When I was about 12 years old, I really wanted a new bike, but I knew there was little hope because my family could  36  have that money.
On my birthday, my parents told me they had my  37  outside in the back yard. At once I  38  out to the yard. There was my bike,  39  it wasn’t the bike that I thought it would be. This one was pink, old and worn with age. I thought I  40  my parents’ feelings because I could see the disappointment  41  their faces and I was sure they could see it on mine. I got on the old bike and rode it, feeling  42  that I had made my parents feel this way. So I put on a smile, rode as fast as I could and didn’t look back.
As time went by, I began to understand my parents gave me  43  much more than just a rusty（生锈的）old bike. They gave me a life lesson about  44 . When you give something out of love, it doesn’t matter what it is in fact. What matters is the love that is in it. I like to remember this  45  because giving a gift is not about money. It’s about how much love you can feel from it. Do remember, a gift that costs two dollars isn’t any less valuable than one that costs one hundred dollars, or even more.
【小题1】A. hardly                      B. quickly                      C. easily
【小题2】A. card                        B. gift                         C. cake
【小题3】A. rushed                      B. rode                         C. came
【小题4】A. and                             B. or                           C. but
【小题5】A. liked                       B. hated                        C. hurt
【小题6】A. on                          B. in                          C. at  
【小题7】A. surprised                   B. excited                      C. bad
【小题8】A. everything                  B. nothing                      C. something
【小题9】A. love                        B. money                        C. knowledge
【小题10】A. idea                       B. story                      C. advice

In one’s life, one spends the most time being with oneself. But one has the least understanding of oneself. When you are successful, you may be very    41  . When you    42  , you may lose heart. If you don’t get a thorough understanding of yourself, you may miss many chances in life.
To get a thorough understanding of yourself is to know well about yourself. You may realize your strong points and weak    43  . You may hope for a wonderful future, but be sure not to expect too much because not    44   dreams can come true. You may be confident enough to meet challenges，but first you should know   45  .
To get a thorough understanding of yourself needs self-appreciation(自我欣赏). Maybe you think you are a tall tree    46   just small grass, but you can always have your own way of being there. As soon as you get full confidence in yourself, you are sure to face any trouble.
To get a thorough understanding of yourself also    47  to take care of yourself. When you are angry, find a quiet place so that you won’t be hurt. When you are    48  , tell your friends about it to change the mood(情绪) into a good one. When you are tired, get a good sleep. If you don’t know when and how you should look after yourself, you    49   be able to stay away from illness.
   50   can tell what will happen in the future. Get a thorough understanding of yourself, and you will get a full control of yourself and find your life full of color.

Jim is the son of a farm owner. One New Year’s Day, when he was 15 years old, his father   1  him to work on the farm for one year at his free time. Jim was   2  with his father’s idea. “That isn’t my job. I have   43  school work to do.” At hearing this, his father said, “I promise (答应) to give you the best present if you   4  finish one year’s work.” Jim thought for a while and   5 .
Starting one Saturday, the boy got up early and worked   6  until evening, just like any other farmer. Time passed   7 . Jim’s crops grew very well. On the last day of the year, the father called his son to him. “I’m happy to see that you have worked very hard the whole year,” said the father. “Now, tell me   8  you want.”
The boy smiled and showed his father a big piece of bread made from his wheat. “I’ve already got the   9  present. No pains, no gains. I think this is what you wanted me to   10 .” His father was very pleased to hear that.

Long time ago, there was a woman with a surpring spell(魔法).If someone was under the spell, he or she would get perfect  26 .One day, the woman put the spell on her toad(蟾蜍),and then the toad got beautiful teeth. They could help him  27 all kinds of food. He could  28 start speaking.
The toad was  29 with the spell.He started to eat lots of chocolate.The woman found this and said to him,“30 your teeth and brush them often.Don’t eat so much chocolate…”31 the toad didn’t listen to her.He believed his teeth were very good and he didn’t have to brush them ofen.And he liked chocolate very much,so he didn’t want to eat  32  .
One day,one of the toad’s teeth got bad.Day by day,all the teeth in his 33 got bad.The toad decided to start looking after them,but it was too 34  .And when he 35  his last tooth,he couldn’t speak any more.
The toad thought if the woman put the spell on him again,he would brush them every day.But that never happened again.

My mum only had one eye. She cooked for students and teachers to    16   the family when I was young.
One day my mum came to　17  hello to me in primary school. I was so embarrassed（尴尬的） that I threw her a hateful  18 and ran out.
The next day at school, one of my classmates said, “Your mum only has one eye!” and   19     at me.
I hated my mum and decided to leave her, so I studied very hard. Later I got a chance to go abroad to study and I left my mother.　20　graduation I worked, bought a house and got    21 there. Then I had kids of my own. I was happy with my wife and my kids. But one day someone knocked at my door. It was my  22  !When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I   23  at her, “How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!” And to this, my mum　24   answered, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I may have got the wrong   25  ,”and she disappeared.
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion（聚会） came to my house. So I　26  to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old house.
My neighbors said that she    27   . I did not have a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.
My dearest son,
    I am thinking　28　 you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to your house and scared your 　29　 .
     I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I’m sorry that I was still an embarrassment to you when you were growing up.
   You see…when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn’t stand watching you grow up with one eye. So I gave you    30   .
   …  With all my love to you!
                                                               Your mother

