A woman id her sixties lived alone in her little cottage with a pear tree at her door. She spent all her time taking care of the tree. But the children nearby drover her    21      by making fun of her. They would climb her tree and then run away with pears,     22   “Aunty Misery” at her.

One evening, a passer by asked to    23     for the night. Seeing that he had an   24   Face, she let him in and gave him a nice    25   . The next morning the stranger, actually a sorcerer (巫师), thanked her by granting (允准) her   26     that anyone who climbed up her tree  27   not be able to come back down until she   28  it.

     When the children came back to steal her   29   , she had them stuck on the tree. They had to beg her

long   30   she gave the tree permission to let  31    go. Aunty Misery was free from the   32   at last.

One day another man    33    her door. This one did not look trustworthy to her,   34   she asked who he was . “I am Death, I’ve come to take you   35    me.” said he.

Thinking fast Aunty Misery said, “Fine, but I’d like to  36    some pears from my dear tree to remember the 37          

it brought to me in this life. But I am too    38   to climb high to get the best fruit. Will you be so   39    as to do it for me?” With a deep sigh, Mr. Death climbed up the tree   40   and was immediately stuck to it. No matter how much he warned or begged, Aunty Misery would not allow the tree to let Death go.

A. hopeless    B. painful   C. dull   D. crazy

A. calling     B. shouting   C. announcing  D. whispering

A. stay       B. live       C. hide     D. lie

A. interesting  B. honest    C. anxious    D. angry

A. gift      B. kiss      C. treat     D. smile

A. suggestion     B. demand      C. permission D. wish

A. could     B. should     C. might    D. must

A. permitted   B. promised      C. answered    D. declared

A. branch    B. food    C. tree     D. fruit

A. after      B. while     C. since       D. before

A. it        B. them      C. him        D. her

A. trick     B. question     C. trouble     D. difficulty

A. stepped into   B. left for       C. stopped at    D. walked around

A. so      B. but         C. although       D. because

A. with     B. off         C. upon         D. for

A. choose      B. pick      C. shake      D. hit

A. honor       B. pleasure   C. hope      D. excitement

A. light        B. short      C. old       D. thin

A. proud       B. kind       C. fine      D. smart

A. disappointedly       B. cheerfully      C. unwillingly     D. eagerly

After spending a weekend away with my adult son, I was so impressed by his generous heart that I sent him this letter.

36. A. humorous B. private  C. reasonable   D. valuable

37. A. followed B. gave C. set  D. took

38. A. ordered  B. booked   C. offered  D. bought

39. A. hesitation   B. doubt    C. permission   D. difficulty

40. A. other    B. last C. extra    D. rest

41. A. again    B. already  C. only D. also

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

43. A. finding  B. accepting    C. looking for  D. pointing at

44.  A. behind  B. beyond   C. ahead of D. next to

45. A. much B. some C. any  D. enough

46. A. far  B. 1ong C. short    D. high

47. A. and  B. but  C. SO   D. while

48. A. 1itres   B. kilograms    C. pounds   D. kilometers

49. A. $15  B. $20  C. $25  D. $30

50. A. until    B. as   C. although D. unless

51. A. what B. which    C. whatever D. whichever

52. A. excited  B. surprised    C. interested   D. encouraged

53. A. easier   B. better   C. faster   D. worse

54. A. comer    B. way  C. ground   D. carpet

55. A. there    B. here C. out  D. around

A morning rarely began so perfect. I took in the fresh air and felt my heart run into an enthusiastic rhythm. Though cool, the sun warmed my back as it rose over the horse from not far from my house. The slightest wind danced on my skin. Just enough to keep a runner form overheating. My ever-faithful jogging partner, a black dog named Nika pulled my leg with her mouth, mirroring my eagerness to start our run.

We raced forward with determination, ready to leap tall buildings and race against speeding trains. We pushed harder and ran faster, demonstration our skill and impressing passing motorists and neighbors.

We kept on running until we hit the Beast, a name for a very difficult, nearly two-mile long steep climb.

Only a few paces into the Beast, I gasped for air. Far short of superhero status, my enthusiasm and active steps were lost somewhere at the base of the hill. A vision of the newspaper and a cup of coffee waiting in my kitchen appeared, attracting me to turn back toward home.

With a glance I noticed Nika wasn’t doing any better. She continued to faithfully follow me, putting one paw in front of the other, but without her former eagerness. Her tiredness touched me. And in that moment, I felt a sudden spark of renewed determination to press on. I couldn’t allow this mountain to get the better of us. To improve both our spirits, I managed to shout, “Good girl, Nika! Keep going…you can do it!”

“I’m encouraging a dog, for heaven’s sake!’’ I needed to pull myself together. With a few simple words, I changed our course. One moment we were on the edge of quitting. The next, our feet picked up the pace and we continued. Though tired and discouraged myself, with a few kind words I impacted a dog’s ability to go further. I’m sure I could have completed the opposite with ill-chosen comments and an unpleasant tone. Instead, the Beast was defeated and we flew like heroes the rest of the way home.

