Anna lived on the side of a valley．One summer, there was a very big 　     , and a lot of houses down below Anna＇s were washed away．Anna＇s house was 　   enough to escape the flood, so when the water had      and the other houses were 　    there with no roof and no walls and all covered with mud（泥）, her house was just all right．

 Her house was quite small, her husband was dead, and she had four children,   　 Anna took in one of the families that had lost 　   in the flood and she 　    her home with them until it was 　  　 for them to rebuild their house．

 Anna＇s friends were 　  when they saw Anna do this．They could not understand why Anna wanted to give   so much more work and trouble when she already had quite a few children to 　   ．

 “Well,” Anna  　    her friends, “at the end of the First World War, a woman in the town where I then lived found herself very  　   , because her husband had been killed in the 　   　  and she had a lot of children I have now．The day before Christmas, this woman said to her children, ‘We won’t be able to have much for Christmas this year, so I’m going to 　      only one present to all of us．Now I’ll go and get it．’ She came back with a  　    who was even poorer than they, and who had no parents．‘Here’s our 　   ,she said to her children．

 The children were 　   and happy to get such a present．They 　   the little girl, and she grew up as their sister．Such was that Christmas present．”

1.A．accident    B．flood         C．fire            D．earthquake

2.A．below       B．big           C．high           D．small

3.A．reduced     B．come         C．disappeared      D．appeared 

4.A．rising       B．standing       C．flowing         D．falling    

5.A．so         B．for            C．but             D．since

6.A．nothing    B．anything       C．something        D．everything

7.A．gave       B．shared        C．found           D．built

8.A．necessary  B．important      C．obvious          D．possible

9.A．worried    B．disappointed   C．satisfied          D．puzzled

10.A．them      B．him          C．herself           D．us

11.A．supply     B．grow         C．support          D．educate

12.A．asked for  B．talked with     C．turned up         D．explained to

13.A．sad       B．rich           C．poor            D．happy

14.A．storm     B．rain           C．war            D．flood

15.A．because   B．which         C．that            D．as

16.A．get       B．make         C．send             D．buy          

17.A．boy      B．student        C．teacher          D．girl

18.A．child     B．daughter       C．present          D．sister        

19.A．angry     B．lovely         C．excited          D．sorry

20.A．disliked   B．gained         C．led             D．welcomed

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Motherhood is a career to respect

　　A WOMAN renewing her driver’s license at the CountyClerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

　　“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a...”

　　“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”

　　“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation... ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.

　　One day I found myself in the same situation. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.

　　The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate (研究员) in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”

　　The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.

　　I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement (声明) was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

　　“Might I ask,” said the clerk with interest, “just what you do in your field?”

　　Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”

　　There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.

　　As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (激励) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants – ages 13, 7, and 3.

　　Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6-month-old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.

　　I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”

　　Motherhood... What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door.

1. How did the female clerk feel at first when the writer told her occupation?

　　A. Cold-hearted.　　　　B. Open-minded.

　　C. Puzzled. 　　　　　　D. Interested.

2. How many children does the writer have?

　　A. 3　　　 B. 4 　　　C. 7　　　 D. 13

3.Why did the woman clerk show more respect to the writer?

　　A. Because she thought the writer did admirable work.

　　B. Because the writer cared little about rewards.

　　C. Because the writer did something that she had little knowledge of.

　　D. Because she admired the writer's research work.

4. What is the point of the article?

　　A. To show that how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it.

　　B. To show that the writer had a grander job than Emily.

　　C. To argue that motherhood is a worthy career.

　　D. To show that being a mother is hard and boring work.

Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. “Angel money” it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small.

　　With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold.

　　As I was searching for “angel money”, I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet.

　　Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology “guy” in-house.

　　Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him.

　　We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time.

　　Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success.

　　She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000.

　　I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven.

　　“I have confidence in your plan,” she said. “You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company.”

　　Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed.

1.For a newly-established business, bum rate refers to___________.

A. the salary it pays to its staff　         B. the interest it pays to the bank

C. the way in which it raises capital　  　 D. the speed at which it spends money

2.By "Angel money", the author refers to__________.

A. the money borrowed from banks　  　 B. the money spent to promote sales

C. the money raised from close friends　　 D. the money needed to start a business

3.To get help from a venture-capital company, you may have to__________.

put up with unfair terms　         　B. change your business line

C. enlarge your business scope      　　 D. let them operate your business

4.The author easily built a team for his company because__________.

A. they were underpaid at their previous jobs

B. they were turned down by other companies

C. they were confident of the author and his business

D. they were satisfied with the salaries in his company

5. Louise decided to lend money to the author because__________.

A. she wanted to join his company

B. she knew he would build a team

C. she knew his plan would succeed

D. she wanted to help promote his sales

Le Trung,33，has spent ￡14,000 creating Aiko，who he describes as“in her 20s”with a 32,23,33 figure，shiny hair and delicate features.

　　 She can speak English and Japanese and is so good at mathematics that she can do Mr.Trung's accounts.

　　 Mr.Trung，from Brampton in Ontario，Canada，said he has never had time to find a real partner，so he designed and created his ideal woman using the latest technology.

　　 The former software programmer has taken out credit cards and loans，sold his car and spent his life savings on perfecting his“fem?bot”．

　　 Now he is desperate to find a corporate sponsor(资助者)to help him complete and perfect Aiko.

　　 He said，“Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty.”

　 “I want to make her look，feel and act as human as possible so she can be the perfect companion.”

　 “I talk to her a lot，and hope to improve her knowledge.”

　 “So far she can understand and speak 13,000 different sentences in English and Japanese，so she's already fairly intelligent.”

　 “Aiko recognize faces and says hello when any of my family come around to visit.She helps me pick what to have for dinner and knows what drinks I like.”

　 “She even helps me with directions when we're going somewhere.”

　 “When I need to do my accounts，Aiko does all the maths.She is very patient and never complains.”

　 “She doesn't need holidays，food or rest and she will work almost 24?hours a day.She is the perfect woman.”

　　 Mr.Trung has designed Aiko with a touch?sensitive face and body so she reacts in a natural way if she is shown affection or hurt.

　　 He said，“She has all senses except for smell.”

1．Why did Le Trung spend much money creating Aiko?

A．Because he prefers Aiko to a real person.

B．Because he is too busy to find a partner.

C．Because he thinks Aiko is very beautiful.

D．Because he thinks Aiko is worth much money.

2．According to the passage，what is Aiko?

A．Aiko is a female person.

B．Aiko is Mr.Trung's girl friend.

C．Aiko is a robot that looks like a beautiful woman.

D．Aiko is a perfect woman.

3．Aiko can do the following things EXCEPT ________.

A．that she can understand and speak English and Japanese

B．that she can do maths questions very well

C．that she can smell the strange smell

D．that she can help to receive some familiar guests

4．What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The reason for Le Trung creating Aiko.

B．The introduction to a new scientific product－Aiko.

C．Aiko's ability or functions.

D．The process of making Aiko.