After my husband died, my world crashed around me. My six children were ten, nine, eight, six, three and 18 months, and I was overwhelmed(不知所措的) with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and simply keeping my head above water.

I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly(坦诚地) I was uneasy. Every unusual noise or any late-night phone call filled me with fear. I felt really alone.

One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. It was obvious he wanted to make the house his home. The children took an instant liking to “German” and asked me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement(地下室) until the next day. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.

The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us. 

On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case(以免) his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He stayed again Sunday night.  

Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. We thought we’d never see him again. On Friday evening, German was back again. We took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. It went like this for almost 10 months. We looked forward to his coming. Each Monday morning he left home.

Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little braver, but every weekend I enjoyed being with him . Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again. I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned(被放弃的) and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone.

1.What does the underlined part “keeping my head above water” in the first paragraph mean?

A．trying to keep calm in public

B．trying to get attention from other men

C．showing her high spirit in the face of trouble

D．trying to continue to live

2.When the author’s husband died, ______.

A．she couldn’t raise the six children on her own

B．she couldn’t relax at weekends

C．The housekeeper only came at weekends

D．she was too busy to feel lonely

3. Which of the following is WRONG according to the article?

A．German was fond of living with the family.

B．The writer felt safe and protected with German around.

C．The dog stayed until the writer was strong enough to go on alone.

D．The writer was too busy that weekend to go to find the dog’s owner.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．A homeless dog                        B．A friend’s strength

C．How to keep a dog                      D．Keep up when in trouble

Mr Black was walking in the forest（森林） He was scared when he heard a terrible noise. But he could not get out of the forest. His friends were waiting for him in a village outside the forest. They would give him a lot of money if he took a tiger to them, or they were going to laugh at him.

Mr Black liked hunting(打猎). He usually killed some birds and animals. But a week ago, after he drank too much, he called himself a brave hunter. So his friends bet(打赌) him twenty thousand dollars if he could kill a tiger.

Suddenly, he heard a little noise. He ran to a big tree,and climbed up it quickly.He didn’t come down until he saw it was a farmer. He went close to him and asked, “Excuse me, sir.Are there any tigers in the forest?”

“Yes,” said the farmer. “I saw a lot of tigers’ tracks（足迹）about a kilometer north near here.”

“Good!”Mr Black said in a hurry. “Which way is to the south,then?”

1.Mr Black was good at________

A drinking   B hunting small animals  C running   D betting

2.Which is NOT true?

A Mr Black was a brave hunter.

B Mr Black was scared of tigers.

C He thought a tiger was close to him, so he climbed up the big tree quickly.

D Mr Black asked the farmer the way to run away.

3.We can guess ________ finally.

A Mr Black got twenty thousand dollars

B his friends would think he was very brave

C Mr Black won the bet

D Mr Black lost the bet

A long time ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play with it every day. But time went by, the little boy had    32   and he no longer played around the tree.
　　 One day, the boy came back to the tree. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a    33   I can’t play with you now.” The boy replied, “I need    34   .” “Sorry, I don’t have any. But you can pick all my apples and    35   them.” The boy picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. He didn’t come back. The tree was sad.
　　 The other day, the boy returned and the tree was so    36   . “Come and play with me.” The tree said. “I need a house for my family. Can you help me?” “You can cut off my branches（枝干）to build your house.”   37   the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.
The tree was glad to see him happy, but the boy didn’t come since then. The tree was lonely again. One hot summer day, the boy came back again after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have    38   for you anymore.
“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am    39   after all these years.” The boy replied. “Good! Please sit down with me and have a rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…
This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with them. But when we grow up, we    40   them, and only come to them when we are41    trouble. You may think that the boy is cruel（残忍）to the tree, but that’s how many of us are treating to our parents.
【小题1】A. grown up                B. dressed up               C. got up
【小题2】A. tree                    B. child                  C. toy
【小题3】A. money                   B. time                    C. help
【小题4】A. eat                    B. sell                   C. buy
【小题5】A. sad                     B. calm                     C. happy
【小题6】A. So                     B. But                     C. Because
【小题7】A. anything                B. something                C. nothing
【小题8】A. angry                   B. tired                   C. shy
【小题9】A. hate                   B. love                    C. leave
【小题10】A. at                     B. for                      C. in

A long time ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play with it every day. But time went by, the little boy had    32    and he no longer played around the tree.

　　 One day, the boy came back to the tree. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a    33    I can’t play with you now.” The boy replied, “I need    34   .” “Sorry, I don’t have any. But you can pick all my apples and    35    them.” The boy picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. He didn’t come back. The tree was sad.

　　 The other day, the boy returned and the tree was so    36   . “Come and play with me.” The tree said. “I need a house for my family. Can you help me?” “You can cut off my branches（枝干）to build your house.”   37    the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.

The tree was glad to see him happy, but the boy didn’t come since then. The tree was lonely again. One hot summer day, the boy came back again after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have    38    for you anymore.

“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am    39    after all these years.” The boy replied. “Good! Please sit down with me and have a rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with them. But when we grow up, we    40    them, and only come to them when we are41    trouble. You may think that the boy is cruel（残忍）to the tree, but that’s how many of us are treating to our parents.

1.A. grown up               B. dressed up               C. got up

2.A. tree                   B. child                    C. toy

3.A. money                  B. time                     C. help

4.A. eat                        B. sell                     C. buy

5.A. sad                        B. calm                     C. happy

6.A. So                     B. But                      C. Because

7.A. anything               B. something                C. nothing

8.A. angry                  B. tired                    C. shy

9.A. hate                   B. love                     C. leave

10.A. at                    B. for                      C. in

Mr Black was walking in the forest（森林） He was scared when he heard a terrible noise. But he could not get out of the forest. His friends were waiting for him in a village outside the forest. They would give him a lot of money if he took a tiger to them, or they were going to laugh at him.
Mr Black liked hunting(打猎). He usually killed some birds and animals. But a week ago, after he drank too much, he called himself a brave hunter. So his friends bet(打赌) him twenty thousand dollars if he could kill a tiger.
Suddenly, he heard a little noise. He ran to a big tree,and climbed up it quickly.He didn’t come down until he saw it was a farmer. He went close to him and asked, “Excuse me, sir.Are there any tigers in the forest?”
“Yes,” said the farmer. “I saw a lot of tigers’ tracks（足迹）about a kilometer north near here.”
“Good!”Mr Black said in a hurry. “Which way is to the south,then?”
【小题1】Mr Black was good at________
A drinking   B hunting small animals  C running   D betting
【小题2】Which is NOT true?
A Mr Black was a brave hunter.
B Mr Black was scared of tigers.
C He thought a tiger was close to him, so he climbed up the big tree quickly.
D Mr Black asked the farmer the way to run away.
【小题3】We can guess ________ finally.
A Mr Black got twenty thousand dollars
B his friends would think he was very brave
C Mr Black won the bet
D Mr Black lost the bet