We all have storms through our lives. But we have no right to make everyone else suffer with our own   31 .

The carpenter I   32  to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a(n)   33  first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his truck   34  to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony   35  .

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused   36   at a small tree,   37  tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door, he underwent a(n)   38  transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles, and he   39   his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

The next day my   40  drove me to ask him about what I had seen. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t   41  having troubles on the job, but the troubles don’t   42  to the house with my family. So I just   43  them up on the tree. Then in the morning I pick them up again.”

“  44  thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as   45  as I remember the night before.”

Putting   46  around our problems is a really good idea --- it prevents our difficulties from spilling over onto loved people, who can’t do anything about our problems. Why   47  them if they can’t help us?

So, plant yourself a trouble tree outside and use it   48   you come home. Be grateful that you have loved ones to go home to    49  your loved one is simply your beloved dog. And when you picked up your troubles on the way each morning, be   50  that they’re not as heavy as they were the night before.

1.	A．unhappiness B．mistakes C．helplessness D．carelessness

 

2.	A．informed B．hired C．trusted D．recommended

 

3.	A．enjoyable B．smooth C．rough D．dull

 

4.	A．intended B．desired C．hesitated D．refused

 

5.	A．amazement B．astonishment C．embarrassment D．silence

 

6.	A．regularly B．unusually C．briefly D．directly

 

7.	A．cutting B．damaging C．watching D．touching

 

8.	A．exciting B．amazing C．confusing D．annoying

 

9.	A．hugged B．greeted C．thanked D．waved

 

10.	A．preference B．sufferings C．curiosity D．doubt

 

11.	A．avoid B．consider C．continue D．stand

 

12.	A．lack B．belong C．exist D．stay

 

13.	A．set B．throw C．give D．hang

 

14.	A．Sad B．Terrible C．Funny D．Ridiculous

 

15.	A．many B．few C．good D．light

 

16.	A．defence B．boundaries C．sympathy D．secret

 

17.	A．burden B．equip C．expose D．entertain

 

18.	A．however B．whenever C．wherever D．whatever

 

19.	A．so long as B．now that C．even if D．in case

 

20.	A．shameful B．proud C．astonished D．grateful

 

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin （顽童） was walking around the shining car．“Is this your car, Paul?” he asked．

       Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas．” The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated．

       Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He wished he had a brother like that．But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly．

       “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that．” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”

       “Oh yes, I’d love that．”

       After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

       Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car．But Paul was wrong again．“Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked．

       He ran up to the steps．Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast．He was carrying his little crippled （残疾） brother．He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car．

       “There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs．His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent．And some day I’m going to give you one just like it… Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about．”

       Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car．The shining-eyed older brother climbed in and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride．

The street urchin was very surprised when __________．

       A．he saw the shining car

       B．Paul told him about the car

       C．he was walking around the car

       D．Paul received an expensive car

From the story we know that the urchin __________．

       A．wished to give his brother a car

       B．wished Paul’s brother to give him a car

       C．wished Paul could be a brother like that 

       D．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s 

The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______．

       A．to show he had a rich friend

       B．to show his neighbors the car

       C．to let his brother ride in the car

       D．to tell his brother about his wish

We can infer from the story that __________．

       A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin

       B．the urchin’s wish came true in the end

       C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother

       D．the urchin had a deep love for his brother

The best title for the story probably is __________．

       A．A Christmas Present       B．A Street Urchin

       C．A Brother Like That D．An Unforgettable Ride

The old couple who lived in a cottage on the edge of the village were envied for the happiness of their marriage． They never quarreled and were always affectionate to one another． Sadly, after thirty-four years of this happiness, the husband became ill and died．

The wife was overcome with grief． Her children tried to comfort her, but to no avail． Her neighbors tried to comfort her, but with similar lack of success． Weeks and months went by, and still the woman was grieving; tears fell down her cheeks from morning till night．

Then a holy man came to the village． People told him about the woman, and asked him to try to help her． The holy man went to the woman’s house． Dressed in his rough woolen robe, he sat down with the grieving widow and listened, carefully, to her story． When she had spilled out all her sorrow, he reached into one of the deep pockets in his robe, and drew out a tiny, little mustard（芥末） seed． “I think I may have a cure for your grief,” he said． “I want you to go round the people in this region, and look for a family that has no sorrows． When you find this family, give them this little mustard seed, and then come back to me．

The woman set off in search of such a family． She visited every home in the district, and talked to the people． She listened to their stories, just as the holy man had listened to hers． In time, she almost forgot about the mustard seed, because every single family she met was carrying some kind of sorrow．

One day, she happened to meet the holy man again, and he stopped to ask how she was feeling． She was surprised at first, at his question, and then she suddenly remembered the mustard seed, still safely in her purse． “I’m sorry, I haven’t found a family without sorrows yet,” she told him． “But you yourself are cured of your grief,” he smiled． “The mustard seed is a great healer!”

1.What does the underlined word “grieving” mean?

   A． amused        B． sad           C． angry         D． astonished

2.What did the holy man ask her to do to end her sorrow?

   A． to go to church for help．

   B． to live with the family that has no sorrows with the mustard seed．

   C． to help others so that she can feel the happiness from the bottom of her heart．

   D． to find a family that is always happy and give them the mustard seed before returning to him．

3.How did the woman treat the families she visited?

   A． She was a good listener．

   B． She helped them to solve the problems they met．

    C． She gave every family a mustard seed．．

   D． She told them her unfortunate story．

4.Who on the earth heals the woman’s grief?

   A． The mustard seed                B． Her children   

    C． The families in the district                      D． She herself

 

Mary will ever forget the first time she saw him. He suddenly appeared in class one day ,   16  (wear) sun glasses . He walked in as if he    17  (buy) the school ,And the word quickly got around that he was from New York City .

For some reason he sat beside Mary. Mary felt    18  (please), because there were many empty seats in the room .But she quickly realized that it wasn’t her, it was probably the fact that she sat in    19  last row.

   20   he thought he could escape attention by sitting at the back, he was wrong. It might have made it a little    21  (hard) for everybody because it meant they had to turn around, but that didn’t stop the kids in the class. Of course whenever they turn to look at him, they had to look at Mary ,   22   made her feel like a star .

“Do you need those glasses for medical reasons ?” the teacher asked .The new boy shook his head .”Then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t wear them in class .I like to look at your eyes when I’m speaking to you.” The new boy looked at the teacher    23   a few seconds and all the other students wondered    24   the boy would do .Then he took    25   off , gave a big smile and said “That is cool.”

 

Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.

“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast(自吹自擂).

“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in town!”

George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.

Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.

Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his former rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?

George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel(包裹) arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.

“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”

1.George and Richard were ________ at school.

A．roommates

B．good friends

C．competitors

D．booksellers

2. How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?

A．He envied Richard’s marriage.

B．He thought of Richard from time to time.

C．He felt lucky with no rival in town.

D．He was guilty(内疚) of Richard’s death.

3. George got information about Richard from ________.

A．a dictionary collector in Australia	B．the latter’s rivals Dylans
C．a rare first edition of a dictionary	D．the wrapping paper of a book

4.What happened to George and Richard in the end?

A．Both George and Richard became millionaires.

B．Both of them realized their original ambitions.

C．George established a successful business while Richard was missing.

D．Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success.