When my first wartime Christmas came, I was in basic training in New Jersey and not sure if I could make it home for the holidays. Only on the afternoon of December 23 was the list of men who would have three-day passes (通行证) posted. I was one of the lucky soldiers.

    It was Christmas Eve when I arrived, and a light 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 (装饰物) 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 you called--- oh, 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 Krystal Star was in its place. A few green branches reached about a little awkwardly (不够美观地) 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 pleasant smell of Christmas.

    “It’s not like the ones 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. But I couldn’t be picky.”

    “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.

From the passage, we can infer that ________.

A. the writer spent his Christmas during the war

B. soldiers did not all go home for Christmas during the war

C. all the soldiers had three-day passes 

       D. the writer could not go home for Christmas

When the writer got home, ________.

A. it was December 23  

B. it was snowing heavily

C. he found a Christmas tree in the living room      

D. the Gates boy was cutting a Christmas tree for his mother

From the passage, we can conclude that ________.

A. the writer used to cut very beautiful Christmas trees                  

B. his mother didn’t like perfect trees                

C. his mother didn’t want to have a tree   

D. the writer wouldn’t have a tree cut by someone else

“All Christmas trees are perfect”, because they can remind you of ________.

A. the wartime              B. the green of a pine      C. the pleasant smell    D. the sweet home

The best title for this passage would be “________”.

A. How to Choose a Christmas Tree                B. How Soldiers Spent Christmas     

C. The Perfect Christmas Tree                           D. The Christmas Without a Tree

Once many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming. Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide. In closing she called me a hero.
That got me thinking about what a hero is. Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someone’s life?
Today I looked up the word “hero” in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant. It read “a person who does something brave” and also “a person who is good and noble”.
That statement impressed me more than the part about being brave. So I thought about something very important. And I remembered what happened to me years ago.
After my marriage of twenty years ended, I was in such a condition. I was within hours trying to get up enough courage to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they would appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.
The many stories I kept writing in the following years saved the life of a teenage boy. In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero. I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages (孤儿院). Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and bitter attitude against the world. The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten. Hopefully, most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared. If it works, we will also become "heroes".
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is _______________.

Ⅱ. 阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从第21 — 40各题所给的四个选项（A 、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卷上将该项涂黑。
I stood there listening to dad’s severe words. He gathered us into our yard and had the look on his face that told us one of us did something   21  .
We stared down at the floor containing the art of a child’s   22   in chalk. I suppose that was a no-no for us, though I can’t say I quite   23   the result when I was committing the crime. All the others denied (否认). I stood there,   24   inside. The only words that came from my mouth were, “ Not me, dad. ” I couldn’t find the   25   to tell the truth. Lying was not   26   for me. But the look on dad's face scared me.
Without saying a word, dad   27   for only a few minutes and came back with paper and a pencil. He was so   28   to find the truth! “ I want each of you to write   29   what you see on the floor. ” I was not a   30   kid, though and when my turn came, I wrote the words   31  . So when my dad compared the handwriting, he still   32   tell the truth.
“ I will give you one more chance to confess (承认) ”, he said. Not   33  , no one spoke up.
Should I say something? I guess he’ll be   34  ! So again, I held my   35  . “ Well, if someone came forward, there would be   36   punishment.” he added. Oh, no! I’ve lost my last chance!
He took us into the house. “  37   none of you confessed, then you all get a spanking (打屁股).” 
“ I did it, ” someone said. I looked around to see my sister come   38  . My sister was going to get spanked. And I let it   39  .
I didn’t tell the truth until years later. When I think back to that day, I know I learned the   40 
of family, of a sister who would do anything for me. And I would do the same for her now.
21. A. special          B. funny          C. wrong          D. useless
22. A. handwriting           B. map            C. calculation        D. drawing
23. A. understood      B. remembered      C. accepted        D. expected
24. A. cheering        B. imagining      C. trembling         D. wondering
25. A. courage              B. time            C. way            D. chance
26. A. unusual        B. unfit             C. normal                D. difficult
27. A. walked           B. disappeared     C. hid                   D. escaped
28. A. afraid           B. determined     C. surprised        D. proud
29. A. similarly       B. carefully       C. particularly      D. exactly
30. A. smart           B. stupid          C. naughty               D. lovely
31. A. differently            B. strangely        C. quickly          D. quietly
32. A. would not       B. might not            C. could not              D. need not
33. A. excitingly      B. disappointingly         C. interestingly      D. surprisingly
34. A. mad           B. curious        C. delighted              D. amused
35. A. breath         B. face           C. hand           D. tongue
36. A. heavy         B. much          C. new              D. no
37. A. Since          B. Although       C. Unless          D. While
38. A. out            B. forward         C. in                    D. round
39. A. remain         B. exist           C. happen          D. do
40. A. knowledge     B. use             C. sense            D. value

— You can't finish the book in less than an hour,I suppose?

—        .

A. Yes, I'm sure I can           B. No, hardly

C. Sorry, I can't                D. I don't think I can

Many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming. Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide. In closing she called me a hero.

That got me thinking about what a hero is. Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someone’s life?

Today I looked up the word “hero” in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant. It read “a person who does something brave” and also “a person who is good and noble”.

That statement impressed me more than the part about being brave. So I thought about something very important. And I remembered what happened to me years ago.

After my marriage of twenty years ended, I was in such a condition. I was within hours trying to get enough courage to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they would appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.

The many stories I kept writing in the following years saved the life of a teenage boy. In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero. I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages (孤儿院). Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and bitter attitude against the world. The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten. Hopefully, most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared. If it works, we will also become "heroes".

1.The main idea of the passage is _______________.

A. why the writer should be a hero       B. what a hero exactly is

C. whether the writer is a hero          D. that everyone is a hero

2.Why did the woman call the writer a hero at the end of the call?

A. Because he asked her son not to kill himself.

B. Because he saved a family from a burning car.

C. Because his story saved her son’s life.

D. Because he was cute and kind to everybody.

3.What does the underlined word “it” in the last sentence of Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. The wonderful card the writer received.

B. The action of sending the card.

C. The fact that the sender helped the writer.

D. The fact that the sender was a friend of the writer.

4. What’s the writer’s attitude to “brave people”?

 A. neutral          B. supportive      C. objective       D. irony