THEBESTSHOPPINGINSYDNEYSydneyi-优题课

One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without wrap(包装).
On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap, saying. "I promised you a gift, and here it is." What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard Mum and Dad whispering such words as "hopeless", "pitiful", and "dying", which sounded ominous.
Christmas was coming. "Don’t expect any presents this year." Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. "If your baby brother lives, that'll be Christmas enough." As he spoke, his eyes were filled with tears. I'd never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say. "What? He's all right?" He hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!"
"Thank God.'" I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty; they were filled with love!
What happened to the author on September 11th 1958?

A．He got a baby brother

B．He got a Christmas gift

C．He became four years old

D．He received a doll

What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean？

A．Impossible.	B．Boring
C．Difficult	D．Fearful

Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?

A．Excitement.	B．Happiness.
C．Sadness.	D．Disappointment.

What is the passage mainly about?

A．A sad Christmas day

B．Life with a lovely baby

C．A special Christmas gift.

D．Memories of a happy family

Larry Bird was born in 1965 in a small town in the Middle Western State of Indiana. He was tall, and good at playing basketball. He attended Indiana State University. Bird led the team into the College Basketball Championship Game.
After completing his college studies, Larry Bird began playing professional basketball for the Boston Celtics. He remained with the Celtics for all his professional career. During those 13 years, Larry Bird was named the Most Valuable Player of the Year three times. He scored more than 21, 000 points, and he played in 13 of the highest scoring games in his team’s history. Once he scored 60 points in just one game.
During his very successful basketball career, Larry Bird suffered a number of injuries. In 1989, he stopped playing because of pain in his feet. He returned in 1990, but the pain in his feet returned too. In the next two years he experienced more medical problems, and he missed many games.
Larry Bird did play on the Dream Team－the first Olympic Team with professional players. However, after winning the gold medal in Barcelona, he announced that he would retire from professional basketball. Larry Bird said he would have liked to play a little longer, but he could not because of his health problems. He also said it was a good time to leave the game. He wanted to be remembered as a winner.
The underlined word “scored” in the second paragraph means ________.

A．lost

B．made

C． got

D．wrote

When he returned to his team in 1990, ________.

A．he still had a lot of medical problems caused by the previous（先前的）injuries

B．he played in all the following games for his team

C．he had recovered from a number of injuries

D．He didn’t play for his team any more

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Larry Bird began his career after his graduation from the college.

B．He lost interest in playing basketball after he retired.

C．Though he left the team, he didn’t feel too much regret.

D．He thought it a right decision to leave the team.

Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, love their country. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland. But there were too many of the Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of the Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight, my men,” he said, “Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win, or we will die.”
They were all very tired. So they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they were very tired, too, and one by one, they fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they went up the hill. Closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle (蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a minute they were on their feet and ready for a battle. The fighting was hard, but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved Scotland.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people liked it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.
Hundreds of years ago, the Romans ____ .

A．came from the north through England to make war on Scotland

B．came to the north Scotland from England to make war on Scotland

C．came from the north of England to fight the Scots

D．came to the north from the south of Britain to fight the Scots

At the shout of a Roman soldier, all the Scots who were asleep at the hill ____ .

A．began to fight the Romans hard

B．stood up without putting on their shoes and began to fight

C．woke and rose immediately, ready to fight

D．put their feet into their shoes at once and were ready to fight

The result of the war is that ____ .

A．the Romans killed all the Scots

B．the Scots were defeated

C．the Scots were driven out of Scotland

D．the Scots defeated the Romans

The Scots made thistle their national flower because thistle ____ .

