Mary’s dime（一毛钱）

It was Sunday afternoon. I decided to clean up the room nicely so that my parents would feel   1  when they returned from a long ride! Then, I sat in the room, having nothing to do.

　　 What else could I do? Then, with no reason, I suddenly  2  the pale face of that little beggar(乞丐) girl. I could see the glad light   3  her eyes when I put the dime in her little dirty hand.

　　  How much I  4  that dime, too! Grandpa gave it to me a whole month ago, and I had kept it ever since in my red box upstairs, but those sugar apples looked so attractive, and were so   5  — only a dime a piece — that I wanted to have one.

　　  I could imagine the little girl stood there in front of the  6  in her old dirty dress, looking at the   7  that were put all in a row in the window. I wonder what I should say, “Little girl, what do you want?” I gently asked. She felt   8  and looked straight at me, just as if（似乎）nobody had spoken so   9  to her before. She realized what I had meant, so she said seriously and sadly. “I was thinking how good one of those delicious hamburgers would  10 . I haven’t had anything to eat today.”

　　 Now I thought to myself, “Mary Williams, you have had a good breakfast and a good lunch today,   11  this poor girl has not had a mouthful yet. You can give her your  12 . She needs it a great deal more than you do.”

　　 I could not run away from that little girl’s sad,  13  look — so I dropped the dime right into her hand. How  14  the girl was! I am so glad I gave her the dime,  15  I had to go without the apple lying there in the window.

1.                A．disturbed       B．unhappy        C．satisfied  D．interested

2.                A．saw            B．remembered    C．forgot    D．described

3.                A．filling          B．protecting       C．attracting D．touching

4.                A．hated          B．loved          C．missed   D．noticed

5.                A．valuable        B．meaningful      C．expensive D．cheap

6.                A．market         B．library          C．store D．bookshop

7.                A．dresses         B．magazines       C．books    D．candies

8.                A．surprised       B．excited         C．pleased   D．worried

9.                A．happily         B．kindly          C．angrily   D．sadly

10.               A．taste           B．sound          C．feel  D．smell

11.               A．since          B．so             C．and  D．but

12.               A．apple          B．hamburger      C．dime D．candy

13.               A．proud          B．angry          C．calm  D．hungry

14.               A．grateful        B．unlucky        C．lonely D．friendly

15.               A．unless         B．if              C．though    D．because

Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.
There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel（铲子）one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor（肿瘤）. She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us. 
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden.
【小题1】Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?

  I’m glad it’s Sunday again. I can stay in bed   1  I like, drinking tea and read those thick newspapers that are brought by the newsboy through the letterbox at 8:30. In this way, I can catch up with all the   2  I haven’t got time to read during my work time.
When I   3  the papers, I then prepare my bath. The Sunday morning bath is   4  of the week. There’s no need to hurry because there’s no bus to   5  and my friends are told not to call me up before noon on Sundays, so there is no danger of being troubled by the telephone.
  6  spend the afternoon after lunch is always a bit of problem. In summer I can go to the park and sit in a chair   7    boys playing football, while in winter I sit in front of the fire and   8  when reading a book, sometimes I turn on the television and sleep through an old film.  
Then there’s the evening ahead of me. Perhaps I’ll call on some friends or go to the cinema   19    a new film I want to see or to town for a concert. Oh, there are   10    pleasant ways of passing Sunday evenings. The only sad thing is that Monday morning is getting near.

Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.

There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.

This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel（铲子）one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.

One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor（肿瘤）. She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us. 

And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden.

1. Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?

   A. Because it was hot in the afternoon.

   B. Because someone picked them away. 

   C. Because someone took them into houses.

   D. Because the writer passed them in the morning.

2. Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?

   A. The writer’s sister died of lung tumor.

   B. The writer was regretful when she heard her sister’s death.

   C. The writer planned to dig the flowers to give them to her husband.

   D. The writer’s husband planned to plant some flowers in the garden. 

3. The writer wrote the passage to tell us ________.

   A. to enjoy what we have now

B. to value now and not to lose chances

C. to protect the beautiful flowers we see

D. to love those who are your close relatives

“You are my best friend.” It’s the nicest thing you can    36     to someone. It’s also the nicest thing you can    37    someone.

Good friendships begin in middle school. It’s the    38    you begin to develop your own personality. Your parents aren’t around so you    39    lots of time every day sharing your life with your classmates. You talk with them, you work with them and you become friends with them. But    40    them will become your “best” friend.

Best friends are the people who like you and    41     you the most. They are the    42    who are easy to work with and easy to have fun with.

Sometimes it’s    43    to find a best friend. And sometimes you can     44    a little lonely. But just because you don’t have best friend now, it doesn’t mean you    45     one in the future. Best friends seem to find each other as if by magic. And when you find your best friend, the magic will last forever.

1.A. tell             B. write              C. say                 D. go

2.A. hear from        B. hear of            C. hear about            D. think of

3.A. time            B. place              C. beginning            D. best

4.A. take             B. cost               C. pay                D. spend

5.A. none of          B. not all of           C. no one of            D. all of

6.A. understand        B. think              C. give                D. take

7.A. that              B. ones               C. those              D. these

8.A. easy              B. easily              C. not easy           D. easy enough \

9.A. think             B. know               C. become           D. feel

10.A. not have          B. don’t have           C. won’t have         D. haven’t