Christmas was coming and my ten-year-old Alice told her father and me that she wanted a new bike.  Her bike was too   1  , and it needed repairing as well.
As Christmas   2 ,  her dream for a bike seemed to disappear, we thought, for she didn't say it again. We were busy  3  some beautiful story books, a doll house, a holiday dress and toys. Then to our surprise, on December 24, she said she really wanted a bike more than   4 .
Now we didn't know   5  to do. It was just too late. We were busy with Christmas dinner and packing  6  presents, parents' presents, a brother's present and friends' presents till midnight. So there was   7  time to take to buy the "right hike" for our little girl. Thinking we were parents who would make their child unhappy, we felt sorry and   8 .
Suddenly my husband had an idea. "What about making a little bike with clay (黏土) and writing a note that she could trade in (交换) the model bike for a real one?" So he spent the next five hours carefully __9__ with clay to make a small bike.
  10  Christmas morning, we were so excited for Alice to open the little box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. She opened and read the   11  loudly. She looked at me and said, "So, does this mean I can trade in this bike for a real  12 _?" Smiling, I said, "Yes!" Alice had tears in her eyes when she replied, "I would  13  trade in this beautiful bike Daddy made me. I __14 _ keep it than get a real bike. This is the best Christmas present   15  I have ever got in my life!"

Christmas was coming and my ten-year-old Alice told her father and me that she wanted a new bike.  Her bike was too   1  , and it needed repairing as well.

As Christmas   2 ,  her dream for a bike seemed to disappear, we thought, for she didn't say it again. We were busy  3  some beautiful story books, a doll house, a holiday dress and toys. Then to our surprise, on December 24, she said she really wanted a bike more than   4 .

Now we didn't know   5  to do. It was just too late. We were busy with Christmas dinner and packing  6  presents, parents' presents, a brother's present and friends' presents till midnight. So there was   7  time to take to buy the "right hike" for our little girl. Thinking we were parents who would make their child unhappy, we felt sorry and   8 .

Suddenly my husband had an idea. "What about making a little bike with clay (黏土) and writing a note that she could trade in (交换) the model bike for a real one?" So he spent the next five hours carefully __9__ with clay to make a small bike.

  10  Christmas morning, we were so excited for Alice to open the little box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. She opened and read the   11  loudly. She looked at me and said, "So, does this mean I can trade in this bike for a real  12 _?" Smiling, I said, "Yes!" Alice had tears in her eyes when she replied, "I would  13  trade in this beautiful bike Daddy made me. I __14 _ keep it than get a real bike. This is the best Christmas present   15  I have ever got in my life!"

1.                A．new           B．old            C．beautiful  D．modern

2.                A．came nearer     B．was over        C．went by  D．passed

3.                A．buy            B．bought         C．to buy    D．buying

4.                A．something else   B．anything else     C．else something D．else anything

5.                A．what           B．how           C．why D．where

6.                A．children        B．children's       C．boy  D．girls

7.                A．enough         B．no             C．much D．still a little

8.                A．happy          B．excited         C．sad  D．angry

9.                A．works          B．worked         C．working  D．to work

10.               A．In             B．On            C．At    D．For

11.               A．book          B．story           C．note  D．newspaper

12.               A．one           B．ones           C．some D．any

13.               A．usually         B．certainly        C．never D．of course

14.               A．am going to     B．would like to     C．had better D．would rather

15.               A．who           B．those          C．what  D．that

James shook his money box again.
Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. All that he had was $24.52 (about 153 yuan). The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! How on earth (究竟) was he going to get the rest of the money?
He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang out with people when you were the only one without a bicycle. He thought about what he could do. There was no point asking his parents, for he knew they had no extra money.
There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn (挣) it. He would have to find a job. He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice.
“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr Clay. “You see, my windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”
That was the beginning of James’ part-time job.
For the next three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He took dogs for walks, cleaned out cupboards and repaired books.
The day finally came when James counted his money and found $ 94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode home proudly, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard working for the money, but James knew that he valued (珍惜) his bicycle far more because he had bought it with his own money. He had achieved what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.
【小题1】Why didn’t James ask his parents for help?

James shook his money box again.

Nothing! He carefully counted the coins that lay on the bed. All that he had was $24.52 (about 153 yuan). The bicycle he wanted was at least $90! How on earth (究竟) was he going to get the rest of the money?

He knew that his friends all had bicycles. It was hard to hang out with people when you were the only one without a bicycle. He thought about what he could do. There was no point asking his parents, for he knew they had no extra money.

There was only one way to get money, and that was to earn (挣) it. He would have to find a job. He decided to ask Mr Clay for advice.

“Well, you can start right here,” said Mr Clay. “You see, my windows need cleaning and my car needs washing.”

That was the beginning of James’ part-time job.

For the next three months he worked every day after finishing his homework. He took dogs for walks, cleaned out cupboards and repaired books.

The day finally came when James counted his money and found $ 94.32. He wasted no time and went down to the shop to pick up the bicycle he wanted. He rode home proudly, looking forward to showing his new bicycle to his friends. It had been hard working for the money, but James knew that he valued (珍惜) his bicycle far more because he had bought it with his own money. He had achieved what he thought was impossible, and that was worth even more than the bicycle.

1.Why didn’t James ask his parents for help?

A．Because they didn’t love him.

B．Because they didn’t have extra money.

C．Because they lived far away from him.

D．Because they didn’t need a bike.

2.In order to buy a bicycle, James           . 

A．found a job

B．borrowed money from his classmates

C．sold his old books

D．asked his grandfather for some money

3.James did the following jobs EXCEPT           .

A．walking dogs                           B．cleaning out cupboards

C．cooking meals                          D．repairing books

4.How much money did James earn?

A．$24.52           B．$90              C．$94.32           D．$69.80

5.What does the writer want to tell us?

A．We should buy everything we want.

B．We should get what we want through hard work.

C．Parents shouldn’t give children any money.

D．We shouldn’t show off new things to poor children.