In the very early 　1800’　s, a young boy about 14 years old named John lived in an orphanage (孤儿院) in Old England along with several other children. Orphan meant unwanted and unloved.

Christmas was the one day of the year when the children didn’t work and received a gift, an orange. Usually they tried to taste and preserve it for so long that it often rotted before they ever peeled(剥开)it to enjoy the sweet juice. Many thought were expressed as Christmas time approached. The children would say, “I will keep mine the longest.” John usually slept with his next to his pillow. This year John was overjoyed by the Christmas season. He was becoming a man and stronger and soon he would be old enough to leave. He would save his orange until his birthday in July.

Christmas day finally came. The children were so excited as they entered the big dining hall. Immediately the master shouted, “John, leave the hall and there will be no orange for you this year.” John’s heart broke violently wide open. He turned and went swiftly back to the cold room. Then he heard the door open and each of the children entered. Little Elizabeth with her hair falling over her shoulders, a smile on her face, and tears in her eyes held out a piece of rag to John. “Here John,” she said, “this is for you.” As he lifted back the edges of the rag he saw a big juicy orange all peeled and quartered and then he realized what they had done.

John never forgot the sharing, love and personal sacrifice his friends had shown him that Christmas day. In memory of that day every year he would send oranges all over the world to children everywhere.

1. The first paragraph is mainly to tell us that ______.

   A. John lived in the early 　1800’　s          B. John’s parents had died

   C. John lived a hard life in an orphanage   D. John lived with several other children　　

2. These children would be happiest when ______.

   A. they got the special gift                 B. they preserved it very long

   C. they finally enjoyed the sweet juice       D. they entered the dining hall

3. What would overjoy John most the next year according to the second paragraph?

   A. He placed his orange next to his pillow.

   B. He would eat his orange on his birthday.

   C. He wouldn’t get his special gift.

   D. He would stay in the orphanage for another year

4. According to the text, where did John’s orange come from this year?

   A. It was made up of what these children donated.

   B. His master gave him a whole one again.

   C. These children bought him one.

   D. Little Elizabeth donated hers to John.

5. What can be inferred from the text?

   A. John had expected he wouldn’t get the gift this year.

   B. John knew why he didn’t get the gift this year.

   C. John felt ashamed for not getting the special gift.

   D. The story teaches us to learn to share with others.

阅读理解

　　Tokyo: Three snakes, whose poison could kill a person in ten minutes, are guarding a blue star sapphire (蓝宝石)worth nearly six hundred thousand dollars at a Japanese exhibition of jewels sent from an Indian museum.

　　“Normally it would be forbidden to let these poisonous snakes guard exhibiton objects, but it's different this time because the jewels are being exhibited at a hotel. ”a police official said.

　　Exhibition officials said that a person bitten (咬)by one of these snakes would need at least 80m1 of an anti-poison medicine to be saved. Medicine was being kept ready at a nearby hospital.

　　The star sapphire and other valuable jewels worth a total of one million dollars are on show behind glass. Hundreds of visitors came to see the special blue star sapphire and were surprised when they saw the sixty-centimetre-long brown guards.

1．Using snakes at exhibitions of valuable objects is ________.

[　　]

A．quite normal

B．never allowed

C．often necessary

D．usually forbidden

2．The jewels were being shown in ________.

[　　]

A．an Indian hotel

B．an Indian museum

C．a Japanese hotel

D．a Japanese museum

3．Why were the snakes and jewels at the same exhibition?

[　　]

A．They were both special things from India.

B．The snakes were to keep the jewels safe.

C．The organizers wanted to do something unusual.

D．People liked to visit an exhibition guarded by snakes.

4．Many visitors came to the exhibition because ________.

[　　]

A．the snakes were on show

B．so many jewels were being exhibited

C．exhibition officials said it was special

D．they were interested in seeing a famous jewel

5．If the visitors were bitten by one of the poisonous snakes, he ________.

[　　]

A．would be saved by anti-poison medicine

B．would be dying soon

C．would feel nothing serious

D．would run away as soon as possible

　　There are thousands of products of all colors and shapes in a supermarket, making you believe that they are worth a try. How? Packaging（包装）is the silent but persuading salesman.

　　There on the shelves, each bottle, can, box, and jar has been carefully designed and measured to speak to the inner self of the consumer（消费者）, so that he is buying not only a product but also his belief in life. Scientists have studied consumer behavior recently and found that the look of the package has a great effect on the “quality”of the product and on how well it sells, because “Consumers generally cannot tell between a product and its package. Many products are packages and many packages are products,” as Louis Cheskin, the first social scientist studying consumers' feeling for packaging, noticed.

　　Colors are one of the best tools in packaging. Studies of eye movement have shown that colors draw human attention quickly. Take V8 for example. For many years, the bright red color of tomatoes and carrots on the thin bottle makes you feel that it is very good for your body. And the word “green” today can keep food prices going up.

　　Shapes are another attraction. Circles often suggest happiness and peacefulness, because these shapes are pleasing to both the eye and the heart. That's why the round yellow M signs of McDonald's are inviting to both young and old.

　　This new consumer response（反应）to the colors and shapes of packages reminds producers and sellers that people buy to satisfy both body and soul.

(1) According to the passage, ________ seems to be able to persuade a consumer to buy the product.

[　　]

A．the pleasing color of the package

B．the special taste of the product

C．the strange shape of the package

D．the belief in the product

(2) If a package or a product is round in shape, it can ________.

［　　］

A．bring excitement to the consumers

B．attract the consumers' attention

C．catch the eye movement of the consumers

D．produce a happy and peaceful feeling

(3) “And the word 'green' today can keep food prices going up.” This sentence suggests that consumers today are ________.

A．starting to notice the importance of new food

B．enjoying the beauty of nature more than before

C．beginning to like green vegetables

D．paying more attention to their health

(4) It can be inferred from the passage that V8 is a kind of ________.

[　　]

2.26-meter-tall Yao Ming made his NBA debut (初次登台) on October 23, 2002 and got 6 points for the Houston Rockets in the game. The next day, he got 13 points (得分)in another game.

Most people think that Yao Ming is a born basketball player. But Yao said, “When you watch it on TV, it looks very easy. But when you are playing in the NBA, it is really not so easy.” He said that joining the Houston Rockets was a new start and a new challenge. “I hope that through very hard work I can make everyone happy and help the Rockets win more games,” he said.

Yao Ming speaks some English. Both he and his teammates can understand each other. They don't think there is a language problem. While Yao Ming faces this new challenge（挑战）, the people of Houston have shown great interest in him and they hope Yao Ming will bring new energy (活力) to the Rockets. The team has started having lessons to learn more about China, and many people who work for the Rockets have learned to speak some Chinese.

Yao Ming got 13 points on October _____, 2002.

　A. 22　　　 　B.23　　　　C.24　　　　D.26

Yao Ming said that _____.

A. playing in the NBA was difficult   

B. it was hard to watch NBA games on TV

C. he was an NBA star　　 　　      

D. it was boring to play basketball

From the passage we can know that Yao Ming ________.

A. will work hard for his team　  

B. made the highest score in his first NBA game

C. can't understand his teammates 

D. teaches the Rockets workers Chinese himself

The passage is probably ______.

　A. an advertisement　  B. a notice   C. a news report　   D. an instruction