An old man lived with his family. The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, dropping to the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often spilled clumsily(笨拙地) at the tablecloth.

With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became annoyed with the mess.

“We must do something about grandfather,” said the son.

“I’ve had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor,” the daughter-in-law agreed.

So the couple set a small table at the corner.

There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family looked in grandfather’s direction, he had tears in his eyes as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp warnings when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood pieces on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly, the boy replied, “Oh, I’m making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

These words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, both knew what must be done.

1.Eating was difficult for the grandfather because ________.

A. his son and daughter-in-law didn’t like him

B. there wasn’t enough food for him

C. life was hard for the poor family

D. he was old and weak

2.The couple served the old man’s food in wooden bowls to ________.

A. show how sick they felt of the old man

B. make the old man’s food more enjoyable

C. prevent the old man from breaking more dishes

D. encourage their son to make more wooden bowls

3.What would the end of the story be like?

A. The couple gave their son a good beating.

B. No more milk was spilled by the old man.

C. The old man had every meal with the family.

D. The whole family started to use wooden bowls.

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1 分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Nancy was getting ready for bed when she heard a cry. A little  36  , she went over to the window and   37  . A homeless girl who seemed to be about her age was  38   in front of her house. She felt  39   for the girl, because it was a cold winter, and the girl had nothing to keep her  40  .

Nancy was suddenly struck with a great  41  . She ran to her mother’s closet(壁橱), and   42   up an old quilt（被子）. She had to walk  43   down to the front door so as not to trip（绊倒）over the quilt which was hanging   44  , but she finally made it. Dropping the quilt, she opened the door. Standing there was the homeless girl, looking quite  45  . Nancy smiled warmly and  46   the quilt to the girl. Her smile grew wider as she saw the true  47   on the girl’s face.

The next day a   48   came to the door. Nancy flew to the door hoping that it was the little girl again. She opened the door and looked outside. It was the little girl. The girl smiled,“I   49   you want this back.”

Nancy opened her mouth and was about to say that she could keep it   50   another idea appeared in her head.“Yes, I want it back.”

The homeless girl’s face  51  . This was obviously not the   52  she had hoped for. She slowly put down the quilt, and turned to   53   when Nancy said,“  54  ! Stay right there.” She ran upstairs and came back with a   55   quit. “Have this,”she said quietly. It was Nancy’s own quilt made of silk and feathers.

36. A.excited                   B.frightened             C.intersted                    D.nervous

37. A.cleaned up              B.sat down                   C.looked out             D.closed up

38. A.fighting                     B.shouting                    C.singing                  D.crying

39. A.pity                               B.regret                    C.fun                           D.ashamed

40. A.rich                               B.safe                          C.healthy                  D.warm

41. A.suggestion               B.idea                          C.hit                               D.trick

42. A.looked                   B.caught                   C.picked                   D.brought

43. A.slower                    B.farther                  C.earlier                   D.sooner

44. A.on                          B.in                         C.over                          D.down

45. A.tired                           B.hungry                  C.rude                          D.puzzled

46. A.lent                               B.lifted                        C.handed                  D.threw

47. A.weakness                    B.happiness              C.friendship              D.curiosity

48. A.knock                     B. friend                  C.stranger                     D.girl

49. A.believe                   B.wish                         C.suppose                     D.know

50. A.after                           B.until                         C.when                        D.before

51. A.fell                         B.lost                           C.glared                   D.saved

52. A.quilt                           B.topic                         C.gift                           D.answer

53. A.enter                          B.leave                         C.speak                    D.thank

54. A.Help                           B.Wait                         C.Stop                         D.Listen

55. A.cheap                     B.big                           C.new                          D.clean

Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.

I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.

Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.

The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.

“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.

And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.

“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.

“Then what am I getting?” I asked.

She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...

My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.

Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.

1.The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Para-graph 1 means _____.

A．talking often                           B．suggesting indirectly

C．sending presents                        D．taking pictures

2.Why did Stacy feel disappointed at first?

A．Her mother couldn’t understand her at all.

B．Her mother didn’t buy her any Christmas gift.

C．She mistook her sister’s Christmas gift for hers.

D．She didn’t find her present in her mom’s room.

3.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A．her mother bought Stacy a camera after discovering her disappointment

B．her mother knew what gift Stacy wanted for Christmas

C．Stacy thought it’s OK to have an old camera

D．Stacy finally got her gift on Christmas Eve

4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The family happiness captured by the camera.

