Once upon a time there lived a poor farmer called Smith. He didn't like to share things with others. Smith had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apples he grew.
One day, his friend gave Smith a young apple tree and told him to take it home and planted. The farmer was pleased with the gift, but when he got home, he did not know where to plant
He thought and thought. Finally at night he planted the tree in his wood where no one could see it. But without sunlight and good soil, the tree soon died.
Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a poor place.
"What's the difference?" the farmer said angrily. "If I had planted it near the road, strangers would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted it in one of my fields, my neighbors would have come at night and stolen some of the apples. If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the fruit,"
"Yes," said the friend, "but at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have got nothing, but also you have destroyed a good apple tree."
【小题1】Was Smith happy about the gift?
【小题2】When did he plant the apple tree?
【小题3】Where did Smith plant the apple tree in the end?
【小题4】 Why did the apple tree soon die?
【小题5】 What would probably happen if the farmer had planted the tree near his house?

Albert was an ordinary worker in an oil company in America. His workmates gave a nickname（绰号）“Four dollars a bucket of oil” below his name whenever and wherever he wrote down his name.
As time went by, people forgot his real name. Later, when Rockefeller, the board chairman(董事长)of the oil company, heard of it, he was very surprised, so he invited Albert to come to his office.
“Some people give you a nickname for ‘Four dollars a bucket’. Why aren’t you angry?” asked Rockefeller with some puzzlement in his eyes.
“Oh! Mr. Rockefeller! I like this nickname very much, because ‘Four dollars a bucket’ is our company’s advertisement. As long as someone calls me‘ Four dollars a bucket’ once, I think it’s free advertisement for our company. It’s not necessary for me to get angry. Don’t you think so , Mr. Rockefeller?”
“Oh! What a wonderful man!” Rockefeller said excitedly when hearing Albert’s words “Young man! Work harder, you must be successful in the future! I believe in you!”
Five years later, Albert became the second board chairman after Rockefeller.
Later Albert said in one of his reports, “I don’t think we should feel frustrated when we have no way to do the world-shaking things. We should treat every thing actively because maybe our future success will begin from a small thing!”
【小题1】What was Albert in The oil company at the beginning?

A．A worker.

B．An assistant.

C．A manager.

D．The second board chairman.

【小题2】Why wasn’t Albert angry about his nickname?

A．He liked to have a nickname.

B．It could make his workmates happy.

C．He could become famous.

D．It was a free advertisement for his company.

【小题3】What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Rockefeller asked young people to work harder.

B．It’s very important to do small things well.

C．You can’t get angry when someone calls your nickname.

D．You should make more advertisements for your company.

【小题4】What would be the best title for this passage?

A．I Believe in You	B．Albert and Rockefeller
C．Four Dollars a Bucket	D．The Second Board Chairman

“Excuse me,” said a young man, standing shyly at the open church door. “I’m here to pick up an Easter basket for my daughter. Am I in the right place?” Well, we have baskets, but they’re not Easter baskets for kids; they’re food baskets,” I explained.

That morning I arrived at St. Micheal’s Church in Carmichael, California, to help give out the baskets to needy families for Easter. To make sure every family would receive one, we had handed out numbers to them that matched the basket they were supposed to receive. Each one contained a whole ham, potatoes, bread, vegetables, and a pie --- enough food to help feed a family for a week.

“Why don’t you come in?” I said to the man. He looked disappointed. He shook his head and said, “I can’t... My daughter is waiting for me over there. I’m grateful for the food, but when I heard you were giving away baskets for Easter ... well, I thought they would be Easter baskets for children.” He continued, “I promised my daughter one, and I wanted to surprise her.”

I felt bad, but there was nothing I could do. The man handed me his number, and I walked over to the baskets. A bulge(凸起) in one of the baskets caught my eye. “What is that?” I wondered. Leaning over and looking more closely, I could see, unmistakably, an Easter basket --- filled with candy, chocolate, and Easter eggs. One of the volunteers must have added it by mistake! I thought. Then I looked at the man’s number in my hand. Well, he’ll be....

“Happy Easter,” I said to the man, handing him the only food basket with an Easter basket inside --- the very same basket with his number on it. “Someone knew just what you needed.”

1.The young man had thought that ____________.

A. he would have an Easter basket and a food basket

B. there would be Easter baskets for children.

C. there would be children’s toys in the food basket

D. he would get enough food for the whole year.

2.What did the author do at the church?

