——Could I use your English dictionary for a few moments?

—— ________．I’m not using it myself．

       A．Come on       B．It depends C．Go ahead            D．That’s great

I know it is wrong to envy your children. But when I see my son, Tonio and his younger brother Sam going down a slide together, one’s arm around the other, I know I have missed something wonderful.

Not only did I never have a brother, but also I had no friendships like theirs. My sister was old enough to help take care of me, so she was more a mother than a playmate, and I was more a pest than a friend. A brother would have been wonderful, but it was not in the family planning.

Now I finally live with brothers, my sons, Tonio and Sam. I am watching them build the kind of relationship that I once dreamed about. They go to bed together. When one comes into our bed after a nightmare, my wife and I know that before morning his brother will follow.

Sam manages the world with more ease than his elder brother, whose frustrations often bring him to tears. With a sincere “Smile, Tonio,” Sam is the one who comforts him. Tonio, on the other hand, has stopped playing with boys at his age who don’t like playing with Sam. They are always backing each other up.

I don’t know what kind of relationship they will have when they grow up. Parents always want their children to have what they never could. I want them to have each other. So I imagine them going to the same college, marrying sisters and living on the same block.

That’s why I was so worried the day Tonio started kindergarten. I felt that I would lose something too. As we headed for school that morning, both boys seemed relaxed, as if neither had any idea that the day was going to be different, that starting then, Tonio would be leaving behind his brother, his best friend, his right arm.

Tonio’s first day was chaotic, with hundreds of children outside looking for their teachers. Before any of us could say goodbye, Tonio disappeared with his new classmates. He turned to wave and then was gone. It was so sudden. Sam even didn’ t see him go. Although parents had been asked to ease the craziness of the first day by statying out of the school, I lifted Sam up and took him to Tonio’s classroom, looking for a glimpse of Tonio. Sam spotted him first.

My wife and I didn’t head back home immediately, stopping instead at a coffee shop to treat Sam to hot chocolate. We even let him eat ice-cream with his fingers. Sam was still quiet, so I asked him if he missed his brother already.

He didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Daddy, is Tonio going to be gone forever?”

“No, Sammy,” I said, feeling happy about his sweet question. “Not forever, just until three o’clock.”

I sometimes think that the greatest thing I have ever done is to help create these brothers. And I didn’t stop with them. We had another child, and for the third time in a row, it was a boy. It wasn’t long before his brothers climbed into the crib(婴儿床) to play with him. I am surrounded by brothers.

1.What makes the author envy his sons?

A. He has no friends like Sam and Tonio.

B. He has only one brother in his family.

C. He doesn’t enjoy brotherhood as they do.

D. He doesn’t have a good relation with his sister.

2.What does the underlined word “pest” in paragraph 2 mean?

A. a bad person     B. an annoying person

C. a good companion    D. a lovely brother

3.What can we learn about the two little brothers?

A. Tonio often encouraged Sam when Sam burst into tears.

B. The two brothers went to the same kindergarten.

C. Neither of the brothers played with other children.

D. They supported each other in different ways.

4.The author was worried the day Tonio started his kindergarten, because__________.

A. Tonio might not spend so much time with Sam

B. Tonio might not do well with his study

C. he was afraid he would lose Tonio forever.

D. he wanted Tonio to have what he didn’t have

5.On the first day of the kindergarten, __________.

A. Tonio had a nice day playing with his new classmates

B. Sam was very sad because Tonio was gone forever

C. Sam was allowed to have ice-cream with fingers as usual

D. the father felt happy when he sensed Sam’s love to Tonio

6.What does the title “Surrounded by Brothers” suggest?

A. The author experienced brotherly affection by raising his sons.

B. The author often plays with his sons whenever he has time.

C. Parents want their children to stay at home and play together.

D. The youngest son is always surrounded by his elder brothers.

---- Frank, I’ve learned your plan. Could I make some suggestions?

---- _______.

