for Katie were enough to share with her.

4.The author wrote the message card in order to _________.

A. show her deep apology to her mother

B. make it clear that Santa Claus didn’t forget her

C. show that Santa Claus was hard-working

D. make Alice believe the gift was exactly for her

5.From the last paragraph we can infer that _________.

A. old people still keeps something of childishness

B. we should always give our parents a surprise

C. old people usually feel lonely on festivals

D. we should spend more time with our parents