How old was I? I can’t remember. Maybe I was only 10. It was the first    16    without my father because he was away for something. He left me to fill that sad place in my mother’s heart. It was the Christmas when I stopped being a    17    and tried to play Father Christmas myself. I really wanted to make it happy and bright again. It was the Christmas of the    18   .

Mom first saw the coat at Tobias, a nice    19    shop in our town’s little shopping mall. It was dark green. And it was a    20   , heavy, wool dress coat. Mom pulled it out from the rack(架) and held it up. “Long enough,” she said in a low voice and    21   .

“I need a new coat,” Mom smiled before the mirror. She looked good on any clothes,       22    this coat suited her much better. She looked at the    23   , then hung the coat back on the rack, standing there once more to    24    

    Eighty-seven dollars. But I decided to buy it for her. As we moved on    25   the mall, I found some excuse to return and asked one of the Tobias ladies to    26    the coat.

I helped clean every yard(庭院) in our neighbourhood—some yards twice, and soon I got the coat. The store ladies helped me put it in their biggest    27    with bright blue paper and thick silver ribbon(丝带). I don’t remember    28    I got it home, but I can still feel the wonderful    29    and pride that filled me. I would imagine the big space which the box would take up under our tree. Here it was—joy, peace and    30   —all in the box, waiting for Mom’s surprise.

1.A. Easter         B. Christmas        C. Halloween    D. Thanksgiving

2.A. child          B. son          C. student      D. teacher

3.A. tree           B. bag          C. coat         D. ribbon

4.A. children’s    B. women’s     C. girl’s      D. men’s

5.A. big            B. wide         C. thin         D. long

6.A. tried it on    B. put it on    C. kept it on   D. turned it on

7.A. though         B. or           C. for          D. and

8.A. price          B. design       C. color        D. material

9.A. taste          B. feel         C. sound        D. smell

10.A. through       B. over         C. past         D. across

11.A. sell          B. send         C. keep         D. wash

12.A. tank          B. basket       C. bag          D. box

13.A. how           B. why          C. whether      D. when

14.A. development   B. excitement   C. improvement D. advertisement

15.A. courage       B. confidence   C. love         D. honesty

Have you ever complained (抱怨) why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes      dark to you? Are your lessons sometimes not successful? Well, friends, cheer up and       all the time. If you see the world with your warm heart, you will find the whole world smiling to you..

Not long ago, a friend of mine decided to read a lot of books to get      knowledge. So he went to the library and     happily with several books. But after a few days, he felt bored. The idea of finishing all of the books seemed     , because it was     for him to sit quietly to read a whole book. He didn’t know what to do. Then one day, he suddenly thought of “Why not make reading fun?” It gave him      again. Reading is a journey of spirit(心灵之旅). Every time when we     a book, we are actually talking     the writer. Since then, he tried to spend more time reading books, so he could feel all of the writer’s happiness and sadness. And reading is     boring, but kind of interesting.

Attitude can make a great     . Someone once said, “     the situation is bad, people are free to choose their attitude.” So, don’t complain about the situation. It helps     . For example, one day the weather is fine. You and your friends want to go for a picnic. Just before you go, it  suddenly starts to rain. Maybe you would feel very      and start to complain about the weather. But dear friends, why  don’t you sit down and listen to the free concert that the nature brings you? And with the timely rain, crops(庄稼) in the fields will grow better and farmers will have a good harvest (收成).

Attitude decides everything. With an optimistic (乐观的) attitude, life is easy and happy. Let’s smile to     we meet and the whole world will smile to us.

1.A. seem           B. taste          C. sound          D. smell

2.A. cry             B. smile          C. complain       D. shout

3.A. more           B. less           C. many           D. a lot

4.A. sang            B. jumped         C. returned        D. danced

5.A. easy           B. unnecessary      C. possible        D. impossible

6.A. hard           B. interesting      C. happy          D. easy

7.A. money         B. hope            C. time           D. knowledge

8.A. buy            B. borrow          C. read           D. write

9.A. on             B. about           C. of             D. with

10.A. of course        B. no longer        C. as usual        D. in fact

11.A. decision         B. difference     C. discussion      D. problem

12.A. Even though      B. Because      C. As if           D. So

13.A. nothing          B. anything      C. everything      D. something

14.A. comfortable       B. nervous      C. sad            D. happy

15.A. wherever         B. whenever     C. however        D. whatever

Pumpkin pies are ready. They ________ delicious.

A. sound

B. smell

C. feel

D. taste