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!
【小题1】How many children did the writer have?

A．Three

B．Four

C．Five

D．Six

【小题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.

【小题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

【小题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

Have you ever noticed that your fingertips are winked when you’ve just finished swimming or washing dishes? It seems as if your hands have aged 30 years in a second. But is this an accident? Or is it something that nature has built into our bodies?

If your finger’s wrinkling up had no use at all, “ it wouldn’t need to.” Professor Tom Smulders from Newcastle University, UK, told BBC News. By studying wet fingers closely, Smulders and his partners found that the wrinkles looked a bit like the patterns on the car tire or on the bottom of the running shoes. So they made a guess that wrinkles on fingers might be able to help the hand hold things more tightly.

To test this, researchers asked 20 people to pick up marbles from water with their hands. But before they started, some of the people had to keep their hands in water for half an hour.

The researchers found that the people with wrinkled fingers completed the task the task faster than those with dry hands. But when they were asked to move dry marbles, all the people performed equally well, no matter they had the wrinkled fingers or not.

Our ancestors might not have played with marbles, but wrinkled fingers could have made it easier for them to climb around in the wet forests and catch fish from rivers, researchers say.

Similarly, our toes also get wrinkled in water. This may have developed from our ancestor’s need to run on wet ground.

But the question is, if wrinkled fingers are so helpful, why don’t our hands just stay that way all the time? Researchers explained that wrinkling has its disadvantage: wet fingertips are far less sensitive than smooth ones, reducing our sense of touch.

1.What does the underlined world “this ” in the third paragraph refer to?

A. Whether fingers have wrinkles after they are put in water.

B. Whether wrinkled fingers can hold things more tightly.

C. Why keeping things in water makes them wrinkled.

D. Why wrinkles help hands hold things more tightly.

2.The test shows that ________.

A. winkled hands hold dry things more tightly than dry hands do.

B. dry hands hold dry things more tightly than wrinkled hands do.

C. winkled hands hold wet things more tightly than dry hands do.

D. dry hands hold wet things more tightly than wrinkled hands do.

3.What might be the disadvantage of wrinkled fingers?

A. They are too sensitive to be touched.

B. They might be more likely to get hurt.

C. They cannot hold things tightly enough.

D. They are not so sensitive as dry fingers.

 

A poor farmer had a  friend who was famous for the wonderful apple trees he grew.

One day,  his friend gave the farmer a young apple tree and told him to plant it.  The farmer was pleased with the gift, but he did not know where to plant it.

He was afraid that if he planted the tree near the road,  strangers would steal the fruit.  If he planted the tree in one of his fields,  his neighbors would come at night and steal some of the apples.  If he planted the tree near his house, his children would take the fruit.  Finally he planted the tree in his wood.  But without sunlight and good soil(土壤), the tree soon died.

Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a poor place.  “What’s the difference? ” the farmer said angrily and then told what he had thought.

“Yes, ” said the friend,  “but at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit.  Now you not only have robbed everyone of the fruit, but also you have destroyed (毁掉) a good apple tree! ”

1.What gift did the farmer get from his friend one day?

___________________________________________________________

2.How many people are there in the story?

____________________________________________________________

3.Where did the farmer plant the apple tree at last?

____________________________________________________________

4.Why did the apple tree soon die?

____________________________________________________________

5.Who destroyed the apple tree?

____________________________________________________________

 

阅读短文， 从方框中所给的四个句子中选出正确选项， 填在短文空缺处，使短文内容完整、连贯。

Do you have a mobile phone? Do you often send text messages（信息）to your friends of family? If you keep sending text messages over and over again, there may be something wrong with your fingers(手指). 【小题1】  If you don’t , you may get hurt one day.
Text messaging or “texting” is becoming popular. But , scientists have found out that texting can give us problems with fingers. Too much texting can make your fingers uncomfortable. When we press small buttons over and over again , we may have a disease(疾病) called RSI. RSI is short for Repetitive Strain Injury(重复性力损伤).
Harriet Wilson is a doctor. She has many patients(病人) with RSI.【小题2】 If we spend more than 10-15 minutes every day, we could have such problems in the future.
Mobile phones and the buttons are getting smaller and smaller.  【小题3】 Texting with a smaller phone is worse than using a large phone with bigger buttons.【小题4】 . It’s easy to type with a large one.
If you use a computer keyboard and play video games for long, you may have the same problem. More and more people can find themselves with RSI.

It’s a good idea to use a large phone. Everybody using the mobile phones should be careful. The buttons are getting closer together. She says we should check how much time we are spending in typing text messages.

【小题5】What does the writer want to tell us?

A．He wants to ask us not to send text messages with mobile phones.

B．He wants to tell us to uses small mobile phones to send text messages.

C．He wants to tell us some good ways to communicate with friends.

D．He wants to tell us the damage(损害) of sending text messages too much.

Once upon a time there lived a poor farmer called Smith. He didn't like to share things with others. Smith had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apples he grew.

One day, his friend gave Smith a young apple tree and told him to take it home and planted. The farmer was pleased with the gift, but when he got home, he did not know where to plant

He thought and thought. Finally at night he planted the tree in his wood where no one could see it. But without sunlight and good soil, the tree soon died.

Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a poor place.

"What's the difference?" the farmer said angrily. "If I had planted it near the road, strangers would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted it in one of my fields, my neighbors would have come at night and stolen some of the apples. If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the fruit,"

"Yes," said the friend, "but at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have got nothing, but also you have destroyed a good apple tree."

1.Was Smith happy about the gift?

2.When did he plant the apple tree?

3.Where did Smith plant the apple tree in the end?

4.Why did the apple tree soon die?

5.What would probably happen if the farmer had planted the tree near his house?