FatherChristmasisatriskofserio-优题课

D
I told my friend Graham that I often cycle the two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route．He replied, "You mean fortunately．" He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided．
My attitude to the hill has now changed．I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following; This hill will exercise my heart and lungs．It will help me to lose weight and get fit．It will mean that I live longer．This hill is my friend．Finally as I wend my way up the incline I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free．I have a smug smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill．
Problems are there to be faced and overcome． We cannot achieve anything with an easy life, Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a University degree． Her activism and writing proved inspirational．She wrote, " Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet．Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved．"
One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity．From time to time, we all face hardships, problems, accidents, and difficulties．Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own．While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it．
Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident．He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying experts in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans．He was an inspiration to others during the war．He said, "Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that．That's nonsense．Make up your mind, you’11 never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything．Go to school, join in all the games you can．Go anywhere you want to．But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible．"
The biographies of great people are filled with examples of how they took kinds of steps to overcome the difficulties they faced．The common thread is that they did not become defeatist or depressed．They chose their attitude．They chose to be positive．They took on the challenge．They won．
68．The writer has a smug smile of satisfaction as he reaches the top of the hill because________．
A．he was actually killing two birds with a stone
B．compared with those silly people, he was smarter
C．he lost weight by cycling to the town center every day
D．he was informed of a short route from his house to the town
69．The writer quoted Helen Keller and her saying as an example to demonstrate_________．
A．one cannot achieve anything with an easy life
B．only disabled persons can experience hardship deeply
C．one' s success is determined by nothing but his/ her attitude
D．it' s rare for a deaf and blind person to gain a University degree．
70．From this passage we know that Douglas Bader was a person of___________．
A．individual and creative character B．stubborn yet charming personality
C．great bravery and strong will D．excellent speaker with great influence
71．In writing style, the last paragraph serves as____________
A．an explanation B．a demonstration C．an introduction D．a summarization

C
In my profession as an educator and health care provider, I have worked with numerous children infected with the virus that causes AIDS．The relationships that I have had with these special kids have been gifts in my life．They have taught me so many things, but I have especially learned that great courage can be found in the smallest of packages． Let me tell you about Tyler．
Tyler was born infected with HIV: his mother was also infected．From the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications to enable him to survive．When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein in his chest．This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back．Medications were hooked up to this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream．At times, he also needed supplemented oxygen to support his breathing．
Tyler wasn’t willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease．It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine - laden backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him in his little wagon．All of us who knew Tyler marveled at his pure joy in being alive and the energy it gave him．Tyler’s mom often teased him by telling him that he moved so fast she needed to dress him in red．That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him．
This dreaded disease eventually wore down even the likes of a little dynamo like Tyler．He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV - infected mother．When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to survive, Tyler’s mom talked to him about death．She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven．
A few days before his death, Tyler beckoned me over to his hospital bed and whispered, " I might die soon．I’m not scared．When I die, please dress me in red．Mom promised she’s coming to heaven, too．I’ll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me．"
64．What is the boy Tyler's attitude towards death?
A．pessimistic． B．optimistic． C．sorrowful． D．fearful．
65．Tyler requested the writer to dress him in red when he died simply because___________．
A．red is a lucky color B．red might help to cure him
C．his mom could spot him easily D．he could find more mates by wearing red
66．Which of the following might serve as a possible title for this passage?
A．My unusual profession． B．A caring mother．
C．Mother and son． D．Dying in red．
67．The underlined word dynamo in the fourth paragraph here means ________________．
A．a promising and helpful youth B．an extremely energetic person
C．a rare and beautiful flower D．a magic and understanding superstar

B
For years I wanted a flower garden．I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．
But then we had Matthew．And Marvin．And the twins, Alisa and Alan．And then Helen．Five children．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．
Money was tight, as well as time．Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, " Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know．"
Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about having a garden．
I wasn’t sure, though．I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean, no - frills budget．
Then, one spring morning, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns as they drove by．I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．I thought it must be a weeping willow, because I saw things blowing around on all its branches．Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw．There was a money tree in my yard !
I went outside to look．It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree．Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: "IOU eight hours of digging time．Love, Marvin．"
Marvin kept his promise, too．He dug up a nice ten - by - fifteen foot bed for me．And my other children bought me tools, ornaments, a trellis （棚架） , a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．
That was three years ago．My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I dont seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they’re right there with me．
I live up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where winters are long and cold, and summers are too short．But every year now, when winter sets in, I look out of my window and think of the flowers．I’ll see next spring in my little garden．I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time．
I’m still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!
60．By saying "Do you see a money tree outside……, "the mother actually means "__________"．
A．Observation is the best teacher B．Seeing is believing．
C．The outsider sees the most of the game D．It is not easy to gain money
61．The best title for the passage would probably be_______________ ．
A．My flower garden B．Marvin helps to realize my dream
C．Love in Michigan D．Money grows on trees
62．The underlined word "no-frills" in the fifth paragraph is similar in meaning to ____．
A．wasteful B．tight C．absurd D．helpful
63．From the last but the third paragraph we can infer that the mother is ________________．
A．divorced when she was young B．not caring for her kids any longer
C．alone but not at all lonely D．prouder

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A，B，C，和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项目涂黒。
A
Every people have its own way of saying things, its own special expressions．Many everyday American expressions are based on colors．
Red is a hot color．Americans often use it to express heat．They may say they are red hot about something unfair．When they are red hot they are very angry about something．The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste．Fast loud music is popular with many people．They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz．
Pink is a lighter kind of red．People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health．The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century．It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health．
Blue is a cool color．The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music．Blues is slow, sad and soulful．Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song - Mood Indigo -about the deep blue color, indigo．In the words of the song: "You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo．" Someone who is blue is very sad．
The color green is natural for trees and grass．But it is an unnatural color for humans．A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green． A passenger on a boat is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green．
Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car．That person may say he is green with envy．Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks．Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money．
The color black is used often in expressions．People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day．The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day．A blacklist is illegal now．But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations．
56．If you had your wallet stolen while doing some shopping, you may call it __________．
A．a white day B．a black day
C．a red day D．a green day
57．Suppose a Mr．Brown says he is very happy because his three children are all in the pink, this means all his children are ________________．
A．lucky and wealthy B．gentle and modest
C．fit and healthy D．creative and energetic
58．When she got home and found nothing had been done by her husband, Jane was really____________．
A．red hot B．green C．blue D．black
59．In the following paragraph, the writer might tell the reader something about __________．
A．unpopular organizations in the world
B．people's response towards a black day
C．the influence of the traditional blues
D．more words about color, such as brown

E
There’s talk today about how as a society we’ve become separated by colors, income, city vs suburb, red state vs blue. But we also divide ourselves with unseen dotted lines. I’m talking about the property lines that isolate us from the people we are physically closest to: our neighbors.
It was a disaster on my street, in a middle-class suburb of Rochester Town, several years ago that got me thinking about this. One night, a neighbor shot and killed his wife and then himself; their two middle-school children ran screaming into the night. Though the couple had lived on our street for seven years, my wife and I hardly knew them. We’d see them jogging together. Sometimes our children would share cars to school with theirs.
Some of the neighbors attended the funeral（葬礼）and called on relatives. Someone laid a single bunch of yellow flowers at the family’s front door, but nothing else was done to mark the loss. Within weeks, the children had moved with their grandparents to another part of the town. The only indication that anything had changed was the “For Sale” sign in front of their house.
A family had disappeared, yet the impact on our neighborhood was slight. How could that be? Did I live in a community or just in a house on a street surrounded by people whose lives were entirely separate? Few of my neighbors, I later learned, knew others on the street more than casually; many didn’t know even the names of those a few doors down.
Why is it that in an age of low long-distance expenses, discount airlines and the Internet, when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door? Maybe my neighbors didn’t mind living this way, but I did. I wanted to get to know the people whose houses I passed each day – not just what they do for a living and how many children they have, but the depth of their experience and what kind of people they are.
What would it take, I wondered, to break through the barriers between us? I thought about childhood sleepovers（在外过夜）, and the familiar feeling and deep understanding I used to get from waking up inside a friend’s home. Would my neighbors let me sleep over and write about their lives from inside their own houses?
72. The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph probably refers to the talk about ____.
A. how a society is divided by dotted lines
B. the property lines separating us from our neighbors
C. the couple’s death
D. understanding each other between neighbors
73. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author’s description?
A. The husband killed himself.
B. The couple had the habit of jogging together.
C. Their children moved to live with grandparents after the couple’s death.
D. The author never knew the couple until they died seven years later.
74. From the last paragraph, we can infer that the author _____ in his childhood.
A. had once slept in the open air outside
B. had slept in his friend’s home more than once
C. had slept at home but woke up to find himself inside his friend’s home
D. used to live in his friend’s home
75. Following the last paragraph, the author will perhaps _____.
A. leave his home and began his writing career
B. sleep in the open air and write about his experiences
C. sleep in his neighbors’ homes and write about their family lives
D. interview his neighbors and write about their houses