One of my fondest Christmas memories was also one of our family’s bleakest（最令人沮丧的）.We were just little kids , and on Christmas Day mom   36 us all around her to tell us ,  37 ,that there would be no presents because all we really wanted was to  38 for our daddy.He was very sick . I don’t remember anything else except four little girls surrounding my mother, crying   39 a miracle（奇迹）
At that very moment ,someone   40 loudly on the door.  41 Behind him was a merry group of soldiers from the Army base where my father   42 as a minister . News had  43  that we were in trouble ,and his colleagues knew we needed some  44  .
With all the excitement ,even my dad  45  in a blanket to keep warm , came down and sat in front of a roaring fire in our room to watch his children be  46 by good Samaritants（乐善好施的人）. The presents were unwrapped , and we girls  47  packages and found a doll each and four board games.
What is  48  to me is that I don’t even remember what sickness my father was suffering from.I 49  remember an evening of laughter and  50  There were no expensive toys but    51 moments of friendship and fun given by young men who knew that a family was having a(n)  52 time . They gave their time and their  53 to little children who needed to laugh.
The most important thing in life aren’t things . And what about the true  54  of holidays ? I hope we all are able to remember a thing about the holidays that stirs(搅动)our heart , that isn’t really a thing at all, but the smile on a child’s face because we take a moment to hug or   55 a tear.
【小题1】A requested  B  commanded  C  gathered  D  recommended
【小题2】A in tears    B  in doubt     C  in silence  D  in surprise
【小题3】A apply     B   pray        C  pay      D  ask
【小题4】A to        B   with       C   for       D  in
【小题5】A knocked   B  beat        C   tapped    D  struck
【小题6】A Fighting   B  Shooting    C   Running   D  Following
【小题7】A charged   B   existed     C   governed  D   worked
【小题8】A expanded  B   spread     C   distributed  D  disappeared
【小题9】A confidence  B  cheer      C   trust       D  wisdom
【小题10】A dressed    B   attached    C   trapped    D   wrapped
【小题11】A persuaded  B   saved      C   taught     D   entertained
【小题12】A discovered  B  sought      C   unfolded   D  packed
【小题13】A strange     B   frightening  C   useful     D   encouraging
【小题14】A seldom     B   just        C   even      D   hardly
【小题15】A happiness   B   surprise     C   doubt     D   anxiety
【小题16】A shocking    B  priceless     C   worthless  D   beneficial
【小题17】A relaxing    B   great        C   ordinary   D   rough
【小题18】A praise      B   treatment    C   attention   D   response
【小题19】A theme      B   spirit        C   principle   D  theory
【小题20】A wipe away  B   deal with     C   write about  D  burst into

After a 15-year ban on the sale of fireworks in Beijing, Kang Guoliang, 51, was able to start his old trade again yesterday．

As a salesman in Xinhui store in Dongcheng District, he is happy about the increasing number of buying fireworks wrapped in red paper — a color standing for happiness and good luck．

“Fireworks are available for the first time in town for more than a decade,” Kang said happily．“People will buy them．”

The store has 300 boxes of fireworks piled up and is open 24 hours at the moment．Residents are buying the fireworks and firecrackers for the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on February 18．

Citywide, 2,116 registered stores and retailers, 585 in the centre and 1,600 on the outskirts are trading fireworks in the Chinese capital．Sales of fireworks within the Fifth Ring Road started yesterday and will last until March 4, Xinhua reported．Among the stores, 117 stores are permitted to operate 24 hours．About 600,000 boxes of firecrackers worth more than 100 million yuan have been carried to registered stores．

The Chinese capital began a ban in 1993 to reduce fireworks-related deaths and fires during the holiday season．Last September the ban was removed in response to residents’ fondness for fireworks when celebrating Spring Festival．

According to new rules, Beijing residents are allowed to set off fireworks within the Fifth Ring Road all day on Lunar New Year’s Eve and Lunar New Year’s day, from 7 a．m．to midnight every day from February 19 to March 4．

“Spring Festival without fireworks is not Spring Festival,” said Sheng Hefei, who was buying fireworks in the store．“It was fun to light the firecrackers when I was little,” he said．“The sound and view of fireworks make a real holiday．” However, not all residents welcome the return of firecrackers because of injuries, pollution and noise．“My child is scared of the sudden sound of firecrackers, and it is annoying to hear it all night long,” complained Lu Jun, a local resident．

（China Daily02/11/2008）

1.The passage is likely to belong to a（n）__________?