One day, a boy found the cocoon(茧) of a butterfly and brought it home. A few days later, the boy saw a small   41  in the cocoon. He sat and watched for several hours as a butterfly struggled to make   42  body through that little hole. Suddenly it stopped.
So the boy   43  to help the butterfly, thinking the butterfly might be   44 .He took a pair of scissors(剪刀) and cut the hole   45 .The butterfly came out of the cocoon but it  46 
a little different. It had a weak body and small, thin   47 .The butterfly didn’t start to fly. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(爬行) around with a weak body and thin wings. It was never able to fly.
The boy acted with   48  but he didn’t understand why it could be like this. When a butterfly crawls out of the cocoon, it must struggle. The hard work of  49  out of the cocoon makes the fluid(液体) from the butterfly’s body into its wings. It helps the butterfly be  50  to fly. If the butterfly never has to squeeze(挤压) itself out of the cocoon, its wings will never get the fluid and it can never fly.
  51  struggles are what we need in our lives. If we lived our lives without any problems, we would never learn or grow. We would not be  52  we could have been and we would never fly.
In our lives, pain and suffering is the key to all windows, and sometimes even   53  growth, without it , there’s no way of life. We can’t avoid   54   or problems. So, next time you are   55 a problem or difficulty, remember the butterfly. Struggle a little—then fly!

An elderly carpenter(木匠) was ready to retire. He told his boss his plans to   1  the business and live a more relaxed life with his wife. He would miss the pay, but he needed to retire.
The boss was   2  to see his good worker go, and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes,   3  it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used poor skills and   4  materials. It was an unfortunate way to   5  his career.
When the carpenter finished his work, the boss came to   6  the house. After he checked it out, he handed a   7  to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said. ‘It is my gift to you.”
What a shame！If he knew he was building his own house, the old man would have done it all so   8 .
So it is with all of us. Think of your life as a   9 . Each day you hammer a nail(钉子), place a board, or set up a wall. You must try your best to build the house wisely because it is the only life you will ever have. Your life tomorrow will  10  from the attitudes you choose today.
【小题1】.

One day, a boy found the cocoon(茧) of a butterfly and brought it home. A few days later, the boy saw a small   31  in the cocoon. He sat and watched for several hours as a butterfly struggled to make   32  body through that little hole. Suddenly it stopped.
So the boy   33  to help the butterfly, thinking the butterfly might be   34 .He took a pair of scissors and cut the hole   35 .The butterfly came out of the cocoon but it   36 a little different. It had a weak body and small, thin   37 .The butterfly didn’t start to fly. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling(爬行) around with a weak body and thin wings. It was never able to fly.
The boy acted with   38  but he didn’t understand why it could be like this. When a butterfly crawls out of the cocoon, it must struggle. The hard work of   39  out of the cocoon makes the fluid(液体) from the butterfly’s body into its wings. It helps the butterfly be   40  to fly. If the butterfly never has to squeeze(挤压) itself out of the cocoon, its wings will never get the fluid and it can never fly.
  41  struggles are what we need in our lives. If we lived our lives without any problems, we would never learn or grow. We would not be __42__ we could have been and we would never fly.
In our lives, pain and suffering is the key to all windows, and sometimes even   43  growth, without it , there’s no way of life. We can’t avoid   44  or problems. So, next time you are   45 a problem or difficulty, remember the butterfly. Struggle a little—then fly!

I have been keeping 41 pets at home: mice, turtles and rabbits. But golden hanmsters are my favorite. I am always surprised by 42 cute they can be.
It was summer when I first 43 two golden hamsters. They 44 brown, about the size of my hand. When I 45 by, they were cracking melon seeds (嗑瓜子). They did that as 46 as any human! I was so amused (逗乐) that I bought them at once.
The only one who was not happy to see the newcomers was my 47 . She thought 48 would make our home dirty all the time. So I made a 49 for them on the balcony (阳台).
Hamsters always want people to look at them. They try to get noticed by raising the front part of their body, 50 they watch you come and go until you stop and talk to them. Watch out when they start to roller-turn in their cage (笼子). They won’t stop 51 you have tears of laugher!
Hamsters are 52 than you think. One morning several months ago, I found one missing. The side of the cage was much 53 than the hamster and the cage had a lid. How did the little one climb up, open the lid and 54 ? I thought hard. But I’ve 55 found an answer.

Jason and Harry joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. They both worked very hard.
After several years, the boss made Harry sales manager but Jason   31  a salesman. One day Jason could not take it anymore. He handed in his resignation letter (辞职信) to the boss and complained that the boss did not   32  hard-working employees, but only raised those   33 tried to please him. He thought that it was really   34  .
In order to help Jason to realize the   35  between him and Harry, the boss asked Jason to do the   36  --- "Go and find out if there is anyone selling watermelons in the market." Charlie went, returned and only said, "Yes." The boss asked, "How much per kg?" Charlie went back to the market to ask and returned to   37  , "$ 12 per kg."
The boss told Jason that he would ask Harry the  38  question. Harry went, returned and said, "Boss, only one person selling watermelons. $12 per kg, $ 100 for 10 kg. He has a total of 340 melons. On the table are 58 melons, and every melon weighs about 15 kg,   39 from the South two days ago. They are fresh, red, and of good   40 ."
Jason was   41  and he realized the difference between himself and Harry. He decided not to leave but to learn from Harry.
My dear friends, you know, a more   42  person is more observant(观察力敏锐的), thinks more and understands in   43  . For the same matter, he sees several years ahead,   44  you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, so how could you   45 ?
Think: how far have you seen ahead in your life? How thoughtful are you?