If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees. One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk. For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house. Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it. Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before. We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable. We easily placed it in a stand, decorated it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light. Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off. There was nothing to do but undecorate it, take it down, and begin tree shopping again. Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task. When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors. To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts （螺帽） and bolts （闩子） worked more mysteriously than those of our old stands. I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand. Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers' shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments （装饰）were stored. Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these. I don't care to hear them, as my family's experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion:" Let's forget the tree next Christmas. Let's simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall. "

1.The darkest moments in the writer's family were with the fact that _____.

2.We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to _____.

3.When the writer said " my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain", he means ____.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees. One would certainly think otherwise; selecting and putting up our trees have always been filled with risk. For example, one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain, a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house. Once we did, my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it. Another December, perhaps the very next one, we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before. We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable. We easily placed it in a stand, decorated it from top to bottom, and then self-satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light. Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden; we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off. There was nothing to do but undecorate it, take it down, and begin tree shopping again. Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task. When we brought it home, once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors. To complicate matters, we had bought a new stand, one whose nuts （螺帽） and bolts （闩子） worked more mysteriously than those of our old stands. I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand. Unfortunately, no one noticed the mud on our helpers' shoes, so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments （装饰）were stored. Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these. I don't care to hear them, as my family's experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion:" Let's forget the tree next Christmas. Let's simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall. "
【小题1】The darkest moments in the writer's family were with the fact that _____.

I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol(美国国会大厦), in Washington, D.C., as were my parents and my mother’s parents.

Our row house was on a tree-lined street just blocks from the building that was the heart of the federal legislative branch. When I was a child, in the 1940s, friends and I would pack a lunch or ride a streetcar to the Capitol. If we roller-skated, we hid the skates in the bushes in the park across the street before entering the building.

I knew every corner of the Capitol. We’d play hide-and-seek and pretend we saw ghosts in the halls and stairways. I don’t know how we got away with it. I remember the beautiful ladies’ rooms, with their marble floors and sinks. I pretended that I was a fine lady in them.

In those days, you could walk around the Capitol dome(圆顶屋), which was a little scary for me. I loved the wonderful paintings and statues and the subway rides to the Senate Office Building. It was like an amusement ride. I even used to sit in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives—until I became bored with all the talk and went on another adventure.

Whenever I ran up the steps to the huge bronze doors of the Rotunda, I would look back to the world below like a hero. As soon as the doors were opened, the sense of history surrounded me, and I knew it was someplace special.

Those were lucky days, when an American citizen could wander in the Capitol and be a part of history.

Once war was declared, some things changed in the nation’s capital. Because of concerns that Washington might be attacked, as London had been, everyone prepared. Kids at my elementary school wore dog tags, and each of us was fingerprinted.

My father, a pipe worker, became a civil defense warden(民防队员). During an air-raid(空袭), his job was to turn off any leaking gas. Since he always had a cigarette in his mouth, maybe that was not a good choice, but he had a gas mask and flashlight hanging in the rafters of our basement. The mask looked like a monster in the ceiling. My 15-year-old brother was a junior civil defense warden. During air-raid drills, he knocked on doors and asked people to put out their lights. I remember huge searchlights that crisscrossed the skies during the drills, looking for enemy planes.

What can we infer from the passage?

A. The writer attended the meeting in House of Representative.

B. The writer’s family lived in Washington D.C. for generations.

C. American citizen, except children, could never enter the Capitol.

D. The writer’s father had a gas mask to prevent him from smoking.

When the writer said “I was born and raised in the shadow of the Capitol” (1st paragraph),    she most probably meant that ________.

A. she spent her childhood in an area near the Capitol

B. she grew up under the pressure of the Capitol

C. the Capitol had some bad influence on my childhood

D. she was born and brought up secretly in the Capitol

By telling the childhood experience, the passage suggests that ________.

