I’m five years old, and my mother is washing the kitchen floor. I’m telling her about a new girl in school, and she suddenly looks up at me and says, “ Who are your two best friends ? ”

I’m not sure what to say. I’ve been friends with Jill since I was three or so , and I really like Jaime , a friend in kindergarten .

“ Jill and Jaime .”

“ Well , what about Karen and Cindy ?”

“ I don’t know who their best friends are ,” I say .

“ No ,” she says . “ I’m saying , why aren’t they your best friends ?”

“ But they’re my sisters .”

“ Yes , but they can still be your best friends . Friends may come and go, but your sisters will always be there for you .”

At that time, the idea of my two sisters being my closest friends seemed strange to me. We fought all the time over toys, food , attention , and what to watch on television . How could my sisters be my best friends ?

But my mother never let the three of us forget it : Sisters are lifelong friends . Her wish—like most parents’—was to give us something that she never had. Growing up as an only child, she longed for brothers and sisters. She gave birth to three daughters. She had given us each a gift—our sisters.

As we grew up, we realized that our mother was right. Today I share things with my sisters that I do with no one else. My sister Cindy and I ran the New York City Marathon together , side-by-side , even holding hands when we crossed the finish line . The three of us trust each other with our greatest secrets.

It was twenty-three years ago that my mother first asked me who my two best friends were. Today she doesn’t have to. She already knows.

46. How old was the writer when she wrote the passage ?

A. 5 .               B. 9 .              C. 23 .               D. 28 .

47. According to the writer , why can’t her sisters become her friends ?

A. Because they are older than her .          B. Because they don’t like her .

C. Because they often fought with each other .  D. Because they have their own friends .

48. What did the writer feel when her mother said her sisters could be her best friends ?

A. Strange .          B. Excited .          C. Interested .           D. Pleased .

49. What might be the most suitable title for the passage ?

A. My best friends .                       B. The greatest gift .     

C. My sisters and I                        D. My mother’s dream .

50. What can we learn from the passage ?

A. My mother used to give us some gifts .

B. My mother’s sisters are her best friends .

C. My sisters and I always get along well .

D. My sisters and I become good friends now .

用方框中所给的词语的适当形势填空，使短文正确、通顺、连贯（每词限用一次）

not support , zoo , care for , keep , good , hardly , surprise , for , much , be  suitable for

Yesterday I visited the Hong Shan Forest Zoo. I was  1  to find few people there.   2  are very important places. They provide homes  3  many endangered animals .They also help to educate the public about
 4 them . If we   5 our zoos, they won’t have enough money to take care of so  6  fine animals. Therefore, People should go and visit the zoos more often to learn about animals and help to protect them  7 .
However, some people don’t think so. They think zoos are terrible places for animals to live.“I’ve visited a lot of zoos in my life, and I have never seen one I like or one that  8 animals to live in .”Jenny said The animals 9 in small cages and can   10 move at all .What’s more, they are only given food once a week That’s terrible.

Denny Crook was a famous photographer(摄影师). He traveled all over the world, taking pictures for magazines and newspapers, and won many prizes.
“I’ll do anything to get a good photo,” he often said. “I’ll go anywhere at any time, even if it is
   41  .”
And he told the     42  .He had photos of earthquakes, forest fires, floods and even wars. If something interesting happened, Denny went to photo it.
He was a married man and his wife often asked him to take her with him, but he always    43  . “I’ll travel for my work, not for    44  ,” he told her. “You won’t enjoy yourself, and I won’t have    45  to look after you. Sometimes there’s not even anywhere to     46  ,and I have to sleep outside. I often don’t have a good     47   or a bath for days. You won’t like it.”
“Denny, I’m not a child,” his wife didn’t     48   . “I can look after myself. Please take me with you the next time you go overseas.”
Denny did not say anything, but he     49   about it, and when he was asked to go to Africa he said to his wife,” You can come to Africa with me if you want to. I’ve got to take photos of wild   50  there. It should be interesting and not too uncomfortable.”
His wife was very     51  ,and at first she had a very enjoyable time.
Then Denny went off to     52  some lions to photo. His wife went with him, but before long they became separated(分开).She walked down one path while he walked down the other.
Suddenly, Denny heard her     53   .He ran back and saw her running toward him. A huge lion was chasing her.
Quickly Denny took his camera out of its case and     54   it at his wife and the lion.
Then he shouted, “    55  ,woman !I can’t get you both in the picture!”

