When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.
"Where did it come from?" I asked.
"I asked the Gates boy to cut it," my mother said. "I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need... such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon."
The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal(水晶) Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly(难看) at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.
"It's not like the one you used to find," my mother went on. "Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)."
"Don't worry," I told her. "It's perfect."
It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: All Christmas trees are perfect. What did his mother's Christmas tree look like?
From the passage we can infer (推断) that______.
A.all the soldiers had the three-day holiday |
B.the writer could not go home for Christmas |
C.the writer spent his first Christmas during the war |
D.not all the soldiers went home for Christmas during the war |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______ .
A.his mother didn't like Christmas trees |
B.the writer didn't like the tree cut by someone else |
C.the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees |
D.his mother didn't want to have a Christmas tree during wartime |
The best title for this passage would be ______.
A.The Perfect Christmas Tree |
B.How to Choose a Christmas Tree |
C.How Soldiers Spent Their Christmas |
D.A Christmas with an Ugly Christmas Tree |
What does the writer mean by saying “All Christmas trees are perfect”?
A.Nothing is as perfect as Christmas. |
B.Once at home, everything is so nice. |
C.During the war, trees are hard to find. |
D.All Christmas trees are the most beautiful. |
My friends, Emma Daniels, spent the summer of 1974 traveling in Israel. During her monthlong stay in Jerusalem she often went to a café called Chocolate Soup. It was run by two men, one of whom – Alex – used to live in Montreal. One morning when Emma went in for coffee, while chatting with her new friend Alex, she mentioned that she had just finished the book she was reading and had nothing else to read. Alex said he had a wonderful book she might like, and that he’d be happy to lend it to her. As he lived just above the café, he quickly ran up to get it. The book he handed to Emma just minutes later was Markings, a book by a former Secrectary-General of the United Nations (UN).
Emma had never read it, nor had she ever bought a copy. But, when she opened it up, she was floored to see her own name and address inside the cover in her own handwriting(笔迹).It turned out that the summer before, at a concert back in Montreal, Emma had met a Californian who was in town visiting friends. They decided to exchange(交换)addresses, but neither of them had any paper. The man opened up a book he was carrying in his backpack(背包) and asked Emma to write her name and address inside. When he returned to California, he left the book behind in Montreal, and his friend Alex kept it. When Alex later moved to Jerusalcm, he took the book along.
41. Alex lent Emma the book, Markings, .
A. to show his friendliness to her B. to show his interest in reading
C. to tell her about the importance of UN D. to let her write her name and address inside
42. How did Emma feel the moment she opened the book?
A. Pleased. B. Satisfied. C. Worried. D. Surprised.
43. We can learn from the text the Californian .
A. met Emma at a concert B. invited Emma to a concert
C. introduced Emma to his friend D. left Emma his backpack
44. Who was supposed to be the first owner of the book?
A. An official of the UN. B. A coffee shop owner.
C. A friend of the author’s. D. Alex’s friend form California.
All her life, my mother wanted busy children. It was very important that her house should remain at all things clean and tidy.
You could turn your back for a moment in my mother's house, leave a half written letter on the dining room table, a magazine open on the chair, and turn around to find that my mother had "put it back where it belonged." as she explained.
My wife, on one of her first visits to my mother's house, placed a packet of biscuits on an end table and went to the kitchen to fetch a drink. When she returned, she found the packet had been removed. Confused(疑惑的), she set down her drink and went back to the kitchen for more biscuits, only to return to find that her drink had disappeared. Up to then she had guessed that everyone in my family held onto their drinks, so as not to make water rings on the end tables. Now she knows better.
These disappearances had a confusing effect on our family. We were all inclined to (有......的倾向) forgetfulness, and it was common for one of us, upon returning from the bathroom, to find the every sign of his work in progress had disappeared suddenly. "Do you remember what I was doing?" was a question frequently asked, but rarely answered.
Now my sister has developed a second-hand love of clean windows, and my brother does the cleaning in his house, perhaps to avoid having to be the one to lift his feet. I try not to think about it too much, but I have at this later time started to dust the furniture once a week.
68. Which of the following is TRUE about my mother?
A. She enjoyed removing others' drinks. B. She became more and more forgetful.
C. She preferred to do everything by herself. D. She wanted to keep her house in good order.
69. My wife could not find her biscuits and drink in my mother's house because _______.
A. she had already finished them B. my mother had taken them away
C. she forgot where she had left them D. someone in my family was holding them
70. The underlined part to the fifth paragraph suggests that my sister _______.
A. is happy to clean windows B. loves to clean used windows
C. is fond of clean used windows D. likes clean windows as my mother did
71. This passage mainly tells us that _______.
A. my mother often made us confused B. my family members had a poor memory
C. my mother helped us to form a good habit
D. my wife was surprised when she visited my mother
I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant , and ancient for a sportsman, Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age. but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.
