One day when some government officials(官员) were building a barn(谷仓), they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to make the mice inside the hole come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing(挤)out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they didn’t run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.

Everyone was puzzled(困惑), so they stepped near to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and couldn’t see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to escape.

After seeing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.

One serious American official said, “I think the relationship between those mice was that of king and guard(卫兵).” The other thought for a while and said, “That is why!”

A smart Frenchman said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife.” Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense.

A Japanese said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son.” Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed(表达) agreement another time.

At that moment, one Chinese asked, “Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?”

Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and stayed speechless. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame(羞愧), and did not dare to answer.

In fact, the true love is not built on friendship, loyalty(忠诚) or blood relationship.

Instead, it is based on no relationship.

1.Neither of the two mice ran away immediately because ________.

A.one was biting the other

B.the mouth of the hole was too small

C.they were not afraid of smoke

D.one was trying to help the blind one

2. Why did the officials lower their heads in shame according to the passage?

A.They didn’t dare to answer.

B.They didn’t realize the importance of protecting animals.

C.They felt sorry they had driven a poor blind mouse away.

D.They didn’t express themselves much better.

3.It is clear that ________.

A.all the mice came out of the hole easily

B.each of the people understood the relationship differently

C.the people wanted to kill the mice with smoke

D.the people knew one of the mice was blind at first

4.The words “it made sense” probably mean ________

A. it was correct                   B. it was strange

C. it was funny                 D. it was sweet

5.The best title for the passage is ________.

   A. Two Lovely Mice               B. Help Produces Love

   C. Love Is All                   D. Friends in Need

An old farmer lived with his little grandson. Every day the farmer got up early to read books.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I want to read books just like you, but I don’t understand them. What are the advantages of reading?” The grandfather said, “Take this litter basket to the river and bring me back a basket of water.” the boy did, but all the water leaked out（漏出）before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “ You’ll have to walk faster next time.”
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. The boy said, “ See, Grandpa, it’s useless（无用的）!”
“You think it is useless?” the old man said. “ Look at the basket.”
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he found that the basket was different. It was cleaner, inside and out.
“That’s what happens when you read books. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read them, you will be changed, inside and out.”
【小题1】Who did the old farmer live with?
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【小题2】What did the old farmer do every morning?
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【小题3】Did the grandson know the advantages of reading at first?
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【小题4】What did the grandfather ask his grandson to do?
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【小题5】How was the basket after the grandson took water with it?
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One Sunday morning, Millie and Amy went to Sunshine Park. They love to chat there. As usual, they sat ___1____a big tree. Suddenly, they heard a whistle from the bushes behind the tree. They turned around but could not see anything unusual. They were ____2______.

“Is   3  there?” Millie asked. Nobody answered. They  4 very carefully and heard the strange noise again. The two girls were very afraid. They ran away quickly. On their way, they met Andy.

“What happened?” Andy asked. “There’s a ghost in the  5 . Please help us.” Millie said. “Really? Tell me more.” Andy said. Millie told Andy everything. Andy went to the park,  6  beside the tree and listened carefully. Then he heard  7 noise! He looked behind the tree and heard another whisper. He was now sure the sound  8 from the bushes. He searched carefully.

“Oh! Here it is.” Andy said to himself. He  9 a little cat in the bushes. It was very weak. When it meowed,   10 made a sound like a whisper.

The family man?
Father was a hardworking man who tried his best to support his wife and three
children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself
so that he could one day find a better-paid job, except for Sundays. Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted
to provide his family with the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed with a good mark! Soon after , he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor (主管), which paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to get the position of manager. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
Father’s hard word paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid
so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room flat was not longer big enough, and it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a condominium(公寓). Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father decided to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him again.
As expected, father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium near the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening in their new home, father told his family that he had decided not to take any more courses or pursue(追求) any more promotions. From then on he was going to spend more time with his family.
Father did not wake up the next day.
【小题1】Father worked seven days a week, didn’t he ?
【小题2】Why did father work and study hard?
【小题3】What was father’s first well-paid job?
【小题4】What did the family complain about father?
【小题5】Where did father manager to buy a beautiful condominium for his family?
【小题6】Do you want to have the “father”in your family? Why or not?