When my son, Mark, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy holiday presents. The third Saturday in December Mark said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.
I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Mark picked up a hand basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Mark over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter (交款处) and reached into his pocket ... Mark stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.
Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Mark and took him in her arms. “You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you,” said the woman. “It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, I know you will feel as good about it as I do now.”
Mark took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Mark enjoyed giving them to us.
I would like to say “thank you” to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Mark went house to house collecting blankets and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Mark will never forget to keep passing it on.
【小题1】When did the story probably happen?

Hello Sandy,

We have just returned from our holiday. We went with our friends Edward Smith and his wife Tina to the Yorkshire Moors. This is a beautiful place. It is a natural park. There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills, miles of grassland with no people, just sheep and birds.

Edward, who had just come out of hospital, could not walk as far as he used to. However this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a cafe for lunch each day, before returning to the place we live. Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk. Very pleasant!

I have taken lots of photos from the place we live, across the valley（峡谷）below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist in the valley. Also, in England, the old steam powered trains（蒸汽火车）are very popular. I have taken many photos of the train and from it.

Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter. It is very early （we usually expect snow in January）. It rained all day, and then snowed in the evening. Today we have bright sunshine!

Both Jenny and I are well. I don’t know if I told you, in the last E-mail, that Jenny is now working in a hotel. Although she has to work hard, people there are nice and she is enjoying the work.

Please write to us to tell us your news.

Yours,

Victor

1. What kind of place is the Yorkshire Moors?

2. When did the ladies take a walk?

3. They had ______ snow this winter.

4. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 mean?

5. What do we know from this passage?

The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of September 2,1666.In four days it destroyed more than three quarters of the old city,where most of those houses were built out of wood and close together.One hundred thousand people became homeless but only few lost their lives.The fire started on Sunday moring.By eight o’clock three hundred houses were on fire.On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames.Tuesday was the worst day.The fire destroyed many well–known buildings.

    The fire stopped only when the king finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path(路线) of the fire.With nothing left to burn,the fire became weak and finally died out.

    1.What day die the Great Fire happen in London?

      A.Sunday.          B.Monday.         C.Tuesday.         D.Wednesday.

2.The Great Fire of London destroyed more than ________ of the old city.

  A.25 percent        B.30 percent       C.half             D.75 percent

    3.What were most of the houses made of?

      A.Plastic.          B.Wood.            C.Stones.          D.Bricks.

    4.Finally,the fire was out because there wasn’t ________ left to burn it ________.

      A.nothing,the fire                      B.anything,the city

      C.anything,the path of the fire             D.something,the streets

    5.How long did the fire last?

      A.Two days.                         B.Three days.

      C.More than four days.                 D.Half a month.

The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.

    The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker(面包师)in Pudding Lane, The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery(房)into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.

    By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.

    Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.

    The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.

    After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifiy churches, among them new St Paul's.

    The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.

1.The fire began in_______.

A. a hotel.      B. the palace.         C. Pudding Lane.    D. Thames Street.

2.The underlined word "family" in the second paragraph means_______.

A. home.                                                       B. children.

C. wife and husband.                        D. wife and children.

3.It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.

A. some people lost their lives.

B. the birds in the sky were killed by the fire.

C. many famous buildings were destroyed.

D. the King's bakery was burned down.

4.Why did writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?

A.Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire.

B. Because Pepys also wrote about the fire.

C. To show that poor people suffered most.

D. To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire.

5.How was the fire put out according to the test?

A.The king and his soldiers came to help.

B. All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed.

C.People managed to get enough water from the river.

D.Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down.