Peter wanted to know why he didn’t have many friends. The reason was he was always taking, never     1   .
One day Peter told Bill, “I’d like to give a party on Saturday. I’d like you to come and bring Martha,     2  ” “Thanks, Peter. We’d be   3   to come.” Bill answered. Peter then asked Bill to bring his violin. He said Bill and Martha sang well together. He said he was sure everyone    4  want Bill and Martha to sing for them. That was how Peter began to plan his party. Next he asked another friend, Betty, to bring a cake. “You make the  5   cake in the world. I like to eat your cake better than have one from the bakery.” Peter invited a few other friends to come to his party. He didn’t forget     6  something from each one of them. He even asked Jim and Mary Jackson to let him give the party at their house!   7 agreed.
The party was a big    8  . However, as the guests were leaving, they said “Thank you” to Bill and Martha   9    the music, Betty for the cake, the Jacksons for the use of the house and to others for their hard work. To Peter they just said, “Thanks for the   10  .”
【小题1】A. give                B. giving               C. making
【小题2】A. too                B. either              C. yet
【小题3】A. unhappy             B. sorry               C. glad
【小题4】A. would               B. will                C. is
【小题5】A. good               B. best                C. better
【小题6】A. asking              B. asked                C. to ask
【小题7】A. They               B. He                  C. Them
【小题8】A. successful          B. success             C. succeed
【小题9】A. as                  B. in                  C. for
【小题10】A. invitation        B. invite              C. ask

Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw a boy in front of him. He had dropped all of the books he was   16  , along with two sweaters, a basketball and a walkman (随身听).

Mark stopped and helped the boy pick the things up.   17   they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of his things. As they walked, Mark   18   that the boy’s name was Bill. He loved computer games, basketball, music and history,   19   he was having trouble with some of his   20   in school.

They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was   21   in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed   22   with a few laughs and some small talk, then Mark went home.

They continued to   23   each other at school, had lunch together once or twice a week, and then they   24   finished middle school. Three weeks before they left school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded Mark of the day years ago when they had first   25  . “Did you ever wonder   26   I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill.

“You see, I cleaned out my locker (锁柜) because I didn’t want to leave   27   for anyone else. I was going home to kill myself. But after we   28   some time together talking and laughing, I   29   that if I killed myself, I would have missed many good times. So you see, Mark, when you   30   those books that day, you actually saved my life.”

1.A. reading        B. buying           C. carrying         D. writing

2.A. Since      B. When             C. While            D. Before

3.A. asked      B. learned          C. believed         D. answered

4.A. and            B. or               C. so               D. but

5.A. books      B. teachers         C. subjects         D. games

6.A. introduced B. invited          C. noticed          D. pushed

7.A. happily        B. slowly           C. quietly          D. easily

8.A. help       B. accept           C. see              D. change

9.A. all            B. each             C. either           D. both

10.A. met           B. worked           C. appeared         D. arrived

11.A. what      B. when             C. why              D. how

12.A. something B. anything         C. everything       D. nothing

13.A. took      B. wasted           C. spent            D. found

14.A. remembered    B. wondered         C. checked          D. realized

15.A. threw away    B. picked up        C. gave out         D. looked for

_____Peter____ Bill is good at sports. They both play basketball really well.

An artist who did not have much money, but was a very kind man, was coming home by train one day. He gave his last few coins to a beggar, but then he saw another one, and forgot that he did not have any money. He asked the man if he would like to have lunch with him, and the beggar accepted, so they went into a small restaurant and had a good meal. At the end, the artist could not pay the bill, of course, so the beggar had to do so.
The artist was very unhappy about this, so he said to the beggar, “Come home with me in a taxi, my friend, and I’ll give you back the money for money.”
“Oh, no!” the beggar answered quickly. “I had to pay for your lunch, but I’m not going to pay for your taxi home either!”
【小题1】The artist in this story was __________.