In front of the house _____ with a history of 100 years．

       A．does a tall stand                        B．stands a tall tree

       C．a tall tree is standing                       D．a tall tree stands

 They are leaving for Hangzhou in ten days —____, next Friday．

       A．in other words                         B．in many ways

       C．on the whole               '            D．on the contrary

 Finally his efforts _           and lie succeeded in holding the piano concert．

       A．paid for          B．paid out           C．repaid           D．paid off

 As they haven't a child of their own, they're going to          a little girl．

       A．accept         B．receive            C．adapt          D．adopt

 He insisted on going abroad to have further study __     his parents objection．

       A．by means of                          B．in favour of'

       C．regardless of                         D．for the purpose of

 Would it be _____ for you to pick me up at four o'clock and take me to the airport?

       A．free             B．vacant            C．handy           D．convenient

 —Sorry, I made a mistake again．

       —_____．Practice more and you'’ll succeed．

       A．Never mind                           B．Certainly not

       C．Not at all                              D．Don't mention it

       A boy selling magazines walked up to a house people seldom visited．The house was old and the owner  1came out．When he did come out he wouldn't say hello to anybody  2simply stared at them．

       The boy knocked on the door and __3__．As he was ready to   4away, the door slowly opened．"What do you want?" the old man said．

       "Uh, sir, I'm selling these magazines and I was  5if you'd like to buy one．" The old man  6stared at the boy．The boy could see the inside of the house and  7some dog figurines（小雕像）．"Do you  8dogs?" the boy asked．"Yes, I do．They're my family here and they're all I have．" The boy felt sorry for the man, as he seemed to be very   9．"I've a magazine here for collectors．It's perfect for you．I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much．" But the old man said, "I need   10of the magazines, now goodbye．"

       The boy was sad．He went home and then an idea   11to him．．He had a little dog figurine．He walked back to the old man's house with the  12．He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door．"Boy, I  13I told you no magazines．"

       "No, sir．I know that．I wanted to bring you a  14．" The boy handed him the figurine and the old man's face  15．"It's a Golden Retriever．I have one at home．

       This one is  16you．" The old man was  17; no one had ever shown him so much  18? "Boy, you have a big    19．Thank you!" From that day on the old man  20coming ont of the house and talking with people．

1.A．regularly              B．never            C．hardly         D．．nearly

2.A．but                 B．when            C．as              D．so

3.A．hurried               B．remained          C．waited           D．left

4.A．drive                 B．run               C．escape          D．walk

5.A．wondering            B．saying             C．doubting         D．hoping

6.A．ever       '          B．yet              C．still                 D．just

7.A．loved                B．noticed           C．contacted        D．sensed

8.A．help                 B．raise             C．collect         D．like ．

9.A．lonely                B．cruel             C．old            D．terrible

10.A．nothing             B．none             C．either           D．some

11.A．happened            B．reached           C．brought          D．occurred

12.A, fear                 B．magazine          C．figurine          D．idea

13.A, imagined              B．thought            C．wished          D．expected

14.A．friend              B．dog              C．gift             D．book

15.A．went up            B．turned up          C．grew up          D．lit up

16.A, with                 B．for              C．on            D．in

17.A．surprised            B．calm             C．disappointed       D．encouraged

18.A．pity                B．kindness           C．politeness        D．happiness

19.A．hand               B．eye               C．heart            D．head

20.A．continued            B．started            C．avoided          D．risked

       Everybody has had at least one experience from which he knows the meaning of life．This time, which took place several years ago, but seems as if it just happened．

       On an afternoon several years ago, my brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's dress and picked out a beautiful skirt．"Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago．She never wore it．She was saving it for a special occasion．" he said．I guess this was the occasion: it was the funeral (葬礼) of my sister, after her unexpected death．

       He took the shirt and put it on bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the funeral．Then he closed the drawer and turned to me, "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion．Every day you're alive is a special occasion．"

       I'm thinking about his words, and they've changed the way I live my life．I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings．Whenever possible, life should be a kind of experience to enjoy, not to suffer．"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their importance on my vocabulary．If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, ! want to see．and hear and do it now．

       Ever since that day, I have been trying very hard not to put off, hold hack or save anything that would ad<l laughter and color to our lives．Every morning when 1 open my eyes．1 tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath, truly is a gift．So cherish every day and find the true meaning of your life．

1.Why did Jan buy the beautiful skirt but didn't wear it?

       A．She waited for a special occasion to wear it on．

       B．She wanted to keep it for someone else．

       C．She saved it till she grew up．

       D．She would give it to herself as a gift some day．

2.What does the underlined word "cherish" mean?

       A．Treasure．     B．Waste．          C．Own．               D．Save．

3.From his experience, the author learns that _______．

       A．everybody can have a happy life through efforts

       B．every day in our lives is worth cherishing

       C．enjoying ourselves is the most important thing in our lives

       D．everybody will have some things left to do after his death

4.What does the author write this passage for?

       A．To show how to make good use of everyday in life．

       B．To explain the true meaning of his brother-in-law's words．

       C．To tell people to cherish every day and find the meaning of life．

       D．To encourage people to waste time and enjoy themselves in life．

5.What's the best title for this passage?

       A．Every Day Is a Gift

       B．My Sister Jan

       C．What Is the Meaningful Life Like

       D．The Most Important Time in Your Life

       When Charles Stratton was five, he stopped growing．His mother took him to see the famous showman, P．T．Barnum, and thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show．He hired Charles' parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together．

       He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb．He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes．When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads．To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.

       Tom's act was very popular and brought in a lot of money．By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich．He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five．

       Fortunately for Tom, Mr．Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well．One of the little people was Lavonia Warren, a school teacher．Tom was able to win her love, and they married．

       The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town．They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about, two thousand guests．Crowds filled the．Street of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage．The．couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom's house in Connecticut．

       Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war．Not willing to let．this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country held Tom Thumb' s weddings．In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun．

1."the talk of the town" means _______．

       A．they were in the newspaper

       B．people spread mean rumors about, them

       C．they were the most popular things happening

       D．they were discussed in a city meeting ?     

2.What does the author think about Tom-Thumb’s wedding?

       A．People gave it too much of their attention.

       B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time．

       C．It was funny and ridiculous．

       D．Tom and Lavonia were stupid．

3.Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?

       A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five．

       B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age．

       C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon．

       D．He married a school teacher．

4.It was very funny when Tom danced on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because _____．

       A．the wooden plate would make it sound as of Tom were tap dancing

       B．it made Tom feel taller

       C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted

       D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller

5.What does the author imply in the last paragraph?

       A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine．

       B．People are always disappointed during wartime．

       C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose．

       D．People should be married even if they are small．