A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ￥100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students， “Who would like this ￥100 bill？” The students began to put up their hands at once.
Then he said， “I am going to give this ￥100 to one of you， but first， let me do this.” He then made the bill into a ball. Then he said， “Who wants it now？” The hands went back into the air.
“Well，” he said， “What if I do this？” and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty， crumpled bill and said， “Who still wants it？” Hands went back into the air.
“My friends，” he said， “you have learned a valua-ble lesson today. No matter  what I did to the money， you still wanted it because it did not go down in value （价值）。 It was still worth ￥ l00！”
Many times in our lives， we are dropped， crum-pled， and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember， no matter what has happened to you， you will never lose your value： you are always valuable to those people who love you. Your value doesn‘t come from what you do or whom you know， but WHO YOU ARE.
You are special and valuable. Don‘t ever forget it！
【小题1】Even though it was dirty， the money _______.

A man died and was on his way to another world, either heaven (天堂) or hell (地狱). He saw an extremely grand palace half way and the owner of the palace asked him to stay and live in the palace.

The man said, “I have been working hard during my life and now I just want to eat and sleep without any work.”

The owner of the palace said, “If so, there is nowhere else better than here for you. There is plenty of seafood and delicacies (美味佳肴) in my palace, and you can eat whatever you like without anyone stopping you. And nothing needs to be done by you.” Then, the man settled down (安定) in the palace.

At the beginning, the man felt very happy at the cycle of eating and sleeping. But gradually, he felt a bit lonely and void. So he went to the palace owner and said, “It is very bored to live by just eating and sleeping every day. Now I show no interest in this kind of life any more. Could you help me find a job?”

The owner replied, “Sorry, there is no job here at all.”

After another several months, the man could not go on with the life and went to the palace owner again, “I really can not stand this kind of life any more. If you do not offer me a job, I would prefer to go to hell instead of living here.”

The owner of the palace smiled contemptuously (蔑视地), “Do you think it is heaven here? It is actually hell!”

根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。（10分）

1.The man saw a really grand palace ______.

A．on his way home

B．on his way to hell

C．on his way to heaven

D．on his way to another world after his death

2.The man could stay in the palace ______.

A．where he had to work hard                B．where he couldn’t eat much food

C．where he did nothing but eat or sleep        D．where he had no seafood or delicacies to eat

3.The underlined word “void” means “     ” in Chinese.

A．活泼的           B．空虚的           C．困倦的           D．激动的

4.Why did the man want to find a job in the palace?

A．Because he was too poor to live.

B．Because there were many jobs for him.

C．Because he wanted to make more money.

D．Because he felt lonely and bored with the life.

5.Where did the man think he was?

A．In heaven.         B．In hell.            C．At his home.       D．On the Earth.

For years I wanted a garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was not enough. Neither was time. Often when my children were little,one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.”
Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about a garden.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. There were things blowing around on it. Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw.
There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills*, one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree. There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom. We love you!”
Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books. A new page started in my life.
That was three years ago. My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they’re right there with me. Now every year when winter comes, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I’ll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time.
I’m still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!
【小题1】How many children did the writer have?

Excuse me, can you tell me when         ?