James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully __36__ the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! __37__ on earth was he going to get the __38__ of the money?
He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was __39__ to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no __40__ asking his parents, for he knew they had no money to __41__.
There was only one way to get money, and that was to __42__ it. He would have to find a job. __43__ who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr. Clay for advice, who usually had __44__ on most things. “Well, you can start right here,” said Mr. Clay. “My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”
That was the __45__ of James’s odd-job(零工) business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was amazed by the __46__ of jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the __47__ of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the __48__ increased and he knew that he would soon have __49__ for the bicycle he longed for.
The day __50__ came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He __51__ no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode __52__ home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard __53__ for the money, but James knew that he valued his bicycle far more __54__ he had bought it with his own money. He had __55__what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.
| 36. | A. cleaned | B. covered | C. counted | D. checked |
| 37. | A. How | B. Why | C. Who | D. What |
| 38. | A. amount | B. part | C. sum | D. rest |
| 39. | A. brave | B. hard | C. smart | D. unfair |
| 40. | A. point | B. reason | C. result | D. right |
| 41. | A. split | B. spend | C. spare | D. save |
| 42. | A. borrow | B. earn | C. raise | D. collect |
| 43. | A. Or | B. So | C. For | D. But |
| 44. | A. decisions | B. experience | C. opinions | D. knowledge |
| 45. | A. beginning | B. introduction | C. requirement | D. opening |
| 46. | A. similarity | B. quality | C. suitability | D. variety |
| 47. | A. brand | B. number | C. size | D. type |
| 48. | A. effort | B. pressure | C. money | D. trouble |
| 49. | A. all | B. enough | C. much | D. some |
| 50. | A. finally | B. instantly | C. normally | D. regularly |
| 51. | A. gave | B. left | C. took | D. wasted |
| 52. | A. patiently | B. proudly | C. silently | D. tiredly |
| 53. | A. applying | B. asking | C. looking | D. working |
| 54. | A. since | B. if | C. than | D. though |
| 55. | A. deserved | B. benefited | C. achieved | D. learned |