Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.　
　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.　
　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.　
　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.　
　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.　
　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.　
　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:　
　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”
　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, making life strong and warm.
　　thread: 线　　　 quilt: 被子
　　1. Why did the parents try to earn a lot of money?
　　A. To pay for the food.
　　B. To pay off the debt.
　　C. To pay for the hospital.
　　D. To pay the high tuition.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. The parents sent flowers on Valentine’s day.
　　B. The parents liked to say “I love you.”
　　C. The father was too tired to have a good temper.
　　D. The mother had no job.

　　3. From the passage, we can know that _________.
　　A. the father made much money from his work
　　B. Susan couldn’t understand her mother
　　C. the parents always loved each other
　　D. the mother was worried about her husband

　　4. How did Susan feel towards her parents at last?
　　A. sad　　　　　 B. glad　　 　　C. worried　　　 D. easy

　　5. Which is the best title?
　　A. Love is inside.　　　　　　　　 B. Love is outside.
　　C. Love is seen everywhere.　　 　 D. Love is seen anytime.
　

If you go to Finland, you’ll be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high class Benz with a fare (票价) of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then get off without paying your fare. And the driver would not show the least sign of worry.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends and dine free of charge.
With so many loopholes (漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “pretty advantages”. But the strange things is, all the taxi-passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. As the Finns always act on good faith and always show an attitude of “which is which” and “what is what” in everything they do, so to live in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”. In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to take precautions (预防措施) against others?
【小题1】The word “foolish” probably means _____________.

1.Where is the Children’s Museum?　　

A. 106 Green Street   B. 　　16 Yangtze Road　　   C. 　　89 North Street　　　　

2. It’s Wednesday, you can go to             .　　

A. play basketball   B. play soccer    C. see a movie　　

3. If children want to order fast food, they should call          .　　

A. 66387901   B. 79210583    C. 68787451　　

4.If you dial 79210583, you can             .　　

A. do some shopping  B. have a good story time  C. call a taxi　　

5. There is no information about             in the two notices.　　

A. looking for a hotel   B. doing eye exercises    C. seeing a doctor