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 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 don't 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 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!
59．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
60．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
61．The underlined word “no - frills” in the fifth paragraph is similar in meaning to .
A．wasteful B．tight C．absurd D．helpful
62．From the last two paragraphs 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 with her garden than with her kids.
Some people were eating and drinking in a coffee house. A young woman was sitting alone at a table. She was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace. There was an ugly man at a table not far from her. He was looking at her necklace all the time.
Suddenly the lights went out. The coffee house was in darkness. The woman started to shout. She was very frightened. A few minutes later the lights came on again. The woman was crying. Her necklace was missing.
The manager quickly closed all the doors. He telephoned the police. No one could get o
ut of the coffee house. The policemen soon came. The police inspector told his men to search everyone. The necklace was not on anyone. They then searched the whole coffee house. The necklace couldn’t be found.
The police inspector then looked at the faces of all the people in the coffee house. He saw the ugly man and looked at the man carefully. He went up to the man and picked up the bowl of soup that wa
s on his table. He then poured the soup into a glass. The necklace fell out. The policemen caught hold of the man and took him away. The young woman was happy to get back her necklace. A young woman lost her necklace in ______________.
| A．a hospital | B．a shop | C．a coffee house | D．a restaurant |
The manager closed all the doors and _______________.
| A．searched everyone in the coffee house |
| B．searched the whole coffee house |
| C．telephoned the police |
| D．looked at all the people in the coffee house |
The police inspector found the necklace in __________.
| A．a cup of coffee | B．a bowl of rice |
| C．a glass of milk | D．a bowl of soup |
The necklace was stolen by ___________.
| A．a beautiful girl | B．an old woman |
| C．a young student | D．an ugly man |
Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes”, if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping. In other words, do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping? If people have regrets later about their shopping, or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use, they may be considered to be problem shoppers.
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem –addictive shopping. Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money. They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety, pain and shame are common ones. When we feel bad inside, we often do something to make ourselves feel better. In this case, we often go shopping.
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness. For some people, the motivation is a desire for status, power, beauty or success. Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants. Others shop simply because it makes them forget, at least temporarily, tension, fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides, shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping. For instance, there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there. What’s more, food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided, so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore, once you become aware of how market forces work, you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior. For example, how much time you will spend and what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend. Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it. That is vital for gaining self-control.Whichof the following people may not be problem shoppers?
| A．Those who cannot control the amount of credit they use. |
| B．Those who just walk around the shopping malls. |
| C．Those who are occupied in too much shopping. |
| D．Those who feel sorry for their shopping. |
According to the passage, what may not result in addictive shopping?
| A．The awareness of how market forces work. |
| B．The desire for status, power, beauty or success. |
| C．Boredom, emptiness, tension, fear or unhappiness in people’s life. |
| D．Long-time bad feelings of anxiety, pain and shame. |
How can we control our shopping behavior according to the passage?
| A．Never going to the shopping malls because there are many tricks. |
| B．Applying for a credit card before we go shopping. |
C．Making the s hopping time as short as possible. |
| D．Making a shopping list before we go shopping. |
The author writes this passage to_______________. .
| A．inform the shopping malls how to attract more shoppers |
| B．scold the problem shoppers |
| C．provide solutions for the problem shoppers. |
| D．tell a shopping story |
It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “Where do you want to go, sir?”
“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.
After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I’m a
fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week. ” Which of the following is true?____________
| A．The young man went past the railway station. |
| B．The young man was working in the railway station |
| C．The young man had just got off a train. |
| D．The young man was waiting for his friend there. |
What do you think of the car dr
iver?__________
| A．He was a nice and clever man. | B．He liked to work very hard. |
| C．He was good at driving | D．He was not an honest person. |
The driver felt very _________ when he saw the young man coming out of the railway station.
| A．sad | B．sorry | C．happy | D．worried |
From the passage we know that the young man__________.
| A．knew clearly how far it was from the station to the hotel. |
| B．Had been to the hotel several times. |
| C．Didn’t want to stay in this city. |
| D．Must be a stranger and didn’t know the city very well. |
The driver took the passenger through many streets so as to_________.
| A．make the young man happy |
| B．let the young man think it was very far from the station to the hotel. |
| C．Let the young man have a good look at the city. |
| D．Get more than twenty dollars. |
In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.
Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminally (晚期的）in patients— even when those patients are their parents. This deprives（剥夺）the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.
Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 terminally in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.
It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients’ communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies . Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their great need to be informed, to be kept up - to - date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to cope with the coming of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death. The elders of today's Americans _______ .
| A．are often absent when a family member is born or dying |
| B．are unfamiliar with birth and death |
| C．usually see the birth or death of a family member |
| D．have often experienced the fear of death as part of life |
Children in America are deprived of the chance to________.
| A．visit a patient at hospital | B．visit their family members |
| C．learn how to face death | D．look after the patients |
The need of a dying patient for people to accompany him shows________.
| A．his wish for communication with other people | B．his fear of death |
| C．his unwillingness to die | D．he feels very upset about his condition |
It may be concluded from the passage that________.
| A．dying patients should be truthfully informed of their condition |
| B．dying patients are afraid of being told of the coming of death |
| C．most patients are unable to accept death until it can’t be avoided |
| D．most doctors and nurses understand what dying patients need |
Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart．Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists．
Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon．The next day, this news appeared on page two of the town’s newspaper．The Beldon Post:
FIRE AT SEABREEZE
Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom．The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire．We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed．” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years．
The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on page one：
ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE
Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel．An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire．The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels．When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp．” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield．
What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident．There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact．Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel．
Now what do you think of the rest of the “news” ?Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?
| A．It was not easy to find out exact truth from newspapers． |
| B．Beldon and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer． |
| C．A fire broke out at night in Seabreeze Hotel last summer． |
| D．Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter． |
Which of the following are probably facts?
a.The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel．
b.A cigarette started the fire．
c.An old lamp started the fire．
d.The fire broke out at night．
e.There has never been a fire in Canfield．
| A．b and c | B．a and d | C．c and e | D．a and c |
The Canfield Times used the headli
ne like this in order to make its readers think _________.
| A．hotels in Beldon often catch fire |
| B．hotels in Beldon don’t often catch fire |
| C．this was the second fire at the Seabreeze Hotel |
| D．Beldon was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe |
The Canfield newspaper gave a report just the opposite to the Beldon Post by saying that _______．
| A．the bedroom lamps were very old at the Seabreeze Hotel |
| B．the bedroom lights made funny noise when the fire took place |
| C．such accidents never happened in Canfield for the past 5 years |
D．the firemen fail ed to save clothing, bedclothes and other thing s |