The weather is something no one can control. Maybe that is   16   there are so many expressions about the weather, especially about   17  .

    Sometimes, when you need rain, you do not get any. Other times, you get rain when you don’t need it.   18   a baseball game for example, a sudden rainstorm can stop an exciting game. If the game cannot continue, people who bought the tickets are given “rain checks”. These are   19   tickets that will let them see a   20   game for free.

   “Rain Check” now means a second chance at something. Shops may offer “rain checks” when they sell out all of a product(产品) — a television set, for example, at a special low price.   21   all the TV sets have been sold out, the shop gives rain checks to those who wanted to buy   22  . The rain check allows a person to buy the TV set later at the same low price after the shop receives some   23   TV sets from the factory.

    “Rain Check” is also used in social situations. It’s a way of   24   an invitation, but for a later time.

    You may ask for a “Rain Check” if you are invited to a friend’s house for dinner, but can’t be there right now. You say, “I would love to go, but I’m busy. Could I have a rain check?”   25   you are asking if you could have dinner with your friend at another time. It seems that your friend will probably ask you to dinner very soon next time.

1.A. what               B. where            C. why              D. when

2.A. weather            B. cloud            C. sky              D. rain

3.A. Bring              B. Take             C. Give             D. Carry

4.A. beautiful          B. special         C. expensive        D. cheap

5.A. better             B. larger          C. later            D. earlier

6.A. But                B. Before           C. Where            D. After

7.A. it                 B. one              C. this             D. that

8.A. much               B. better           C. more             D. less

9.A. refusing           B. printing        C. sending          D. accepting

10.A. In fact           B. Of course        C. By the way       D. At least

阅读下面的短文，根据所给首字母提示，用合适的单词填空。(10分)

Dear Peter:

I’m glad to receive your letter. Thank you for caring for the weather and my health. Now I’d like to tell you something a  1.  the smog(雾霾)。

Since the winter last year, the smog has t 2. place for several times. It has done great harm to our d 3.  life. Many traffic accidents happened just because of the heavy smog weather. More and more people have to go to see the d 4.   because of the serious disease caused by the smog. Quite a lot of flights have to be put off. A great number of people have to stay at h5.  for fear of the poisonous air caused by smog.

People have realized the great harm caused by the smog and the importance of p 6.

the environment. People from all over the country are taking actions to reduce the smog weather. The g 7.   asks people to go to work or school with the public traffic, such as the bus and the u 8.   . Also we should plant more trees.

According to me, I’ll go to school by bike or on foot, and I won’t throw the waste   a  9. .  In addition（另外），I will tell people that all of us should protect the environment as possibly  a10.    we can. Would you like to tell me some good ideas? I’m looking forward to your reply.

Yours,

Wang Hua

0ur village carpenter(木匠)，John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife.  He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two window.  When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill( 账单) for his job.
My wife said to me quietly, “That’s his ninth cup of tea today. ”But she said in a loud voice, “It’s a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it?” “I’ll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said.  John laughed and gave me his bill for the work.  I read:
One dining table                 10^th November, 2011
Cost of wood                    $ 17:00
Paint                           $1. 50
Work, 8 hours($1 an hour)          $8. 00
Total                           $36. 50
When I was looking at the bill, John said,” It’s been a fine day, hasn’t it? Quite sunny. ”
“Yes,” I said.  “I’m glad it’s only the 10^th of November. ”
“Me, too,” said John, “you wait—it will be a lot colder by the end of the month. ”
“Yes, colder—and more expensive! Dining table will be $20 more expensive on November 30^th, won’t they, John?”
John looked hard at me for half a minute.  Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.
“If it’s not too much trouble, John,” I said,“Please add(加) it up again, You can forget the date-------”
I paid him $26. 50 and he was happy to get it.
【小题1】Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill?