As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, rooms to be cleaned. Parents are  with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real . On Christmas Eve, young children find the  almost unbearable（难以忍受的）. They are  between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to  up late so that they will not  the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie  for a long time, hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.

　　Last Christmas, my wife and I  managed to hide a few large presents in the storeroom. I feared the moment when my son, Jimmy, would  me where that new bike had come from, but  he did not see it.

　　On Christmas Eve, it took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly  when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began  stockings. Then I pushed in the  I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get  sleep that night, for the children were  to get up early. At about five o'clock the next morning, we were woken by loud sounds coming from the children's room － they were shouting excitedly!  I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came  into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary,  close behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived, he moved  the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke  up completely. The day had really begun with a bang（巨响）.

1.A. faced　　　　 B. met　　　　　 C. filled　　　D. pleased

2.A. question　　　B. matter　　　　C. problem　　　D. business

3.A. joy   　　　B. excitement      C. presents     D. parents

4.A. pulled　　　B. divided　　　C. separated　　  D. torn

5.A. get　　　　 　B. stay　　　　　C. stand　　　 D. wake

    6.A. lose　　　　　B. break　　　　 C. miss　　　　 D. leave

7.A. awake　　　　B. wake　　　　　C. asleep　　　　D. sleep

8.A. hopefully　　B. busily      C. gladly　　D. successfully

9.A. answer　　　 B. tell　　　　　  C. ask　　　　　 D. search

10.A. sadly　　　　B. unluckily   C. possibly　　D. fortunately

11.A. morning　　　B. midnight    C. evening　　　D. daybreak

12.A. filling　　　　B. sewing　　C. mending　　D. preparing

13.A. present　　　 B. stocking　　　 C. bike　　　　　 D. tree

14.A. 1ittle　　　　 B. some　　　　　C. enough　　　 D. much

15.A. sorry　　　　 B. sure　　　　　C. glad　　　　　 D. eager

16.A. Before　　　　B. After　　　　 C. Until　　　　　D. Since

17.A. running　　　 B. laughing　　　 C. shouting　　　 D. riding

18.A. walked　　　　B. moved　　　　C. followed　　　D. jumped

19.A. with　　　　　B. on　　　　　　C. over　　　　 D. by

20.A. him　　　　　B. her　　　　C. me　　　　　　　D. us

Yesterday, after telling my brother, Rhys, and me to stop playing like wild animals, Mom went to take a bath. We were having a pillow fight when 　36 one hit a vase. Mom 　37 the loud crash. Wasting no time, she came 　38 into the room. I was sure that she was going to shout at us, but instead she just knelt by the 39 and began to cry.

　 This made Rhys and me feel pretty 　40 . We went over and put our arms around her, and she explained to us why she was so upset. In the pieces 　41 a broken glass rose, one petal (花瓣)gone, which was given by Dad on their first wedding anniversary. Dad had said that if he ever forgot to bring flowers home 　42 an anniversary in the future, Mom was to look at that one. It was like their love—it would last a 　43 .

　 We began crying, and 　44 to glue it. But Mom said that wouldn’t really fix it. 　45 it had been broken, the 　46 of the “limited edition” had reduced. As Mom 　47 began to pick up the mess, we tried everything we could think of to　 48 her up, but even our best funny faces didn’t 　49 . Tears kept coming down her cheeks. Everything was picked up. Seeing Mom going back to the bath, I 　50 her and put both hands on her shoulders, saying, “All things can be 　51 ，Mom. The only thing that cannot be broken is our 　52 . It’s the only thing that can never be broken. ”

　 Mom hugged me very tightly and 　53 smiled. After dinner that night, Mom glued the petal back onto the rose. Then she softly said, “My rose is truly unique. Its tiny damage reminds me of 　54 more important：the realization that love 　55　 forever. ”

