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.

Old George bought the black gloves for just $35 ten years ago. They were made of lamb skin, soft and warm and very strong. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material. Those gloves never lasted longer than three years. He first decided to buy the expensive gloves, because they would make him feel nice in front of others.

George never let a drop of water or rain touch his expensive gloves, so they looked new. Losing this favourite thing was almost like losing a child to him.

Bad luck! George lost his expensive gloves on New Year's Day.

…

Back home. George was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do without a pair of gloves. If he bought cheap ones again, he would have to replace (更换) them very soon. If he bought a new leather pair, it would cost $50 now. He was upset that people no longer returned things they found on the road.

After the holiday, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway, he went into Value Mart again to see if his gloves had been returned to the Lost and Found Office (失物招领处).

"What colour are they?" the woman in the office asked again.

"Black," he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men's leather gloves. "Are they?"

"Yes! Those are mine!" George explained, with great joy in his eyes.

1.When did George buy the leather gloves?

A. On New Year's Day.             B. Before the holiday.

C. Ten years ago.                  D. In the winter.

2.Why did George decide to buy the expensive gloves?

A. Because they were black.          

B. Because they made him feel good before others.

C. Because they had a long history     

D. Because they were much cheaper.

3.The leather gloves looked new after years because _______.

A. George took very good care of them.  

B. they were soft and warm.

C. they were expensive.               

D. George washed them with water.

4.How did George feel when he got home on New Year's Day?

A. He was happy.     B. He felt nice     C. He was thankful    D. He felt upset

5.About old George, which of the following is true?

A. He was a very rich man

B. He never bought cheap gloves

C. He believed somebody would return the gloves to him

D. He hadn't ecpected to get his gloves back.

There once was an old man aged 50．who had a lazy son aged 30. The son couldn’t earn his own living(谋生), and still lived on his old father for food and clothing.
The old man was very worried about him. So he took him to the fortune teller(算命先生)to have his fortune told．The father and son both believed what the fortune teller said —the father would live to 80 and the son to 62.
After they found out how long they were going to live, the son was very sad. His father comforted(安慰)him, “Don’t be so sad! You are only 30 now, and still have 32 years of good days ahead of you.”
“I’m not worrying about my own age. It’s your age which causes me great worry,” the son said.
The father was greatly moved and said, “Don’t worry about me so much. I’ve got 30 years ahead of me too．”
“I’m not worried about your age either,” said the son. “I have found out that you’11 die two years earlier than I. So who will I depend on in the two years after your death?”
【小题1】The old man had a son ______.

Jim is an American boy. He is  1  New York. He likes   2  football matches,     3  he doesn’t have enough money   4  tickets. He has to watch the matches  5 TV at home when he has   6  homework. He   7  go to school from Monday to Friday, so he missed a lot of important football matches.
A big football match would be held(举行) in the afternoon the next day.   8  wanted to watch it very much. But he couldn’t. He would have a physics(物理) test in the   9  afternoon.
“Can we have a video, mom?” Jim asked his mother   10  he went to school. “Then from our TV set you can record the match for me.”
“I’m   11  we can’t afford(买得起) one,” said his mother.
The next morning Jim went home with a smile,   12  a new video.
“But where did you get the   13  , Jim?” His mother asked in   14 .
“That’s   15  , mom. I sold our TV set.”

We moved to a new area when our son was in Grade Five. Before we moved, we took him to spend half a day at his new school. There he saw his new classmates and teachers. He enjoyed the visit. During the almost 150-kilometre drive home, he told us that he had told some of the students the dace when we would move there. And he had also invited them to visit us.

The moving day, a Saturday, was a busy day. We arrived at our new house at noon. About an hour later, kids began to come and soon one of them invited our son to his house to play for the afternoon.

By the time he returned, he knew where most of the kids lived and the histories of their families.

On Monday morning, the doorbell rang just before the time he would leave for school. Then it rang again and again.

By the time he was ready, we had eight young boys waiting to walk to school with him on his first day. They all live near us.

    I asked them if their parents had sent them. The answers surprised and pleased me, "No, we just came so that he would have someone to walk with." and "It is the right thing to do."

    The friendships were formed(形成) from that day. We have lived here for nearly six years and the same group of kids still play together, go to parties on weekends together, and surfing the Internet together.

    I am still thinking how welcoming and kind those kids are. And how lucky my son is to have them as friends.

1.Before the family moved to the new area, the son was taken to his new school to ______.

     A. invite the teachers to visit them       B. get to know it

     C. see if the school was far             D. play with his classmates

2. Why did the doorbell ring again and again on Monday morning?

     A. Because no one answered it.         B. Because it was time for school.

     C. Because kids were coming one by one. D. Because there was something wrong with it.

3.Which of the following is true?

     A. The family moved to the new house on Saturday afternoon.

     B. The kids visited the house before the family arrived.

     C. The son knew the kids well before he got there.

     D. The son was invited to play in a kid's house later that afternoon.

4. The passage shows us that ______.

     A. it's easy to move to a new place       B. it's kind of people to help a new comer

     C. it's good to make new friends         D. it's better to live in the same place