Last Christmas was a very difficult time for me. My family and all of my close friends were back home in Florida, and I was all alone in a rather cold California. I was working too many hours and became very sick.

I was working a double shift at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, it was about 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve, and I was feeling really miserable inside. There were a few of us working and very few customers waiting to be helped. When it was time for me to call the next person to the counter, I looked out to see the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried. I tried to find out more information by asking if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed to travel, but he seemed to become more confused with each question. He just kept saying, “She said I have to go to New Orleans.”

After much time, I was able to at least find out that this old man had been dropped off at the curb on Christmas Eve by his sister-in-law and told to go to New Orleans, where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him just to go inside and buy a ticket. When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said he would wait at the airport until tomorrow. Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling very sorry for myself about being alone on Christmas, when this angel named Clarence MacDonald was sent to me to remind me of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart.

Immediately, I told him we would get it all straightened out, and our Customer Service agent helped to book him a seat for the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him the senior citizen’s fare, which gave him some extra money for travelling. About this time he started to look very tired, and when I stepped around the counter to ask him if he was all right, I saw that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it that whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes.

I called for a wheelchair. When the wheelchair came, we all stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he hurt his leg, and he said that he had just had bypass surgery and an artery was taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had had heart surgery, and then shortly afterward, was dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans, alone!

I never really had a situation like this, and I wasn’t sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said yes, and they obtained a hotel voucher for Mr. MacDonald for one night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the porter a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food and itinerary (行程) again to Mr. MacDonald, and then patted him on the arm and told him everything would be just fine.

As he left he said, “Thank you,” bent his head and started to cry. I cried too. When I went back to thank my supervisor, she just smiled and said, “I love stories like that. He is your Christmas Man.”

1.Last Christmas the writer had a miserable time because ______.

A．there were more customers than usual waiting to be helped

B．it was freezing cold in California at Christmas time

C．she was working all alone at the ticket counter

D．she was far away from her family and friends

2.The writer’s first impression of the old man was that he was ______.

A．gentle-looking and weak                  B．tired out and worried

C．confused and very sick                   D．sad and anxious

3.The old man wanted to fly to New Orleans to ______.

A．see his friends there

B．spend the Christmas with his family

C．visit his sister-in-law

D．undergo heart surgery

4.On hearing the old man say that he would wait at the airport the whole night, the writer felt a bit ashamed. This is because ______.

A．she felt sorry that she couldn’t do the old man a favor

B．she realized that someone was even more miserable than she felt

C．it took her a long time to find out how helpless the old man was

D．the old man was like an angel in the writer’s eyes

5.The writer called for a wheelchair for the old man because ______.

A．the old man had broken his leg when he was dropped off at the curb

B．the old man could spend the whole night on it at the airport

C．the old man was carrying a whole lot of clothes

D．the old man had had surgery just before and was very weak by then

6. By calling the old man the writer’s Christmas Man, the writer’s supervisor implied that ______.

A．the old man had told the writer a love story on Christmas

B．the old man had caused a lot of trouble for the writer on Christmas

C．the old man was the best gift the writer could have received on Christmas

D．the old man was the only customer the writer had served on Christmas

 

When         to danger and conflict, men tend to increase blood pressure,      nervous and anxious．

A．exposed; felt       B．exposed; feeling    C．exposing; feeling    D．exposing; felt

 

Nuclear­powered aircraft carriers are considered one of the most important marine weapons in the 20th century. So far, only two countries in the world, the USA and France, have ever produced them. But these fearful fighting machines are about to enter Asia.

The US Navy said last month that one of its nine nuclear­powered aircraft carriers will be sent to Japan to replace the diesel(柴油)­powered carrier Kitty Hawk in 2008. In an agreement on October 30, the two countries also planned to level up their military (军事的) cooperation and the USA called for Japan to take a larger role in military alliance (同盟) moves.

It will be the first time that a nuclear­powered carrier is based in Japan. Bombed by US forces in World War Ⅱ at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is the only world country to have been attacked by a nuclear weapon. Therefore, the citizens are highly sensitive to where nuclear­powered weapons are based.

“A radiation leak at Yokosuka would kill 100,000 people as far away as Tokyo, and could cause billions of dollars in damage，” said Masahiko Goto, leader of a protest group in Yokosuka. His group has collected more than 300,000 signatures of people across Japan opposed to the nuclear carrier.

