My granddaughter, Shari, owns The Berry(莓果)Factory in Sacramento, California, and her mother, Joan, and I were helping with the Valentine’s Day rush．We’d dipped(浸泡)hundreds of berries, arranged gift baskets and packaged orders to be shipped around the country．
By the end of the day, the two middle-aged women, Joan and I, were exhausted．Shari didn’t seem tired．That was typical Shari．Though she was very busy, I’d seen her give away berries to everybody－parking attendants, mail carriers and hairdressers．“For me?” they would say, bursting into a smile．
As a “thank you”, Shari took us out for dinner．But there was a 45-minute wait at her favorite restaurant．“No big deal．There’s another place just up the road,” she said, driving us there．This time we walked right in．
When the waitress came to take our drink orders, Shari reached into her handbag, pulling something out．“I want you to have these,” she said, handing the waitress a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries．“She will love those berries!” I thought．But the waitress seemed startled．She only let out a “thank you” before grabbing the box and rushing into the kitchen．
A few minutes later, the waitress returned with our iced tea．“I apologize,” she said．“My best friend and I had promised to send each other something every Valentine’s Day．But she passed away last year．I didn’t know how I’d get through this day without her．Then you handed me that box．” “I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Shari．“It’s not much, but I hope you can enjoy them．” “Oh, I will,” the waitress said．“See, every year we always sent each other the same thing; a box of chocolate-dipped strawberries bought from our favourite store, The Berry Factory．”
(1)
What can be inferred in the first paragraph?
[ ]
A．
The Berry Factory is a gift store
B．
The Berry Factory has few shop clerks．
C．
The Berry Factory has many branches around the country
D．
The Berry Factory has customers from different parts of the country．
(2)
Which of the following words can best describe Shari?
[ ]
A．
Talkative
B．
Creative
C．
Kind-hearted
D．
Well-known
(3)
The underlined word “startled” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
shocked
B．
excited
C．
tired
D．
frightened
(4)
We can learn from the last paragraph that ________．
“Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents, ” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug．
“It's so dreadful to be poor! ” sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress．
“I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all, ” added little Amy, with an injured sniff．
“We've got father and mother and each other, ” said Beth, contentedly．
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly：“We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time．” She didn't say “perhaps never”, but each silently added it, thinking of father far away, where the fighting was．
Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone：“You know the reason mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure when our men are suffering so in the army．We can't do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly．But I am afraid I don't”; and Meg shook her head, and she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted．
“But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good．We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that．I agree not to expect anything from mother or you, but I do want to buy UNDINE AND SINTRAM for myself; I've wanted it so long, ” said Jo, who was a bookworm．
“I planned to spend mine on new music, ” said Beth, with a little sigh．
“I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing pencils; I really need them, ” said Amy, decidedly．
“Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything．Let's each buy what we want, and have a little fun; I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it, ” cried Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner．
“I know I do-teaching those tiresome children nearly all day when I am longing to enjoy myself at home, ” began Meg, in the complaining tone again．
“You don't have half such a hard time as I do, ” said Jo．“How would you like to be shut up for hours with a nervous, fussy old lady, who is never satisfied, and worries you till you're ready to fly out of the window or cry? ”
“It's naughty to fret; but I do think washing dishes and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world．It makes me cross; nd my hands get so stiff, I can't practice well at all”; and Beth looked at her rough hands with a sigh that anyone could hear．
“I don't believe any of you suffer as I do．” cried Amy, “for you don't have to go to school with impertinent girls, who plague you if you don't know your lessons, and laugh at your dresses, and label your father if he isn't rich．”
“If you mean libel, I'd say so, and not talk about labels, as if papa was a pickle-bottle, ” advised Jo, laughing．
“I know what I mean, and you needn't be satirical about it．It's proper to use good words, and improve your vocabulary, ” returned Amy, with dignity．
“Don't peck at one another, children．Don't you wish we had the money papa lost when we were little, Jo? Dear me! How happy and good we'd be, if we had no worries! ” said Meg, who could remember better times．
“You once said you thought we were a deal happier than the King children, for they were fighting and fretting all the time, in spite of their money．”
“So I did．I think we are; for, though we do have to work, we make fun for ourselves, and are a pretty jolly set, as Jo would say．” Jo immediately sat up, put her hands in her pockets, and began to whistle．
“Don't, Jo; it's so boyish! ”
“That's why I do it．”
“I detest rude, unladylike girls! ”
“I hate affected, niminy-piminy chits! ”
“Birds in their little nests agree” sang Beth, the peacemaker, with such a funny face that both sharp voices softened to a laugh, and the `pecking' ended for that time．
(1)
According to the passage, who is the most pessimistic and who the most optimistic?
[ ]
A．
Jo; Amy
B．
Meg; Beth
C．
Meg; Amy
D．
Amy; Beth
(2)
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
[ ]
A．
Their father died when he was fighting with others．
B．
Their father is away at the war, leaving them at home with their mother．
C．
The passage is a story about three girls and a boy in a family．
D．
The four children in the passage all work and earn their own money．
(3)
What do they think of their mother's proposal of not having any Christmas gifts?
