Going home for Christmas is a tradition of the holiday season. No matter where you may be the rest of the years, being at “home” with your family and friends for Christmas is a “must”. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are the busiest times of the year at airports, train stations and bus stations. It seems that all America is on the move and Americans are on their way to spend the holidays with their loved ones.

This means that the house will be full of cousins, aunts and uncles that might not see each other during the year. Everyone joins in to help in the preparation of the festival. Some family members get to choose a Christmas tree to buy and bring home. Others decorate the house or wrap presents. And of course, each household needs to make lots of food!

At Christmas Eve gatherings adults have eggnog, which is made of cream, milk, sugar, eggs and brandy. Plenty of  eggnog  or hot cocoa is on hand in colder climates for carolers, or people who go from house to house sing Christmas carols to their neighbors.

Long ago, each child hung a stocking, or sock, over the fireplace. Santa entered down the chimney and left candy and presents inside the socks for the children. Today the tradition is carried on, but the socks are now large red sock-shaped fabric bags still called stockings. Each child can’t wait to open his or her eyes to see what Santa has left in the stocking.

Giving gifts is a Christmas tradition. However, in recent years, more and more people have complained that Christmas is too commercialized(商业化) especially in large cities. Store owners begin advertising and decorating very early in hopes of selling more goods. Some people believe that the origin of Christmas has been lost.

It is a traditional custom for Americans ____________.

 A．to buy Christmas trees and bring them to churches for Christmas

 B．to drink beer on Christmas Eve

 C．to go home for Christmas with their family and relatives

 D．to hung stockings on the chimney

The underlined word “eggnog” in the third paragraph is a kind ____________.

 A．drink                  B．food                    C．egg                     D．present

Each child hung a stocking over the fireplace in order to____________.

 A．get some eggnog                                   B．have a look at Santa

 C．get some candy and presents                  D．get some money from his/ her parents

The last paragraph wants to tell us that  ____________.

 A．giving gifts is a Christmas tradition     B．giving gifts is getting more and more commercialized

 C．store owners hope to get more presents  D．people think there will be no Christmas in the future

I moved into a new house in July. Since then I have met a few of my neighbors who are very nice people. For Christmas, I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors I know. There were nine neighbors whom I knew by name or spoke with often when I was out in my yard. I knew which houses they lived in.

I decided to add one more to my list. This lady I decided to add lives down the street from me. I meet her every morning walking to work as I drive down the street. She always smiles to me. But I had no idea who she was and which house she lived in.

I planned to make small fruit baskets and leave them on my neighbor's front porches (门廊) on Christmas Eve. I signed the cards: “Happy Holidays from 5104 Northumberland Road.”

I saved the last for the friendly lady. I finally decided on a house where I met her each morning and guessed that it was hers.

My neighbors really appreciated the baskets and would tell me as they saw me in the yard or they would call, and a couple even came by to thank me.

This morning I found a small note in the mailbox. It was addressed simply: Resident, 5104 Northumberland Road.

The Thank You card really caught me by surprise. I opened it and read the message, “Thank you for the lovely fruit basket you left on our porch. It was very thoughtful. Richard Kelly passed away last week. He talked a lot about how nice it was that someone remembered him in his time of illness. He really appreciated it.”

I had no idea who Richard Kelly was and that he had been seriously ill. I had left that nice lady’s basket on his porch by mistake. I wanted to say sorry, but that would be wrong. I believe that Mr. Kelly was meant to have that basket because he was dying. I hate that the nice lady did not get to receive a fruit basket on Christmas, but I believe if she knew what had happened, she would be happy. I feel pleased to have helped Richard Kelly's last days be more cheerful.

1.How many Christmas gifts did the author intend to send?

   A. 9.         B. 8           C. 10               D. 11

2.Where did the friendly lady live?

A. She lived at the end of Northumberland Road.

B. Her address was 5104 Northumberland Road.

C. She was thought to share a house with Mr. Kelly.

D. The author was not sure about her address at all.

3.How did the author’s neighbors respond to his gifts?

   A. They liked the gifts very much and were thankful.

   B. They were thankful that they wanted to be friends.

   C. They all made phone calls to say “Thank You”.

   D. They all visited him by person to show gratitude.

4.What does the author mean in the last paragraph?

