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　　Linda Evans was my best friend－like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.

　　When I was 13, my family moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special time－like my wedding(婚礼) and Linda's. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped “Address Unknown.” I had no idea how to find Linda.

　　Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share(分享) stories of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother arid then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.

　　One day I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked a lot like Linda and whose last name was Wagman－Linda's married name. " There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought, but I still wrote to her.

　　She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Linda Evans Wagman is my mother.”

　　Minutes later I heard a voice that I knew very much, even after 40 years, laughed and cried and caught up on each other's lives. Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there's one thing that Linda and I know for sure：We won't lose each other again!

1．The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans ________.

[　　]

A．at the age of 13

B．before she got married

C．after they moved to new homes

D．before the writer's family moved away

2．They didn't often write to each other because they ________.

[　　]

A．got married

B．had little time to do so

C．didn't like writing letters

D．could see each other on special time

3．

There was an empty place in the writer's heart because she ________.

[　　]

A．was in trouble

B．didn't know Linda's address

C．received the card that she sent

D．didn't have a friend like Linda to share her happiness or sadness

4．The writer was happy when she ________.

[　　]

A．read the newspaper

B．heard Linda's voice on the phone

C．met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda

D．wrote to the woman whose last name was Wagman

5．They haven't kept in touch ________.

[　　]

A．for about 40 years

B．for about 27 years

C．since they got married

D．since the writer's family moved away

　　Australia is nearly as large as the United States, but most of it is too dry for people to live in. Around the edge (边缘) of this huge dry part are large sheep and cattle (牛群，家畜) . farms. A few of them are as large as the smallest states in America. Often the nearest neighbours (邻居) are many hundred miles away.

　　The two-way radio is very important to people who live on these great Australian farms. It works much like a telephone. A person can listen to someone else talk and then give an answer.

　　When these radios first came into use, the Australian government (政府) set up a special (专门的，特别的) two-way radio programme (节目). Then, people on the large farms could talk to a doctor hundreds of miles away. They could tell the doctor about someone who was sick, and the doctor could let them know how to care for the sick person.

　　Since the large farms were so far from towns, the children could not go to school. Radio schools were set up for them in some places. At a certain time each day, the boys and girls turn on their radios and listen to teachers in cities miles away.

　　Families on the large farms wanted to give news to their neighbours. “Round robin (知更鸟)”talks by radio were started to keep families in touch with each other. They could talk about who was getting married or who was sick or who was going away. The men could talk about their sheep and cattle and how much money the markets would pay for them. In many ways the radio became a newspaper for the farm people of Australia.

1．This passage tells us something about ________.

[　　]

A．how the radio is used in Australia

B．why the radio is important in Australia

C．how large Australia is

D．both A and B

2．Australia is ________America.

[　　]

3．How many examples were given by the writer to show the use of radio on the great farms? ________.

[　　]

4．Families on the large farms kept in touch with each other by

________.

[　　]

5．The two-way radio is something like a telephone because

________.

[　　]

A．you can talk and listen to somebody by radio at the same time.

B．people could talk to a doctor hundreds of miles away

C．the radio has two telephones

D．the government has set up a special two-way radio programme

Dear Reader，

Think about an 11-year-old child spending her days washing clothes，looking after a baby brother，and doing hart work on the farm．

Think about a little girl．She knows there will not be enough food for dinner，and has no water to drink because it if not clean．She has watched her father．brother and sister lose their lives as the family has no money to send for a doctor．

Hard to believe? For Maria Pastora, these are the facts of life．

Maria would gladly walk to school，but her mother，now alone，really needs her at home．Mafia had to leave school to work for her poor family．

But for five dollars a week，you can help out a child like Maria．Show her that somewhere，someone will help her．Through Save the Children．you can help Maria's mother get better crops（收成）from their farm，and earn the money to buy clothes and things for school．

To help Maria most，your money is to put together with other helpers，so hardworking people can help themselves．Build a school or a hospital，make their farm better，bring in clean water… This is what Save the Children has beer about since l932．

For you there are many returns．You can write letters to each other，get photos，or study reports．Know you are helping and saving another person in the same world as you．That's how Save the Children works．But without you，it can't work．Please take a moment to fill in this form to help a child like Maria and her village．

It can make such a difference… in her life and yours．

Save the Children

David L Guyer

Chairman

1．Maria's father．brother and sister died because they             ．

A．were too poor to see a doctor                   B．didn't know where to find a doctor

C．didn't have enough food to eat                     D．were too busy to see a doctor

2．This letter mainly tells you to           ．

A．know about poor people                           B．earn some money for poor children

C．show pity to poor people                            D．donate money to help poor children

3．If you try to help a child like Mafia，which of the following can't you get from her?

A．You can often get some pictures from her．

B．You can get more money from her when she grows up．

C．You can often get her letters．

D．You can often be told how she is getting on．

4．This letter most probably appears            ．

A．on TV                 B．in a magazine        C．in a dictionary         D．on the radio