Outside her shabby cottage，old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line，unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.
They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps.But，much to their disappointment，she did not mount the broomstick and take flight.Suddenly，the old lady's work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen－a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.
The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty，a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back.With only three legs，it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady.The cat provided proof－ the children were sure that only a witch would own a black cat with three legs.
There，standing on a wooden box，was Mrs.Tailor，stretching out to gather her precious egg.Taking the egg in one of her hands，she began to climb down when，without warning，the box broke and the old lady fell.
“We have to go and help her，”whispered Amy.
“What if it is a trick？” replied Ben.
“Don't be silly，Ben.If she were a witch，she would have turned us into frogs already，” reasoned Meg.“Come on Amy，let's go.”The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.
Approaching carefully，they could see a wound on the old lady's face.She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken.“Go and get Dad，” Amy yelled to her brother.“Tell him about the accident.”
The boys did not need another excuse to leave.They ran as fast as they could for help，hoping that Mrs.Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.Why were the children hiding in the tree?
| A．They wanted to watch Mrs.Tailor do her housework closely. |
| B．They were playing a hideandseek game. |
| C．They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs.Tailor were true. |
| D．They were pretending to be spies. |
Mrs.Tailor stopped sweeping when________.
| A．her front steps were clean |
| B．she noticed the children in the tree |
| C．she was ready to take a flight |
| D．she heard the hen cackling |
Ben did not rush to help Mrs.Tailor because________.
| A．he thought that she could be tricking them |
| B．he knew that they should not have been in the tree |
| C．he did not see the old lady fall down |
| D．he was afraid of the threelegged cat |
Which of these old sayings best suits the story's lesson for us?
| A．Make hay while the sun shines. |
| B．Never judge a book by its cover. |
| C．People in glasshouses should not throw stones. |
| D．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
Lying in the sun on a rock, the cougar （美洲狮）saw Jeb and his son, Tom, before they saw it．Jeb put his bag down quickly and pulled his jacket open with both hands, making himself look big to the cougar．It worked．The cougar hesitated, ready to attack Jeb, but ready to forget the whole thing, too．
Jeb let go of his jacket, grasped Tom and held him across his body, making a cross．Now the cougar’s enemy looked even bigger, and it rose up, ready to move away, but unfortunately Tom got scared and struggled free of Jeb．
“Tom, no!” shouted his father．
But Tom broke and ran and that’s the last thing you do with a cougar．The second Tom broke free, Jeb threw himself on the cougar, just as it jumped from the rock．They hit each other in mid-air and both fell．The cougar was on Jeb in a flash, forgetting about Tom, which was what Jeb wanted．
Cougars are not as big as most people think and a determined man stands a chance, even with just his fists．As the cougar’s claws（爪子）got into his left shoulder, Jeb swung his fist at its eyes and hit, hard．The animal howled（吼叫）and put its head back．Jeb followed up with his other fist．Then out of the comer of his eye, Jeb saw Tom．The boy was running back to help his father．
“Knife, Tom,” shouted Jeb．
The boy ran to his father’s bag, while Jeb started shouting as well as hitting, to keep the cougar’s attention away from Tom．Tom got the knife and ran over to Jeb．The cougar was moving its head in and out, trying to find a way through the wall Jeb was making out of his arms．Tom swung with the knife, into the cougar’s back．It howled horribly and ran off into the mountains．
The whole fight had taken about thirty seconds．
16．Why did Jeb pull his jacket open when he saw the cougar?
A．To get ready to fight． B．To frighten it away．
C．To protect the boy． D．To cool down．
17．What do we know about cougars?
A．They are afraid of noises． B．They hesitate before they hit．
C．They are bigger than we think． D．They like to attack running people．
18．How did Jeb try to hold the cougar’s attention?
A．By keeping shouting and hitting． B．By making a wall out of his arms．
C．By throwing himself on the cougar． D．By swinging his fists at the cougar’s eyes．
19．Which of the following happened first?
A．The cougar jumped from the rock． B．Tom struggled free of his father．
C．Jeb asked Tom to get the knife． D．Jeb held Tom across his body．
Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago．My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride their bikes up and down．“I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie．
Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I’ll watch her other three．And when she watches two of mine, I’ll take someone out．
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time．Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first．When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions．McKenzie was smiling broadly．Christie looked refreshed and happy．“She’s like a different child when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly．With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make an effort to gain attention．
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times．For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently．My stuttering（口吃的）son, Tom, doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak．And the other son, Sam, who’s always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together．
The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child —talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain．Every child deserves（应得到）to be an only child at least once in a while．
20．What is the text mainly about?
A．The experience of the only child being with mother．
B．The advantage of spending time with one child at a time．
C．The happy life of two families．
D．The basic needs of children．
21．Right after McKenzie came back, the other children were _____________．
A．happy B．curious C．regretful D．friendly
22．What is one of the changes the author finds in her children?
A．The daughter acts like a leader． B．Sam holds her hand more often．
C．The boys become better followers． D．Tom has less difficulty in speaking．
23．The author seems to believe that ___________．
A．having brothers and sisters is fun
B．it’s tiring to look after three children
C．every child needs parents’ full attention
D．parents should watch others’ children
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole．And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．
16．Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A．The man’s job was bike racing． B．It was their only possession．
C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed． D．They used it for work and daily life．
17．We can infer from the text that ____________．
A．the couple worked 60 hours a week． B．people were busy before Christmas
C．the stranger brought over the bike D．life was hard for the young family．
18．How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A．From radio broadcasts． B．From a newspaper．
C．From TV news． D．From a stranger．
19．What do the couple learn from their experience?
A．Strangers are usually of little help． B．One should take care of their bike．
C．News reports make people famous． D．An act of kindness can mean a lot．
Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago．My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride their bikes up and down．“I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie．
Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I’ll watch her other three．And when she watches two of mine, I’ll take someone out．
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time．Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first．When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions．McKenzie was smiling broadly．Christie looked refreshed and happy．“She’s like a different child when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly．With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make an effort to gain attention．
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times．For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently．My stuttering（口吃的）son, Tom, doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak．And the other son, Sam, who’s always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together．
The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child —talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain．Every child deserves（应得到）to be an only child at least once in a while．
20．What is the text mainly about?
A．The experience of the only child being with mother．
B．The advantage of spending time with one child at a time．
C．The happy life of two families．
D．The basic needs of children．
21．Right after McKenzie came back, the other children were _____________．
A．happy B．curious C．regretful D．friendly
22．What is one of the changes the author finds in her children?
A．The daughter acts like a leader． B．Sam holds her hand more often．
C．The boys become better followers． D．Tom has less difficulty in speaking．
23．The author seems to believe that ___________．
A．having brothers and sisters is fun
B．it’s tiring to look after three children
C．every child needs parents’ full attention
D．parents should watch others’ children
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005．While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work．On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does．After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone．
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport．Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family．And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live．
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story．Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help．One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up．Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job．It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before．
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so．This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole．And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others．No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares．And the results can be everlasting．
16．Why was the bike so important to the couple?
A．The man’s job was bike racing． B．It was their only possession．
C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed． D．They used it for work and daily life．
17．We can infer from the text that ____________．
A．the couple worked 60 hours a week． B．people were busy before Christmas
C．the stranger brought over the bike D．life was hard for the young family．
18．How did people get to know the couple’s problem?
A．From radio broadcasts． B．From a newspaper．
C．From TV news． D．From a stranger．
19．What do the couple learn from their experience?
A．Strangers are usually of little help． B．One should take care of their bike．
C．News reports make people famous． D．An act of kindness can mean a lot．