[ ]
A．
They all agreed to the proposal of not having any Christmas gifts．
B．
They all agreed that giving the money to the army was of little help．
C．
They all agreed that giving the money to the army was of much help．
D．
They all agreed to save the money and buy a gift for their father．
(4)
By saying “It makes me cross” Beth means she is rather ________．
[ ]
A．
happy
B．
excited
C．
interested
D．
angry
(5)
The King children are mentioned to show that ________．
[ ]
A．
The King family is rich while Beth's family is poor．
B．
Beth's family is poor and they are unhappy about it．
C．
Money can bring much happiness to their family．
D．
Money does not necessarily mean happiness．
阅读理解
阅读下列材料，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
The story began on a downtown Brooklyn street corner．An elderly man had collapsed while crossing the street, and an ambulance rushed him to Kings County Hospital．There, when he came to now and again, the man repeatedly called for his son．
From a worn letter located in his pocket, an emergency room nurse learned that his son was a marine stationed in North Carolina．Apparently there were no other relatives．
Someone at the hospital called the Red Cross office in Brooklyn, and a request for the boy to rush to Brooklyn was sent to the Red Cross director of the North Carolina Marine Corps camp．Because time was short－the patient was dying－the Red Cross man and an officer set out in an army vehicle．They found the young man walking through some marshes(沼泽)in a military exercise．He was rushed to the airport in time to catch the only plane that might enable him to reach his dying father．
It was dusk when the young marine walked into the entrance lobby of Kings County Hospital．A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside．
“Your son is here,” she said to the old man．She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened．The medicine he had been given for the pain from his heart attack made his eyes weak and he could only see the shadow of the young man in Marine Corps uniform standing outside the oxygen tent．He reached out his hand．The marine wrapped his strong fingers around the old man's weak ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement．The nurse brought a chair, so the marine could sit by the bed．
Nights are long in hospitals, but all through the night the young marine sat there in the dimly lit ward(病房), holding the old man's hand and offering words of hope and strength．Occasionally, the nurse urged the marine to rest for a while．He refused．
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the marine was there, but he paid no attention to her and the night noises of the hospital－the banging of an oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff exchanging greetings, the cries and breathing of other patients．Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words．The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son through most of the night．
It was nearly dawn when the patient died．The marine placed the lifeless hand he had been holding on the bed, and went to inform the nurse．While she did what she had to do, he smoked a cigarette, his first since he got to the hospital．
Finally, she returned to the nurse's station, where he was waiting．She started to offer words of sympathy, but the marine interrupted her．“Who was that man?” he asked．
“He was your father,” she answered, shocked．
“No, he wasn't,” the marine replied．“I never saw him before in my life．”
“Why didn't you say something when I took you to him?” the nurse asked．
“I knew immediately there'd been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here．When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I guessed he really needed me．So I stayed．”
With that, the marine turned and left the hospital．Two days later a message came in from the North Carolina Marine Corps base informing the Brooklyn Red Cross that the real son was on his way to Brooklyn for his father's funeral．It turned out there had been two marines with the same name and similar numbers in the camp．Someone in the personnel office had pulled out the wrong record．
But the wrong marine had become the right son at the right time．And he proved, in a very human way, that there are people who care what happens to their fellow men．
(1)
An emergency room nurse found out that the old man's son was a marine ________．
[ ]
A．
by calling the Red Cross office in Brooklyn
B．
because the old man repeatedly called for his son
C．
from a letter found in the old man's pocket
D．
form the old man's relatives
(2)
When the marine was found, ________．
[ ]
A．
he was setting out in an army vehicle with an officer．
B．
he was participating in a military exercise
C．
he and his fellow soldiers were stuck in marshes
D．
he was already with the old man
(3)
In the hospital, ________．
[ ]
A．
the nurse stayed by the old man's bed most of the night
B．
the dying man said a few words to the young man
C．
the young marine offered him comfort in the last few hours of the old man's life
D．
the night was cold and long, with people coming and going all night
(4)
The young marine told the nurse that he was not the real son of the old man ________．
[ ]
A．
after the old man died
B．
when the nurse sensed something strange
C．
before the marine came to the nurse's station
D．
as soon as he arrived
(5)
The mistake was due to ________．
[ ]
A．
the fact that the two marines had the same name and looked alike
B．
carelessness on the part of someone in the personnel office
C．
the wrong records kept in the North Carolina Marine Corps base
D．
the wrong information provided by the Brooklyn Red Cross
(6)
The sentence “the wrong marine had become the right son at the right time” in the last paragraph means that ________．
[ ]
A．
the marine was wrong in fooling the dying man
B．
the marine did not tell the truth at the hospital until some time later
C．
the marine told the real story about him and the old man
D．
the marine made the right decision about what he should do
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