I was cleaning out an old box when an old card caught my eye : Queen City Casket Company . “What is it ?” I wondered . I   36     it over . There , in faded ink , was a hand-scrawled（手写的）   37     . Immediately my mind traveled     38    many years .

I was nine years old , walking down the cold , wet streets of Springfield , with a bag of magazines on my shoulder . On my    39     that day , I came to that Company finally , whose owner , Mr Rader , had always taken me there to ask his workers    40     they wanted any magazines .

Shaking off the     41    like a wet dog , I entered Mr Rader’s office . After a quick glance he     42    me over to the fire-place . Noticing the     43    in the top of my     44    , he said , “ Come with me !” pulling me into his pickup    45     . We pulled to a stop before a shoe store . Inside , a salesman    46     me with the finest pair of Oxfords I had    47     seen . I     48    about 10 feet tall when I got up    49     them . “ We’d like a pair of new socks too,” Mr Rader said .

Back in his office , Mr Rader took out a     50    , wrote something on it , and handed it to me . With    51     eyes , I read , “ Do to others as you would have them do to you .” He said affectionately (深情地), “Jimmy , I want you to    52     I love you”.

I said good-bye , and for the first time I    53     a flicker of hope that somehow things would be    54     . With people like Mr Rader in the world , there was hope , kindness and love , and that would always make a    55     .

36．A．read                             B．thought                  C．turned                    D．passed

37．A．address                  B．list                        C．message                 D．information

38．A．forward                 B．so                          C．ahead                     D．back

39．A．return                    B．rounds                   C．trip                        D．arrival

40．A．if only                   B．how                      C．whether                 D．why

41．A．dust                      B．sweat                     C．tail                         D．rain

42．A．led                        B．followed               C．watched                 D．carried

43．A．hole                             B．mud                             C．water                     D．cover

44．A．magazine                   B．shoe                          C．sock                          D．bag

45．A．truck                     B．factory                   C．home                     D．store

46．A．dressed                  B．fitted                     C．showed                  D．comforted

47．A．ever                             B．already                  C．never                     D．hardly

48．A．appeared               B．seemed                  C．looked                   D．felt

49．A．for                        B．with                             C．on                         D．in

50．A．pen                      B．paper                     C．card                      D．notebook

51．A．tearful                   B．unbelievable           C．curious                  D．puzzled

52．A．admit                    B．know                     C．consider                 D．express

53．A．sensed                   B．received                 C．lost                        D．gained

54．A．mistaken               B．right                      C．all right                 D．possible

55．A．deal                      B．fortune                  C．choice                    D．difference

When milk arrived on the doorstep

When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note—“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”—and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically（魔术般）appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete (竞争). Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practiced to have a delivery service.

Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. 1 took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊). Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1.Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer      .

A.to show his magical power      B.to pay for the delivery

C. to satisfy his curiosity          D.to please his mother

2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy's house?

A.He wanted to have tea there.   

B.He was a respectable person. 

C.He was treated as a family member.

D.He was fully trusted by the family.

3. Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A.Nobody wants to be a milkman now.  

B.It has been driven out of the market.  

C.Its service is getting poor.             

D.It is forbidden by law.

4.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A.He missed the good old days.         

B.He wanted to tell interesting stories.  

C.He needed it for his milk bottles.      

D.He planted flowers in it.

 

James shook his money box again. Nothing! He carefully   36  the coins that lay on the bed. $24.52 was all that he had. The bicycle he wanted was $90!  37   on earth was he going to get the   38  of the money? He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was   39  to hang around with people when you were the only one without wheels. He thought about what he could do. There was no   40   to ask his parents, for he knew they had no money to  41  . There was only one way to get money, and that was to   42   it. He would have to find a job.  43   who would hire him and what could he do? He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice, who usually had    __44  in most things. "Well, you can start right here," said Mr Clay. "My windows need cleaning and my car needs washing." That was the  45  of James’s odd-job (零工) business. For three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He was surprised by the  46   jobs that people found for him to do. He took dogs and babies for walks, cleared out cupboards, and mended books. He lost count of the   47  of cars he washed and windows he cleaned, but the  48  increased and he knew that he would soon have  49  for the bicycle he was dying for. The day   50   came when James counted his money and found $94.32. He   51  no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode   52   home, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard   53  for the money, but James knew that he valued (重视) his bicycle far more 54   he had bought it with his own money. He had   55  what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.

A. cleaned                  B. covered            C. counted                          D. checked

A. How                   B. Why                C. Who                              D. What

A. amount                 B. part                  C. sum                               D. rest

A. brave                    B. hard                  C. smart                                    D. unfair

A. need                     B. reason              C. result                                    D. right

A. separate                B. spend               C. spare                              D. save

A. borrow              B. earn              C. raise                               D. collect

A. Or                        B. So                   C. For                                D. But

A. decisions               B. experience               C. opinions                         D. knowledge

A. beginning             B. introduction      C. requirement                    D. opening

A. similar                  B. ashamed           C. peaceful                         D. various

A. brand                   B. number            C. size                                D. type

A. effort                   B. pressure            C. money                            D. trouble

A. all                        B. enough             C. much                            D. some

A. finally                  B. instantly           C. normally                        D. regularly

A. gave                     B. left                  C. took                               D. wasted

A. patiently                      B. proudly            C. silently                           D. tiredly

A. applying             B. asking              C. looking                          D. working

A. since                    B. if                     C. than                               D. though

A. deserved               B. studied             C. achieved                         D. learned

“This Friday we’ll have the yearly Egg Drop Challenge,” said our science teacher, Mr. Baker. “You can work alone or with a partner. ”

My friend, Cassie, and I smiled at each other. We always worked on projets__36___.

