Little Mike’s grandma died weeks ago. He missed her very much. One afternoon Mike went to the city park where his grandma used to go. There he saw an old lady. She looked very kind. She was sitting there, watching pigeons（鸽子）. Little Mike went up and sat next to her. He took out his food and drinks and gave some to her. She smiled at him. Her smile was so sweet that Mike wanted to see it again. She seemed to understand him, so once again she smiled. Mike was very glad.

They sat there all the afternoon, eating and talking. As it got dark, Mike got up to leave. Before he left, he hugged（拥抱）the old lady and she gave him her sweetest smile.

   When Mike got home, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. “I met a granny in the park. Her smile was like the kind of smile I had seen on Grandma’s face.”

   The old lady also returned to her home happily. She told her son that she had food and drinks with a little boy. “He was as lovely as Brittany,” she said. Her son was surprised, because he had never seen her so happy since Brittany, her grandson, died weeks ago.

1.Little Mike went to the park and __________.

A. played with pigeons       B. fed pigeons

C. met an old lady         D. saw a friend of his grandma’s

2.The old lady’s smile showed that _________.

A. she had hoped to meet the boy    B. she wanted to get some drinks

C. she missed her grandson       D. she liked the little boy

3.Mike felt very glad because __________.

A. he gave the granny food and drinks

B. the old lady was as kind as his grandma

C. he had seen his grandma

D. she liked the little boy

4.Mike and the old lady __________.

A. were good to each other      B. knew each other well

C. often met in the park       D. did nothing that afternoon

5.What can we learn from the story?

A. When one feels unhappy, he must go to a park.

B. Old people are always kind and happy.

C. Children and old people should get on well with each other.

D. When people are kind to each other, they will feel happy.

Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a spring in every step.

Tom appeared with a bucket（桶）of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence（篱笆）around the garden. It was ninety feet long and nine feet high. He felt very blue.

Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work.

Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended（假装）not to see Ben.

“I’m going swimming,” said Ben. “Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can’t. You have to stay and work, don’t you?”

 “Work?” Tom said. “This isn’t work. I’m enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?”

Ben thought about this. Tom continued painting carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added（增加）a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager（渴望的）to have a try himself.

After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said, “No, Ben, I can’t. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care.”

“Oh, please, Tom,” begged Ben. “I can do it. I’ll be really careful. Just let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple. Well, I’ll give you all of it!”

“Well, all right, Ben,” said Tom. “You must be very careful.”

He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben’s apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him a basketball, and so on.

By late afternoon Tom had got all kinds of toys, and the fence had got three coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom’s work that she gave Tom a large cake!

1.Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben when he came and watched him painting?

A. He saw Ben eating an apple happily.

B. He tried to make Ben interested in it.

C. He didn’t want to go swimming with Ben at all.

D. He didn’t want Ben to share the chance to paint the fence.

2.What does the underlined word “spring” probably mean in Chinese?

A. 春天           B. 弹簧           C. 泉                            D. 活力

3.What do you think of Tom?

A. Honest.           B. Smart.             C. Shy.                   D. Stubborn.

The family man?
Father was a hardworking man who tried his best to support his wife and three
children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself
so that he could one day find a better-paid job, except for Sundays. Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted
to provide his family with the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed with a good mark! Soon after , he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor (主管), which paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to get the position of manager. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
Father’s hard word paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid
so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room flat was not longer big enough, and it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a condominium(公寓). Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father decided to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him again.
As expected, father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium near the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening in their new home, father told his family that he had decided not to take any more courses or pursue(追求) any more promotions. From then on he was going to spend more time with his family.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked seven days a week, didn’t he ?
【小题2】Why did father work and study hard?
【小题3】What was father’s first well-paid job?
【小题4】What did the family complain about father?
【小题5】Where did father manager to buy a beautiful condominium for his family?
【小题6】Do you want to have the “father”in your family? Why or not?

As a teenager, I am often asked what I am going to be in the future. A lawyer? A doctor? Or a scientist? No, my ideal career is to be a teacher. One of the   for that is I want to be a teacher like Mr. Chen.

“Look! Do you know what it is? A-ha, it’s the     ! And it will always move around the sun.” Mr. Chen said and pointed to his head. He then touched the nose and     , “Can you tell me the name of this mountain? It is the highest mountain on Earth! What’s the    of it? Yes, it’s 8844.43 metres…” I’ll never forget my first geography lesson. He was    humorous that we all fell in love with his lessons    . It’s Mr. Chen who opened the door of geography for us.

Generally speaking, most of the teachers are strict     students and sometimes a little bit demanding（苛求的）, not so with Mr. Chen. He is a lighthouse, showing us the way to the treasure of knowledge. He is a friend and easy to get     with, always encouraging us to speak out loud without   our shyness and other disadvantages. He is an example, volunteering his time to students and other teachers.

One day I happened to meet him in the hospital. Seeing the cut on his arm, I realized he was donating his   . I was moved and was     another lesson, a lesson of love and devotion.

Every time I see my globe（地球仪）, it would   me of Mr. Chen. He is the most unforgettable teacher I have    met and he will always be. Someday I hope I am       to be a teacher like him.

Thank you, Mr Chen, thank you for making learning not a job but a joy.

Thank you for helping me to discover what I do best and to do it even   Thank you for understanding all of us and giving us the time and care each of us needs.

1.A. replies               B. reasons                C. rewards                      D. results

2.A. moon      B. earth                   C. star                D. sun

3.A. advised      B. announced       C. added                     D. answered

4.A. distance  B. weight                     C. size                      D. height

5.A. very                B. too                        C. really                            D. so

6.A. at present       B. at once                    C. at times                        D. at first

7.A. with               B. to                         C. in                               D. for

8.A. away              B. together            C. angry                 D. along

9.A. thinking    B. caring               C. considering                  D. supposing

10.A. money     B. blood                 C. clothes                        D. time

11.A. taught    B. given                      C. taken                            D. had

12.A. remembers  B. represents      C. warns                           D. reminds

13.A. just                  B. never                     C. ever                           D. yet

14.A. able      B. about                      C. allowed              D. available

15.A. well       B. good                       C. better                         D. best