The 44­year­old Kitty Hawk, the US Navy's oldest active ship, has been based in Yokosuka since 1998. It had returned to the US to be decommissioned(使退役) in 2008. The new carrier, yet to be unveiled, will travel faster, be capable of supporting longer operations and carry with it the Navy's most modern technology.

Experts pointed that this change is not only to strengthen the US­Japan military alliance but also to keep the military power of China and North Korea within limits. However, even Japanese experts don't believe that the two countries are threats to the region.

“There is no need for Japan to have a nuclear carrier as defense，” said Tetsuo Maeda, an international relations professor at Tokyo International University. He said that the change of ship indicates an increased military capability in the region, much more than what is needed.

1.With such a fearful weapon to enter its country, Japanese citizens ________.

A．are aware of its benefits to the country

B．are anxious about its potential danger

C．are curious about the advanced technology

D．are against where the carrier will be based

2.The replacement of the aircraft carrier is intended to________.

A．set up a kind of base in Japan

B．strengthen the US­Japan military alliance

C．show Japan's greater military capability

D．get rid of the dated marine weapon

3.From the story, we learn that________.

A．no other countries except the USA and France possess aircraft carriers

B．Japan has long planned to increase its military capability with new weapons

C．Japan will be the first country in Asia to have a nuclear aircraft carrier

D．Japan will be the third country to produce a nuclear­powered aircraft carrier

4.The underlined word “unveiled” in the fifth paragraph probably means________.

A．perfected                             B．discussed about

C．produced                             D．brought to view

 

I can still remember the first day when I met my best friend. She had just moved into the neighborhood and her grandmother brought her down to 1   me. I hid behind my mother and she hid behind her grandmother,  2  to look at each other. Soon, we lost the shyness and started playing with each other. In 7^th grade, I first lost 3   with her. She was  4   family problems and I deserted her.  5   of my new friends liked her 6  they knew she had “problems”.

It was last year when I noticed the 7  . I guess I was just to catch up in high school to realize she 8  someone there for her. I didn’t know 9, but she started cutting herself!

She was 10  from clinical depression(抑郁), and had to go to a 11  during the day. I was very upset at first but with the late night 12 , and meeting each other at midnight. I wanted to be there for her since her new best friend once 13  her since people were calling her crazy.

Yesterday she came to me and said this:“I never knew what a best friend was 14  you were the only person that would 15 me from cutting; the only person that ever made me feel better about myself and my problems. You don’t know this but I was trying to 16  myself that night you called me. You didn’t even know you were 17  me. I owe you so much.”

We both cried. And I guess a kind of 18  from my life is:“never give up on your friends”. Even if they aren’t as cool as others, or people think they are 19 , they need someone there. If you desert them, you will only be 20  yourself. So if a friend needs you, and you care for them, you can never desert them.

1.                A．call            B．find            C．meet D．know

 

2.                A．scared         B．surprised       C．glad D．eager

 

3.                A．communication   B．friendship       C．relation   D．touch

 

4.                A．breaking through B．going through    C．seeing through D．getting through

 

5.                A．None          B．All             C．Each D．Neither

 

6.                A．even if         B．however        C．as if  D．because

 

7.                A．problem        B．coolness        C．assessment    D．sadness

 

8.                A．had            B．wanted         C．needed   D．expected

 

9.                A．how           B．why            C．when D．where

 

10.               A．dating          B．suffering        C．separating D．originating

 

11.               A．hospital        B．teacher        C．friend D．school

 

12.               A．comforts       B．conversations    C．persuasions    D．calls

 

13.               A．liked           B．respected       C．deserted  D．hated

 

14.               A．when          B．until           C．before    D．after

 

15.               A．protect         B．support        C．stop  D．warn

 

16.               A．control         B．kill            C．forget D．enjoy

 

17.               A．hurting         B．ignoring        C．reminding D．helping

 

18.               A．fact           B．truth           C．lesson D．experience

 

19.               A．unfriendly      B．cool           C．strange    D．crazy

 

20.               A．unhappy        B．foolish         C．impressive D．anxious

 

 

The hall was full of people _____ to see the famous actor.

A．anxious           B．enthusiastic        C．patient           D．frightened