“Everybody loves a bargain.” Is a well-known saying. One person’s useless, ugly, or broken object can be another person’s bargain. That is why so many Americans do not throw things away.  They put them outside their house.  They put on a "For Sale" sign.  And, as simple as that, they have a yard sale.

The sellers put a paid announcement in a local newspaper.  It tells when and where the yard sale will take place. These sales are very popular during weekends in spring, summer, and autumn.

Early in the morning, all the things to be sold are carried out of the house. Then they sit all day in the sunlight -- like tired guests at a party -- waiting for someone to take them home.

Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale. Sometimes, there are more clothes than anything else. Cooking equipment is also popular. So are old toys, tools, books, tables, and chairs. Then there are objects called "white elephants."  A white elephant is something you think is extremely ugly or useless. It may be an electric light shaped like a fish. You feel a sharp pain whenever you look at it. To someone else, however, it might be a thing of beauty and joy.

Some people go to yard sales to find a special thing that they collect. It may be old toy trains, for example, or paintings of dogs. Experts say more Americans are collecting old things now than ever before. Most people who go to yard sales, however, are not looking for anything special.  They might buy an object simply because it costs so little.  They enjoy negotiating over prices, even if they really do not need the object.  Later, they may hold their own yard sale to sell all the things they have bought.

1.What kind of things will go to a yard sale?

    A．Cheap and ugly things．                            B．Things people no longer use．

    C．Things out of season．                             D．Things of great value．

2.A white elephant refers to ______ ．

    A．something that can cause n feeling of pain

    B．something disliked by the owners while appreciated by others

    C．something sold at the lowest price

    D．a toy shaped like a fish

3.Most people go to yard sales to ______ ．

    A．find Valuable paintings                            B．look for something special

    C．find a bargain                                     D．kill their time

4.Which of the following is NOT true about a yard sale?

    A．It may not be held when the weather is very cold．

    B．It can last for a whole day．

    C．It is usually held with a party．

    D．It is held outdoors．

5.We can infer from the last paragraph that ______ ．

    A．people may find something of great value on a yard sale

    B．yard sales only attract those who have a low income

    C．things on a yard sale can cost people a lot

    D．most people who go to yard sales want to make money

On Halloween Night, children go trick-treating in their neighborhoods. Dressed up as ghosts, skeleton devils, and various other characters, children knock on doors to collect their treats. Seldom do they actually perform a “trick”.

It is thought that trick-or-treating comes from an old English custom. On All Souls Day, poor people went begging and promised to say prayers in exchange for food. Apple bobbing, still a favorite Halloween game, was originally an ancient ceremony honoring the harvest time.

A jack-o’-lantern is placed on porches and windows to tell children that treats are available. The legend was that a man named Jack could enter heaven because he played tricks on the devil. As punishment, he had to wander the earth carrying a lantern waiting to be judged fit to get into heaven.

People believed that Halloween marked the connection between the world of the living and the world of the dead. This meant that ghosts would roam the earth on this night. Some believed that these ghosts would go back to the homes they lived in before they died.

Thankfully, Halloween is an amusing night when children can dress up and get a bag full of candy. We don’t have to worry about ghosts. Or do we?

1.Apple bobbing was an ancient ceremony held originally to ____.

A. honor the harvest time               B. honor the dead

C. honor the living                    D. play a trick on each other

2.The underlined word “roam” is close in meaning to ____.

A. come back        B. place         C. collect       D. walk around

3.Which of the following is not true?

A. On Halloween Night, children often dress up as ghosts.

B. On Halloween Night, children often perform tricks.

C,. Trick-or-treating comes from an old English custom.

D. Children can get a lot of candy on Halloween Night.

4.According to the passage, Halloween is a(n) ____ festival.

A. sad               B. bad          C. interesting    D. boring

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入

空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I believe in my mother. My belief began when I was just a kid, when I 41 becoming a doctor.

My mother was a 42 . Through her work, she observed that 43 people spent a lot more time 44 than they did watching television. She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three 45 TV programs during the week. With our free time, we had to read two books each week from the Detroit Public Library and 46 written book reports to her. She would mark them up with check markers and underline the 47 parts. Years later we realized her marks were a 48 . My mother was illiterate(文盲). Although we had no money, 49 the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.