A few days ago, a friend tried to cheer me up by saying, “ Fifty is what forty used to be . ”He had made an inspirational point, Am I over the hill ?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved, and I keep telling them that he high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.
“ Your are not getting older, you are getting better . ” says Dr. Joyce Brothers . This, however, is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.
And so. as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net. I am moves to share some thoughts on aging with you. I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally. Getting older. of course, is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词). In fact , a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all :
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to me.
Whether or not Browning was right , most of my first fifty years have been golden ones, so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by. I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend ( 混合) of both fighting and accepting my aging, hoping that the philosopher(哲学家) was right when he said . ”Old is always fifteen years from now. ”
44. The author seems to tell us in Paragraph I that
A time alone will tell B time goes by quickly
C time will show what is right D time makes one forget the past
45. When the author turned fifty , people around him
A. tried to comfort him B. got inspiration with him
C. were friendlier with him D. found him more talkative
46. The author considers his fifty years of life
A peaceful B. ordinary C. satisfactory D. regretful
47. We can infer from the passage that
A. the old should led a simple life B. the old should face the fact of aging
C. the old should take more exercise D. the old should fill themselves with curiosity
Maybe ten-year-old Elizabeth put it best when she said to her father,“But, Dad, you can't be healthy if you're dead.”
Dad, in a hurry to get home before dark so he could go for a run, had forgotten to wear his safety belt -- a mistake 75% of US population make every day. The big question is why.
There have been many myths about safety belt ever since their first appearance in cars some forty years ago. The following are three of the most common.
Myth Number One: It's best to be“thrown clear”of a serious accident.
Truth: Sorry, but any accident serious enough to “throw you clear" is able going to be serious enough to give you a very bad landing. And chances are you'll have traveled through a windshield (挡风玻璃) or door to do it. Studies show that chances of dying aftera car accident are twenty-five times in cases where people are “thrown clear”.
Myth Number Two: Safety-bets “trap”people in cars that are burning or sinking in water.
Truth: Sorry again, but studies show that people knocked unconscious (昏迷) due to not wearing safety belts have a greater chance of dying in these accidents. People wearing safety belts are usually protected to the point of having a clear head to free themselves from such dangerous situation, not to be trapped in them.
Myth Number Three: Safety belts aren't needed at speeds of less than 30 miles per hour (mph).
Truth : When two cars traveling at 30 mph hit each other, an unbelted driver would meet the windshield with a force equal to diving headfirst into the ground from a height of 10 metres.
62. Why did Elizabeth say to her father,“But, Dad, you can't be healthy if you're dead”?
A. He was driving at great speed. B. He was running across the street.
C. He didn't have his safety belt on. D. He didn't take his medicine on time.
63. The reason father was in a hurry to get home was that he _______.
A. wasn't feeling very well B. hated to drive in the dark
C. wanted to take some exercise D. didn't want to be caught by the people
64. According to the text, to be “thrown clear" of a serious accident is very dangerous because you _______.
A. may be knocked down by other cars B. may get serious hurt thrown out of the car
C. may find it impossible to get away from the seat
D. may get caught in the car door
65. Some people prefer to drive without wearing a safety belt because they believe _______.
A. the belt prevents them from escaping in an accident
B. they will be unable to think clearly in an accident
C. they will be caught when help comes D. cars catch fire easily
66. What is the advice given in the test?
A. Never drive faster than 30 miles an hour. B. Try your best to save yourself in a car accident.
C. Never forget to wear the safety belt while driving.
D. Drive slowly while you're not wearing a safety belt.
My parents were in a huge argument, and I was really upset about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored. He was quite happy and said, “Great opportunity.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a private little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves now that we’re in the situation we are in.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that’s how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feeling and fears of life---from how fast things change, to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “ I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”
56. I wished to get out of the house because ________.
A. I was angry about my parents’ quarrel B. I found nobody to share my feelings with
C. I wanted to escape from the dark house D. I planned to tell my friend about my trouble
57. Grandpa was happy to see me because___________.
A. he could discuss the problem with me B. he had not seem me for a long time
C. he was afraid of darkness D. he felt quite lonely
58. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The grandchild was eager to leave. B. They would have more chats.
C. The lights would go our again. D. It would no longer be dark.