For years I wanted a garden．I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．
But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．
Money was not enough．Neither was time．Often when my children were little,
one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know．”
Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about a garden．
Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．There were things blowing around on it．       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(帐单), one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree．There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom．We love you!”
Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．A new page started in my life．
That was three years ago．My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they’re right there with me．Now every year when winter comes, 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 in my eyes—every time．
I’m still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!
【小题1】How many children did the writer have?

For years I wanted a garden．I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．

But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．

Money was not enough．Neither was time．Often when my children were little,

one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know．”

Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about a garden．

Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．There were things blowing around on it．       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(帐单), one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree．There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom．We love you!”

Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．A new page started in my life．

That was three years ago．My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they’re right there with me．Now every year when winter comes, 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 in my eyes—every time．

I’m still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

1.How many children did the writer have?

A．Three            B．Four             C．Five              D．Six

2.What did the mother mean when she said “Money doesn’t grow on trees”?

A．She was too busy to plant a money tree at that time．

B．She had to save money so that she could have a garden．

C．It wasn’t easy for her to make money to raise all the children．

D．They didn’t have much money because the mother lost her job．

3.The “money tree” appeared in the writer’s yard _________．

A．before her children were born

B．one spring morning when the children were little

C．after the children went to school

D．on a Mother’s Day after the children left her

4.The children planted a money tree in their mother’s yard because _________．

A．their mother needed money badly

B．they wanted to show their love to their mother

C．it was time for them to give the money back to her

D．they wanted to live together with their mother forever

Life used to be fine for “teenagers”．They used to have money to spend and free time to spend it．They used to wear teenage clothes in teenage coffee bars and discos．But for many young people，life is    1    now．Jobs are difficult to   2    ．There’s not so much money around．Things are more expensive and it's hard to get a place to   3    ．Teachers say that students are more willing to learn than used to．They are   4    interested in politics，but more interested in passing exams．They know that good exam results may get them   5    ．

    When you read newspapers and watch TV, it is easy to get the  6  that British young people are all unemployed．angry and in trouble． 7   that’s not true

    Three quarters of them do   8    their parents did．They do their best at school，find some kind of work and get    9     in their early twenties．They get along well with their parents and enjoy family life. They watch football on TV and like reading about Princess Diana. After all, if they  10   , they wouldn′t be British, would they?

1. A. harder         B. hard          C. the hardest       D. hardly

2. A. look           B. look for       C. find            D. offer

3. A. live            B. stay          C. live in          D. work in

4. A. more           B. much         C. most           D. less

5. A. a job           B. jobs          C. a work          D. works

6. A. mark           B. idea          C. riddle          D. mail

7. A. But            B. And          C. So             D. Or

8. A. that            B. which        C. what            D. /

9. A. marry          B. marrying      C. marry with      D. married

10. A. didn't          B. don't         C. weren't         D. aren't