Life is full of beasts to conquer. For some, it is the seemingly impossible climb of cancer. For others, their beast takes the shape of parenting a child or a teenager. Uphill climbs come in all shapes and sizes, common only in their ability to defeat, discourage and tempt tired travelers to quit. Sometimes all that’s needed is a few spoken, well-timed words of encouragement from a fellow runner – someone who sees the struggle, dares to jogs alongside, and cares enough to say, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re not alone. I believe in you!”

The writer starts the text by describing________.

A. the beautiful scene of the morning  

B. his or her preparations for a jogging

C. a lively dog named Nika

D. the growth of crops at the farm

The writer mentioned the newspaper and coffee to suggest that he or she _______.

A. liked reading newspapers while drinking coffee

B. had an intention to give up running

C. would treat himself or herself to coffee after running

D. might appear on the newspaper for the long running

The writer decided to continue running _______.

A. after he or she found the dog was still energetic

B. because they came near the top of the hill

C. when he or she noticed the tired dog

D. before they arrived at the bottom of the hill

What does the writer expect to show by telling the story?

A. Words are powerful than deeds.

B. Beasts in life aren’t easily to conquer.

C. Dogs are the best friend of humans.

D. Try it one more time before giving up.

A woman id her sixties lived alone in her little cottage with a pear tree at her door. She spent all her time taking care of the tree. But the children nearby drover her    21      by making fun of her. They would climb her tree and then run away with pears,     22   “Aunty Misery” at her.

One evening, a passer by asked to    23     for the night. Seeing that he had an   24   Face, she let him in and gave him a nice    25   . The next morning the stranger, actually a sorcerer (巫师), thanked her by granting (允准) her   26     that anyone who climbed up her tree  27   not be able to come back down until she   28  it.

     When the children came back to steal her   29   , she had them stuck on the tree. They had to beg her
long   30   she gave the tree permission to let  31    go. Aunty Misery was free from the   32   at last.

One day another man    33    her door. This one did not look trustworthy to her,   34   she asked who he was . “I am Death, I’ve come to take you   35    me.” said he.

Thinking fast Aunty Misery said, “Fine, but I’d like to  36    some pears from my dear tree to remember the 37          
it brought to me in this life. But I am too    38   to climb high to get the best fruit. Will you be so   39    as to do it for me?” With a deep sigh, Mr. Death climbed up the tree   40   and was immediately stuck to it. No matter how much he warned or begged, Aunty Misery would not allow the tree to let Death go.

21.  A. hopeless         B. painful        C. dull              D. crazy

22.  A. calling             B. shouting    C. announcing    D. whispering

23.  A. stay                B. live            C. hide             D. lie

24.  A. interesting        B. honest       C. anxious        D. angry

25.  A. gift                 B. kiss           C. treat             D. smile

26.  A. suggestion       B. demand     C. permission    D. wish

27.  A. could              B. should        C. might           D. must

28.  A. permitted        B. promised    C. answered      D. declared

29.  A. branch            B. food          C. tree              D. fruit

30.  A. after               B. while          C. since            D. before

31.  A. it                    B. them          C. him              D. her

32.  A. trick               B. question     C. trouble         D. difficulty

33.  A. stepped into     B. left for       C. stopped at    D. walked around

34.  A. so                  B. but             C. although       D. because

35.  A. with               B. off             C. upon            D. for

36.  A. choose           B. pick           C. shake           D. hit

37.  A. honor             B. pleasure      C. hope            D. excitement

38.  A. light                B. short         C. old              D. thin

39.  A. proud             B. kind           C. fine              D. smart

40.  A. disappointedly  B. cheerfully  C. unwillingly     D. eagerly

A rich man was camping（露营） alone on a hill. One day it began to rain and the rain made the tent（帐篷）wet. At last he 16 make his way home. As he passed(经过)17 beautiful house he  wanted to look  18  rest. A lady walked past him with her 19 holding up（举起） high. Following her were her two beautiful daughters. They stopped and stared at（瞪着）him  20.
“Who are you? We don’t like tramps（流浪汉） going  21 our home .”one of them shouted.
“Go away at once. ”cried the other.
“But I’m not a  22 . ”said the man, “All I want is food and stay for the night.”
“How  23 you come here? Go away at once!”they  24 , “We don’t like your feet around our house. Go, go!”
The man moved on and reached a  25 house. On entering (进入) it he saw a  26 preparing supper. Though the light was  27 and the furniture（家具） was old , it made him feel warm and comfortable（舒服）.
“Can I have some  28 and rest for the night? he asked.
“Of course,  29 , ”said the woman, giving a little chair for him. “We are going to  30 our supper. Come and  31 us.”
The food was not  32 but they shared（分享） it with the stranger（陌生人）. That night they let him sleep on their bed 33 they themselves used the stable. Early the next morning, the man said good-bye to them. Their  34 left him a memory(记忆) full of thanks.
When he reached home he  35 ordered（命令） a lovely house to be built for the poor but kind family in the woods.
【小题1】.