When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for 50 . I wanted the fancy clothes. I wanted to hang about with the guys. I went from being an A-student to a B-student and to a C-student, but I didn’t 51 . I was cool.

One night my mother came home after her several jobs and I 52 about not having enough Italian knit shirts. She said, “Okay, I’ll give you the money I 53 this week by rubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms and you can buy the family food and pay the bills. With 54 left over, you can have all that you want.” I was very 55 with that arrangement. But once I got through 56 money, there was nothing left. I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a(n) 57 over our heads and any kind of food on the table. I was also 58 that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Success 59 intellectual(知识上的) preparation. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again, and 60 I realized my dream and I became a doctor.

A. contributed to        B. was sure of              C. dreamed of       D. thought of

A. maidservant      B.teacher             C. . worker        D.nurse

A. honest                  B. successful                C. kind                 D. careful

A. writing              B. reading                    C. working           D. training

A. familiar             B. dull                         C. designed           D. selected

A. turn in                  B. take in                     C. bring in            D. check in

A. difficult             B. easy                        C. opposite            D. important

A. wealth                  B. quiz                        C. pleasure            D. competition

A. between             B. under                             C. within              D. below

A. the last             B. a minute                  C. long                 D. anything

A. know                  B. care                        C. admit                      D. realize

A. announced           B. claimed                   C. complained       D. blamed

A. borrow                   B.make               C. control          D.collect

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

A. encouraged          B. puzzled                   C. moved              D. pleased

A. adding                B. applying                  C. dividing           D. exchanging

A. balance               B. arrangement             C. hat                   D. roof

A. aware                 B. worried                   C. confused           D. delighted

A. included              B. required                  C. combined         D. matched

A. actually               B. shortly                    C. fortunately        D. finally

I believe in my mother．My belief began when I was just a kid, when I 36 becoming a doctor.

My mother was a 37 ．Through her work, she observed that 38 people spent a lot more time 39 than they did watching television．She announced that my brother and I could only watch two to three 40 TV programs during the week．With our free time, we had to read two books each week from the Detroit Public Library and 41 written book reports to her．She would mark them up with check markers and underline the 42 parts．Years later we realized her marks were a 43 ．Although we had no money, 44 the covers of those books, I could go anywhere, do anything and be anybody.

When I entered high school, I was an A-student, but not for 45 ．I wanted the fancy clothes．I wanted to hang about with the guys．I went from being an A-student to a B-student and to a C-student, but I didn’t 46 ．I was cool.

One night my mother came home after her several jobs and I 47 about not having enough Italian knit shirts．She said, “Okay, I’ll give you the money I 48 this week by rubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms and you can buy the family food and pay the bills．With 49 left over, you can have all that you want.” I was very 50 with that arrangement．But once I got through 51 money, there was nothing left．I realized my mother was a financial genius to be able to keep a（n） 52 over our heads and any kind of food on the table．I was also 53 that immediate satisfaction wasn’t going to get me anywhere．Success 54 intellectual（知识上的） preparation．I went back to my studies and became an A-student again, and 55 I realized my dream and I became a doctor.

A．got away with B．was confident of C．dreamed of D．thought of

A．maidservant B．teacher          C．worker         D．nurse

A．honest         B．successful        C．kind            D．careful

A．writing        B．reading          C．working        D．training

A．familiar        B．limit            C．designed        D．selected

A．turn in         B．take in          C．bring in        D．check in

A．difficult       B．easy            C．opposite        D．important

A．wealth         B．quiz            C．pleasure        D．competition

A．between       B．under           C．within          D．below

A．the last        B．a minute         C．long            D．anything

A．know          B．care            C．admit           D．realize

A．announced    B．claimed         C．complained     D．blamed

A．borrow        B．make           C．control         D．collect

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

A．encouraged   B．puzzled         C．moved          D．pleased

A．adding         B．applying        C．dividing        D．exchanging

A．balance        B．arrangement    C．hat             D．roof

A．aware        B．worried         C．confused        D．delighted

A．included       B．required        C．combined        D．matched

A．actually        B．shortly         C．fortunately      D．finally