【小题1】

A．dangerous B．natural C．convenient D．impossible

【小题2】

A．lie B．reason C．news D．truth

【小题3】

A．allowed B．refused C．failed D．joked

【小题4】

A．wealth B．prize C．pleasure D．luck

【小题5】

A．money B．time C．interest D．ability

【小题6】

A．meet B．work C．shop D．stay

【小题7】

A．meal B．picnic C．room D．party

【小题8】

A．agree B．understand C．replay D．complain

【小题9】

A．worried B．forgot C．asked D．thought

【小题10】

A．land B．flowers C．animals D．people

【小题11】

A．exciting B．excited C．surprised D．surprising

【小题12】

A．find B．feed C．drive D．shoot

【小题13】

A．singing B．crying C．laughing D．cheering

【小题14】

A．threw B．fired C．showed D．pointed

【小题15】

A．Hurry up B．Look out C．Slow down D．Go ahead

I’m lying on my back in my grandfather’s orchard (果园)，looking up at the branches above me.It is one of the last days of summer.Already the days are shorter and the nights are cooler.Some kinds of apples are already ripe (成熟的)．Others will be ready to pick soon.I think of my grandmother’s apple pie，and how I used to make it with her.She died last year，before the apple harvest，and I have not had her pie since.I really miss her.I hear bees busily humming about，visiting the late summer flowers.The gentle hum of their wings nearly sends me to sleep.

The sky is as blue as my grandfather’s eyes.Above me，big white clouds race across the sky like pieces of cotton blowing in the wind.School starts in another week，and time seems to have slowed down.

“Sophie！” calls my grandfather.“Is that you？” I stand up，take his hand，and tell him all about my day as we walk through the orchard.We talk about apples，and bees，and Grandma.He tells me that he misses her too.

He puts his rough，brown farmer’s hand around my shoulder and pulls me close.“You know，Sophie，” he says，“I spent the morning in the attic (阁楼)，and you’ll never guess what I found.It’s the recipe (烹饪法) for Grandma’s apple pie.I used to help her make it sometimes.I can’t do it all alone，but you used to help her too.Maybe between the two of us，we can work it out.Want to try？”

“But it won’t be the same without Grandma，” I tell him.

“That’s true，” he says，“but nothing_is_the_same_without_Grandma.Still，I don’t think that she would want us never to have another apple pie.What do you say？” I nod yes，and we walk towards home...towards an afternoon in the farmhouse kitchen，making Grandma’s famous apple pie.

1．We learn from the passage that Sophie________.

A．likes to watch clouds in the attic

B．comes to the orchard after school

C．enjoys Grandma’s apple pie very much

D．picks many apples in the orchard

2．Sophie’s grandfather spent the morning in the attic________.

A．looking for Grandma’s recipe for apple pie

B．helping Sophie’s grandmother make apple pie

C．trying to make apple pie all alone for Sophie

D．talking about apples，and bees，and Grandma with Sophie

3．Both Sophie and her grandfather used to________.

A．help Grandma make apple pies

B．spend summer afternoons in the orchard

C．enjoy fresh fruit in the farmhouse kitchen

D．walk alone among the apple trees

4．The underlined part in the last paragraph shows________.

A．how much Sophie’s grandmother loved Sophie

B．how much Sophie’s grandfather likes apple pies

C．how much Sophie loves her grandfather’s orchard

D．how much Sophie’s grandfather misses Grandma

5．Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．My grandfather’s orchard 　　　　　　　　 B．My grandmother’s apple pie

C．A morning in the attic 　　　　　　　　　　　 D．The last days of summer