They say money doesn’t grow on trees.  But it certainly appears to do so on the mysterious coin-studded  trunks around the UK’s woodland.  The strange phenomenon of old trees with coins embedded(镶嵌) all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands.

The coins are usually knocked into the trunks of the trees which were cut down using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune.

These fascinating spots often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark. The tradition of making offerings to spirits of trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare. 

It used to be believed that spirits lived in trees, and they were often decorated with sweets and gifts—as is still done today at Christmas. The act reminds us of tossing money into ponds for good luck, or the trend for couples to attach “love padlocks” to bridges and fences to symbolize lasting romance.

There are seven tree trunks with coins pushed into them in the unique village of Portmeirion, in Wales.

Meurig Jones, a manager at the tourist destination, told the BBC: “We had no idea why it was being done when we first noticed the tree trunk was being filled with coins. ” He also said: “I did some detective work and discovered that trees were sometimes used as ‘wishing trees’. In Britain it dates back to the 1700s—there is one tree in Scotland somewhere which apparently has a coin stuck into it. ”

He said that a sick person could press a coin into a tree and his illness would go away. “If someone then takes the coin out though, it’s said they then become ill. We haven’t announced it at all, it’s just happened, ”he added. “It’s quite amazing really. ”

56. What is the best title of the passage?

A. How to get good luck in Britain?

B. A fantastic way to recover from disease

C. Who says money doesn’t grow on trees?

D. Can the tree really bring you good luck?

57. The passers-by knocked coins into the trunks of the trees_______.

A. to get more money back

B. to ensure the trees are theirs

C. to attract the spirits of the trees

D. to pray for good luck

58. Which method of blessing is not mentioned in the passage?

A. decorating fences with sweets

B. pressing a coin into a tree

C. throwing money into ponds

D. attaching “love padlocks”

59. When did pressing coins into tree trunks begin?

A. about two hundred years ago

B. about three hundred years ago

C. about four hundred years ago

D. about five hundred years ago

60. From this passage we can learn_______.

A. seeing trees with coins in them is quite common in the UK

B. Jones understood why there were coins on trees from the start

C. Jones believes the wishing trees can bring people’s illness away

D. if someone takes the coin out,  he can get good luck soon

A Good Custodian

I know a woman who tries hard to be a good custodian．

I pass her every day after school as she pushes her cart down my

hallway．Of course, she is my building's cleaner,

One Tuesday morning I came into school and saw a 　36 on my

desk from my custodian,

It seemed that some unbearable first year students had damaged the bathroom in a particularly disgusting way and she had been 　37　 to clean it．This took　 38　 than she had expected． She had left the typewritten note on my desk to 　39 for not being able to clean my room as she was 　40　 to do．

At the beginning of the period, I shared her note with my first period　 41　 When I mentioned that our custodian had apologized to us, their first 　42 was to volunteer to seek out and beat up those first year students for making our custodian have to clean up their 　43　 . It turned out that just about all of my students also knew our custodian by name -all of them responded with smiles and 　44　 for a long time about this time or that time when she'd　 45 each of them in the hallway．That she felt she needed to apologize 　46　 a strong reaction from many of the kids．

As the class period was about to end, I asked them to　 47 the floor like I do every period and thanked them for picking up any garbage 　 48　 it wasn't theirs．My entire class disappeared; they each disappeared instantly　 49　 their desks to pick up those annoying tiny pieces of paper that 　50　 so easily from notebooks．One girl made a （an）　 51　 that I later used with my other classes:" Her job might be to clean the room, but she shouldn't have to clean up　 52 us．There's a difference．”

I believe that people know the difference between right and wrong．I believe that people appreciate it when others　 53　 take care of them．And I believe that people, even adolescents who are not quite yet mature, appreciate it when they see someone who takes 　54　 in her work． Sometimes we need a 　55　 of the things we take for granted ．．．things like a good custodian to take care of us．

36．A．paper　　　　　　　　 　 B．handbook　　　　 　　　 C．note　　　　　　 　　　　 D．letter

37．A．advised　　　　　　　 　 B．persuaded　　　 　　　 C．allowed　　　 　　　　 D．charged

38．A．shorter　　　　　　　 　 B．longer　　　　　　 　　　 C．mare　　　　　 　　　　 D．less

39．A．apologize　　　　　　 　 B．regret　　　　　　 　　　 C．appeal　　　　 　　　　 D．complain

40．A．recommended 　　　 B．believed　　　　　　　　 C．approved　　　　　　　 D．scheduled

41．A．class　　　　　　　　　　 B．colleagues　　　　　　　 C．staff　　　　　　　　　　　 D．members

42．A．answer　　　　　　　　　 B．reaction,　　　　　　　　 C．decision　　　　　　　　 D．behavior

43．A．room　　　　　　　　　　 B．desks　　　　　　　　　　 C．mess　　　　　　　　　　 D．chaos

44．A．talked　　　　　　　　　　 B．asked　　　　　　　　　　 C．quarreled　　　　　　　 D．discussed

45．A．visited　　　　　　　　　 B．called　　　　　　　　　　 C．praised　　　　　　　　　 D．greeted

46．A．made　　　　　　　　　　 B．showed　　　　　　　　　 C．earned　　　　　　　　　 D．accepted

47．A．sweep　　　　　　　　　 B．examine　　　　　　　　 C．check　　　　　　　　　　 D．mop

48．A．even if　　　　　　　　　 B．only if　　　　　　　　　　 C．if only　　　　　　　　　 D．if ever

49．A．above　　　　　　　　　　 B．under　　　　　　　　　　 C．beyond　　　　　　　　　 D．across

50．A．leave　　　　　　　　　　 B．fall　　　　　　　　　　　　 C．fly　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．miss

51．A．promise　　　　　　　　 B．agreement　　　　　　　 C．announcement 　　　 D．comment

52．A．after　　　　　　　　　　　 B．before　　　　　　　　　　 C．with　　　　　　　　　　　 D．for

53．A．freely　　　　　　　　　　 B．gently　　　　　　　　　　 C．hopefully　　　　　　　 D．sincerely

54．A．advantage　　　　　　　 B．pride　　　　　　　　　　　 C．action　　　　　　　　　　 D．chance

55．A．keeper　　　　　　　　 B．caretaker　　　　　　 C．reminder　　　　　　 D．observer

One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of  which  would be considered a very poor family. On their  return  from their trip, the father asked his son, “ How was the trip?”
“It was  great , Dad .”
“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah?” said the son.
“So what did you  learn  from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that  reaches  to the middle of our garden and they have a creek (小溪) that has  no  end. We have lanterns in our garden and they have the  stars  at night. We have a  small  piece of land to live on and they have fields that go  beyond  our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve  themselves . We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have  walls  around our property（财产） to protect us but they have friends to protect them.”
With this the boy’s father was  speechless .
Then his son  added , “Dad, thank you for showing me how  poor  we are.”
Too many times we  forget  what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s  priceless  object is another’s prize possession. It’s all  decided  on one’s perspective (视角). Think about what would happen if we all gave  thanks  for what we have,  instead of  worrying about what we don’t have.
Be thankful for every single thing in your life, exactly as it is now–and  especially  your friends. Be sure to take the time to express your appreciation and gratitude for the people whom you are close to.

It is a strange phenomenon that some young people today think it is their parents’responsibility to earn money and_______ to spend it.

It is a strange phenomenon that some young people today think it is their parents’responsibility to earn money and_______ to spend it.

　 A.them　　　 B.they　　　 C.their　　　　 D.theirs