There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have loads of friends. He always   31   off how many friends he had at school. One day his grandfather said to him, “Mario, I   32  you a big bag of popcorn that you don’t have as many friends as you think. I’m sure many of them are nothing more than companions.”

Mario   33  the bet without hesitation. However, he wasn’t sure how to test   34  his schoolmates were real friends or not, so he asked his grandfather. The old man answered, “Wait a minute.” Then the old man left,   35  soon as though carrying something in his hands, but Mario could see   36  there.

“Take it. It’s a very special chair because it’s invisible (看不见). It’s rather   37  to sit on it, but if you take it to school and   38  to sit on it, you’ll activate (激活)its magic and you’ll be able to    39  who your real friends are. ”

Mario, brave and determined, took the   40  and set off for school. At break time he asked everyone to form a(n)    41  , and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. Having difficulty seeing it, Mario tried to sit on it and   42  straight onto his backside. Everyone around him had a pretty good laugh.

“Wait！Let me try again,” Mario said. But again, he missed the seat,   43  more surprised looks and a few catcalls (尖叫，喝倒彩). Mario didn’t   44  and kept trying to sit on the magic chair. But he kept falling onto the ground…until，  45  he tried again but didn’t fall. Looking around, Mario saw three of his best friends   46  him up. Meanwhile, many others he had   47  as friends had done nothing but make   48  of him.

And there, the show   49  to an end. Mario understood that true friends were those who   50 for him, and not just the companions that happened to be passing by. And someone who took joy in his misfortunes (不幸) was even less of a friend.

There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have loads of friends. He always   31   off how many friends he had at school. One day his grandfather said to him, “Mario, I   32  you a big bag of popcorn that you don’t have as many friends as you think. I’m sure many of them are nothing more than companions.”
Mario   33  the bet without hesitation. However, he wasn’t sure how to test   34  his schoolmates were real friends or not, so he asked his grandfather. The old man answered, “Wait a minute.” Then the old man left,   35  soon as though carrying something in his hands, but Mario could see   36  there.
“Take it. It’s a very special chair because it’s invisible (看不见). It’s rather   37  to sit on it, but if you take it to school and   38  to sit on it, you’ll activate (激活)its magic and you’ll be able to    39  who your real friends are. ”
Mario, brave and determined, took the   40  and set off for school. At break time he asked everyone to form a(n)    41  , and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. Having difficulty seeing it, Mario tried to sit on it and   42  straight onto his backside. Everyone around him had a pretty good laugh.
“Wait！Let me try again,” Mario said. But again, he missed the seat,   43  more surprised looks and a few catcalls (尖叫，喝倒彩). Mario didn’t   44  and kept trying to sit on the magic chair. But he kept falling onto the ground…until，  45  he tried again but didn’t fall. Looking around, Mario saw three of his best friends   46  him up. Meanwhile, many others he had   47  as friends had done nothing but make   48  of him.
And there, the show   49  to an end. Mario understood that true friends were those who   50 for him, and not just the companions that happened to be passing by. And someone who took joy in his misfortunes (不幸) was even less of a friend.

There was once a boy called Mario who loved to have loads of friends. He always 1off how many friends he had at school. One day his grandfather said to him, “Mario, I2you a big bag of popcorn that you don’t have as many friends as you think. I’m sure many of them are nothing more than companions.”
Mario3the bet without hesitation. However, he wasn’t sure how to test4his schoolmates were real friends or not, so he asked his grandfather. The old man answered, “Wait a minute.” Then the old man left,5soon as though carrying something in his hands, but Mario could see6there.
“Take it. It’s a very special chair because it’s invisible (看不见). It’s rather7to sit on it, but if you take it to school and8to sit on it, you’11 activate (激活)its magic and you’11 be able to9who your real friends are. ”
Mario, brave and determined, took the10and set off for school. At break time he asked everyone to form a(n)11, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair. Having difficulty seeing it, Mario tried to sit on it and12straight onto his backside. Everyone around him had a pretty good laugh.
“Wait！Let me try again,” Mario said. But again, he missed the seat,13more surprised looks and a few catcalls (尖叫，喝倒彩). Mario didn’t14and kept trying to sit on the magic chair. But he kept falling onto the ground…until，15he tried again but didn’t fall. Looking around, Mario saw three of his best friends16him up. Meanwhile, many others he had17as friends had done nothing but make18of him.
And there, the show19to an end. Mario understood that true friends were those who20for him, and not just the companions that happened to be passing by. And someone who took joy in his misfortunes (不幸) was even less of a friend.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      turned
   2. B.
      paid
   3. C.
      took
   4. D.
      showed
2. 2.
   1. A.
      bet
   2. B.
      give
   3. C.
      offer
   4. D.
      send
3. 3.
   1. A.
      received
   2. B.
      followed
   3. C.
      accepted
   4. D.
      dropped
4. 4.
   1. A.
      which
   2. B.
      that
   3. C.
      what
   4. D.
      whether
5. 5.
   1. A.
      answering
   2. B.
      returning
   3. C.
      passing
   4. D.
      recovering
6. 6.
   1. A.
      everything
   2. B.
      anything
   3. C.
      something
   4. D.
      nothing
7. 7.
   1. A.
      hard
   2. B.
      annoying
   3. C.
      upset
   4. D.
      painful
8. 8.
   1. A.
      prepare
   2. B.
      allow
   3. C.
      manage
   4. D.
      invite
9. 9.
   1. A.
      doubt
   2. B.
      tell
   3. C.
      explain
   4. D.
      call
10. 10.
    1. A.
       popcorn
    2. B.
       friend
    3. C.
       book
    4. D.
       chair
11. 11.
    1. A.
       area
    2. B.
       space
    3. C.
       line
    4. D.
       circle
12. 12.
    1. A.
       walked
    2. B.
       fell
    3. C.
       broke
    4. D.
       suffered
13. 13.
    1. A.
       causing
    2. B.
       bringing
    3. C.
       providing
    4. D.
       moving
14. 14.
    1. A.
       give away
    2. B.
       give out
    3. C.
       give up
    4. D.
       give off
15. 15.
    1. A.
       suddenly
    2. B.
       nearly
    3. C.
       generally
    4. D.
       unfortunately
16. 16.
    1. A.
       carrying
    2. B.
       holding
    3. C.
       pulling
    4. D.
       improving
17. 17.
    1. A.
       imagined
    2. B.
       faced
    3. C.
       placed
    4. D.
       viewed
18. 18.
    1. A.
       smile
    2. B.
       laugh
    3. C.
       fun
    4. D.
       interest
19. 19.
    1. A.
       came
    2. B.
       lasted
    3. C.
       added
    4. D.
       led
20. 20.
    1. A.
       arranged
    2. B.
       cared
    3. C.
       looked
    4. D.
       served

