This week was busier than usual, and I was very tired today. All I wanted to do was to go home and enjoy a bowl of good hot soup.
But when I saw my daughter’s car, I knew that it was Bryan’s night. Since his parents separated, I had tried to have my six-year-old grandson spend a few hours with me at least once a week. I had always tried to make it a special time for him. We did many interesting things; Bryan loved all these activities, and so did I. But today I had to give up our evening. I said how tired I was feeling. “Bryan, I’m sorry. Tonight I don’t feel like having fun or playing games. We’ll have our night together some other time.” I saw the sadness in Bryan’s eyes. He said, “I like soup, Grandma.” I knew he meant “Please don’t send me away. Please let me stay.” I saw the shadow (阴影) in Bryan’s eyes. Something else was changing. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t want to have him come any more — not tonight, not next week, not ever. Finally, I said OK. I was glad to see his eyes light up. After I put the soup on the stove (炉子) and turned on the TV, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, there was a coat over my legs, and the soup was gone. Bryan was on the floor, reading a coloring book and watching a television show at the same time. The poor boy must have been so bored (烦躁的)! When he found I was awake, he ran over and gave me a big hug. “I love you, Grandma,” he said. “Haven’t we had a nice time together?” His big smile and happy eyes told me that this time he meant exactly what he was saying. That was the keyword — together. We had done nothing exciting or special. But we were together.
【小题1】What does the underlined part (in Paragraph 2) mean?

Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to   21  how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I   22   that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and   23  friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was   24  , nothing about my term in France was what I   25 .       
The moment I arrived in Paris, I was   26  by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting  27  I received some shocking news from my program coordinator（协调人）: there had been a death in my host parents’ extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to   28  out of one family’s house into another. The exchange coordinator told me I’d have a   29  this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation(诱惑) to   30 my native language, I asked not to be   31  with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I   32  myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian（巴西人） the same age as I, whom I was surprised to find playing one of my favorite CDS! In just a few hours, we knew we’d be good friends for the rest of the   33  .      
I left France with many   34  , so when people asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always   35  to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends   36  France we enjoyed together. I love how people   37  seem so different, but end up being so   38  . The most valuable lesson I gained from studying in France wasn’t just to respect the friend people   39  to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign cultures and gain meaningful  40  .   

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卷上作答。
首先阅读下列博客信息：
A：My name’s Marta and I’m from Mexico City, but I moved to Los Angeles, California, five years ago, now I am living in an apartment at No. 3178 SE Timmer Broad. I am 28, single. I am a customer service representative for a large financial company. I am an outgoing person. I love to laugh and have fun! I enjoy cooking, dancing and listening to music. I don’t like watching or playing sports. You should be an outgoing, considerate lady with a good sense of humor, to share the apartment. Are you the one? Email and let’s have further talk.
B: My name’s Mark, and I’m from Hollywood, California. I’m a fitness instructor in Los Angeles. I am a friendly and easy-going person; I love playing sports---especially football and working out at the gym. I also play the guitar. My best friend David, who often has sports with me, went to Mexico last month. To avoid loneliness, I’d like very much to own a new friend who would share the fun of sports with me. I am longing.
C: My name’s Park Jun Seo, but you can call me Jun. I move from Seoul Korea to Los Angeles two years ago. I am a graphic designer and I am looking for my younger brother, Lean Ban Seo, who might be in this city. As the story is too long, I just hope to find him and have my family reunited. He is lame at the right leg, 19 years old, 1.79 meters tall, with very big eyes and fair curly hair. With his picture of two years ago enclosed, I would be very appreciated if you have any information about that. Telephone me at 818-5789.
D: My name is Don and I am programmer at a computer company. I have designed several pieces of software that can help students learn better, especially suitable for primary students who have some language disability to learn words and help them pronounce more correctly. If you think you need one, please fax to 857-4693. You can purchase by post.
E: My name is Mauricio, and I’m a computer programmer working in Los Angeles area. I am kind of shy, but maybe you can help me to be more outgoing. I like cooking, playing computer games, and chatting whit friends online. If you think you are the proper one to be my E-pal, let’s chat!
F: My name’s Judy and I’m from Quebec, Canada. I am a sales woman in one of the women underwear stores in Montreal. I’d like to have more visitors to my shop. And you can bargain for a reduction of 10% to 30%, if you purchase in package. Let’s be friends.
请阅读以下网站回复的信息， 然后匹配回复的信息和网站原登出的博客信息，选项中有一项是多余的。
【小题1】I am a professional sportsman and work in the same city. I am so glad that I will have a good friend who can be the opponent to improve my techniques. E-mail me at bitterflower@yahoo.com.
【小题2】As a shop owner, I might drop in when I go downtown. But may I know your exact address? When is it convenient for a visit? Thank you.
【小题3】God bless you! I’m a journalist and happened to read your brief story. A neighbor of mine looks exactly the same as the man in the picture you uploaded. This might be a chance in a million. Telephone me at 818-5690.
【小题4】As a newcomer and a freshman, I am looking for a room as close to my university as possible. I would like to have some friends, too. I think your place might be the right choice for me. But can I know how much the rent is?
【小题5】I am a salesman from Paris. My first difficulty working in this city is language. I would appreciate it if you could help me learn English through the Keyboard.

