D

       When my father was getting ready for work, our house was ruled by knocks and words．He used to come downstairs to breakfast．The morning paper lay beside his plate．He always read the “Deaths” first, and then he knocked once on the table．One of my sisters brought his bread, already buttered for him．Usually he said nothing, but once I heard him say, “I love you very much, Edith．I would love more if you buttered my bread on both sides．” He read the paper all through breakfast．Two knocks on the table meant “I am ready for my tea．” If a single knock followed that meant, “More bread, please．”

       After breakfast he said, “Boots．” The paper was spread（展开） for him over the back of an arm-chair．Yesterday’s paper was put on the chair for his feet, and his boots were brought to him, freshly cleaned．He read standing at the same time putting on his boots．With one boot finished he said, “Bus．” At that point one of the girls went outside to the garden gate and waited there．Her job was to stop a bus when it came．It came early sometimes and it had to wait for my father．“Overcoat, hat．” One of my sisters had already brushed his overcoat．Now she held it open for him．Another girl came with his hat, nicely brushed．“Handkerchief, pipe（烟斗）．” They were brought and put, with his tobacco（烟草）, into his pocket．He looked out of the window and said either “Walking stick” or “Umbrella”．It was handed to him．Ready now, he was still reading the paper．He didn’t put it down until he heard the shout “Bus coming!” Then he kissed my mother and went out．The girls breathed freely．

How lucky a man was to have a wife and five daughters at home!

68．When the father made the first knock, he meant _______．

       A．he had begun to read the morning newspaper

       B．he was made to feel sad by the” Deaths” news

       C．he would start to read the other parts of the paper

       D．his breakfast should begin

69．What does “Edith” mean?

       A．A kind of bread．          B．One of the writer’s sisters．

       C．The writer．           D．The writer’s mother．

70．All the daughters were quite busy in the morning because _______．

       A．their father never helped them

       B．their father always gave different instructions at the same time

       C．each of them had to start and finish her job just on time

       D．they were not clever or quick enough to do their jobs

71．What was the father’s favorite?

       A．Reading newspaper．     B．Having bread buttered on both sides．

       C．Giving instructions．      D．Being clean and tidy．

A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans．There lay my house, reduced to waist-high ruins, smelly and dirty．

Before the trip, I’d had my car fixed．When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she noticed my Louisiana license plate．“You from New Orleans?” she asked．I said I was, “No charge,” she said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet．The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing happened．

As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage（抵押贷款）on our ruined house．We looked at many places, but none was satisfactory．We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while, when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California．He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings for Slate, the online magazine, and wanted to give us （“no conditions attached”） a new house across the lake from New Orleans．

It sounded too good to be true, but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional generosity, that we had no plans to go back．Then a poet at the University of Florida offered to let his house to me while he went to England on his one-year paid leave．The rent was rather reasonable．I mentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy, and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months．

Throughout this painful experience, the kindness of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity．It’s almost worth losing your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance．

1．What do we know about James Kennedy?

  A．He was a writer of an online magazine．

  B．He was a poet at the University of Florida．

  C．He offered the author a new house free of charge．

  D．He learned about the author’s sufferings via e-mail．

2．It can be inferred from the text that ______．

     A．the author’s family was in financial difficulty

  B．rents were comparatively reasonable despite the disaster

  C．houses were difficult to find in the hurricane-stricken area

  D．the mortgage on the ruined house was paid off by the bank

3．The author learned from his experience that ______．

  A．worldly possessions can be given up when necessary

  B．generosity should be encouraged in some cases

  C．people benefit from their sad stories                                                                            D．human beings are kind after all

Once upon a time, in the garden of the Chinese Emperor(皇帝) there lived a nightingale(夜莺).She sang　1　.And one day the Emperor was so moved when he　2　the bird sing that tears came into his eyes. He then had the 　3　 kept in a beautiful cage in his palace and listened to her every day. Before long the Emperor received a gift of a　4　　　　 　nightingale from Japan. It could　5　some of the songs the real bird sang. Now the toy bird gave the Emperor much 6　.And it was able to sing three-and-?thirty times without being tired.　7　?being killed, the living nightingale had flown out of the ?　8　?,back to her green woods. But one evening, when the toy bird was singing its best, something　9　 the bird went out of order. No one could repair it. No　10　of any nightingale was heard. Many years passed, and the Emperor felt so　11　that he lay ill and, it was said, was going to　12　.He wanted very much to hear the　13　song again. All at once there came the beautiful　14　of a nightingale through the window. The living nightingale came to sing for the　15　again. And life began to return to the Emperor.“16　,little bird,” said the Emperor. “I didn't treat you well before,　17　you have given me life again. How can I reward you?”

“You have done that already,” said the nightingale. “I brought　18　to your eyes the first time I sang; I shall never forget that.” The Emperor felt 　19 and got well again. The nightingale often came to sit in a tree of the palace garden and sing something to　20　 the Emperor happy.