One of Mark Twain’s classic novels is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It is   36  in a small American town in the 19th century. The people in this town are very traditional and   37 a quiet life.The story is about a boy called Tom Sawyer, who lives with his aunt Polly. He is often in  38  with his aunt. Aunt Polly is very kind,   39  Tom thinks she is always trying to control him.
Tom is different from   40  children in the town. He loves adventure. He does a lot of bad things, but he never really   41  anyone. He tries very hard not to go to school, and often jumps   42  his bedroom window at night to meet his friends. He is very clever. One day, Aunt Polly asks him to do some painting, and he   43  to get all the boys in the town to do the work for him by inventing a new   44  game. It is these little stories   45  make readers want to keep reading the novel, but it is the adventures that   46  the most important part of the book.
Tom’s best friend is Huck Finn, a boy who has no home. In one adventure, they spend the night outside, and they see a man kill another man   47 . Later in the book, Tom, Huck and another boy decide to leave the town   48  they think that life there is too boring. They __49__ to an island in the middle of a river. They   50  fires, catch fish and sleep under the stars. They also make a   51  to travel up and down the river.   52  seeing the boys for days, the people in the town think that they have died. One day, when Tom cones back to his aunt’s house to leave a letter   53  that he is not dead, he hears his aunt talking about his funeral（葬礼）.   54  Tom has an idea. On the morning of their funeral, the boys run back into town and   55  their own funeral before telling everyone that they are still alive.

There is a boy called Bill in my gym class who has unbearably yellow teeth that almost make everyone feel unpleasant. Recently another boy told Bill that he should “go Ajax” his teeth. Bill was crushed. If the other boy had been thinking, he would have realized that there is a better way to handle such a situation. He could have dealt with it with tact. He could have showed this hurtful truth in a more careful, sensitive way—that’s “tact”.
If a person isn’t sensitive to another’s feelings, there is no way he or she can be tactful. Yesterday, my 5-year-old brother proudly announced that he had cleaned the screen on our television set. Unfortunately, he used furniture polish, which produced an oily film on the television screen. My mother smiled arid thanked him for his efforts—and then showed how to clean the screen properly. Her sensitivity enables my brother to keep his self-respect. Yet, sensitivity alone does not make tact.
“Tactfulness” also requires “truthfulness”. Doctors, for example must be truthful. If a patient has just been disabled in an accident, a tactful doctor will tell the truth—but express it with sensitivity. The doctor may try to give the patient hope by telling them curing techniques under study or about advanced equipment now available. Doctors must use tact with patients’ relatives as well. Instead of bluntly saying, “Your husband is disabled,” a doctor might say, “I’m sorry, but your husband has lost feeling in his legs and. . .”
Tact should not be confused with trickery. Trickery occurs when a nurse is about to give a patient an injection（注射） and says, “This won’t hurt a bit. ” Instead of trickery, the nurse might guarantee the patient that the discomfort of the injection is a small thing compared to the benefits of it. It would also be thoughtful for the nurse to tell the patients about some of these benefits.
Tact is a wonderful skill to have, and tactful people are usually admired and respected. Without tact our society would become an intolerable place to live in.
【小题1】.
The underlined word “crushed” in the first paragraph probably means         .