   A. He was regretful that the nice lady didn’t receive his gift.

   B. He was glad to have made Mr. Kelly's life more pleasant. 

   C. He thought Richard Kelly deserved to receive that basket.

   D. The old lady was happy to sacrifice to make Kelly happy.

I moved into a new house in July. Since then I have met a few of my neighbors who are very nice people. For Christmas, I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors I know. There were nine neighbors whom I knew by name or spoke with often when I was out in my yard. I knew which houses they lived in.
I decided to add one more to my list. This lady I decided to add lives down the street from me. I meet her every morning walking to work as I drive down the street. She always smiles to me. But I had no idea who she was and which house she lived in.
I planned to make small fruit baskets and leave them on my neighbor’s front porches(门廊) on Christmas Eve. I signed the cards: "Happy Holidays from 5104 Northumberland Road."
I saved the last for the friendly lady. I finally decided on a house where I met her each morning and guessed that it was hers.
My neighbors really appreciated the baskets and would tell me as they saw me in the yard or they would call, and a couple even came by to thank me.
This morning I found a small note in the mailbox. It was addressed simply: Resident, 5104 Northumberland Road.
The Thank You card really caught me by surprise. I opened it and read the message, "Thank you for the lovely fruit basket you left on our porch. It was very thoughtful. Richard Kelly passed away last week. He talked a lot about how nice it was that someone remembered him in his time of illness. He really appreciated it."
I had no idea who Richard Kelly was and that he had been seriously ill. I had left that nice lady’s basket on his porch by mistake. I wanted to say sorry, but that would be wrong. I believe that Mr. Kelly was meant to have that basket because he was dying. I hate that the nice lady did not get to receive a fruit basket on Christmas, but I believe if she knew what had happened, she would be happy. I feel pleased to have helped Richard Kelly’s last days be more cheerful.
【小题1】How many Christmas gifts did the author intend to send?

The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the human experience going back some six centuries.In Renaissance Europe handwritten newsletters circulated(发行) privately among merchants,passing along information about everything from wars and economic conditions to social customs and “human interest” features.The first printed newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400s in the form of news pamphlets(小册子) or broadsides.

In the English-speaking world,the earliest predecessors(前身) of the newspaper were corantos,small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred.The first successively published title was The Weekly News of 1622.The first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666.  

In America the first newspaper appeared in Boston in 1690,entitled Public Occurrences.Published without official permission,it was immediately suppressed(查禁).Its publisher was arrested,and all copies were destroyed.The first successful newspaper was the Boston News-Letter,begun by postmaster John Campbell in 1704.By the eve of the Revolutionary War,some two dozen papers were issued at all the colonies.At the war’s end in 1783 there were forty-three newspapers in print. The Bill of Rights in 1791 at last guaranteed freedom of the press,and America’s newspapers began to take on a central role in national affairs.By 1814 there were 346 newspapers.

In the 1830s,advances in printing and papermaking technology led to an explosion of newspaper growth—the emergence(出现) of the “Penny Press”;it was now possible to produce a newspaper that could be sold for just a cent a copy.The cheap newspaper helped people to get more interesting reading materials easily.In 1850,there were 2526 different papers.By the 1910s,all the basic features of the modern newspaper had emerged.  

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Handwritten newsletters came out publicly in Renaissance Europe.

B.The first printed newspaper was seen about six hundred years ago.

C.The first successively published newspaper in the English-speaking world was corantos.

D.In America the first newspaper was successful as soon as it appeared.

What does the underlined phrase “Penny Press” in the last paragraph mean?

A.People can press pennies easily.

B.People can produce newspapers with little cost.

C.It is a penny factory.

D.The name of the press owner is Penny.

What is the main reason for newspapers in the USA increasing so fast in the 1830s?

A.The pass of the Bill of Rights in 1791.

B.Newspapers began to take on a central role in national affairs.

C.Advances in printing and papermaking technology.

D.All the basic features of the modern newspaper had emerged

Which of the following is NOT a newspaper?

A. Public Occurrences.

B. The Boston News-Letter.

C. The Bill of Rights.

D. The London Gazette.

People say time is relative．But relative to what．I do know that sometimes time“seems”to be moving slower．Remember Christmas Eve when you were a child? It was the longest night of the year．It lasted forever! And now it seems like I just paid my bill yesterday．．．and it’s due again!  
People tell me all too frequently…I need more time! Oh ，really?…Mother Teresa，Michelangelo，and Helen Keller all had 24 hours a day．Look what they did with their time!
Is it that we need to manage our time better…or our priorities(重点)?You’ve heard the expression“first things first．”The first step in understanding the power of time is to understand that it is limited．Why is it then that some people get a lot more done? We know the answer．They use their time smartly．   
One day an expert on time management was speaking to a group of students and announced a quiz．He pulled out a wide-mouthed jar．Next，he placed about a dozen fist-sized rocks，one at a time , into the jat, until no more would fit．“Is it full?” he asked．”Yes，”responds the class．”Oh really?” he asked．So he took out a bucket of gravel(砂砾), which he managed to work down into the spaces between the larger rocks．“Is it full now?” he asked．
Wising up，one answered，‘'Probably not．”Sure enough, he took out a bucket of sand，which he poured into the empty spaces．”Is it full now?” he asked．”No,” reply the students confidently．So he took a glass of water and filled it in．Then he asked，“What is my point?’’
One said，‘'No matter how full your schedule is，if you try really hard，you can always fit some more things into it！”
“No，”the speaker replied，“It tells us if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all．’’
What are the big rocks? The things you should put in to your jar first．
The rich don’t get 25 hours and the poor don’t get 23…we all get the same．Let’s use them wisely! Invest your time wisely!
49．What does the point of the quiz lie in_______.
A．How to put more things into ajar． B．How well the students learn the lesson．
C．How to get more done in limited time      D．The skill and order is very important．
50． “The big rocks”in this passage refers to_______?
A．difficult points．        B．advantages     C．minor things           D．focuses
51. How is the passage mainly developed?
A．By inferring．             B．By comparing．
C．By listing examples．        D．By giving facts．
52. The text is written mainly            
A．to explain the origin of the expression “first things first”
B．to call on us to use our time in a smart manner   
C．to introduce a meaningful class given by an expert
D．to tell us about the relativity and the power of time