A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. While creating roads in the soft sand, he   36  a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.

The boy   37  around the rock, managing to move it out from the dirt. With much   38 , he tried to push the rock out of the sandbox. When the boy got the rock to the edge(边缘) of the sandbox,   39 , he found that he couldn’t   40  it up and over the little wall. The rock was too   41  for his small body.

As he   42  to accept his failure, the little boy dug, pushed, and pried(撬动), but every time he thought he had made some   43 , the rock rolled and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy   44  again and again, but the only   45  was to have the rock roll back.

  46 , he burst into tears. All this time the boy’s father   47  him from his living room. The moment the tears fell, a   48  voice rose above the boy’s head. It was his father.  49 , but firmly(坚定地) he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the   50  that you had? The boy replied with tears, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I   51  all that I had!” “No, son, you didn’t,”  52  the father kindly. “You didn’t   53  me to help you.” With that the father picked up the rock and   54  it out of the sandbox.

Are you discovering that you don’t have the strength to move your “rocks” away? There is ONE who is always willing to   55  you with the strength you need. We also need that strength, especially in our daily life.

1.                A．hid            B．left            C．put  D．discovered

 

2.                A．walked         B．jumped         C．traveled  D．dug

 

3.                A．courage        B．pride           C．effort    D．pleasure

 

4.                A．however        B．still            C．thus D．even

 

5.                A．put            B．raise           C．take D．break

 

6.                A．large           B．difficult         C．hard D．much

 

7.                A．decided        B．refused         C．agreed   D．planned

 

8.                A．inventions      B．progress        C．mistakes D．changes

 

9.                A．tried           B．failed          C．thought   D．started

 

10.               A．success        B．goal           C．result D．wish

 

11.               A．Gradually       B．lately          C．Properly   D．Finally

 

12.               A．watched        B．helped         C．followed   D．taught

 

13.               A．loud           B．happy          C．sweet D．strict

 

14.               A．Angrily         B．Movingly       C．Suddenly  D．Gently

 

15.               A．knowledge      B．strength        C．tools  D．ability

 

16.               A．wasted         B．brought        C．used  D．carried

 

17.               A．replied         B．corrected       C．shouted   D．praised

 

18.               A．advise         B．force          C．ask   D．want

 

19.               A．collected       B．threw          C．chose D．broke

 

20.               A．provide        B．lend           C．show D．pass

 

 

A very little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him a plastic pail (桶) and a shiny, red plastic shovel (铲). In the  1  of creating roads and tunnels in the sand, he   2  a large rock in the middle of the sandbox.

The boy dug around the rock,  3  to move it off the dirt. At first, he wanted to carry it out of the sandbox with his hands; however, it was too heavy. Later, with much   4 , he pushed the rock across the sandbox by   5  his hands. When the boy got the rock to the   6  of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and   7  the little wall.   8 , the little boy pushed, but every time he thought he had made some   9 , the rock tipped (翻滚) and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy pushed and pushed, but his only   10  was to have the rock roll back.

Finally he  11  tears. All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window   12  the drama was unfolded. The moment the tears fell, a large   13  appeared across the sandbox. It was the boy’s father. Gently but   14 , he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had?”

Defeated, the boy   15  back, “I did! I did! I used all the strength that I had!”

“No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask me for help.” The father   16  down, picked up the rock and dropped it off the sandbox.

Do you have “rocks” in your life that need to be   17 ? Are you discovering that you don’t have   18  it takes to lift them? There is someone who is willing to give us the  19  we need. Maybe, it’s sometimes a good idea to ask others for   20  when we meet difficulties we can’t overcome.

1.                A．method        B．step           C．practice  D．process

 

2.                A．created        B．set            C．discovered    D．brought

 

3.                A．trying          B．managing       C．deciding  D．competing

 

4.                A．thought        B．struggle         C．movement D．worry

 

5.                A．touching        B．shaking         C．using D．controlling

 

6.                A．bottom         B．center          C．edge D．front

 

7.                A．over           B．down          C．through  D．into

 

8.                A．Doubted        B．Surprised       C．Pleased   D．Determined

 

9.                A．attempt        B．progress        C．effort    D．decision

 

10.               A．hope          B．reward         C．point D．purpose

 

11.               A．made out       B．broke out       C．burst into  D．rushed into

 

12.               A．so             B．as             C．until  D．before

 

13.               A．rock           B．picture         C．figure D．shade

 

14.               A．surprisingly     B．doubtfully       C．kindly D．firmly

 

15.               A．shouted        B．smiled         C．called D．asked

 

16.               A．reached        B．looked         C．fell   D．put

 

17.               A．pushed         B．dropped        C．carried    D．removed

 

18.               A．who           B．what           C．which D．where

 

19.               A．minds          B．spirits          C．force D．strength

 

20.               A．help           B．tips            C．advice D．ideas

 

 

Basil Hayward was a successful artist. He had nearly finished a picture of a very handsome young man called Dorian Gray. One day a friend of his, Lord Henry Wotton, saw the picture and wanted to meet this young man. A few days later, Lord Henry and Dorian Gray met at Basil’s house.

       “Ah, how lucky you are to be so young,” said Lord Henry to Dorian. “But time is your enemy.”

