One day, I happened to talk to a stranger (陌生人) on the bus. When he found out that I was from Chicago, he told me that one of his good friends lived there and he wondered if I happened to know him. At first I wanted to say that it was foolish (愚蠢的) to think like that, for out of all the millions of people in Chicago, I could not possibly know his friend. But, instead, I just smiled and said that Chicago was a very big city. He was quiet for a few minutes, and then he began to tell me all about his friend.

  He told me that his friend was an excellent tennis player and that he even had his own tennis court. He added that he knew a lot of people with swimming pools, but that he only knew two people in the country who had their own tennis courts. And his friend in Chicago was one of them. I told him that I knew several people like that, for example, my brother and my next-door neighbour. I told him that my brother was a doctor and he lived in California. Then he asked where my brother lived in California. When I said Sacramento, he said that last year his friend spent the summer in Sacramento and lived next door to a doctor. The doctor had a tennis court. I said that my next-door went to Sacramento last summer and lived in the house next to my brother’s. For a moment, we looked at each other, but we did not say anything.

  “Would your friend’s name happen to be Roland Kirkwood?” I asked finally. He laughed and said, “Would your brother’s name happen to be Dr. Ray Hunter?” It was my turn to laugh.

1. How many persons does the story involve (涉及)?

   A. Four.        B. Five.         C. Six.          D. Seven.

2. Which of the following is true?

   A. The story happened in Chicago.

   B. The writer’s brother lived in Sacramento.

   C. Both the writer and the stranger lived in Chicago.

   D. Both the writer and his brother lived in California.

3. The writer said that Chicago was a very big city. That means _____________.

   A. it was possible for him to happen to know the stranger’s friend

   B. he didn’t want to look for the stranger’s friend

   C. it was impossible to find the stranger’s friend

   D. he didn’t know the stranger’s friend

4. When the stranger told the writer that only two people in the country had their own tennis courts, he meant that ____________.

    A. his friend was a famous person

    B. his friend was an excellent player

    C. the writer could find his friend

    D. the writer would happen to know his friend

5. Which is the best title of the story?

   A. On a bus                           B. Two tennis players

   C. One in a million                 D. Chicago is a large city

Something was crying outside. So I went out to see what was happening. A big cat sat by the door. It must run for a long time as it looked tired and dirty. I let it in my house and took out some food; this poor cat ate all, but still looked starving…, so I got my own cats’ fish, and the cat ate that too!

My five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter were interested in the cat. They bathed (给……洗澡) it and fed it more food. They wanted to keep it. But I didn’t agree. It was not because I didn’t love it. We already had 2 cats and 2 dogs and our house was not big enough to keep more. Another reason was that I thought maybe it got lost. And its owner (主人) must be worried about it. Then I posted notices all over the town in the hope of finding its home. I also bought an ad (广告)time on a radio station. Three weeks passed, but there was no response (答复).

Finally, I decided to keep the cat. Our house was small, but I would take good care of it as possible as I could.??

1.What did the cat look like when it came to the writer’s home?

A. Tired but beautiful.??????????????? B. Cute and clean.

C. Dirty but lovely.?????????????????? D. Tired and dirty.

2.Why didn’t the writer agree to keep the cat?

A.? The children liked to hit the cat.????????? B. The cat was too small.

C. He wanted to help the cat find its owner.? D. He didn’t like it.

3.What does the underlined word“starving”mean in Chinese？

A.? 饥饿的????????? B. 忧郁的???????? C. 恐惧的???????? D.沮丧的

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. At last, the writer had three cats and two dogs.

B. The writer’s house was too small to keep the cat.

C. The writer’s daughter is three years younger than his son.

D. The writer tried hard to find the cat’s home.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Why the writer didn’t want to keep cats any more.

B. How the writer found a cat and raised 饲养 it.

C. How the writer’s family looked after a cat.

D. What the writer did to find the cat’s owner.

When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I could make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have three-day passes (通行证) posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers.

??? It was Christmas Eve when I arrived, and a light snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (装饰物) shining against the green of a pine.

??? “Where did it come from？” I asked.

??? “I asked the Gates boy to cut it,” my mother said. “I wouldn’t have had one just for myself, but when you called--- oh, such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon…”

??? The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Krystal Star was in its place. A few green branches reached about a little awkwardly (难看地) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with pleasant smell of Christmas.

??? “It’s not like the ones you used to find,” my mother went on. “Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn’t know where to look. But I couldn’t be picky.”

??? “Don’t worry, ” I told her. “It’s perfect.”

It wasn’t, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: all Christmas trees are perfect.

1. When the writer got home, ________.

A. it was December 23?????????????

B. it was snowing heavily

C. he found a Christmas tree in the living room????????????? ???

D. the Gates boy was cutting a Christmas tree for his mother

2. From the passage, we can conclude（推断） that ________.

A. the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees??? ????????????? ?????????????

B. his mother didn’t like perfect trees????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

C. his mother didn’t want to have a tree???

D. the writer wouldn’t have a tree cut by someone else

3.“All Christmas trees are perfect”, because they can remind you of ________.

A. the wartime????????????? ? B. the green of a pine?????????????

C. the pleasant smell??? D. the sweet home

4. The best title for this passage would be “________”.

A. How to Choose a Christmas Tree

B. How Soldiers Spent Christmas

C. The Perfect Christmas Tree

D. The Christmas Without a Tree