Carol and Susan were great friends. They were in the same class at school, and they often visited each other's homes at weekends.

　　When they were both eight years old, Carol's mother had a baby. Carol was overjoyed to have a little sister and was always talking about her to Susan, who had no brothers or sisters.

　　At first Susan was very interested in the new baby, but after some time she began to get rather discontented (不高兴的) with Carol's continual talking about it. She also felt a little jealous(妒忌的).

　　One morning when the two girls were in the school playground, Carol said to Susan cheerfully, “Do you know, Sue, my baby sister gained nearly two hundred grams in weight this week. ”

　　“That's not very much, ” answered Susan. “I know a baby that gains five kilograms a day. ”

　　“Oh, that can't be true! ” answered Carol. “Whose baby is it?”

　　“An elephant's,” said Susan.

1．How many children did Susan's parents have?

2．Why did Susan get tired of hearing about Carol's sister?

3．What did Carol boast to Susan about one morning?

4．What did Susan do to try to make Carol boast less?

My father died when I was a few months old． After his death, my mother moved back to Louisville, Kentucky, where __1__ had grown up． We lived in a small house with her older sister, Marion, and their mother． This was a time when being a single __2___ was still considered unusual．

When I was small, there was a children’s book called The Happy Family, and it was a real piece of work． Dad worked all day log at the office, Mom cooked in the kitchen, and brother and sister always had friends sleeping over． The image of the family in this book was typical （典型的） of the time． It looked __3___ like my family, but luckily that wasn’t the way I heard it． The way my Aunt Marion read it to me made the story really __4__．

Kind-hearted and open-minded, my aunt was the one who played baseball with me, who took me horseback riding, who took me to the father-son dinners and who gave me lessons on how to drive． Believing that anything __5__ was probably good for, she __6__ to get a loan （贷款） so that I could go to Africa to work as a volunteer, which was my most important experience．

As a young girl, Aunt Marion always planned to have a large number of children of her own, but she never got married．This __7__ that she was free to spend all her time taking care of me．Many people say we have a lot in common．She always __8__ me to do my best． She never __9__ to make me believe that I could do anything with my life that I wanted, if I only tried hard enough．

For more than sixty years, Aunt Marion didn’t and still don’t think of herself． __10__ she is forced to come up to the front, my aunt will stand in the back in family photos, and she doesn’t think that her efforts have made much __11___．I honor my aunt, who taught me the things my __12___ couldn’t．So every June for the past 40 years, in growing thankfulness to my Aunt Marion, I’ve sent her a Father’s Day card．

1． A． I                        B． she                     C． he                      D． we

2． A． man                   B． family                  C． parent                 D． child

3． A． nothing               B． anything              C． everything           D． something

4． A． surprising            B． boring                 C． sad                     D． funny

5． A． interesting         B． pleasant               C． impossible   D． unusual

6． A． decided               B． afforded              C． offered               D． prepared

7． A． said                    B． meant                 C． proved                D． showed

8． A． allowed               B． afforded              C． offered               D． forced

9． A． hoped                 B． agreed                C． stopped              D． tailed

10． A． Unless              B． Although             C． Since                  D． Before

11． A． difference          B． progress             C． trouble                       D． sense

12． A． Teachers            B． mother                       C． father                        D． friends