John sent his mother expensive presents on his mother's birthday every year. He liked to show her how rich he was.

"I must find something wonderful for her, and it must be the only one in the whole world. "John thought.

He advertised (登广告) in the newspapers. " Wanted—the best present for the woman who has everything. "

For many days his telephone did not stop ringing. People phoned him from all over the world. They wanted to sell him "the best present". But they did not have anything that was the only one in the whole world.

Then less than a week before his mother's birthday, a man came to his office. He was carrying a cage, and in the cage there was a large bird.

"This bird, "the man said, "can speak ten languages and sing any pop song. There is no other bird like it in the world. "

"I will listen to it, "John said. "If what you said is true, I will buy the bird from you. "

The man spoke to the bird. "Talk to me in French, " he said. The bird spoke to him in French. "Tell me a joke in Japanese, " he said. The bird told him a joke in Japanese. "Sing a famous pop song, "he said. The bird sang a famous pop song.

"I'll buy it, "John said. "How much do you want?"

"One hundred thousand dollars, "the man said. This was a lot of money but John paid him. Then he sent the bird to his mother with a birthday card.

The day after his mother's birthday he phoned her. "Well, mother, "he said, "Is the bird wonderful?"

"Oh, it was delicious, dear, "she said.

1. Why did John send her mother expensive presents for her birthday every year?

A. Because he loved his mother very much.

B. Because his mother needed these presents.

C. Because he wanted to show he had a lot of money.

D. Because he was the richest man in the world.

2. How did people know John wanted the best present in the world?

A. They rang John up.

B. They knew it from the newspapers.

C. John phoned them one by one.

D. They knew it on TV.

3.When did the man with a bird come to visit John?

A. Two weeks before John's mother's birthday.

B. On John's mother's birthday.

C. About five days before John's mother's birthday.

D. Less than a week after John's mother's birthday.

4. Why did John pay the man a lot of money for the bird?

A. Because it was such a beautiful bird.

B. Because he wanted to help the poor man with the bird.

C. Because the bird could look after his mother.

D.  Because John  thought  the bird could make his mother happy.

5. What does the sentence "It was delicious, "really mean in the story?

A. His mother ate the bird.

B. His mother let the bird fly away.

C. His mother began to learn languages from the bird.

D.  His mother thought  it  was the most  expensive present in the world.

A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.  He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"

"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.

        "I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

" Nothing! " the students said.

"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.

"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.

"You're right.  Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.

"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.

"No." the students said.

"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"

The students fell silent for a moment.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.

"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the  challenges(挑战)  in your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh and strong and can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"

Remember to put the glass down today.

1. How much do you think this glass which was held by the teacher weighs?

A.50g     B.125g       C.I don’t know.    D.100g

2.What would happen if the teacher held the glass up like this for an hour?

A. One of the students thought his arm could go numb.

B. One of the students thought his arm would begin to ache.

C. One of the students thought his arm would be changed.

D. One of the students thought his arm would be lost.

3. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?

A. Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.

B. Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.

C. Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.

D. Because he wanted to explain it was important to put the challenges in life down at the end of every day.

4. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.

A．疼痛不止                  B．消瘦萎缩                   C．松弛下垂         D．失去感觉

5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.

B. The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.

C. The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.

D. The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.

A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.  He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"

"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.

        "I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

" Nothing! " the students said.

"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.

"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.

"You're right.  Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.

"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.

"No." the students said.

"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"

The students fell silent for a moment.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.

"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the  challenges(挑战)  in your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh and strong and can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"

Remember to put the glass down today.

49. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?

     A. Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.

     B. Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.

     C. Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.

     D. Because he wanted to ask his students a lot of questions.

50. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.

     A．疼痛不止                  B．消瘦萎缩             C．松弛下垂    D．失去感觉

51. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

     A. The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.

     B. The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.

     C. The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.

     D. The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.

    Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a. m. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

    I walked to the door and knocked, "Just a minute," answered a weak, elderly voice.

    After a long time, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.

    I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.

    She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

    "Oh, you're such a good man." She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

    "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

    "Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm on my way to a hospice  (临终医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long. "

    I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

    Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness , saying nothing.

    At dawn, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now." We drove in silence Lo the address she had given me.

    "How much do I owe you?" she asked.

    "Nothing." I said.

    "You have to make a living," she answered. "Oh, there are other passengers," I answered.

    Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy."

60. The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to_______.

     A. show she was familiar with the city       B. see some places for the last time

     C. let the driver earn more money           D. reach the destination on time

61. The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he_______.

     A. wanted to give her a hand

     B. shut off the meter by mistake

     C. had received her payment ahead of time

     D. was in a hurry to take other passengers

62. What's the correct order of the following events?

     a. We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

     b. The door opened and a small woman stood before me.

     c. She showed me the building where she had once worked.

     d. I found the building was dark except for a single light.

     e. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.

     A. b, c, a, d, e     B. a, c, b, e, d    C. a, c, e, d, b     D. d, b, e, c, a

63. What can we learn from the story?

     A. Giving is always a pleasure.

     B. People should respect each other.

     C. An act of kindness can bring people great joy,

     D. People should learn to appreciate others' concern.

An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.

When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother， "Only a miracle（奇迹） can save him now，" the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.

She hurried to a drugstore(药店) with the money in her hand.

"And what do you want？" asked the salesman. "It's for my little brother，" the girl answered. "He's really， really sick and I want to buy a miracle."

"Pardon？" said the salesman.

"My brother Andrew has something bad growing in-side his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost？" "We don't sell a miracle here， child. I'm sorry，" the salesman said with a smile.

"Listen， if it isn't enough， I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs."

A well-dressed man heard it and asked， "What kind of a miracle does your brother need？"

"I don't know，" she answered with her eyes full of tears. "He's really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can't pay for it， so I have brought all my money."

"How much do you have？" asked the man. "$ 1.11， but I can try and get some more，" she answered.

"Well， what luck，" smiled the man. "$ 1.11， the price of a miracle for little brothers."

He took up the girl's hand and said， "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."

That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong，a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn't long before Andrew was home again.

How much did the miracle cost？

56. What was the trouble in the little girl's family？

A. Her brother was seriously ill.             B. They had no money.

C. Nothing could save her brother.           D. Both A and B

57. In the eye of the little girl,a miracle might be _______.

A. something interesting                 B. something beautiful

C. some wonderful medicine              D. some good food

58. The little girl said again and again "……I can try and get some more." That shows _______.

A. she had still kept some money

B. she hoped not to be refused

C. There was no need to worry about money

D. she thought money was easy to get

59. What made the miracle happen？

A. The girl's love for her brother.            B. The girl's money.

C. The medicine from the drugstore.         D. Nobody can tell.

60. From the passage we can infer （推断） that _______.

A. The doctor didn't ask for any pay

B. A miracle is sure to happen if you keep on

C. The little girl is lovely but not so clever

D. Andrew was in fact not so sick as they had thought