An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother，“Only a miracle （奇迹）can save him now，”the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore（药店）with the money in her hand. “And what do you want？” asked the salesman. “It’s for my little brother，” the girl answered. “He’s really，really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon？” said the salesman. “My brother Andrew has something bad growing in-side his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost？” “We don’t sell a miracle here，child. I’m sorry，”the salesman said with a smile.
“Listen，if it isn’t enough，I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
A well-dressed man heard it and asked，“What kind of a miracle does your brother need？”
“I don’t know，”she answered with her eyes full of tears(眼泪). “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it，so I have brought all my money.” “How much do you have？” asked the man. “$ 1.11，but I can try and get some more，” she answered.
“Well，what luck，”smiled the man. “$ 1.11，the price of a miracle for little brothers.”
He took up the girl’s hand and said， “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong，a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn’t long before Andrew was home again.
How much did the miracle cost？
【小题1】In the eye of the little girl，a miracle might be ______________.

Helping your children to read and write at home will improve their skills and confidence—it will also make them get ready for learning in the classroom environment.

　     　 are needed by every child in every subject in every year of their life in or outside school. Students who improve their reading and writing skills will increase their vocabulary and their ability（能力）to use the English language correctly. As parents, you can play an important role in improving your children’s literacy（读写能力）. You can make a difference by listening, asking questions, giving information, and reading with your children outside school hours.

Here are 8 tips on how to help your children to read and write:

²   having everyday conversations with your children

²   trying to ask more “wh-” questions instead of easy “yes” or “no” questions

²   encouraging your children to talk about events you don’t know

²   reading to your children each night

²   listening to your children read

²   teaching your children how to use dictionaries

²   talking about your children’s writings

²   practicing filling in forms, writing letters, sending cards or emails

You can also encourage your children to join the Reading Challenge Club and discuss the books they are reading together. In the club, children must read 15 books from the Challenge book list and 5 more books chosen by themselves. There are over 1,000 books on the list. The reading must be done in one year. What’s more, it is a wonderful way to help your children to write. For example, you can encourage them to write diaries or book reviews. Remember to make positive comments as much as possible.

1.This passage is mainly written for __________.

A. children      B. teachers     C. parents      D. doctors

2.__________ is the best for the missing part in Paragraph 2.

A. “Listening and speaking skills”         B. “Reading and writing skills”

C. “Listening and writing skills”      D. “Reading and listening skills”

3.__________ is NOT mentioned in the 8 tips above.

   A. “Listening to the radio every day    ” 

B. “Listening to your children read”

   C. “Reading to your children each night”          

D. “Talking about your children’s writings”

4.In the Reading Challenge Club, children have to read __________ in one year.

A. 5 books          B. 10 books  C. 15 books            D. 20 books

5.Parents can help children to write by encouraging them to__________.

A. draw pictures or take photos         B. listen to pop music 

C. write diaries or book reviews            D. play computer games

An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation(手术) could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
　　When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother， “Only a miracle(something couldn’t happen) can save him now，” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
　　She hurried to a drugstore(药店)with the money in her hand.
　　“And what do you want？” asked the salesman. “ It's for my little brother，” the girl answered. “He's really，really sick and I want to buy a miracle. ”
　　"Pardon？”said the salesman.
　　“My brother Andrew has something bad growing in-side his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost？”“We don't sell a miracle here，child. I'm sorry，”the salesman said with a smile.
　　“Listen，if it isn't enough，I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs. ”
　　A well-dressed man heard it and asked， “What kind of a miracle does your brother need？”　　“I don't know，” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He's really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can't pay for it， so I have brought all my money. ”
　　“How much do you have？” asked the man. “$ 1.11， but I can try and get some more，” she answered.
　　“Well, what luck，”smiled the man. “$ 1.11， the price of a miracle for little brothers. ”
　　He took up the girl's hand and said， “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need. ”
That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn't long before Andrew was home again.
　　How much did the miracle cost？
【小题1】What was the trouble in the little girl's family？
A. Her brother was seriously ill.
B. They had no money.
C. Nothing could save her brother.
D. Both A and B.
【小题2】In the eye of the little girl,a miracle might be _______.

根据句意，在答卷标有题号的横线上，写出括号内所给单词的适当形式。
【小题1】How strange he is! Maybe he is the __________ (mad) man I have ever seen.
【小题2】The manager asked if the message on the desk was for one of the _________ (salesman).
【小题3】After school all the students went out of the classroom __________ (noise).
【小题4】The man in his __________ (forty) is the person who saved that boy.

People at home keep asking me, "Is it hard to learn Chinese? Why have you learned it so well?" Well, there's one thing that makes Chinese easy to learn: there are so many people to talk to. You've probably heard that it's the most spoken language. Today it's also one of the most written languages online. And with so many Chinese people interested in learning English, it couldn't be easier to find a friend for language learning. You just have to know where to look for them.
The really good place to look for them is QQ. QQ has the same status(地位) in China as AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) does in the US. It is reported that at any moment, up to 9,000,000 people are using QQ. They're at work, or in a web café(网吧), or at home, and the information of the users can be found. If you sign on with your address set to "abroad", you'll soon find that many thousands of them are interested in speaking to you! This is a great way for you to learn Chinese, and for them to learn English. I think that it's a very interesting way of cultural contact(文化交流), too, for ordinary people from around the world to be able to have one-on-one contact.
【小题1】In the first paragraph(段落), the writer tells us ___________.