36. A. gradually　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. suddenly

C. surprisingly　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

37. A. caused　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. witnessed

C. heard　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. ignored

38. A. dressing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. shouting

C. flying　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. crying

39. A. pieces　　　　　　　　 B. vase　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. pillow　　　　　　　 D. ground

40. A. disappointed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. angry

C. awful　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sensitive

41. A. grew　　　　　　　　 B. lay　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. stood　　　　　　　 D. existed

42. A. for　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. in　　　　　　　　　　 C. from　　　　　　　　 D. by

43. A. decade　　　　　　　 B. year　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. season　　　　　　　　　　 D. lifetime

44. A. offered　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. supported

C. pretended　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. agreed

45. A. Just as　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In case

C. Now that　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Even though

46. A. price　　　　　　　　　 B. wealth　　　　　　　 C. value　　　　　　　　 D. treasure

47. A. skillfully　　　　　　 B. hopefully　　　　　 C. kindly　　　　　　　 D. slowly

48. A. cheer　　　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　　　　 C. light　　　　　　　　 D. get

49. A. smile　　　　　　　　 B. work　　　　　　　　 C. show　　　　　　　 D. say

50. A. prevented　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. stopped

C. kept　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. followed

51. A. destroyed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. mended

C. improved　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. broken

52. A. friendship　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 B. honesty

C. love　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. happiness

53. A. finally　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. quickly

C. confidently　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. immediately

54. A. anything　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. something

C. nothing　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. everything

55. A. changes　　　　　　　　　　 B. appears　　　　　　　　　 C. lasts　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. keeps

-----When will they come back? 　　

-----I _____ don’t know.

A. simply 　 B. hopefully　 C. happen 　 D. as well

Once many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming. Last week I 　36 a telephone call from a woman who could not stop 　37 as she told me that one of the stories in my book had saved her son from committing suicide.(自杀) In closing she called me a 38 .

That 　39　 me thinking about what a hero really is. Was I a hero 　40 I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I 　41　 a story that saved someone’s life?

Today I decided to look up the word “hero” in the dictionary to see 　42 what it meant. It　 43 “a person who does something brave”. As I read on, it also said “ a person who is good and noble”.

That statement 44 me more than the part about being 　45 . So I thought about something very important. Say I was walking into the local Wal-Mart Store and I 　46 to open and hold the door for someone as a courtesy (礼貌) . As they passed me by, I said, “How are you today?” Most of the time that would be no big deal, 　47 this time let’s say it was for someone who was deeply 　48 and near the end of the rope.

I was in such a condition after my marriage of twenty years ended. I was within hours trying to get up enough 　49 to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had 　50 me a card in the mail which told me how 　51 they would appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.

Similarly many children come out of the orphanages (孤儿院) 52 a very hard and bitter attitude against the world, but the gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten.　 53 , most of them will never hurt anyone because of the 　54 shown to them by those of us who cared. If it 55 , we will also become “heroes”.

36. A. made　　　　　　　　 B. received　　　　　　　　　 C gave.　　　　　　　　　　　 D. accepted

37. A. cheering　　　　　　 B. laughing　　　　　　　　　 C. thinking　　　　　　　　　 D. talking

38. A. writer　　　　　　　　 B. player　　　　　　　　　　　 C. gentleman. 　　　　　　 D. hero

39. A. helped　　　　　　　　 B. let　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. got 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. made

40 A. while　　　　　　　　　 B. if　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. though 　　　　　　　　　 D. because

41. A. said　　　　　　　　　 B. wrote　　　　　　　　　　　 C. made　　　　　　　　　　　 D. recalled

42. A. exactly　　　　　　　 B. easily　　　　　　　　　　　 C. directly 　　　　　　　　　 D. obviously

43. A. wrote　　　　　　　　 B. told　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. read　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. described

44. A. helped　　　　　　　　 B. gave　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. touched　　　　　　　　　 D. impressed

45. A. brave　　　　　　　　 B. good　　　　　　　　　　　 C. kind　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. noble

46. A. happened　　　　　 B. wanted　　　　　　　　　　 C. intended　　　　　　　　　 D. meant

47. A. though　　　　　　　 B. since　　　　　　　　　　　 C. because　　　　　　　　　 D. but

48. A. desperate　　　　　 B. excited　　　　　　　　　　 C. moved 　　　　　　　　　 D. stressed

49. A. money　　　　　　　 B. energy　　　　　　　　　　 C. ability　　　　　　　　　　　 D. courage

50. A. sent　　　　　　　　　 B. carried　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. brought　　　　　　　　　 D. took

51. A. deeply　　　　　　　　 B. completely　　　　　　　 C. well　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. much

52. A. without　　　　　　　 B. for　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. with　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. within

53. A. Hopefully　　　　　 B. However　　　　　　　　 C. Besides　　　　　　　　　 D. Unfortunately

54. A .luck　　　　　　　　　 B. respect　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. confidence　　　　　　　 D. kindness

55. A. matters　　　　　　　 B. works　　　　　　　　　　 C. acts　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. does