A. He worked there as a churchman. 

B. He was called in to give out Easter baskets.

C. He went there to meet the young man.

D. He was a volunteer who helped there.

3.The young man looked disappointed at first because ____________.

A. he was told not to take a food basket     

B. there was little food in the Easter basket

C. he came so late that all the basket had been given out

D. he was told that he wouldn’t get what he wanted

4.What surprised the author was that __________.

A. there was an Easter basket in the food basket

B. someone knew what the young man needed

C. one of the baskets was filled with more bread than others

D. he found that the young man’s name was on the basket

5.We can infer that the young man left the church feeling ________.

A. sad             B. satisfied           C. angry          D. surprised

 

请先阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出可以填入相应空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该项涂黑。(每小题1分)

    I was so excited after I had found the holiday in the guidebook. It said, “Enjoy a week of sightseeing in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities          staying at one of its best hotels. ” Now I wasn’t so sure. I had waited fifteen minutes at reception (前台) when I            and now the shower in my room wasn’t working. I called hotel reception.

    “Hello. This is Room 308. There isn’t any            in my bathroom. ”

    “Are you sure?”

    “Of course I’m sure!

    “I’ll            our hotel engineer at once. ”

    An hour later, the engineer came to look at the shower. He hit the pipes (管子) a few times and looked          . “Sorry, but I cannot fix it today. Maybe, tomorrow.” Then he            his hand. I couldn’t believe it! He wanted a tip (小费) for doing            ! I was very angry. But suddenly, I had a better idea.            , I gave the engineer a few coins. He hadn’t fixed my shower but he had taught me something about staying in his country. Two minutes later I was at the reception desk. I explained the problem to the receptionist (接待员) and he replied, “Sorry. This is a            situation, but what can we do?” I knew exactly what to do. I gave the hotel manager a very large tip. Fifteen minutes later I            into Room 405. It was twice the size of Room 308, it had a wonderful view (景色) of the city, a comfortable bed and, most importantly, there was water in the bathroom.

1.A. since           B. while              C. after               D. before

2.A. arrived                B. passed           C. left                  D. stopped

3.A. toothpaste B. water             C. shampoo       D. soap

4.A. send           B. catch              C. trouble          D. bring

5.A. proud                  B. worried         C. angry              D. excited

6.A. put up                  B. cleaned up    C. took back      D. held out

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

8.A. Seriously    B. Especially      C. Quickly D. Luckily

9.A. helpful                 B. perfect          C. terrible D. busy

10.A. broke                B. looked           C. rushed           D. moved

 

根据短文内容和首字母提示，在下文空格处填入适当的词使短文完整。在答题卡标有题号的横线上，写出空缺处各单词的正确形式。（每空一词）

The pig that dares to dream

The best-loved pig in Hong Kong is called McDull. His mom makes a wish that he will look like Chow Yun-fat or Tony Leung, two movie heartthrobs, but he is distinguished (区分) only by a birthmark around his right eye.

The cartoon piglet is not smart, either. Everything he tries, he f___1.____. He wants to be an Olympic champion of qiangbaoshan, but the sport doesn’t really exist, of course. He d_____2.____ of going to the Maldives (马尔代夫), but ends up on a one-day tour of a Hong Kong landmark i____3.______.

However, the slow, dumb(木讷) pig has won over Hong Kong people, often stereotyped(塑造) as eager to quick success. So far, there are five McDull movies s ___4.____ in both the mainland and Hong Kong.

The popularity of McDull sometimes makes his creator Alice Mak confused. “Maybe people see themselves and their friends in McDull," she says. Like McDull, Mak moves and speaks slowly. She describes herself a___5.___ a simple person, who does not try to draw too much meaning from the McDull stories. As a Christian, she has some simple beliefs, such as God creates h____6._____ because he loves them and wants them to be happy.

"McDull reminds people they u____7.___ to be as simple and happy as him," Mak says. "If there is a theme in all the McDull movies, it is about how a simple person keeps his or her simplicity in a complicated(复杂) world."

In one of the McDull movies, he talks to the audience: "I suddenly realize that there is s___8.___ you just cannot have. No noodles, no Maldives, no golden medal, no treasure ... it turns out that being stupid is not funny, it could mean failure. Disappointment is not funny, fat is not funny, fat does not even mean you have more strength. When I grow up, when I face the tough world that is not f____9.___, what should I do?"

"W____10.____ he has been doing in the movies is to find new dreams. Most of them keep failing him, but he always starts again with a new one," Mak says. "Maybe that`s why both children and adults find him adorable (可爱的)."