Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey live in Iowa. They have a big family. Mikayla is the oldest child in the family. She is six years old. The other children are Brandon, Joe, Kelsey, Kenney, Natalie, Alexis and Nathan. They are all five years old. Why are they all the same age? ______ 1.. They are septuplets!

　　It is hard work to look after seven babies at the same time. ______ 2.. In the beginning, many people helped them. They helped to feed, clean, and dress the babies. Every week , the septuplets used about 170 diapers(尿布)!______ 3..

Now the children are older. The septuplets started school this year. But they go to school at home, like their big sister, Mikayla. When Mikayla was ready for school, Kenny and Bobbi decided to teach her at home.______ 4..Now Bobbi is the teacher for all eight of her children.

Tom walked into a shop . It had a sign outside : "Second-hand (旧的) clothes bought and sold . "He was carrying an old pair of trousers and asked the owner of the shop, "How much will you give me for these?" The man looked at them and then said: "Two dollars."

　　"What !" said Tom. "I had guessed they were worth at least five dollars."

　　"No," said the man, "they aren't worth a cent more than two dollars."

　　"Well," said Tom, taking two dollars out of his pocket. "Here's your money. These trousers were hanging outside your shop. The list price (标价)of them was six dollars and a half. But I thought that was too much money, so I wanted to find out how much they were really worth."

　　Then he walked out of the shop with the pair of trousers and disappeared before the shop owner could think of anything to say .

1.At first the owner of the shop thought that Tom __________.

A. wanted to steal the trousers　 　　  B. wanted to sell the trousers

C. wanted to fool him　　　　　　   D. wanted to buy the trousers 

2.The owner of the shop_______ 　for the old trousers.

A. would give Tom two dollars　  

B. would pay three dollars

C. would pay five dollars　　　  　　 

D. would give Tom six dollars and a half 

3.The shop owner insisted（坚持） that the trousers were worth only two dollars because ____.

A. he wanted to sell them cheaply   　 

B. he wanted to buy them cheaply

C. he didn't like the trousers    　　 

D. they were old and dirty 

4.In fact, the trousers _________.

A. were hanging inside the shop　  　　 

B. were stolen by Tom from the shop

C. had been the shop owner's　　 　　 

D. had been Tom's 

5.From the story we know that _________ cheaper than the list price.

A. the owner sold the trousers two dollars

B. Tom sold the trousers one dollar and a half

C. the owner bought the trousers three dollars

D. Tom bought the trousers four dollars and a half

　Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.　
　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.　
　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.　
　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.　
　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.　
　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.　
　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:　
　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”
　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, making life strong and warm.
　　thread: 线　　　 quilt: 被子
　　1. Why did the parents try to earn a lot of money?
　　A. To pay for the food.
　　B. To pay off the debt.
　　C. To pay for the hospital.
　　D. To pay the high tuition.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. The parents sent flowers on Valentine’s day.
　　B. The parents liked to say “I love you.”
　　C. The father was too tired to have a good temper.
　　D. The mother had no job.

　　3. From the passage, we can know that _________.
　　A. the father made much money from his work
　　B. Susan couldn’t understand her mother
　　C. the parents always loved each other
　　D. the mother was worried about her husband

　　4. How did Susan feel towards her parents at last?
　　A. sad　　　　　 B. glad　　 　　C. worried　　　 D. easy

　　5. Which is the best title?
　　A. Love is inside.　　　　　　　　 B. Love is outside.
　　C. Love is seen everywhere.　　 　 D. Love is seen anytime.