There once was a farmer who lost his watch in his barn (谷仓). The watch was only cheap but was very ____36    to him because it was a gift from his father.

After _  37 __ the barn for a long time, he gave up and asked for __38 __ from a group of children playing nearby.

He __39 __ them that the person who found the watch would be rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn ___40 __. They searched everywhere but still could not find the __41 ___. Just when the farmer was going to give up, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another ___42___.

The farmer looked at him and thought, “ Why not? After all, this kid looks honest.”

So the farmer __43 _ the little boy back into the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The surprised farmer asked the boy how he ___44__ where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, “ I did nothing but sit quietly and listen for the sound of the watch.”

This shows us that sometimes a __45__ mind can think better than an excited one.”

1.A. important            B. expensive             C. useless           D. interesting

2.A. finding              B. searching             C. watching          D. studying

3.A. money              B. danger                C. work             D. help

4.A. promised            B. taught                C. warned            D. believed

5.A. angrily              B. slowly               C. immediately        D. hardly

6.A. rule                B. book                 C. child              D. watch

7.A. way                B. chance               C. lesson             D. smile

8.A. threw               B. sent                 C. gave              D. caught

9.A. came               B. knew                C. succeeded          D. suggested

10.A. beautiful            B. smart                C. peaceful            D. quick

  There was once a farmer who lost his watch in his barn ( 仓库 ). The watch was only cheap but it was very ________ to him because it was a present from his father. After ________ the barn for a long time ,he gave up and asked for ________ from a group of children playing nearby.

   He promised them that the person who ________ the watch would be rewarded ( 奖赏 ).

   Hearing this , the children hurried inside the barn at once . They searched ________ but  still could not find the watch . Just when the farmer was going to give up, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another ________.

   The farmer looked at him and thought , “ Why not ? ________, this kid does look honest .”

   So the farmer sent the little boy back to the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand ! The surprised farmer asked the boy how he ________ where the rest had failed.

   The boy ________ , “ I did nothing but sit quietly and listen for the sound of the watch .”

   This shows us that sometimes a peaceful mind can think _______ than an excited one .

1.A. important  B. expensive  C. useless  D. interesting

2.A. finding     B. searching  C. watching  D. studying

3.A. money     B. danger    C. work    D. help

4.A. saw       B. found     C. looked   D. watched

5.A. somewhere  B. anywhere  C. nowhere  D. everywhere

6.A. way        B. chance    C. lesson   D. present

7.A. In all    B. That’s all   C. After all  D. Above all

8.A. came   B. knew   C. succeeded   D. stopped

9.A. spoke   B. added  C. talked    D. replied

10.A. badly   B. better   C. worse   D. Well

   In the last 500 years, several million people have been killed by earthquakes. Among all the earthquakes, the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake is regarded as the 　1   one in the twentieth century.

   On July 28, 1976, a terrible earthquake of 7.8 magnitude (级)  2   Tangshan City, Hebei Province. In just one second, the city with one million people was destroyed. The earthquake was   3   strong that even Beijing and Tianjin were seriously affected (受到影响). The shock was felt in 14 provinces and cities—one-third of the country.

   The earthquake took place   4   midnight. Most people could not take any actions. Over 240,000 people  5  and about 170,000 were seriously injured. Water supplies, communications and traffic were completely cut off.

   The people there needed   6   immediately. But they could not wait for help   7  . They formed groups to dig for others. They set up medical areas and tents. They searched for food and clean water. Recovery (恢复) was not easy with so much   8  . Yet, after a lot of care  was given in time, the rebuilding of Tangshan began almost   9  . Though it took time, the whole city was rebuilt and is   10   home for over a million people, earning (赢得) Tangshan the name “Brave City of China”.

1. A. deadly        B. deadlier             C. deadliest          D. dead

2. A. happened       B. hit                  C. happen            D. took place

3. A. such             B. much                      C. so                  D. even

4. A. at                  B. in                     C. on                   D. with

5. A. killed             B. kill                   C. was killed        D. were killed

6. A. food             B. water                      C. help                D. tents

7. A. arrive           B. arrived                     C. arrives              D. to arrive

8. A. people          B. disaster             C. death              D. areas

9. A. soon             B. quickly             C. immediately      D. now

10. A. too              B. also                   C. again                 D. still