An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to __1__ the house－building business to live a more __2__ life with his wife and __3__ his extended family. He would miss the paycheck(工资) each week, but he wanted to retire. They could __4__. 

The employer was __5__ to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, __6__ over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used bad workmanship and __7__ materials. It was an unfortunate way to __8__ a dedicated(献身的)career.

When the carpenter finished  his work, his employer came to __9__ the house. Then he handed the front－door __10__ to the carpenter and said, “This is your house... my __11__ to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!

What a __12__！ If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

__13__  it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting __14__ than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we __15__ we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot __16__. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Someone __17__ said, “Life is a do－it－yourself project.” Your __18__，  and the choices you __19__ today, help build the “house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, build __20__！

1. A. continue　　　  B. start　　　C. leave　　　D. find

2. A. leisurely       B. lonely     C. orderly    D. friendly                 

3. A support        B. share      C. enjoy     D. care                  

4. A. go off             B. get by

C. pass on            D. work away

5. A. polite         B. nervous   C. proud     D. sorry                   

6. A. but           B. while     C. which       D. before         

7. A. perfect        B. inferior   C. superior    D. tough                  

8. A. satisfy      B. improve     C. meet      D. end                      

9. A. buy        B. repair       C. inspect    D. sell                  

10. A. roof      B. window      C. key      D. design                   

11. A. gift       B. promise      C. salary    D. words

12. A. disappointment      B. shame         

C. pleasure             D. success        

13. A. So       B. Yet          C. As       D. Such                    

14. A. worse     B. more        C. rather     D. less                     

15. A. realize    B. explain       C. think      D. admit                   

16. A. step forward         B. go back

C. come out            D. look around

17. A. never     B. again        C. once     D. nearly            

18. A. attitude   B. experience    C. skill      D. advantage       

19. A. learn       B. take       C. see        D. make                   

20. A. badly  B. wisely      C. early         D. confidently             

My 8­year­old son，Kevin，has made friends with some boys in the neighborhood. He has been 36    with them after school. My wife，and I are 37    he has other kids to be with and we have __38__ and encouraged him to play with his friends. We also want Kevin to learn __39__，so we have asked him to tell us __40__ he's going and to come home at a specified time.
The __41__ started when Kevin didn't come home on time. On one occasion，I asked Kevin to be back at 6 pm. By 6：30，I needed to go __42__ him. I found him at a friend's house，and he looked 43    that he couldn't continue playing. After we came home，I sat  Kevin down for a talk about the _44  _ of  keeping his word. I told him I was not worried about his arriving a few __45__ late， after a half hour， he told me he understood and I was _46_  _.
The next day，I came home from work at about 6:30 pm and my wife asked me to go and get Kevin back __47__ she said he should be back home at 6. I walked to his friend's house and a look of __48__ appeared on Kevin's face when he came to the door.
At __49__，my wife and I spoke to Kevin about why he didn't come home on time again. He said he just wanted to _50__ playing. This was __51__，so we decided to ground(罚不准出门)him for a week. This __52_ no playing with his friends.
For the next week，whenever his friends came to ask for Kevin，we let him __53__ to them that he was grounded. We felt this would help him be responsible for his __54__.
As a __55__，I believe one of the most important things we can teach our kids is self-responsibility and that actions have consequences.

Sneaker is a kind of shoe worn by many people all over the world. Some say that the word “sneaker” is another word for tennis shoe,   36   no one really knows where the word came from.   37  say it came from the old English verb “sneak”, which  38   moving silently and quickly. The only thing we are   39  is that when you put on a pair of sneakers, you   40   light-hearted, light-footed and ready to play.

Sneakers of some kind are used by   41   who play tennis, basketball, and other sports. New design has been made   42   for people who run slowly. But perhaps sneakers are   43   used by children in the United States. In fact American children of  44   ages would much rather play in sneakers than anything else, except perhaps  45   at all.

　　New York City once held a poetry contest (诗歌比赛) for children. The subject was only “sneaker”. Thousands of children sent in their  46   and praised the sneakers they love. One prize winner called  47   poem “The Sneaker and the World Peace”. “When everyone is wearing sneakers,” she said, “it will be impossible to   48 .”

American school children can be seen every day   49  sneakers of all colours. They put them on in the morning and take them off  50 . Sneakers are  51  washed. In fact the older and dirtier they are, the  52  loveable they are. When their sneakers wear out (穿破), children hate to throw them off. How do you explain the closeness between  53  ? Perhaps another young   54  in the New York Poetry Contest said it best. “A shoe is just a shoe,” he said. “But a sneaker is a   55 .”

1.                A．however        B．but            C．or   D．and

2.                A．All            B．Some          C．People   D．The others

3.                A．appears        B．remains         C．means    D．wants

4.                A．excited about    B．sure of         C．surprised at   D．pleased with

5.                A．think           B．feel            C．consider  D．suggest

6.                A．men           B．women         C．those D．these

7.                A．lovely          B．specially        C．lively D．cheaply

8.                A．only           B．greatly         C．hardly    D．finally

9.                A．all             B．some           C．little D．old

10.               A．some shoes     B．no shoes        C．no children D．some sneakers

11.               A．photos         B．compositions    C．poems    D．drawings

12.               A．her            B．his            C．its    D．their

13.               A．explain         B．guide          C．hate  D．love

14.               A．dressing        B．wearing        C．putting on D．having

15.               A．the next day     B．at noon         C．at bedtime D．in the evening

16.               A．forever        B．always         C．seldom    D．sometimes

17.               A．much          B．many          C．most  D．more

18.                                A．sneakers and other shoes   B．boys and girls

C．children and sneakers               D．winners and sneakers

19.               A．girl            B．man           C．woman    D．winner

20.               A．sneaker        B．friend          C．poem D．shoe

Mr. Smith wrote to your newspaper to complain that his telephone was out of order for more than a week.

We received a complaint from Mr. Smith at 2:30 p.m. on May 6. The next day we sent workmen to Mr. Smith’s house to repair his telephone. The men discovered that there was something wrong with the underground cable. They dug up 15 feet of the cable and saw many white ants. These ants had attacked the cable and damaged it badly.

On May 8~10, our workmen dug up another 30 feet of the cable and found that it was also damaged. On May 11~13 the men took out the useless cable and replaced it with a new one. To do this they had to connect more than 4 000 wires and the work was not easy.

On May 14, the cable was completely repaired and Mr. Smith’s telephone was working properly. He did not have to pay for the work.

Yours faithfully,

B.Jones

Manager of Telephone Company

1.Mr. Jones wrote to a newspaper because he wanted to ______.

A. explain why his telephone did not work properly

B.complain about his telephone

C.explain why Mr. Smith’s telephone was out of order for several days

D.complain that the Telephone Company was slow to repair his telephone

2.The workmen spent ______ days in repairing the cable.

A. eight　　　　　　　　　　    B.three　　　　　　　　　　　　 C.four　　　　　　　　   D.six

3.The workmen had to join thousands of wires when they ______ the old cable.

A. damaged　　　　　　　　  B.repaired　　　　　　　　　　 C.replaced　　　　　　　　    D.put in

4.The ______ to the cable were paid by the Telephone Company.

A. damage　　　　　　　　    B.damages　　　　　　　　    C.repairs　　　　　　　　　　  D.replacement

5.The word “discovered” means ______.

A. were learned　　　　　　 B.were seeing　　　　　　   C.find out　　　　　　　　　　 D.found out