It was Mother’s Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn’t go back home. When he walked by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. “I’ll send Mum some roses (玫瑰).”

While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. “How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?” he asked. The shop assistant told him that roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations(康乃馨). She told him they were a lot cheaper than roses.

“No, I have to have red roses,” he said, “My mum was badly ill last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses, as the rose is her favorite.”

After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the shop assistant said, “Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two.” Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the shop assistant to send them to his mother.

As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, “Mum, oh, Mum, why didn’t I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her.”

Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.

1.The shop assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because _____.

A. there were not enough roses in the shop

B. carnations were much nicer than roses

C. roses were more expensive than carnations

D. carnations were special flowers for Mother’s Day

2.John spent _______ in the flower shop that day.

A. $5                  B. $25                     C. $ 45                 D. $ 55

3.The young man cried at the cemetery because he _______.

A. had spent all his money on the roses

B. wasn’t able to tell his mother he loved her himself

C. felt sorry to ask John to pay for his flowers

D. hadn’t got enough money for his sick mother

4.At last John decided to take the roses home himself because he wanted to _______.

A. tell his mother he loved her

B. ask his mother for more money

C. tell his mother the young man’s story

D. ask his mother if she liked roses

5.The writer wrote this passage to tell us “_______”.

A. Buy roses for your mother when she is ill

B. Let your mother know how much you love her

C. Work hard to get more money for your mother

D. Send your mother flowers on Mother’s Day

It was Mother’s Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn’t go back home. When he walked by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. “I’ll send Mum some roses (玫瑰).”

While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. “How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?” he asked. The shop assistant told him that roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations(康乃馨). She told him they were a lot cheaper than roses.

“No, I have to have red roses,” he said, “My mum was badly ill last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses, as the rose is her favorite.”

After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the shop assistant said, “Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two.” Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the shop assistant to send them to his mother.

As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, “Mum, oh, Mum, why didn’t I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her.”

Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.

1.The shop assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because _____.

A．there were not enough roses in the shop

B．carnations were much nicer than roses

C．roses were more expensive than carnations

D．carnations were special flowers for Mother’s Day

2.John spent _______ in the flower shop that day.

A．$5 B．$25 C．$ 45 D．$ 55

3.The young man cried at the cemetery because he _______.

A．had spent all his money on the roses

B．wasn’t able to tell his mother he loved her himself

C．felt sorry to ask John to pay for his flowers

D．hadn’t got enough money for his sick mother

4.At last John decided to take the roses home himself because he wanted to _______.

A．tell his mother he loved her

B．ask his mother for more money

C．tell his mother the young man’s story

D．ask his mother if she liked roses

5.The writer wrote this passage to tell us “_______”.

A．Buy roses for your mother when she is ill

B．Let your mother know how much you love her

C．Work hard to get more money for your mother

D．Send your mother flowers on Mother’s Day

Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at
his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a
photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around
India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to
carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He
taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern
India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants
can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to
complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better
quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain
and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an
elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I
gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.

1. 1.

   Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.

   1. A.
      a visit to a zoo
   2. B.
      an elephant expert from India
   3. C.
      the photos of elephant
   4. D.
      an old friend who lived in India
2. 2.

   The elephant expert told Chris __________.

   1. A.
      when to buy an elephant
   2. B.
      how to feed an elephant
   3. C.
      where to sell his elephant
   4. D.
      how to ride an elephant
3. 3.

   Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.

   1. A.
      it is a very interesting place
   2. B.
      he would be able to sell Tara there easily
   3. C.
      elephants cannot be sold anywhere else
   4. D.
      it would take only a short time to get there
4. 4.

   When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.

   1. A.
      he realized that he did not really want to sell Tara
   2. B.
      he visited some shopkeepers
   3. C.
      he sold Tara to a national park
   4. D.
      he decided to take Tara home with him