A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).
The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.
The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.
【小题1】Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).

The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.

The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.

1.Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

2.The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．

3.When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.

4.What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?

A long time ago, in an Italian city, the people there built a tower which was admired by everyone passing through. A little further down the road, in a neighboring city, they had built a tower of similar beauty. The two towers were equally well known. The people of the second city, envious (妒忌的) and filled with pride, planned to destroy the neighboring tower so it wouldn’t take attention away from their own. One night, they came to the tower and began to quietly undermine its foundations(地基).

The next morning, the tower was leaning(倾斜) slightly ,but nobody noticed. The same happened for the following few days, until a little girl who was passing by pointed up at the tower and said: “ I think the tower is going to fall down.” And everyone around looked closely, and could see that she was right .Nervousness spread through the city. And they tried many methods to try to straighten the tower, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until one day when the same little girl was walking up again, and she put her arm on the side of the tower to rest. She felt the tower shaking slightly. When she took her hand off it, the movement stopped. And when she put it back on again, the same thing happened. The girl spent a while doing this, until she was completely certain of what she had discovered: “ The tower is ticklish ( 怕痒的) ！” She ran to get some plants, and she planted them right next to the tower. Now if the tower leant over any further it would be tickled by the leaves of those plants. Being a ticklish tower, it would then return to where it had been. In this way, the girl managed to make sure that the tower didn’t fall down, but still kept it leaning a little.

The fact that it was leaning made it even more famous, and this taught a fine lesson to the envious people of the neighboring city.

63. Why did the people of the second city plan to destroy the neighboring tower?

A. Because the tower blocked the way of their tourists.

B. Because the tower had the same building style as theirs.

C. Because they hoped that the tower could lean slightly.

D. Because they hoped that visitors just liked their own tower.

64. The underlined word“undermine”（in Paragraph1）probably mean “_________”．

A. test　 B. raise　 C. damage　 D. strengthen

65. When local people heard the news that their tower was going to fall down, they were _________.

A. very anxious

B. very happy

C. very ashamed of themselves

D. angry at the people in the neighboring city

66. What lesson can we learn from the practice of the envious people in the neighboring city?

A. All that ends well is well.

B. Every dog has his day.

C. A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

D. A friend is never known till a man has need.

Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family were all back home in Florida, leaving me 36 in a rather cold California. I was working at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter. It was about 9:00 P.M. on Christmas Eve, and there were a few of us 37 and very few customers waiting to be 38 . When the next person came to the counter, I 39 to see a very old man, whose leg was wrapped in a bandage(绷带) ,standing with a stick. He walked very 40 over and in a low 41 told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him there were no more 42 that night and that he would have to wait till the 43 .

Later, I 44 this old man was Mr. MacDonald and that his relative 45 him off at the sidewalk on Christmas Eve and told him to go to New Orleans, where he had his family. He was given some 46 and told just to go inside and buy a ticket. When 47 if he could come back tomorrow, he said that he had no place to 48 in here and he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. I felt a little ashamed. The poor old man now 49 me of what being alone really meant.

I never really had a 50 like this, and I was feeling really miserable inside. I went back and told my supervisor(主管) about it, who promised to 51 everything. To my great 52 , the next morning we 53 to get him a ticket and took him to wait for the plane. As he left he said, “Thank you”; then he 54 his head and started to cry. Seeing this, my homesickness began to disappear.

From the experience I learned a 55 : He who helps others gets helped himself.

36.　 A. unbearable　　　　　　 B. hopeless　　　　　　　　 C. lively　　　　　　　　　　 D. alone

37. A. working　　　　　　　　 B. chatting　　　　　　　　 C. leaving　　　　　　　　　 D. moving

38. A. invited　　　　　　　　　 B. helped　　　　　　　　　 C. greeted　　　　　　　　　 D. passed

39. A. pulled up　　　　　　　 B. turned up　　　　　　　 C. looked up　　　　　　　 D. woke up

40. A. swiftly　　　　　　　　　 B. slowly　　　　　　　　　 C. unwillingly　　　　　　 D. wildly

41. A. position　　　　　　　　 B. manner　　　　　　　　　 C. voice　　　　　　　　　　 D. degree

42. A. flights　　　　　　　　　 B. hotels　　　　　　　　　　 C. buses　　　　　　　　　　 D. passengers

43. A. morning　　　　　　　　 B. afternoon　　　　　　　 C. evening　　　　　　　　 D. dusk

44. A. suspected　　　　　　　 B. insisted　　　　　　　　　 C. agreed　　　　　　　　　 D. learned

45. A. turned　　　　　　　　　 B. pulled　　　　　　　　　　 C. carried　　　　　　　　　 D. dropped

46. A. cash　　　　　　　　　　 B. freedom　　　　　　　　 C. reasons　　　　　　　　 D. chances

47. A. asked　　　　　　　　　　 B. doubted　　　　　　　　 C. ordered　　　　　　　　 D. decided

48. A. hide　　　　　　　　　　　 B. stay　　　　　　　　　　　 C. visit　　　　　　　　　　　 D. relax

49. A. informed　　　　　　　 B. persuaded　　　　　　　 C. reminded　　　　　　　 D. warned

50. A. demand　　　　　　　　 B. concern　　　　　　　　 C. challenge　　　　　　　 D. situation

51. A. try　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. arrange　　　　　　　　　 C. give　　　　　　　　　　　 D. inspect

52. A. relief　　　　　　　　　　 B. embarrassment　　　 C. disappointment　　　 D. regret

53. A. intended　　　　　　　　 B. planned　　　　　　　　 C. desired　　　　　　　　　 D. managed

54. A. kept　　　　　　　　　　　 B. bent　　　　　　　　　　　 C. shook　　　　　　　　　 D. lost

55. A. sentence　　　　　　　 B. story　　　　　　　　　　 C. lesson　　　　　　　　　 D. text

I found out one time that doing a __36____for someone could get you into a lot of trouble．I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test．During the test, the girl sitting next to me ___37____ something, but I didn’t understand．So I __38______ her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen．She showed me that hers was ____39_____ and would not write．I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and ____40_____ it on her desk．
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were____41_____．As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about ____42____ it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to____43____ your own two feet and be responsible for your own ____44____．For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized the fact ____45____ when people do something____46____, they are really cheating themselves．She made me ____47____ that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave．I walked out of the room ____48____ why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things．
____49____, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test．When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers ____50____ the girl’s test paper．I ___51____ to explain about the pen, but all she____52____ say was that it seemed very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me ____53____ after the test．____54____ I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I was sure she ____55____ to believe that I had cheated on the test．