For years I wanted a garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was not enough. Neither was time. Often when my children were little,one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.”

Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about a garden.

Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. There were things blowing around on it. Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw.

There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills*, one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree. There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom. We love you!”

Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books. A new page started in my life.

That was three years ago. My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they’re right there with me. Now every year when winter comes, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I’ll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time.

I’m still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

1.How many children did the writer have?

A．Three            B．Four             C．Five              D．Six

2. What did the mother mean when she said “Money doesn’t grow on trees”?

A．She was too busy to plant a money tree at that time.

B．She had to save money so that she could have a garden.

C．It wasn’t easy for her to make money to raise all the children.

D．They didn’t have much money because the mother lost her job.

3. The “money tree” appeared in the writer’s yard _________.

A．before her children were born

B．one spring morning when the children were little

C．after the children went to school

D．on a Mother’s Day after the children left her

4. The children planted a money tree in their mother’s yard because _________.

A．their mother needed money badly

B．they wanted to show their love to their mother

C．it was time for them to give the money back to her

D．they wanted to live together with their mother forever

 

Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was refused 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understood that you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. No one's born being good at all things, You become good at things through hard work. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust - a parent, a grandparent or a teacher - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have a good education. But you've got to do your part, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud.

   — By President Obama

52. The speaker mentioned J.K. Rowling and Michael Jordan to_______.

A. introduce two very successful people         B. show they were different from others

C. give examples of success after failures        D. explain why they failed many times

53. The speaker advised the listeners to do the following EXCEPT to_______.

A. let failures teach you                         B. hide your weakness

C. do a lot of practice                       D. ask adults for help

54. This speech is given to_______.

A. teachers                B. writers                         C. parents           D. students

 55. The main purpose of this speech is to_______.

A. push the listeners to work hard for their future   

B. show different ways of achieving success

C. encourage the listeners to do things differently   

D. teach the listeners how to be more creative

I was going down the road one day when my cell phone rang. A child’s voice on the other end spoke to me, “Dad, please    1   soon. I miss you so much!” I thought that it was a wrong number. A short while later, the call came once again, so I   2  angrily, “You’ve dialed the wrong number!” and then hung up.

During the following days, I often got the   3  call. But I didn’t care much about it.

    Then one day she kept calling me,    4  I didn’t answer. Finally I answered the phone and heard a weak    5  , “Dad, please come back. I miss you so much! Dad, I’m in so much pain! Mom said you were so busy that you had no time to take care of me. But, dad, please   6  me again, OK?” It was   7   to refuse the innocent* ask. I made a    8    kiss on the phone and heard the weak voice say, “Thank you…Dad, I am so…happy, so…happy…”

    Shortly after this, I became surprised about    9 had been on the other end of my phone. So I called   10  , and a woman answered, “Sorry, sir. I am really sorry to have   11   you. My daughter has had bone cancer since she was born. And her father…died in a car   12   a month ago. I didn’t want to tell her the news. Poor baby. When she couldn’t   13   the painful chemotherapy*, she would cry for her dad because her dad always   14   her. I really don’t know what to do, so I gave her a random* phone number.”

    “How is your daughter now?” I couldn’t wait to ask.

“She has died. You must have kissed her on the phone, because she died   15  a smile, tightly holding the cell phone….” Tears full of my eyes….

1 A．come in               B．come back                     C．come out                D．come down

2 A．spoke                 B．told                       C．asked                       D．replied

3 A．different            B．same             C．funny             D．right

4A．so                              B．and                   C．because              D．though

5A．decision               B．answer                   C．voice               D．hello

6A．hug                     B．kiss                        C．help                  D．call

7A．easy                   B．terrible                 C．happy                 D．difficult

8A．soft                    B．sweet                        C．low                    D．high

9A．that                   B．what                    C．who                   D．how

10A．back                        B．in                        C．on                    D．up

11A．troubled                    B．asked                    C．stopped             D．reached

12A．experiment          B．event                  C．accident               D．activity

13A．receive                B．fight                       C．stand                   D．face

14A．encouraged         B．amused                   C．caught                    D．missed

15A．with                           B．to                           C．at                           D．without