A mother wanted to encourage her son’s progress at the piano. She bought tickets to a performance by a great pianist. When the evening arrived，they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and looked at the big piano waiting on the stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to，and the boy slipped away.

      At 8 o’clock，the lights in the hall became weak. The spotlights(聚光灯)came on. Only then did they notice the boy up on the piano bench，playing Twinkle，Twinkle Little Star. His mother was shocked，but before she could get her son back，the master himself was 0n the stage and quickly moving to the piano.

      He went up to the boy and said gently，”Don’t stop. Keep playing. ”Then he leaned(屈身)over and reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass(低音部)part. Soon his fight arm reached around the other side and played a delightful piece of music. Together，the old master and the little boy carried the crowd away with their beautiful music.

      In all our lives，we receive helping hands―some we notice，some we don't. Equally we ourselves have a great many chances to give a helping hand to others―sometimes we like our help to be noticed，sometimes we don’t. Little of what we a11 achieve comes without learning or support from others. What we receive we should give back.

51. The little boy slipped onto the stage when        .

      A. the evening arrived                                      B. they got to the concert hall

      C. her mother talked to her friend                     D. the spotlight came on

52. Which of the following sentences is true?

      A. The pianist knew the boy’s mother very well.

      B. The pianist wanted to play Twinkle，Twinkle Little Star

      C. The pianist told the boy to stop playing the piano.

      D. The pianist helped the boy to play a beautiful music.

53. We learn from the text that           .

      A. we always do things successfully without help

      B. we should give helping hands to others when they notice

      C. we never receive helping hands when we need

      D. we could get help and we should help others

（甘肃省天水一中2010届高三上学期第三阶段考试）

B

Dear Jane, Barbara and Roger,

As you know, we’ve been looking for a new house for some time. Now that all our children have left home, we find that the house is too big for us. Also, since your father retired, there has been no reason for us to stay in this district. Although we like our neighbors, we’ve decided to move south for two reasons. First, the weather will suit us better, and second, we’ll be a little nearer to you, Uncle George and Auntie Hilda. It will make visiting each other much simpler.

We stayed with your uncle and aunt last weekend and saw several houses. One of them sounded as if it were just what we wanted. The right number of rooms, a small garden, etc. When we saw it, we nearly died! It was in a terrible condition and would have cost a fortune to make it habitable (宜居的). The roof and all the walls needed repairing and the whole inside redecorating. After that, we were very cautious about believing details from the estate (房地产) agent. The next two we saw were not much better, but the fourth house was exactly what we wanted. It was empty, so we’re going to move in immediately. We’ll put all your things in boxes and take them with us.  You’ll have to sort them out, throwing away what you don’t want. 

Can you all come next weekend? You can have a nice rest in the country. Telephone on Wednesday at the new number to let us know.

Lots of Love,

Mum and Dad

45. The parents decided to move south because ______.

A. they didn’t like traveling

B. they wanted to go back to their hometown

C. they both retired and they wanted to live with their children

D. they wanted to be nearer to their relatives and they liked the weather in the south

46. What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Para 2 “When we saw it, we nearly died!”?

A. We were at a loss for words when we saw the house.

B. We were so tired since we had been to several houses.

C. We were so excited because the house was exactly what we wanted.

D. We were greatly disappointed because the house was in a poor condition.

47. From the passage, we can understand that the estate agent ______.

A. overstated the exact condition of the house

B. did not have enough houses for people to choose from

C. tried to persuade people to buy houses in a poor condition

D. usually could not understand the need of their customers

48. The purpose of the parents writing this letter is to ______.

A. ask their children to help them move house

B. express their regret for not being with their children

C. inform the children that they will move to a new house

D. ask their children for suggestions about moving to a new house

Dear Jane, Barbara and Roger,

As you know, we’ve been looking for a new house for some time. Now that all our children have left home, we find that the house is too big for us. Also, since your father retired, there has been no reason for us to stay in this district. Although we like our neighbors, we’ve decided to move south for two reasons. First, the weather will suit us better, and second, we’ll be a little nearer to your Uncle George and Auntie Hilda. It will make visiting each other much simpler.

We stayed with your Uncle and Aunt last weekend and saw several houses. One of them sounded as if it were just what we wanted. The right number of rooms, a small garden, etc. When we saw it, we nearly died! It was in a terrible condition and would have cost a fortune to make it habitable. The roof and all the walls needed repairing and the whole inside redecorating. After that, we were very careful about believing details from the estate（房地产）agent. The next two that we saw were not much better, but the fourth house was exactly what we wanted. It was empty, so we’re going to move in immediately. We gave details of our house to the estate agent only last week, but it’s already been sold. We’ll put all your things in boxes and take them with us. You’ll have to sort them out, throwing away what you don’t want.

Can you all come next weekend? You can have a nice rest in the country. Telephone on Wednesday at the new number to let us know.

Lots of love,

Mum and Dad

P.S. Bring some old clothes, because between the rests, you’ll be sorting out your belongings and digging the garden!

65. What is implied in the sentence “When we saw it, we nearly died!”？

A. We were so excited because the house was exactly what we wanted.

B. The house was in such an unexpected poor condition that we were greatly disappointed.

C. We were puzzled when we saw the house.

D. We were so tired since we had been to several houses.

66. We understand from the passage that the estate agent _________.

A. lied about the exact condition of the house             

B. did not have enough houses for them to choose from

C. persuaded them to buy a house in poor condition        

D. could not understand their needs

67. The children were not supposed to__________.

A. help their parents move out of their old house                B. bring some old clothes

C. sort out their belongings                                        D. work in the garden

68. Which of the following is not a purpose in writing this letter?

A. Explaining to the children the reason for moving.

B. Informing the children that they will move to a new house.

C. Inviting the children to visit the new house.

D. Expressing their regret for not being with their children.