As Christmas is coming，there are presents to be bought，cards to be sent，and rooms to be cleaned．Parents are 36 with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children·If the gifts are large，this is sometimes a real 37 On Christmas Eve， young children find the excitement almost unbearable They are torn between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to 38 up late SO that they will no’ 39 the fun．The wish for gifts usually proves stronger．But though children go to bed early， they often lie 40 for a long time，hoping to get a short 41 at Father Christmas．
Last Christmas，my wife and I 42 hid a few large presents in the storeroom．I feared the 43 when my son，Jimmy，would 44 me where that new bike had come from，but 45 he did not see it．
On Christmas Eve, 46 took the children hours to go to sleep．It must have been nearly 47 when my wife and 1 went quietly into their room and began 48 stockings(袜子) ．Then I pushed in the 49 I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree．We knew we would not get much sleep that night，for the children were 50 to get up early At about five o’clock the next morning， we were 51 by loud sounds coming from the children’s room--they were shouting excitedly! 52 I had time to get Out of bed，young Jimmy came riding into the room on his new bike，and his sister，Mary，followed close behind pushing her new baby carriage． 53 the youngest baby arrived He moved 54 the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him Suddenly it burst．That woke us up 55 ．
The day had really begun with a bang(巨响)!
A．faced B．met C．filled D．pleased
A．event B．affair C．problem D．business
A．get B．stay C．stand D．wake
A．bring B．break C．miss D．1eave
A．awake B．wake C．asleep D．sleep
A．100k B．stare C．glare D．watch
A．hopefully B．busily C．gladly D．successfully
A．day B．moment C．week D．month
A．answer B．tell C．ask D．search
A．sadly B．unluckily C．possibly D．fortunately
A．it B．they C．I D．we
A．morning B．midnight C．evening D．daybreak
A．filling B．sewing C．mending D．preparing
A．card B．stocking C．bike D．tree
A．troubled B．frightened C．woken D．shocked
A．Before B．Because C．Unless D．Since
A．with B．on C．over D．by
A．all B．nearly C．happily D．completely
When I returned from a trip abroad, I felt that something was wrong between Keith (one of our twin sons) and me. So I asked him, “Keith, have I done anything that really your feelings?”
Instantly, he said, “Yes. Last Christmas you promised me a special that I really wanted and you gave it to me.”
The is that I’d completely forgotten about it. I , “Is there anything else I’ve done wrong, but I have never asked for your forgiveness?”
Again, his was immediate, “Remember when Mom said you had to go to the because Stephen was going to be born? You left us at home and hurriedly. Remember?” I did.
“Well, you left in a hurry and the suitcase with all the things.” I couldn’t believe all the he remembered! “After you left Mom at the hospital, you came back and you were . When you got here, the suitcase had been opened and was thrown all over the place. And you me.”
“And you didn’t do it?” I asked.
“No.”
My heart . I felt terrible. I hugged Keith and asked him to me. His honesty made me think of our other twin son, Kevin. Perhaps I’d hurt him, too. I went to ask him the question. Kevin’s answer was as immediate as his had been, “Last Christmas you us a special toy and you never bought it for us.”
the Christmas was past, I still took my two sons to the store that day and bought them what I had promised. The thing wasn’t the toy. The problem was I’d made a promise all too lightly and didn’t keep it as their father.
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When you’re living a busy life, every minute must be accounted for, you feel like you must be checking something off the list, or __ to the next destination, And no matter how you ___ _ your attention there’s never enough time in a day to catch up.
Six years ago I was lucky to have a stop-and-smell-the roses type of___ _.When I needed to be out, she was taking her time___ a purse and a crown. When I needed to have a quick lunch, she’d___ _ to speak to the elderly woman who looked like her grandma.
___ _ my child caused me to deviate from (偏离)my schedule, I thought to myself, “We don’t have___ _ for this.” As a result, the two words I most ___ _ spoke to her were; “Hurry up.”
I started my __ _ with it. “ Hurry up and eat your breakfast.” I ___ _ my day with it. “Hurry up and get in bed.” Although the words did little to___ my child’s speed, I said them __ .
