A man was exploring caves by the seashore when he found a bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls．It was like someone had   36   the balls and left them out in the sun to bake．

       They didn’t look like much, but they   37   the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him．As he walked along the beach, he   38   the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could．He thought little about it   39   he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open（裂开）on a rock．Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!   40  , the man started breaking open the   41   balls．Each contained a similar treasure．He found thousands of dollars’   42   of jewels in the 20 or so leftover ones．

       Then it   43   him．He’d been on the beach a long time, throwing maybe 50 or 60 of the balls, with their hidden treasure, into the   44  ．Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he  45   have taken home tens of thousands but he had just thrown it away!

       It’s like that   46   people．We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, but we   47   see the clay shell．It doesn’t look like much from the   48  ．It isn’t always beautiful or shining, so we   49   it．We see that person as less important than someone more   50   or stylish or well known or wealthy．But we haven’t taken the time to find the treasure   51   inside that person．

       There is a treasure in each and every one of us．If we take the time to get to know that person and ask God to show us that person the   52   he sees them, then the clay begins to   53   and the brilliant jewel begins to shine forth．May we not come to the   54   of our lives and find out that we’ve thrown away a   55   in friendships because the gems （宝石） were hidden in balls of clay! May we see the people in our world as God sees them．

A．invented     B．rolled          C．handled    D．bounced

A．confused       B．encouraged      C．interested  D．relaxed

A．dipped         B．pushed          C．kicked      D．threw

A．until          B．when           C．since     D．though

A．Frightened    B．Determined      C．Excited     D．Disappointed

A．shining        B．floating        C．surviving  D．remaining

A．worth         B．value         C．cost       D．wealth

A．shocked        B．rejected        C．struck       D．delighted

A．caves         B．waves           C．seashore    D．storms

A．might         B．must          C．could       D．should

A．with          B．towards        C．about     D．between

A．hardly         B．actually        C．simply      D．luckily

A．distance       B．outside         C．weight      D．pattern

A．removed           B．suspected      C．ignored     D．reserved

A．beautiful       B．cautious         C．positive    D．grateful

A．lost           B．hidden          C．divided     D．mixed

A．moment       B．point         C．degree      D．way

A．come off       B．break away      C．take over  D．fall down

A．sight          B．best           C．middle      D．end

A．relation        B．position         C．fortune     D．memory

 A friend of mine was sitting in the living room one day when his cat dragged in a little “gift” in its mouth—a dead animal of some sort. Taking a closer look, he was surprised to  36 it as the bunny(小兔子) that  37 Mary, the young daughter of the family next door. My friend felt  38 , believing his cat had killed Mary’s bunny.
My quick-thinking friend came up with a plan.  39  from the cat’s mouth the dead animal, which by now was a     40 mess, he put it in the kitchen sink. With a little warm water and some shampoo, he tried to  41 the dead bunny as best he could. Then he took a hair dryer and blowdried the bunny  42 it looked pretty good.
Finally, under the cover of darkness, he crept into the next-door garden and placed it  43 in the cage. He managed to make the bunny look very  44 there in his little box.
The next morning, my friend looked out of the window and noticed a crowd of people  45 around the rabbit hutch(笼). Everyone seemed to be talking and pointing. My friend  46 to go over and act like any normal  47 neighbor and find out what was going on.
When he got there, Mary’s mother said to my friend, “You won’t believe this! It’s a(n)   48 thing! Mary’s bunny  49 a few days ago, and we buried that little bunny right over there…”
Have you ever tried to cover up one wrongdoing with another? Covering up only makes matters  50 .
When we get caught doing something  51 , for example, we may  52 to cover it up with a lie. But just like Mary’s bunny, the result is  53 what we expected. We  54 looking foolish. We would have been better off admitting we were wrong and accepting the  55 . What do you think of it?

A dog who chewed off his owner’s infected toe（脚趾）while he was passed-out drunk has been called a lifesaver. Jerry Douthett had been out drinking when his dog Kiko bit off a large part if his big toe. His wife, Rosee, rushed him to hospital where tests showed the 48-year-old musician had dangerous high blood-sugar levels. Doctors told him his toe would have had to be cut off anyway.
Mr Douthett said he had refused to get medical advice despite his toe being swollen for months. “I was hiding it from people, Rosee included,” he said. “It smelled , and I look back now and realize every time we’d visit someone with a dog, their dog would smell all over my foot.”
The night before Mr Douthett had agreed to see a doctor, he passed out at home after going out drinking. He said, “I woke up and the dog was lying along side by foot. I said, ‘Ah, there’s blood everywhere.’ I ran to the bathroom and started to scream.”
However, he believes Kiko could sense the disease coming from his big toe. “He’s a hero,” Mr Douthett said. “It wasn’t an aggressive attack. He just ate the infection. He saved my life. He ate it. I mean, he must have eaten it, because we couldn’t find it anywhere else in the house. I look down. There’s blood all over, and my toe is gone.”
Before the operation, Mr Douthett asked a nurse, “Is there any chance I can get whatever’s left of my toe, so I can give it to Kiko as a treat?” Kiko is still with the family but is under observation by authorities.
【小题1】.Mr Douthett didn’t want to get medical treatment because ______ .

