Arthur sat at the desk in his room, pencil in hand. He had to write a story for his English class by Friday. “I don’t know what to write about,” he complained to his dog Toby, who was asleep at his feet. Arthur was talkative when speaking to his friends, yet he had trouble finding words when he had to write.
By bedtime Arthur had drawn a picture of Toby smiling. He had drawn a tree with its branches blowing in the strong wind. He had also written a note asking his friend Lee to go to the movies on Saturday. But he had not written a single word of his story.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Solomon, Arthur’s English teacher, asked the class to turn in the first draft of their stories. His heart sinking, Arthur turned in the only work he had—the page with his name, the drawings and the note.
Arthur wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Solomon asked him to stay after class the next day. But he was surprised by what she said to him. “This is an attractive story, Arthur. The dog, the movie, the tree in the wind—I can’t wait to find out how they all fit together.”
“That isn’t my story, Mrs. Solomon,” Arthur admitted. “I haven’t been able to think of one yet.”
“Oh, I think you have the seed(种子of a story there,” Mrs. Solomon replied, “Look at your note and the pictures and see if a story comes to you.”
That night Arthur sat at his desk, and this is what he wrote: “One Saturday Mike went downstairs to meet his friend Julio at the cinema. It looked as if it might rain, so Mike carried his umbrella. Suddenly a big storm blew in, bending the trees. The noise of the wind sounded like the barking of Mike’s dog Toby. Toby really hated storms and barked whenever he wanted to be let inside. Then Mike realized that it wasn’t the sound of the wind. It was Toby. The dog was running after him down the busy street, barking. The sound was filled with blame. Mike felt guilty because he had left Toby outside. He turned and headed home with Toby running beside him. Mike let Toby in the door just as the rain started to pour down.”
Arthur had a story in the end. The last thing he did was to write his name proudly at the top of the page.
【小题1】Why did Arthur turn in the page with only his name, the drawings and the note at first?

阅读理解

A driver stopped his car on a street side to have a rest. As he lay down in the seat and closed his eyes, a person came up and knocked(敲) at the window to ask the time. The driver opened his eyes and looked at his watch: “It’s 8:05,” he said. Then he went to sleep again. But soon he was waken up(被叫醒) again because a second person was knocking at the window. “Sir, do you know the time?” he asked. The driver looked at his watch again, and told him it was half past eight. In this way, the driver thought he could not have a good rest, so he wrote a short note(纸条) and stuck(贴) it on the window for all to see. It said, “I don’t know the time.” Again, he lay down in the seat for his sleep. A few minutes later, a third person came and began to knock at the window, “Hey, sir,” he said. “It’s a quarter to nine.”

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

1.How many persons asked the driver about the time?

2. The first person knocked at the window of the car _________.

3. Why did the driver write a note and stick it on the window?

4. The third person knocked at the window to __________.

5.  The driver ________ in his car.

　　Money doesn't grow on trees but sometimes a big family can help make it happen.

　　For years I wanted a flower garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant there. We had five children, Matthew, Marvin, Helen and the twins, Alisa and Alan. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

　　We didn't have much money or time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much. I'd have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.”

　　Finally, all the five finished high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking about having a garden again. I wasn't sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living with very little.

　　Then, one morning in spring, on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, l heard cars outside. I looked out of the window and saw a new tree planted right in my yard. I knew it was a weeping willow (垂柳), because I saw things blowing around on all of its branches (树枝). Then I put my glasses on and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard.

　　I went outside to look. It was true. There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped (绑) all over the tree. I could buy many flowers with one hundred dollars. There was also a note, “I still do something for you. Love, Marvin.” Marvin kept his words, too. He dug up a nice flower bed for me. My other children bought me tools and other things to help me, such as gardening books.

　　That was three years ago. My garden is now very pretty. It is just the way I wanted it. When I go out to take care of my flowers, I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they are right there with me.

　　I live quite far to the north, where winters are long and cold, and summers are much too short. But every year now, when winter begins, I look out of my window and think of the flowers. I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears (泪) in my eyes every time. I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does.

(1) What was the woman's dream?

[　　]

A．To have five children.

B．To have a money tree.

C．To have a flower garden.

(2) In the passage, the sentences “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees.” really mean ________.

[　　]

A．making money isn't very easy

B．they have no money tree in their yard

C．the children can see a money tree outside

(3) Marvin gave his mother a tree with much money in it, because ________.

[　　]

A．he had many money trees

B．he wanted to show his love to his mother

C．he wanted his mother to help him make more money

(4) Living with the beautiful garden, the woman ________.

[　　]

A．felt even lonely in winter

B．felt her children's deep love was with her

C．seemed to miss her children even more than before

(5) From the passage, we know that ________.

[　　]

A．having a money tree is a nice thing

B．the woman's children made her dream come true

C．the woman herself was rich enough to have a garden