My mother loves flowers. We live next door to each other, so she often spends much time planting flowers in my garden. In summer, she often makes colourful bouquets(花束) and puts them inside the houses-both hers and mine.

One year, shortly before Christmas, a local flower shop offered an activity for mothers in each month of the next year. It seemed to be a great way to thank her for all of the flowers she had given me through the years. I couldn't wait the new year so that I could give a bouquet to her!

After the Christmas, in early January, I drove her to the flower shop to pick up her first month's bouquet. But then we found the bouquet would hardly fill a small vase(花瓶).

I was so embarrassed(尴尬的). "Mum, I'm sorry," I told her. "I didn't know how skimpy that bouquet was." She looked at me and smiled. "It's okay," she said optimistically (乐观地). "It allows me to enjoy the beauty of each one better."

I was amazed at what she said. It helped me realize something more important —we often fail to enjoy the beauty of each thing when we have too many good things. I understood that less is sometimes more.

46. The mother often spends much time ________.

A. cleaning her child's house

B. making bouquets in a flower shop

C. planting flowers in her child's garden

D. planting flowers in her own garden

47. We can infer(推断) from the story that_________ .

A. the writer couldn't afford a big bouquet

B. the mother was unhappy when receiving the bouquet

C. the writer would pick up another bouquet the next month

D. the mother would send back the bouquet to the flower shop

48. The underlined word "skimpy" means" _______”.

A. beautiful　　　 B. small　　 C. cheap　　　　 D. colourful

49. What is the mother like?

A. She is a lazy woman.　　　　　　　　　 B. She is a strict mother.

C. Sometimes she isn't honest.　　　　　　 D. She is always optimistic.

50. What did the author learn from her mother?

A. How to buy flowers.　　　　　　　　　 B. How to enjoy flowers.

C. How to grow flowers in the garden.　　　 D. How to consider things in another way.

One evening Charlie was on his way home from the railway station. When he turned round a corner, he heard footsteps behind him and he thought someone was coming near. He began to walk fast. The footsteps came fast, too. He slowed down. The footsteps also slowed down. Now he was sure that someone must be going after him. He tried to hide. Still the steps followed him. He didn't know how to save himself, so he jumped over some tall grass and hid himself in a cemetery(墓地). He threw himself down on one of tombs(坟墓).

The man behind came near. Charlie could hear the man jump over the grass. Thoughts of thieves and robbers filled his mind. Charlie stood up and faced the man. "What do you want? Why are you coming after me?" He asked.

"I say," the stranger asked, "do you always go home like this, or are you taking some special exercise tonight? I want to go to Mr. Green's and don't know the way. The station master told me to follow you as you live next door. Excuse me for asking, but is there much farther to go before we get there?"

1. That day Charlie was ＿＿＿＿.

A. leaving the station for a cemetery               B. walking slowly along the street

C. on his way to Mr. Green's house                 D. on his way back home

2.When he found someone following him, Charlie ＿＿＿＿.

A. was too frightened to move                   B. stopped to ask the man why

C. hid himself in a cemetery                      D. knew clearly what to do

3. Charlie went into a cemetery because he ＿＿＿＿.

A. tried to get rid of the stranger

B. got tired after a day's walk

C. walked too fast and lost

D. wanted to hide his things there

4.When the stranger followed him into the cemetery, Charlie thought ＿＿＿＿.

A. the stranger would ask him the way

B. the stranger would come to stay with him

C. he was in danger of losing his money or even his life

D. he could be asked about Mr. Green

5. The stranger followed Charlie because ＿＿＿＿.

A. he wanted to kill Charlie.      

B. he wanted to steal things.

C. he wanted to go to Charlie's place.

D. he wanted to go to Mr. Green's and he didn't know the way there.

任务型阅读。阅读下面的短文，根据短文内容完成表格中所缺缺信息，每空一词。（10分）

I once believed that a friend is a friend ‘all the way’. Now I have changed my ideas about friendships.

1. Friends of convenience. They can be the people who live next door or the mothers of our children’s closest friends. Friends of convenience(便利) are convenient indeed. They’ll help us when we need them. They’ll look after our cats when we go on holiday. But we don’t ever get too close or tell too much. We keep our public face and emotiona distance, which means that we’ll talk about being overweight but not about being sad or disappointed. However, people still feel these friendships valuable to them.

2. Special-interest friends. These friendships aren’t deeply personal or emotional. Their value lies in some shared interest, so we may have an office friend, a tennis friend, or even a shopping friend.

3. Historical friends. We all have a friend who knew us when… maybe we were back in the second grade of primary school, when our family lived in that two-room flat downtown. He or she was the first, the only friend we told our secrets to.

The years have gone by, and we have gone different ways. We have little in common now, but we’re still a personal part of each other’s past. We know how we looked before our teeth were straightened, and our getting together reminds us of an earlier part of ourselves, which is important and never lost.

4. Cross-generational friends. These are friendships that form across generations(代). I have in my own life a precious(珍贵的) friend, a woman of 65, who is wise, who listens well, and who represents not only an ideal mother to me but also the person I’d like to be when I grow up.

Best friends, I believe, totally love, support and trust each other.

66. ___________ 67. ___________ 68. ___________ 69. ___________ 70. ___________

71. ___________ 72. ___________ 73. ___________ 74. ___________ 75. ___________