A．is lovely, though not beautiful

B．gave them happiness

C．is a kind of useful plant

D．helped the Scots in wiping out the Romans

It was in 1865 that two Frenchmen were looking into the future. Edouard de Laboulaye, who studied history, admired the United States greatly. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was a famous artist. De Laboulaye was thinking about 1876, when the country he respected so much would celebrate its 100th birthday. What gift would be good enough for the people of France to give? Right away, Bartholdi thought of a giant statue.
Bartholdi kept thinking about a statue for several years. Then, in 1871, he visited the United States and saw the perfect place for a huge statue. It was Bedloe’s Island in New York.
The project — the Statue of Liberty — got started almost immediately, and Bartholdi went home to France to begin work. However, the statue was not finished in time for the 100th birthday. The United States Congress approved (批准) the use of Bedloe’s Island on February 22, 1877. During the 100th celebration in 1876, the arm of the statue that would hold the torch was shown in Philadelphia. In 1879 the huge head was put on display in France. For the face of the statue, Bartholdi used his mother as a model.
The statue was finally completed in 1884. The work had been difficult enough, but then some really hard work began. The statue had to be taken apart and packed into boxes. It was not until May 1885 that the statue — in pieces — left France for its new home.
The statue arrived in June. However, the Americans fell behind on their part of the project. They hadn’t raised enough money for building the base of the statue. People wondered if the country really needed or wanted such a gift. Finally, though, the money was raised and the base was completed. The last piece of the statue was put in place on October 28, 1886.
What’s the right order of the following events?
a. The arm of the statue that would hold the torch was shown in Philadelphia.
b. The United States Congress approved the use of Bedloe’s Island.
c. The huge head of the statue was put on display in France.
d. Bartholdi visited the United States.

A．d a b c	B．d b a c
C．b a c d	D．b d a c

When did the work on the statue begin?

A．As soon as Bartholdi thought of it.

B．After the United States Congress agreed to it.

C．After Bartholdi saw Bedloe’s Island.

D．Not until the US had raised enough money.

What happened after the Statue of Liberty was completed?

A．It was put together for shipping.

B．It was taken apart and packed for shipping.

C．It was cleaned up for shipping.

D．It was put in place on its base in France.

How many years did it take for the Statue of Liberty to be put in place on its base after it was completed?

A．nineteen.	B．fifteen.
C．one.	D．two.

My son was a second-grader. He went to school by bus every day. He was the first student on in the morning, as we were farthest from school, and the last student off in the evening. I was a teacher myself and it was a comfort to realize the school staff (职员) were all working as hard as I was to provide a safe learning environment.
One day I came home from work and waited for my son to get home for a long time. Then I called the school. “Perhaps he’s just a bit late,” said the secretary. “I will call the driver to see if those children are home.” A few minutes later, I answered the phone to hear that the other students were home. Then I called his friends’ parents, to see if perhaps he had gotten off at their stop to play. The answers were all “No.”
By that time, it was dark and I was scared. My home was in the mountain areas, and it was said that a wolf had come up somewhere. My husband wasn’t at home, so I forced myself to calm down and decided to go out to look for him. I was about to go out when the telephone rang; it was from the driver. “He’s okay,” I heard. “He was asleep on the seats in the back, under a couple of jackets. Since it’s dark, can he spend the night with my family?”
I was relieved and agreed. Since my son had a great adventure, the school started giving a copy of the list to the driver, so he could check off the children’s names when they got off the bus. I think highly of the school for taking the cautionary (警戒的) step ahead; it is a sign of their concern for students, parents, and staff.
From Paragraph 1 we learn that ________.

A．the author’s son went home by bus every after-noon

B．the author’s son came to school earlier than other students

C．the author’s home was farther than that of any other student

D．the author was a teacher in her son’s primary school

At first the secretary thought ________.

A．the author’s son was still at school

B．the school bus would arrive in a while

C．the author’s son was at his friend’s home

D．there might be something wrong with the school bus

The author’s son probably spent the night _________.

A．in the bus	B．at his own home
C．at the driver’s home	D．in the secretary’s office

The author wrote the text to ________.

A．praise the school for its quick action

B．thank the bus driver for his kindness

C．complain about the secretary of the school

D．show her concern for kids safety

A．Cook's Cottage.	B．Westfield Centrepoint.
C．Sydney Tower.	D．Sovereign Hill.

A．11:00 am--2:00 pm.	B．5:00 pm--10:30 pm.
C．9:00 am--5:30 pm.	D．9:00 am--5:00 pm.

A．in Williamstown	B．in the centre of the city
C．in Anchorage	D．in a Cantonese fishing port