A few years ago I was on a bicycle trip when I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down on the grass. A few seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I got up and brushed them off. It was a strange experience but I soon forgot about it.
A couple of years later, I was living in Jordan. I had just moved into a modern flat and was unpacking plates when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at the kitchen drawer and there was a cockroach(蟑螂)crawling out of it. I screamed. Then I grabbed a can of insecticide and sprayed it on the cockroach. He ran under the nearby bathroom door. It took me three days before I found the courage to open the bathroom door to see if he was still alive. He wasn’t.
Why did I react so violently to one lone insect when a closer encounter with hundreds of ants hardly affected me? The answer is easy: because cockroaches are creepy(令人毛骨悚然的) crawlies and ants aren’t. Creepy crawlies are those little bugs which cause feelings such as anxiety - they make your skin crawl.
Did you know that some people feel such a fear of bugs that it becomes a phobia(恐惧症)? Psychologists have offered many explanations. Some say we associate them with dirt and disease. Or that these are life forms that are so alien to us, that we find them disgusting for their dissimilarity.
Insects, however, don’t follow our rules - they just do what they want and invade our space. Unfortunately, although insects and bugs have been a successful animal species up to now, many of them, like many other species nowadays, are under threat of dying out. Entomologistswarn that this could upset entire ecosystems and lead to all kinds of disastrous consequences.
So my advice to you is: the next time you feel the urge to stamp on, splatter or spray a creepy crawly, give a thought to the planet and stop.
【小题1】.. Why did the author mention the ants in the beginning?

A long time ago, there lived a poor man whose real name has been forgotten. He was little and old and his face was wrinkled, and that was why his friends called him Mr. Vinegar. His wife was also little and old, and they lived in a little old cottage at the back of a little old field.
"John," said Mrs. Vinegar, "you must go to town and buy a cow. I will milk her and churn（搅拌） butter and we shall never want for anything."
"That is a good plan," said Mr. Vinegar, so he started off to town while his wife waited by the roadside.
Mr. Vinegar walked up and down the street of the town looking for a cow. After a time, a farmer came that way, leading one that was very pretty and fat.
"Oh, if I only had that cow," said Mr. Vinegar, "I would be the happiest man in the world!"
"She's a very good cow," said the farmer.
"Well," said Mr. Vinegar, "I'll give you these 50 gold pieces for her."
The farmer smiled and held out his hand for the money, "You may have her," he said, "I always like to oblige（施恩惠） , my friends!"
Mr. Vinegar took hold of the cow's halter and led her up and down the street. "I am the luckiest man in the world," he said, "for only see how all the people are looking at me and my cow!"
But at one end of the street, he met a man playing bagpipes（风笛） . He stopped and listened -- Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dee.
"Oh, that is the sweetest music I ever heard," he said, "and just see how all the children crowd around the man and give him pennies! If I only had those bagpipes, I would be the happiest man in the world!!"
"I'll sell them to you," said the piper.
"Will you? Well then, since I have no money, I will give you this cow for them."
"You may have them," answered the piper, "I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away.
"Now we will have some music," said Mr. Vinegar, but try as hard as he might, he could not play a tune. He could get nothing out of the bagpipes but "squeak, squeak". The children instead of giving him pennies laughed at him.
The day was chilly and in trying to play the pipes, his fingers grew very cold. He wished he had kept the cow.
He just started for home when he met a man who had warm gloves on his hands. "Oh, if I only had those pretty gloves," he said, "I would be the happiest man in the world."
"How much will you give for them?" asked the man.
"Oh, I have no money, but I will give you these bagpipes," answered Mr. Vinegar.
"Well," said the man, "you may have them for I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar gave him the bagpipes and drew the gloves on over his half frozen fingers. "How lucky I am," he said as he trudged（跋涉） homeward. His hands were soon quite warm, but the road was rough and the walking hard. He was very tired when he came to the foot of the steep hill. "How shall I ever get to the top?" he said. Just then he met a man who was walking the other way. He had a stick in his hand which he used as a cane to help him along.
"My friend," said Mr. Vinegar, "if only I had that stick of yours to help me up this hill, I would be the happiest man in the world!"
"How much will you give me for it?" asked the man.
"Well, I have no money, but I will give you this pair of warm gloves," said Mr. Vinegar.
"Well," said the man, "you may have it for I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar's hands were now quite warm, so he gave the gloves to the man and took the stout（结实的） stick to help him along. "How lucky I am!'' he said as he toiled upward.
At the top of the hill he stopped to rest. But as he was thinking of all his good luck that day, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw only a green parrot sitting in a tree.
"Mr. Vinegar, Mr. Vinegar," it cried.
"What now?" said Mr. Vinegar.
"You're a dunce（傻瓜） , you're a dunce!'' answered the bird, "you went to seek your fortune and you found it, then you gave it for a cow, and the cow for some bagpipes, and the bagpipes for some gloves, and the gloves for a stick which you might of cut by the roadside. He He He, you're a dunce! You're a dunce!''
This made Mr. Vinegar very angry. He threw the stick at the bird with all his might. But the bird only answered, "You're a dunce! You're a dunce!" And the stick lodged in the tree where he could not get it again.
Mr. Vinegar went on slowly for he had many things to think about. His wife was standing by the roadside and as soon as she saw him, she cried out, "Where's the cow? Where's the cow?" "Well, I just don't know where the cow is," said Mr. Vinegar. And then he told her the whole story.
【小题1】What’s the meaning of the underlined word in the passage?