Interest is as_______to learning as the ability to understand,even more so.

A．vital              B．available          C．specific           D．similar

Silence is unnatural to man．He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness．In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else．Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence．If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox（喋喋不休的人）.He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure（蜡塑人像）.

The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito （蚊子）.But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing -with his neighbors.

Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel. At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists.

1.According to the passage, people usually talk to their neighbors_____.

A．in the hope of learning something new

B．in the hope of getting on well

C．about whatever they have prepared

D．about whatever they want to

2.According to the author, people make conversation to______.

A．achieve success in life

B．exchange ideas

C．overcome their fear of silence

D．prove their value

3.What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?

A．To persuade people to stop making noises．

B．To explain why people keep talking．

C．To discuss why people like talking about weather．

D．To encourage people to join in conversations．

4.By "the buzzing of a fly"(Para.1), the author means"_____".

A．the voice of a chatterbox

B．meaningless talk sound

C．a low whispering

D．the noise of an insect

― Doesn't this bus go to the park?
― ________.
  A. Yes, we do                  B. No, this is as far as we go
  C. You're welcome        D. I 'm very sorry

Since people are fond of humor, it is as welcome in conversation as _______ else.

A．anything          B．something         C．anywhere         D．somewhere

When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I would make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have the three-day holiday posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers. It was Christmas Eve when I arrived home, and a little snow had fallen. Mother opened the front door. I could see beyond her, into the corner of the living room where the tree had always stood. There were lights, all colors, and ornaments (饰品) shining against the green of a pine.

"Where did it come from?" I asked.

"I asked the Gates boy to cut it," my mother said. "I wouldn't have had one just for myself, but when in great need... such a rush! He just brought it in this afternoon."

The pine reached to the proper height, almost to the ceiling, and the Tree Top Crystal（水晶） Star was in its place. A few green branches reached out a little awkwardly（难看） at the side, I thought, and there was a bit of bare trunk showing in the middle. But the tree filled the room with warm light and the whole house with the pleasant smell of Christmas.

"It's not like the one you used to find," my mother went on. "Yours were always in good shape. I suppose the Gates boy didn't know where to look for a better one. But I couldn't be fussy(挑剔的)."

"Don't worry," I told her. "It's perfect."

It wasn't, of course, but at the moment I realized something for the first time: All Christmas trees are perfect.

What did his mother's Christmas tree look like?

From the passage we can infer (推断) that______.

A. all the soldiers had the three-day holiday

B. the writer could not go home for Christmas

C. the writer spent his first Christmas during the war

D. not all the soldiers went home for Christmas during the war

From the passage, we can conclude that ______ .

A. his mother didn't like Christmas trees

B. the writer didn't like the tree cut by someone else

C. the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees

D. his mother didn't want to have a Christmas tree during wartime

The best title for this passage would be ______.

A. The Perfect Christmas Tree

B. How to Choose a Christmas Tree

C. How Soldiers Spent Their Christmas

D. A Christmas with an Ugly Christmas Tree

What does the writer mean by saying “All Christmas trees are perfect”?

A. Nothing is as perfect as Christmas.

B. Once at home, everything is so nice.

C. During the war, trees are hard to find.

D. All Christmas trees are the most beautiful.