Then one day, things __ _.We’d just picked my older daughter up from kindergarten and were getting out of the car. Not going ___ _ enough, my older daughter said to her little sister, “You are so slow.” When she crossed her arms and let out a sigh, I saw__ _ it was a terrible sight.
I was a mother who pushed and pressured and ___ a small who simply wanted to enjoy life.
My eyes were opened; I saw the___ my hurried existence was doing to my children. I looked into my small child’s eyes and said, “I ___ _ to be more patient from now on.” I ___ _ her who was now smiling at her mother’s promise.
Living at a slower speed still takes a（n）__ _,but my younger daughter is my living reminder of why I must keep trying.
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阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最 佳选项。
A Japanese farmer bought a big foreign tractor to grow his corn and apples in northern Japan. The giant tractor __ _the waste land into fields at an amazing speed.___ __, he was troubled by the damage caused by raccoon dogs .Just when the sweet corn was ready to be____ __,it was ruined.
“I placed___ ___in several places around the fields,but ended up trapping a young raccoon dog. The mother stayed next to it,and didn’t_____ __when I approached. When I tried _____ ___ out to release the trap,the young raccoon dog bared its _____ ___and got really upset. It seems cruel,but I held its head down with my rubber boot _____ ____I released it from the trap. It didn’t run away,though. Right in front of ____ __, the mother started licking the young one’s ___ ____ leg. Seeing that, I felt committed an awful crime. “
“I_____ ____told them ‘Stop eating our corny But then I started leaving small piles of second rate corn around the ____ __of the fields. They’re not good enough to sell. The next morning when I went to the fields, they’d completely _____ __. But the raccoon dogs had caused ___ ___more damage at all. So at harvest time I decided to ____ ___using the traps and put out the corncobs without kernels .After that,__ ___ by the raccoon dogs stopped almost completely. So I figured that farmers suffer this sort of damage because they ___ _ _everything. After all,we,d turned what used to__ _ the raccoon dogs into fields. I worried that if I actually fed them,the raccoon dogs would even more __ _ ,but that didn’t happen.
I suppose you could say that my eyes were opened to the mysteries of nature. Anyway,I realized that nature didn’t work in the __ _ that most people thought.”
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阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A, B, C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
At a gathering, we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank.
Frank began to tell us of his childhood. "I in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to the family."
He looked at us and said, "I you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for the . When you got close to him, he like the ocean. He would wear his old coat and his overalls. No matter how much my mother them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish."
Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would me to school. He had this old truck that was older than he was he would drive toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. He would right in front of the school gate, and it seemed like everybody be standing around and watching. Then he would over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so for me. I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!"
He and then went on, "I remember the day when I said 'No' ”
It was the first time I had ever talked to him that , and he had this surprised look on his face.
I said, 'Dad, I'm too for a goodbye kiss. '
My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him . He turned and looked out the windshield(挡风玻璃). 'You're right,' he said. 'You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore.'”
Frank got a sad look on his face, and the tears began to in his eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back.”
Tears were running down Frank’s cheeks. He spoke again. "Guys, you don't know what I would to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough old face....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a , I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss."
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A little boy wanted to meet God. He thought it was a long trip to where God lived, he packed his suitcase with lots of food and drinks and he started his.
When he had gone about three blocks, he an elderly man. The boy sat down next to him and his suitcase. He was about to take a drink when he noticed that the man looked , so he offered him a drink.
The man it and smiled at the boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he him another one.
The man smiled at him. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy it was time to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he , ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy home a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of on his face. She asked him what made him so happy.
He replied, “I had lunch with God, and God’s got the most beautiful I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the elderly man returned to his home. His son was by the look of joy on his face and asked him the question as the little boy’s mother. The elderly man replied, “I ate and drank in the park with God.” However, he , before his son responded, “You know, he’s much than I expected.”
Too often we underestimate the of a touch, a smile, a kind word, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. We should treat the people we meet ; they come into our lives for a reason. Embrace all equally!
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