The ___37___of the challenge was simple ---to build a protective container to keep an egg from breaking when ___38___the stadium wall.

I made my sandwich that afternoon while waiting for Cassie. ___39___the butter-cream gave me an idea.

 “I have a brilliant design for our __40__container!”I said when Cassie arrived. “We can   41    the egg with some butter-cream.”

 “Why not pit the egg in a basket with a parachute(降落伞)    42   ?” Cassie rolled her eyes.  “The parachute is better than that stupid idea.”

I couldn’t believe it, Of course we’d had our little    43    in the past, but she’d never called any of my ideas “   44   ” before.

“Then I’ll build mine and you build yours!”

   45    words had been out, our friendship was challenged.

When Friday finally arrived, I had to    46     Cassie’s Egg Force One looked pretty good.   47  _, my Egg-cellent Egg Cream didn’t look quite scientific. We kids carried our containers up three stadium steps and dropped them over the side wall. Those whose eggs broke were out; those whose eggs survived    48  three more steps and dropped them again. This would go on till the last egg broke.

After four rounds, only Cassie and I were   49  . I let go of my box. I heard someone say “ew” after seconds. Had my egg broken? I raced down the    50  . The side walk was dotted with egg shells(蛋壳) from those   51  drops. Finally I found my little Egg-cellent Egg Cream.

   “That looks like egg drop soup, Laura,” Cassie said. She was holding her Egg Force One. My _52    raced. Had she won? I looked at her basket.    53    .

“My egg bounced    54  , ”she explained, pointing to a broken shell.

“A tie(平局), ”Mr. Baker said.

Cassie looked at me, and her glare    55   . I laughed. She smiled…

36.  A. patiently      B. silently        C. together        D. alone

37.  A. function      B. goal            C. reason        D. result

38.  A. rolled down   B. pushed against    C. thrown at      D. dropped over

39.  A. Spreading     B. Boiling         C. Baking        D. Holding

40.  A. butter        B. sandwich        C. cream         D. egg

41.  A. protect       B. replace          C. carry          D. mix

42.  A. followed      B. covered         C. attached       D. supported

43.  A. ideas         B. fights           C. worries        D. challenges

44.  A. wrong        B. stupid          C. brilliant       D. scientific

45.  A. Since         B. While           C. But          D. And

46.  A. explain        B. deny            C. admit        D. prove

47.  A. Therefore      B. Anyway         C. Otherwise     D. Besides

48.  A. paced down    B. turned around     C. walked up     D. went back

49.  A. left           B. wanted          C. chosen        D. discovered

50.  A. steps          B. way            C. wall          D. sidewalk

51.  A. intended       B. unexpected       C. failed        D. desired

52.  A. eyes          B. hands            C. feet         D. heart

53.  A. Lost          B. Dirty            C. Broken       D. Empty

54.  A. around        B. out              C. in           D. down

55.  A. returned       B. remained         C. increased     D. softened

Kate said “Hello” to Mr Patel as she entered. She picked up a wire basket and walked towards the back of the store 1_____ the rice was kept. The room was quite large and divided by three long aisles(过道), with rows of shelves full of 2??_____. Besides her and Patel there were only two boys in the store. They were both wearing 3_____ overcoats. They looked rather 4_____ because the overcoats were too big for them. “5_____”, she heard one of them whisper to 6_____. She walked on to the next aisle and found the 7_____ she was looking for. Then she heard something else. It 8_____ like a box dropping on the floor. She looked through the small open space 9_____ goods on the shelf and saw one of the boys picking up a box. But 10_____ putting it in the basket, he dropped 11_____into the inside pocket of his overcoat. Kate looked back and 12_____ see Mr Patel at the door checking through a list. Then she looked through the 13______ in the shelf again. The boys still had their backs to her. They were putting something 14_____into their inside pockets and then one of them said, “Let’s get out of here.” They moved away from her.

When she got to the door the two boys were 15_____ her. She watched them 16_____ for the few lings in their 17_____. They had both 18_____ their overcoats. Mr Patel did not seem to know what they had done. He even 19_____ at them as they were about to 20_____. Now Kate decided to stop them.

1.A.which           B. that          C. there           D. where

2.A.books           B. baskets        C. goods          D. magazines

3.A.dirty            B. long          C. grey           D. tight

4.A.strange          B. young        C. nervous         D. excited

5.A.Look up         B. Listen to me   C. Watch out       D. Put it down

6.A.him             B. her          C. the boy         D. the other

7.A.book            B. rice          C. bag            D. magazine

8.A.looked           B. heard        C. showed         D. sounded

9.A.between         B. of            C. around         D. at

10.A.instead of       B. before        C. without         D. as if

11.A.something       B. it            C. one            D. that

12.A.would          B. should        C. might          D. could

13.A.spot            B. space         C. goods         D. books

14.A.important       B. new          C. else            D. extra

15.A.looking at       B. talking to     C. in front of        D. behind

16.A.paying          B. looking       C. asking          D. reaching

17.A.hands           B. pockets       C. box            D. basket

18.A.thrown out       B. put on        C. buttoned        D. hidden

19.A.shouted         B. smiled        C. looked          D. laughed

20.A.leave           B. pay           C. speak           D. apologize