A. London was attacked during the war, as well as Washington

B. the writer is a daughter of a member of Representatives

C. the writer’s father and brother joined the army during the war

D. the Capitol used to be open to the public in history

What is the writer’s attitude towards the things that changed in the nation’s capital?

A. neutral                     B. positive             C. negative D. ironic

If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees．One would certainly think otherwise；selecting and puRing up our trees have always been filled with risk．For example，one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain，a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house．Once we did，my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it．Another December perhaps the very next one，we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before．We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable．We easily placed it in a stand，decorated it from top to bottom，and then self satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light．Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden；we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off．There was nothing to do but undecorate it，take it down，and begin tree shopping again．Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task．When we brought it home，once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors．I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand．Unfortunately，no one noticed the mud on our helpers’shoes，so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments（装饰）were stored．Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these．I don’t care to hear them，as my family’s experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion：”Let’s forget the tree next Christmas．Let’s simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall．”

The darkest moments in the writer’s family were with the fact that ______．

       A．the family bought big Christmas trees

       B．they had problems decorating their Christmas trees

       C．they had problems picking suitable Christmas trees

       D．they had problems finding carpenters for putting up Christmas trees

We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to ______．

       A．forget about Christmas stories

       B．get the neighbors to put up their trees

       C．buy a better tree to celebrate Christmas

       D．make other decorations rather than Christmas trees

When the writer said”my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain”，he means____．

       A．she bought the tree at a low price         

       B．she didn’t really want to buy it

       C．she had to bargain hard with the salesman  

       D．she couldn’t afford a more expensive one

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?

       A．How to Select a Christmas Tree         B．No More Christmas Trees for Us

       C．Dark Moments of Life                 D．Christmas Without Trees

If I were writing a history of my family, some of the darkest moments recorded would be those surrounding Christmas trees．One would certainly think otherwise；selecting and puRing up our trees have always been filled with risk．For example，one afternoon dangerously close to Christmas Eve my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain，a glorious tree that was so full and tall that we could hardly get it into the house．Once we did，my father immediately realized that we would have to hire a carpenter to build a stand for it．Another December perhaps the very next one，we bought a tree earlier than we ever had before．We were happy with its shape and delighted that its size was manageable．We easily placed it in a stand，decorated it from top to bottom，and then self satisfiedly sat back by the fire in its soft light．Two or three days passed and the truth could not be hidden；we had bought a tree cut so long ago that its needles were coming off．There was nothing to do but undecorate it，take it down，and begin tree shopping again．Our most recent Christmas tree offered still another difficult task．When we brought it home，once again it seemed larger than it was in the great outdoors．I persuaded two young neighbors to stop playing basketball and to help us get the tree into the house and set it correctly in the stand．Unfortunately，no one noticed the mud on our helpers’shoes，so only after removing several reddish brown spots from the carpet were we able to discuss the question of where the lights and ornaments（装饰）were stored．Perhaps those who cut their own trees have tales more painful than these．I don’t care to hear them，as my family’s experiences are enough to cause me to make the following suggestion：”Let’s forget the tree next Christmas．Let’s simply hang some flowers on the front door and over the mirror in the hall．”

1.The darkest moments in the writer’s family were with the fact that ______．

       A．the family bought big Christmas trees

       B．they had problems decorating their Christmas trees

       C．they had problems picking suitable Christmas trees

       D．they had problems finding carpenters for putting up Christmas trees

2.We can learn from the passage that the writer would like to ______．

       A．forget about Christmas stories

       B．get the neighbors to put up their trees

       C．buy a better tree to celebrate Christmas

       D．make other decorations rather than Christmas trees

3.When the writer said”my mother bought what she thought to be a bargain”，he means____．

       A．she bought the tree at a low price         

       B．she didn’t really want to buy it

       C．she had to bargain hard with the salesman  

       D．she couldn’t afford a more expensive one

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?

       A．How to Select a Christmas Tree         B．No More Christmas Trees for Us

       C．Dark Moments of Life                 D．Christmas Without Trees