       “I wish I could always stay young and the picture could grow old. Oh, Basil, why should it stay young while I grow old? I wish the picture could change and I could stay as I am.” Dorian was beginning to fall in love with his own picture.

       A few weeks later, Dorian told Lord Henry that he was in love with a young beautiful actress, called Sybil Vane, who had a brother serving as a sailor.

       One night, Dorian took his friends to see Sybil acting as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. She acted badly, which made Dorian very angry with her. “But how can I pretend to be Juliet since I know what real love is?” she said. Dorian said that he had loved her because she was a good actress. Now he didn’t love her any more and so he left her.

       When he got back home, Dorian looked at his picture again. Somehow it was different. The face in the picture now had a cruel smile. He realized that he had been cruel to Sybil and would see her and make up for what he had done. But the next day, Lord Henry told him that Sybil had killed herself. When Lord Henry left, Dorian looked at the picture and found the face in the picture would become ugly, old and cruel.

       The years went by, but Dorian Gray stayed young and handsome. He enjoyed all the pleasures in his life. However, his picture changed and showed all the terrible secrets of his life. On Dorian’s thirty-eighth birthday, Basil Hayward came to see him. He was horrified when he saw the face in the picture and told Dorian to change his life. Suddenly, Dorian became very angry and took a knife and killed Basil.

       A week later, Dorian was in the country staying with some friends when he realized that the sailor, Sybil’s brother, was following him. The next day he went out walking with some of his friends who were shooting. His friend shot at an animal and there was a cry of a man. He killed the sailor. Dorian decided to change his life.

       “Maybe if I have a better life, the face in the picture will not be so ugly and horrible.”

       But when he looked at the picture, it was even more horrible than before. He decided to destroy the picture. He picked up a knife and stabbed（戳）the painting. There was a loud cry and a crash.

       The servants heard these and went into the room. On the wall they saw the picture of Dorian Gray as a young, handsome man. On the floor was a dead man, with a knife in his heart. It was the other Dorian Gray, and his face was old, ugly and horrible.

64. According to the story, Dorian’s wish that he could always stay young ________.

A. came true in his life                              B. brought him surprises one after another

C. brought him good luck                                 D. led to the loss of his girlfriend’s love

65. In Sybil’s opinion, ___________.

A. Dorian didn’t know what real love is

B. the love between Romeo and Juliet was unbelievable

C. She was, in fact, not a good actress

D. nobody could act Juliet very well

66. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?

A. Dorian really loved Sybil very much.            

B. Lord Henry had a great effect on Dorian’s life.

C. Lord Henry was always caring about Dorian.

D. Dorian killed Sybil’s brother by accident.

67. Which of the following do you think is the best title for the passage?

A. The Way to Stay Young Forever.                   B. A Person’s Real Beauty.

C. A Handsome Young Man.                       D. The Picture of Dorian Gray.

　　　 A light drizzle was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the Methodist Church, eager to get home and play with the presents that Santa had left for us and our baby sister, Sharon. Across the street from the church was a Pan American gas station where the Greyhound bus stopped．It was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door, huddled under the narrow overhang（屋檐） in an attempt to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I raced to keep up with Jill.

　 Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents' house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town，I noticed that the family were still there, standing outside the closed gas station.

　 My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents' house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, ‘‘I can't stand it!” ‘‘What?” asked my mother. ‘‘They've got children. It's Christmas. I can’t stand it.” When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children—two girls and a small boy. My father rolled down his window. “Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Howdy ,’’the man replied.

‘‘You are waiting for the bus?’’ my father asked.

The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and prospects of a job.

　 “Well, that bus isn't going to come along for several hours, and you're getting wet standing here. Winborn is just a couple miles up the road. They've got a shed with a cover there and some benches”. My father said. ‘‘Why don't you all get in the car and I'll run you up there.”

　 The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing.

　 Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three gloomy（郁闷的）faces gave him his answer.

　 “Well I didn't think so,” my father said, winking at my mother，“because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We'll just go to get them before I take you to the bus stop.”

　 All at once, the three children's faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.

　 When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jill's doll and immediately hugged it to her breast. I remember that the little boy grabbed Sharon's ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine.

All this happened a long time ago, but the memory of it remains clear. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.

56. According to the passage, what do we know about the family with three children?

A．They led a thrifty and simple life．

B．They were invited to another city．

C．Their living condition was quite poor．

D．They had missed a bus to Birmingham．

57．The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refers to　　　　　 .

　 A．the light drizzle

　 B．the annual Christmas dinner

C．one of American gas stations

D．the family standing outside the closed gas station

58．The three children of the family were gloomy probably because 　　　　　　．

A．they didn't have new clothes to wear

　 B．they hadn't got any present for Christmas

　 C．they were unwilling to move to another city

　 D．they worried about the friends they had made

59．Which of the follow words can best describe the father?

　 A．Kindhearted．　 　 B．Enthusiastic．

　 C．Energetic．　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Determined．

60．How did the children of the author's family look at the incident?

　 A．They considered it the most valuable experience in their life．

　 B．They were a bit annoyed because their gifts were taken away．

　 C．They treasured the experience which brought them pleasure．

D．They admired their father for his generosity and kindness．