B
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when I ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington. “Take that seat,” Mr. McCarthy told the proud newcomer Carlos, pointing to the only empty one, in the back of the room.
Carlos smiled broadly.“But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos, not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice?president.“How come?” I kept asking myself.“How come this shrimp(虾) who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular.”
So on that morning, I stopped Carlos and said,“It doesn’t seem to bother you—being short.” He looked up at me.“Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin, I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.”“You seem to get along great,” I admitted.“But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.”“The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red...
55.It’s a story about______.
A.a tall boy and a short girl      B.a short boy and a tall girl
C.a tall boy and a tall girl        D.a short boy and a short girl
56.From the story, we can see the boy Carlos is______.
A.handsome and humorous       B.humorous and confident
C.handsome and popular         D.honest and popular
57.The underlined sentence “That would be the last straw” suggests that the writer______.
A.cared much about Reed’s attitude
B.thought Reed was different from the rest
C.couldn’t stand Carlos making fun of her
D.hoped Reed was unaware of the event
58.According to the passage, what happened in the end?
A.Carlos and the author hurt each other.
B.Reed and the author fell into love with each other.
C.The author changed attitude and turned to be confident.
D.Carlos was finally elected president of student committee.

In both China and the West, at this time of the year, we must endure the cold, the wind and the snow of wintertime. How good it is then that we have festivals to keep our spirits up and hearts warm!

Spring Festival in China and Christmas in foreign countries are times for families and friends to get together, exchange gifts and have a big dinner.

Although the two holidays are different – one is to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth, while the other is celebrated because of thousands of years of Chinese folk traditions – Christmas and Spring Festival still have things in common.

In both, eating is a big part of the holiday celebration. In China we eat dumpling and niangao – cakes made of sticky rice – while Westerners sit down to a roast turkey or ham, with vegetables, apple-sauce and a plum (干果) pudding.

Gifts are another key element in both celebrations. In the West, families gather round the Christmas tree on Christmas morning and open their presents. Gifts range from the small – a box of chocolates – to the large. Children especially look forward to a big present, say a new bike or computer. Similarly, in China children receive gift money in red envelopes from their elders.

With the world becoming more connected, Spring Festival and Christmas have crossed cultural borders. It is not unusual in China to see Christmas trees and Father Christmas figures around the end of December.

And Chinese living abroad have made Spring Festival a special cultural event in many foreign countries. In some US cities, especially those with large Chinese neighborhoods, non-Asian adults and kids join in the fun.  “ I've been celebrating Chinese New Year for a really long time, and it's a great cultural festival for the community,” said Leslie Swartz, who works at the city's Children's Museum in Boston. “Everyone goes to Chinatown. There are lion dances and firecrackers. It's very lively. Schools also celebrate Chinese New Year. ” Swartz said.

Swartz has a 13-year-old adopted Chinese daughter, Mei. They celebrate at home, too, decorating the house and eating special foods. They make traditional Chinese New Year's fruit trays (拼盘). They also write good luck messages on red paper, called spring couplets (对联), and hang them by the doors at home.

The Title: East- West: We are alike

★   1.     : Spring Festival in China and Christmas in the west

★similarities:

▼ keeping spirits up and    2.    

▼being time for families and friends to    3. 

▼    4.   

▼having a big dinner

★  5.    between the two festivals

▼Spring Festival: folk traditions of China of thousands of years

▼Christmas: Celebrating ___6.      

★ Culture mixture: Spring Festival and Christmas having crossed 7.  

▼In China: Seeing   8.  and Father Christmas figures

▼In the USA: watching lion dances and9.  in Chinatown, making traditional Chinese New Year’ fruit trays, writing good luck messages on red paper and  10.  by the doors