Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes me ￡12,” she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office . “You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me ￡12.”

Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I’ll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd.”

The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sun burnt,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

“Yes,” she answered, shyly. “The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!”

“That’s fine,” said Harry. “My little girl can’t swim a bit yet .Of course, she’s only three…”

“I’m four,” the child said proudly. “I’ll be four and a half.”

Harry turned to the mother. “I remember your ticket, Madam,” he said. “But you didn’t get one for your daughter, did you?”

“Er, well—” the woman looked at the child. “I mean… she hasn’t started school yet. She’s only four.”

“A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs …let me see…￡13.50. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe ￡1.50. The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…”

The woman stood up, took the child’s hand and left the office.

26．Harry was worried because __________.　 .

　 A．the woman was angry with him B．he had not done his work properly

　 C．the Jersey timetable was wrong　 D．the little girl didn’t have a return ticket

27．Harry started talking to the little girl ________.

　 A．because he was in difficulty and did not know what to do

　 B．because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl

　 C．because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice

　 D．when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl

28．When Harry said,“The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…”he meant that

　 A．they must follow it without other choice ,even though the fault was his

　 B．he had to be strict with the woman because of the law ,although he didn’t want to

　 C．the woman had to pay him ￡1.50 and the railway would pay her for the hotel

　 D．she should pay ￡1.50, but he had made a mistake, she could go without paying

29．The woman left the office without saying anything because __________.

　 A．she wanted to go home and get money for the child’s ticket

　 B．she was so angry that she didn’t want to have anything more to do with the young man

　 C．she was moved by Harry’s kindness

　 D．she knew she would have to pay the railway if she insisted　

30．How did the woman feel when she left the office?

　 A. angry　　　 B. peaceful　　 C. embarrassed　 D. nervous

Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes me ￡12,” she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office . “You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me ￡12.”

Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I’ll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd.”

The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sun burnt,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

“Yes,” she answered, shyly. “The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!”

“That’s fine,” said Harry. “My little girl can’t swim a bit yet .Of course, she’s only three…”

“I’m four,” the child said proudly. “I’ll be four and a half.”

Harry turned to the mother. “I remember your ticket, Madam,” he said. “But you didn’t get one for your daughter, did you?”

“Er, well—” the woman looked at the child. “I mean… she hasn’t started school yet. She’s only four.”

“A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs …let me see…￡13.50. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe ￡1.50. The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…”

The woman stood up, took the child’s hand and left the office.

26．Harry was worried because __________.　 .

　　　 A．the woman was angry with him　　 B．he had not done his work properly

　　　 C．the Jersey timetable was wrong　　 D．the little girl didn’t have a return ticket

27．Harry started talking to the little girl ________.

　　　 A．because he was in difficulty and did not know what to do

　　　 B．because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl

　　　 C．because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice

　　　 D．when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl

28．When Harry said,“The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…”he meant that

　　　 A．they must follow it without other choice ,even though the fault was his

　　　 B．he had to be strict with the woman because of the law ,although he didn’t want to

　　　 C．the woman had to pay him ￡1.50 and the railway would pay her for the hotel

　　　 D．she should pay ￡1.50, but he had made a mistake, she could go without paying

29．The woman left the office without saying anything because __________.

　　　 A．she wanted to go home and get money for the child’s ticket

　　　 B．she was so angry that she didn’t want to have anything more to do with the young man

　　　 C．she was moved by Harry’s kindness

　　　 D．she knew she would have to pay the railway if she insisted　

30．How did the woman feel when she left the office?

A. angry　　　 B. peaceful　　 C. embarrassed　 D. nervous

　Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.　
　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.　
　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.　
　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.　
　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.　
　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.　
　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:　
　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”
　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, making life strong and warm.
　　thread: 线　　　 quilt: 被子
　　1. Why did the parents try to earn a lot of money?
　　A. To pay for the food.
　　B. To pay off the debt.
　　C. To pay for the hospital.
　　D. To pay the high tuition.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. The parents sent flowers on Valentine’s day.
　　B. The parents liked to say “I love you.”
　　C. The father was too tired to have a good temper.
　　D. The mother had no job.

　　3. From the passage, we can know that _________.
　　A. the father made much money from his work
　　B. Susan couldn’t understand her mother
　　C. the parents always loved each other
　　D. the mother was worried about her husband

　　4. How did Susan feel towards her parents at last?
　　A. sad　　　　　 B. glad　　 　　C. worried　　　 D. easy

　　5. Which is the best title?
　　A. Love is inside.　　　　　　　　 B. Love is outside.
　　C. Love is seen everywhere.　　 　 D. Love is seen anytime.