A young mother set her feet on the pathway of the life. “Is the way long?”

And her guide said, “Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old ____ you reach the end of it, but the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy and would not ____ anything could be better than these years. So she ____ with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed with them in the clear springs. The sun shone on them, and life was good. And the young mother cried, “ Nothing will be ____ than this.”

Then the night came. And the storm (暴风雨) ____ them and the path was dark, and the children shook with ____ and cold. And the mother drew them close and covered them with her clothes, and the children said, “ Oh, Mum, we are not afraid, for you are ____, and we know that no harm (伤害) can come to us.” And the mother said, “This is better than the ____ of the day, for I have taught my ____ courage.”

And the morning came. There was a hill ahead, and the children ____ it and soon grew tired. And the mother was ____, too. But she said to the children, “ A little patience and we are there.” So the children climbed and climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, “Mum, we ____ not have done it without you.” And when the mother lay down to sleep that night, she ____at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the ____ , for my children have learned determination(决心) in the face of ____. Yesterday I gave them courage—today I gave them strength.”

1.A. after????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?????? B. before????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. since ????????????? ????????????? ? D. until

2.A. know ????????????? ????????????? ??? ?? B. believe????????????? ????????????? ??? C. feel????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. find

3.A. worked ????????????? ????????????? ??? ?? B. stayed????????? C. played? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. studied

4.A. worse????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?? B. better????????????? ????????????? ???? C. easier????????????? ????????????? ????? D. sadder

5.A. hit????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?????? B. beat????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. took????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. carried

6.A. excitement????????????? ????????????? ?? B. happiness????????????? ???? C. interest????????????? ????????????? ? D. fear

7.A. far????????????? ????????????? ?????????? B. away????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. near????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? D. out

8.A. coldest????????????? ????????????? ?????? B. coolest????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. darkest ????????????? ????????????? ? D. brightest

9.A. students????????????? ????????????? ?????? B. classmates ????????????? ????????????? C. friends????????????? ????????????? ? D. children

10.A. walked????????????? ????????????? ?????? B. moved????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. climbed????????????? ????????????? ? D. flew

11.A. tired????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?? B. happy ????????????? ????????????? ???? C. angry????????????? ????????????? ????? D. proud

12.A. will????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?? B. can????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. could ????????????? ????????????? ? D. shouldn’t

13.A. looked over????????????? ?????? B. looked on????????????? ???? C. looked after????????????? ? D. looked up

14.A. last????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ? ??? B. next????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. latest????????????? ????????????? ????? D. second

15.A. dark????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ?? B. difficulties????????????? ????????????? C. failure????????????? ????????????? ? D. success

A young mother set her feet on the pathway of the life. “Is the way long?”

And her guide said, “Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old __31__ you reach the end of it, but the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy and would not __32__ anything could be better than these years. So she __33__ with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way and bathed with them in the clear springs. The sun shone on them, and life was good. And the young mother cried, “ Nothing will be __34__ than this.”

Then the night came. And the storm (暴风雨) __35__ them and the path was dark, and the children shook with __36__ and cold. And the mother drew them close and covered them with her clothes, and the children said, “ Oh, Mum, we are not afraid, for you are __37__, and we know that no harm (伤害) can come to us.” And the mother said, “This is better than the __38__ of the day, for I have taught my __39__ courage.”

And the morning came. There was a hill ahead, and the children __40__ it and soon grew tired. And the mother was __41__, too. But she said to the children, “ A little patience and we are there.” So the children climbed and climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, “Mum, we __42__ not have done it without you.” And when the mother lay down to sleep that night, she __43__at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the __44__ , for my children have learned determination(决心) in the face of __45__. Yesterday I gave them courage—today I gave them strength.”

(    )31. A. after                 B. before               C. since         D. until

(    )32. A. know                  B. believe           C. feel                     D. find

(    )33. A. worked            B. stayed                 C. played               D. studied

(    )34. A. worse                     B. better            C. easier           D. sadder

(    )35. A. hit                    B. beat                     C. took                   D. carried

(    )36. A. excitement        B. happiness      C. interest        D. fear

(    )37. A. far                B. away                    C. near                    D. out

(    )38. A. coldest             B. coolest                     C. darkest             D. brightest

(    )39. A. students           B. classmates               C. friends              D. children

(    )40. A. walked                 B. moved               C. climbed             D. flew

(    )41. A. tired                 B. happy                  C. angry                  D. proud

(    )42. A. will                  B. can                      C. could          D. shouldn’t

(    )43. A. looked over       B. looked on     C. looked after    D. looked up

(    )44. A. last                  B. next                     C. latest           D. second

(    )45. A. dark                 B. difficulties         C. failure        D. success

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.

         There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.

         The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adults’ tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.”

         The ticket lady told him the price.

         The man’s wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man’s face. He quietly asked, “How much did you say?”

         The ticket lady again told him the price.

         The man obviously didn’t have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?

         Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, you dropped this.”

         The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad’s eyes, and in tears replied. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

         Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn’t go without.

1.Why does the writer say “Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean” ( Paragraph 2)?

A. To show the children were well looked after.

B. To show cheap clothes could be popular.

C. To show how hard the mother worked.

D. To show how rich the family were.

2.Why was the poor man unhappy after he spoke with the ticket lady?

A. He had lost his money.                     B. His children were noisy.

C. The tickets were sold out.                        D. The tickets were too expensive.

3.Who did the $20 note belong to?

A. The poor man                .                           B. The writer’s father.

C. The poor man’s wife.                                 D. The ticket lady.

4.Why was the poor man in tears at the end of the story?

A. He found the money he lost.                   B. He wanted others to help him.

C. He made his children unhappy.               D. He was thankful for the kindness.

5.Which of the following statements is probably true according to the passage?

A. The poor mans saw the circus that night.

B. The two families became close friends.

C. The writer’s father earned some money.

D. The writer saw the circs that night.

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.

       There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.

       The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adults’ tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.”

       The ticket lady told him the price.

       The man’s wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man’s face. He quietly asked, “How much did you say?”

       The ticket lady again told him the price.

       The man obviously didn’t have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?

       Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, you dropped this.”

       The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad’s eyes, and in tears replied. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

       Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn’t go without.

46. Why does the writer say “Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean” ( Paragraph 2)?

A. To show the children were well looked after.

B. To show cheap clothes could be popular.

C. To show how hard the mother worked.

D. To show how rich the family were.

47. Why was the poor man unhappy after he spoke with the ticket lady?

A. He had lost his money.                    B. His children were noisy.

C. The tickets were sold out.               D. The tickets were too expensive.

48. Who did the $20 note belong to?

A. The poor man          .                    B. The writer’s father.

C. The poor man’s wife.                            D. The ticket lady.

49. Why was the poor man in tears at the end of the story?

A. He found the money he lost.            B. He wanted others to help him.

C. He made his children unhappy.         D. He was thankful for the kindness.

50. Which of the following statements is probably true according to the passage?

A. The poor mans saw the circus that night.                    

B. The two families became close friends.

C. The writer’s father earned some money.

D. The writer saw the circs that night.