1. A. beautifully　　　　　 B. badly　　　　C. terribly　　　　 D. carelessly

2. A. saw　　　　　　 B. heard　　　　 C. watched　　　　 D. looked at

3. A. machine　　　　　 B. pianist　　　　 C. bird　　　　　　　D. girl

4. A. true　　　　　　 B. real　　　　　 C. living　　　　　　D. toy

5. A. read　　　　　　　　B. write　　　　　C. dance　　　　　 D. sing

6. A. praise　　　　　　 B. luck　　　　　 C. pleasure　　　　 D. sadness

7. A. Without　　　　　　 B. With　　　　　 C. For　　　　　　　D. At

8. A. cage　　　　　　　　B. box　　　　　 C. forest 　　　　　 D. square

9. A. inside　　　　　　 B. outside　　　　 C. next to　　　　 D. far away from

10. A. singing　　　　　　B. crying　　　　　 C. chime　　　　　 D. carol

11. A. happy　　　　　　 B. pleased　　　　 C. sorry　　　　　 D. glad

12. A. marry　　　　　　 B. fade　　　　　 C. leave　　　　　 D. die

13. A. chemist's　　　　　B. musician's　　　　 C. toy's　　　　　 D. nightingale's

14. A. song　　　　　　 B. throat　　　　　 C. talk　　　　　 D. noise

15. A. woman　　　　　　B. prisoner　　　　 C. tourist　　　　 D. Emperor

16. A. Thank you　　　　　B. Sorry　　　　　 C. Pardon　　　　 D. Goodbye

17. A. and so　　　　　　 B. and yet　　　　 C. for　　　　　 D. because

18. A. glasses　　　　　　 B. favours　　　　 C. tears　　　　　 D. waters

19. A. strong　　　　　　 B. weak　　　　　 C. foolish　　　　　D. ill

20. A. let　　　　　　　 B. make　　　　　 C. have　　　　　 D. ask

In the suburban district of a city lived an old woman quite alone. Her husband died thirty years ago and two years later, her only son went away with lung cancer. So she had no family still living and her only friend was a little white dog who went everywhere with her - with one exception. The dog loved the fireplace in winter, and after the old woman went to bed he would sometimes go and lie in front of the warm coals. Usually though, the dog lay on a rug right next to the bed.
Deeply as the old woman loved her dog, she wouldn't allow the dog on the bed with her. However, if she became frightened or had a nightmare, she would put her hand down to her little white dog and he would lick it to calm her down.
One night she was reading the newspaper just before going to sleep. She trembled and pulled the duvet（羽绒被褥）up around her as she read that a mental patient had wandered out from a nearby hospital. No one knew if the patient was dangerous or not, but he was a suspect in the murders of several women who lived alone.
The woman turned off the lights and tried to sleep, but she was frightened, and turned over continually. Finally, she reached down to where her little white dog slept. Sure enough, a warm, wet tongue began to lick her hand. The woman felt reassured and safe, and left her hand hanging off the side of the bed. As she turned to settle in comfortably she opened her eyes for a moment and looked through the open door into the living room.
There in front of the fireplace, sat her little white dog, gazing at the coals and wagging his tail. And down beside her bed, something was still licking her hand.
【小题1】From the first paragraph we can know that _________.

A．her husband died following her son

B．the old woman was through with her relatives

C．the dog wasn’t always keeping her company .

D．the dog sometimes was tired of her

【小题2】Why didn’t she allow the dog on the bed with her?

A．Because the dog was too dirty.

B．Because she was fearful of dogs.

C．Because the author dislikes keeping dogs.

D．The author didn’t mention the reason for it.

【小题3】The reason the old woman shivered was that _____________.

A．she was too old to stand the cold weather

B．the room temperature came down with a run

C．she was reading a frightening story

D．a news story was carried in the paper

【小题4】Seeing the dog still sitting by the fireplace, __________.

A．the old woman would call him to her

B．the old woman would be frightened to half death

C．would be luck to have another dog

D．would feel puzzled what was under her bed

In the suburban district of a city lived an old woman quite alone. Her husband died thirty years ago and two years later, her only son went away with lung cancer. So she had no family still living and her only friend was a little white dog who went everywhere with her - with one exception. The dog loved the fireplace in winter, and after the old woman went to bed he would sometimes go and lie in front of the warm coals. Usually though, the dog lay on a rug right next to the bed.

Deeply as the old woman loved her dog, she wouldn't allow the dog on the bed with her. However, if she became frightened or had a nightmare, she would put her hand down to her little white dog and he would lick it to calm her down.

One night she was reading the newspaper just before going to sleep. She trembled and pulled the duvet（羽绒被褥）up around her as she read that a mental patient had wandered out from a nearby hospital. No one knew if the patient was dangerous or not, but he was a suspect in the murders of several women who lived alone.

The woman turned off the lights and tried to sleep, but she was frightened, and turned over continually. Finally, she reached down to where her little white dog slept. Sure enough, a warm, wet tongue began to lick her hand. The woman felt reassured and safe, and left her hand hanging off the side of the bed. As she turned to settle in comfortably she opened her eyes for a moment and looked through the open door into the living room.

There in front of the fireplace, sat her little white dog, gazing at the coals and wagging his tail. And down beside her bed, something was still licking her hand.

1.From the first paragraph we can know that _________.

A．her husband died following her son

B．the old woman was through with her relatives

C．the dog wasn’t always keeping her company .

D．the dog sometimes was tired of her

2.Why didn’t she allow the dog on the bed with her?

A．Because the dog was too dirty.

B．Because she was fearful of dogs.

C．Because the author dislikes keeping dogs.

D．The author didn’t mention the reason for it.

3.The reason the old woman shivered was that _____________.

A．she was too old to stand the cold weather

B．the room temperature came down with a run

C．she was reading a frightening story

D．a news story was carried in the paper

4.Seeing the dog still sitting by the fireplace, __________.

A．the old woman would call him to her

B．the old woman would be frightened to half death

C．would be luck to have another dog

D．would feel puzzled what was under her bed