B．The nice Christmas that Stacy spent.

C．The beautiful pictures that Stacy took.

D．The true love that Stacy got from her parents.

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A Christmas gift as wished

B．Love is more important than gifts

C．A wonderful Christmas

D．Love can not be bought

A couple of years ago, I went to a lady’s house to buy some vitamins. Upon entering the house, I  36   that there was an electronic keyboard on a stand, leaning  37   the wall. Being a piano music lover and  38  , I asked, if the woman played. She nodded and added that she had been  39   lessons at age 54! I told her that it was very   40   that she was pursuing （追求） her passion（热情）to play the piano.

 Then she asked me  41   question. “I have been playing for 8 years now,” I answered. 

  “Then you must play a song for me before you leave,” she  42  .I thought she was joking and I simply smiled. At the end of the deal of the vitamins, she  43  me of our musical “  44 _”. She then showed me to an old upright piano in the living room,   45   asked me to play a song for her. I thought   46   and decided to play David Lantz’s “Return to the Heart”, since she had so much passion for  47  ,and it was my soul-searching song. 

    I played the song to the best of my ability, and with my emotions  48   into it as possible. She loved it.  49   I was about to step out of the door, I heard a weak voice calling out, “Young man!”

    I turned around. And there was an old lady  50   one little step at a time with the help of another woman. “I wanted to come out to  51   you for the beautiful song that you played. I have been very sick, and it’s very hard for me to  52  my bed, but your music made me feel good ”she said. With that, she turned around and walked  53   back to her room. 

   I was deeply  54   by her appreciation and felt a deeper understanding for the song. It served its purpose beautifully, returning to one’s  55   for peace and joy. 

1.A. observed   B. watched          C. noticed         D. caught

2.A. on         B. at               C. over            D. against

3.A. player      B. teacher      C. composer            D. starter

4.A. giving      B. attending       C. teaching         D. reviewing

5.A. interesting B. wonderful           C. moved           D. impressive

6.A. another     B. a different     C. the same             D. other

7.A. advised     B. ordered      C. demanded            D. requested

8.A. warned      B. reminded     C. asked               D. required

9.A. course      B. task            C. discussion           D. deal

10.A. and        B. but         C. as a result          D. what’s more

11.A. for the moment    B. at the moment

C. for a moment         D. at a moment

12.A. music      B. songs           C. the piano            D. vitamins

13.A. dropping    B. falling        C. pouring              D. running

14.A. Since       B. As        C. While             D. Because

15.A. taking      B. making         C. having               D. giving

16.A. thank         B. praise           C. admire            D. owe

17.A. get on      B. get up         C. get off              D. get down

18.A. quietly     B. calmly         C. happily          D. slowly

19.A. shocked     B. touched        C. delighted            D. disturbed

20.A. world       B. heart          C. brains               D. dreams

Christmas Eve was tomorrow. I hoped one of the packages that held a camera had already been placed under the Christmas tree. It was the only thing I wanted. I had been dropping hints to my parents. I love taking photos. My bedroom walls are covered with photos I had taken with my mom’s old camera. I’m always trying to capture (捕捉) those perfect moments in which you can hear the laughter or touch the beautiful scene, but my camera has always seemed to fall short.
I knew Mom had put a few presents under the tree this morning, so I went on a hunt in my mom’s room. I opened the door and found my Christmas present was lying unwrapped on the floor — a big pink cat. I felt so disappointed.
Mom seemed to notice that, and she tried to cheer me up. “Stacy, I got your present today. I am so excited to surprise you!” “I can’t wait,” I said.
The next day I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell her.
“Mom, may I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure, dear. What do you need to talk about?” she asked.
And so it came — how upset I was that I was getting a cat.
“Stacy, that cat is for your sister Julia!” she said with a smile.
“Then what am I getting?” I asked.
She just smiled. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
Next morning, I happily got into the living room and sat next to the tree. I pulled out the box with my name on it and opened the wrapping paper to find ...
My camera! “Thank you!” I said to both Dad and Mom.
Dad picked up the camera and took a picture of Julia, Mom and me. It has become one of my favorite pictures. Just on that Christmas morning, I took lots of photos with my camera — my little sister making a face, my parents giving me a soft smile — and all of these photos have come to mean one thing to me: love.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “dropping hints” in Para-graph 1 means _____.