One afternoon, my son came home from school and asked me, “Are all people the same even if their skin color is different?” I thought for a moment, then I said, “I’ll explain. Let’s go to a fruit store first. I have something interesting to show you.”

At the store, I told him that we needed to buy apples. And we bought some red apples, green apples and yellow apples.

After we got home, I told Adam, “It’s time to answer your question.” I put one of each type of apple on the table: first a red apple, followed by a green apple and then a yellow apple. Then I looked at Adam, who was sitting on the other side of the table.

“Adam, people are just like apples. They come in different colors, shapes and sizes. See, some may not even look as delicious as others.” As I was talking, Adam was examining each one carefully.

Then, I took each of the apples and peeled them, placing them back on the table, but in a different place.

“OK, Adam, tell me which one is the red apple, the green apple and the yellow apple.”

He said, “I can’t tell. They all look the same now.”

“Take a bite(一口) of each one. See if that helps you tell which one is which.”

He took big bites, and then a huge smile came across his face. “People are just like apples! They are all different, but if you take off the outside, they’re pretty much the same on the inside.”

“Right,” I agreed. “Just like everyone has their own features but they are nearly the same.”

He completely got it. I didn’t need to say or do anything else.

Now, when I eat an apple, it tastes a little sweeter than before. What perfect fruit it is!

1. I took Adam to buy apples for         .                    

   A. supper           B. his question          C. a party     D. a present

2. As soon as we got home, I put          on the table.

A. all the apples                    B. three apples of different colors

C. three red apples                  D. three peeled apples

3.After Adam took big bites, he found they         .

A. looked the same     B. tasted good           C. tasted the same    D. weren’t delicious

4.In the end, Adam understood that         .

A. people are much the same even if their skin color is different

B. people are different if their skin color is different

C. the apples look the same after they are peeled             

D. apples of different colors taste different

5. I feel that apples taste a little sweeter than before because         .

A. they are delicious enough           B. they are perfect fruit for thinking

C. they are safe fruit                D. my son falls in love with them

When I was about 12 years old, I really wanted a new bike, but I knew there was little hope because my family could  36  have that money.

On my birthday, my parents told me they had my  37  outside in the back yard. At once I  38  out to the yard. There was my bike,  39  it wasn’t the bike that I thought it would be. This one was pink, old and worn with age. I thought I  40  my parents’ feelings because I could see the disappointment  41  their faces and I was sure they could see it on mine. I got on the old bike and rode it, feeling  42  that I had made my parents feel this way. So I put on a smile, rode as fast as I could and didn’t look back.

As time went by, I began to understand my parents gave me  43  much more than just a rusty（生锈的）old bike. They gave me a life lesson about  44 . When you give something out of love, it doesn’t matter what it is in fact. What matters is the love that is in it. I like to remember this  45  because giving a gift is not about money. It’s about how much love you can feel from it. Do remember, a gift that costs two dollars isn’t any less valuable than one that costs one hundred dollars, or even more.

1.A. hardly                         B. quickly                      C. easily

2.A. card                       B. gift                         C. cake

3.A. rushed                         B. rode                         C. came

4.A. and                            B. or                           C. but

5.A. liked                      B. hated                        C. hurt

6.A. on                             B. in                           C. at  

7.A. surprised                  B. excited                      C. bad

8.A. everything                     B. nothing                      C. something

9.A. love                       B. money                        C. knowledge

10.A. idea                      B. story                       C. advice

I like taking a long walk in the nature park. I do that    1  . It really makes a great    2   to the whole day! I usually walk up this nice long road. It’s so quiet and pleasant    3   there are so many green trees.
This morning, I walked on that road as usual.    4   I was walking back down the road, on my way back    5   the car, I met a man. I saw him    6  
on the grass by the roadside. He was breathing(呼吸) really    7  . I asked if he was OK. He said he was    8   tired to walk anymore. I thought he needed some    9  . So I began to look for some clean water.    40  , there weren’t any places to get water in    11   a nature park. I walked back to my car    12  
to see if there was some. Because I sometimes bring bottled water and leave    13  
in my car. Thankfully, I found some today.
Instead of (代替) drinking it myself, I drove back to the man and gave him my bottle of water. Then I gave him a    14   back to his car. He was so thankful! I could tell he was very happy and surprised that someone was    15   to come back for him and give him some water. And also, I was very happy that I could share my water with others.

 Many famous people had dreams when they were young. They often worked hard to make their dreams come true.

When I was only 13 years old, I first thought about what I should do in the future. I used to dream about being a basketball player, a soccer player, or a baseball player. However, I gave up these dreams because I was too short. Then I thought about going into music, so I bought a guitar. But I couldn’t play it very well. Then I had to give up my dream again. After that I thought about being a reporter and I worked really hard at it. At the age of 25, my dream came true and I became a reporter.

Finally, I learned the truth about making dreams come true. I should never give up and I must work hard.

Answer the questions according to the passage.

1.How old was the writer when he first had a dream?

2.Why did he give up being a basketball player?

3.How many dreams did he give up?

4.Did his dream come true at last?

5.What can you learn from this passage?

There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know how to be a good father. I couldn’t  16  him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “  17 ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a  18 . Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad — he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.
So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and  19  every penny I could and when I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to  20  it off to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, you only need to pay me five dollars.” I offered with a smile.
“I see,” was all he said.
One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a  21  to work. The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house,   22  it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a hot day. As my dad got out of my car, I   23  him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his  24  from the truck (车尾箱) of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were 25  lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher(水泥修整工).
Suddenly, it came up with me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete(混凝土) to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out,  26 hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him   27  about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he ask us to pay for it.
When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to   28  me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my __29__. Don’t work too hard. I love you.”
His eyes met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he   30  his throat(喉咙) and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”