A. Just say.       B. Go right ahead       C. With pleasure       D. Take it easy

Directions: For each blank in the passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Many years ago I was on a bicycle trip through some exceedingly picturesque (如画的) countryside. Suddenly, dark clouds piled up overhead and rain began to fall, but strange to ___50___, several hundred yards ahead of me the sun shone brilliantly. Riding, however, as rapidly as I could, I found it ___51___ to get into the clear. The clouds with their rain kept advancing faster than I could race forward. I continued this unequal contest for an exhausting half hour, ___52___ realizing that I could not win my way to the bright area ahead of me.

Then it dawned upon me that I was wasting my strength in unimportant hurry, while paying no attention whatsoever to the landscape ___53___ which I was making the trip. The storm could not last forever and the discomfort was not unendurable. Indeed, there was much to look at which might ___54___ have escaped me. As I gazed about with sharpened ___55___, I saw colours and lines and shapes that would have appeared differently under brilliant light. The rain mists (薄雾) which now ___56___ the wooded hills and the fresh clearness of the different greens were entrancing (迷人的). My annoyance at the rain was gone and my eagerness to ___57___ it disappeared. It had provided me with a new view and helped me understand that the ___58___ of beauty and satisfaction may be found close at hand within the ___59___ of one’s own sensibilities.

It made me think, then and later, about other matters to which this incident was related. It helped me realize that there is no sense in my ___60___ ever to flee from circumstances and conditions which cannot be avoided but which I might bravely ___61___ and frequently mend and often turn to good account. I know that half the battle is won if I can face trouble with courage, __62__ with spirit, and triumph with humility. It has become ever clearer to me that danger is far from disaster, that defeat may be the forerunner of final ___63___, and that, in the last analysis, all achievement is dangerously weak ___64___ based on enduring principles of moral conduct.

1.                A．ask            B．relate          C．understand    D．call

2.                A．easy           B．likely           C．impossible D．comfortable

3.                A．before         B．after           C．as   D．while

4.                                  A．in front of B．on account of

C．for the sake of                     D．atthe convenience of

5.                A．therefore       B．consequently    C．accordingly    D．otherwise

6.                A．puzzle          B．appreciation     C．wisdom   D．shock

7.                A．crowned        B．covered        C．swept    D．floated

8.                A．enjoy          B．embrace        C．surround D．escape

9.                A．resources       B．sources         C．causes   D．courses

10.               A．distance        B．help           C．range     D．comprehension

11.               A．requesting      B．waiting         C．attempting D．expecting

12.               A．meet          B．avoid          C．decline    D．change

13.               A．happiness       B．joy            C．disappointment D．surprise

14.               A．failure         B．victory         C．relief D．decision

15.               A．if             B．though         C．until  D．unless

One day, when I was working as a psychologist in England，an adolescent boy showed up in my office. It was David. He kept walking up and down restlessly, his face pale, and his hands shaking slightly. His head teacher had referred him to me. "This boy has lost his family," he wrote. "He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others, and I'm very worried about him. Can you help?”

I looked at David and showed him to a chair. How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn’t have the answer to, and which no words can describe. Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically

The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat there, only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me. I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon-in complete silence and without looking at me. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit I made sure David won once or twice.

Usually, he arrived earlier than agreed, took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down. It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me?

"Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with," I thought. "Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering.” Some months later, when we were playing chess, he looked up at me suddenly.

"It’s your turn," he said.

After that day, David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times about his biking with some friends, and about his plan to get into university. Now he had really started to live his own life.

Maybe I gave David something. But I also learned that one-without any words-can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.

1.When he first met the author, David    .

A．felt a little excited                       B．walked energetically

C．looked a little nervous                    D．showed up with his teacher

2.As a psychologist, the author    .

A．was ready to listen to David

B．was skeptical about psychology

C．was able to describe David's problem

D．was sure of handling David's problem

3.David enjoyed being with the author because he________.

A．wanted to ask the author for advice

B．need to share sorrow with the author

C．liked the children’s drawings in the office

D．bear the author many times in the chess game

4.What can be inferred about David?

A．He recovered after months of treatment.

B．He liked biking before he lost his family.

C．He went into university soon after starting to talk.

D．He got friends in school before he met the author.

5.What made David change?

A．His teacher’s help.

B．The author’s friendship.

C．His exchange of letters with the author.

D．The author’s silent communication with him.