2.What’s the main idea of the passage?

3.We can learn from the passage that ____________．

4.What is the writer’s attitude towards the sales of fireworks in Beijing?

Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping   36  he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in   37 . He knows what he wants, and his goal is to find it and　38　it. All men  39 walk into a shop and ask the shop assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock(库存), the deal can be done and    40   is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat to everyone’s   41  .
For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop doesn’t have what he wants. In that  42  , the salesman tries to sell something else—he    43 the nearest to the article required. A good salesman brings out such a substitute(替代品)   44  , and he may say, “I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it for size? It   45   to be the color you mentioned.” Few men have   46   with this treatment, and the usual response is “This is the right color and may be the right size, but I shouldn’t be   47   my time and yours by trying it on.”
For a woman, buying clothes is always done in the   48  way. Her shopping is not often   49   on need. She has never fully decided what she wants, and she is only “having a look round”. She is always  50 to persuasion, willing to try on any number of things. Deep in her mind is the thought of finding something that   51   thinks suits her. Most women have an excellent sense of value and are always on the look-out for the unexpected  52 . Faced with a roomful dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour going from one rail to another      53 selecting the dress she wants to try on. It is a tiresome process, but apparently a(n)   54   one. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting    55  .

“Imagine you are walking along the road. Suddenly you fall over and all the passers-by burst into laughter. You feel very　 1　 and think the world is laughing at you . But in fact, five minutes later, they have　 2　  it ever happened.” The other day when I came across these words in an article, I didn’t agree with the　 3　 .
The author thinks the best thing to do in this kind of　 4 is to pretend nothing has happened, and so avoid　 5　 trouble.
I admit that we should keep　 6　 because “Your tears will only remind others of what happened, while your　 7　 can let them forget it.” But this is far from satisfactory. We should do　8　 to make things better.
I used to be a(n)  9　 girl and not very good at maths. Our new maths teacher asked me a question and I still remember how I hung my head in  10  when I couldn’t answer it.
“If you don’t know the answer, just tell me.” the teacher said, “If you don’t how can I know 　 11　 you know the answer or not?” All of my classmates burst into laughter. My face turned red but the teacher　 12　 me to go to the blackboard and　 13　 what I knew. If I had　 14　 the words in the article, I would have given up. But I tried my best. And to everyone’s  15　, I succeeded! The teacher smiled and said, “Well done! I　 16　 you could do it!”
Since then, I have become active in maths as　 17　 as in other subjects. I used to think doing maths exercises was a waste of time. But now, I know　 18　 I do can make things better. Everyone is the　 19　 of his own fate.
If we make mistakes, we should take on an active　20　 . Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep(哭泣), and you weep alone.

There are many stories about people who did not let age stop them in the pursuit of their goals. I’m sure you have heard of recent 70-year-old college graduates, or teenagers who are 1 of many useful things or owners of companies. Actually, it can be done; it just 2 your attitude.
Michael had wanted to run his own business from an early age, but he was 3 a big risk taker. After many years of working for others, he put a business plan together and was about to make the 4 , but his friends told him that at 45 he was too 5 to start his own construction business. They thought it was a young man’s business while Michael needed a steady income to support his family. Michael was discouraged. 6 many of his friends worked in the very field that he was considering starting his business in, he 7 that they knew what was best, so he decided to give up his 8 . But his wife told him that he was foolish to do so. They discussed it and Michael 9 that he’d been using his age as a(n) 10 instead of as an advantage.
Have you put off a goal 11 age or another limiting factor? Does the limiting 12really have as much influence as you think? Age is just a number and each challenge is an opportunity. Your attitude 13 . You’re not too old to try something 14 and never too old to give up on your dreams. They may 15 a bit of adjustment, but if you want something enough, believe in yourself and your desires will have no bounds.