Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes me ￡12,” She said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office. “You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me ￡12. ”

Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I’ll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd.”

The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn’t have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sunburnt,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

“Yes,” she answered shyly, “The beach was lovely. And I can swim, too!”

“That’s fine,” said Harry.

“My little girl can’t swim a bit yet. Of course, she’s only three…”

“I’m four,” the child said proudly, “I’ll be four and a half.”

Harry turned to the mother, “I remember your ticket, Madam,” he said. “But you didn’t get one for your daughter, did you?”

“Er, well---” the woman looked at the child, “I mean…she hasn’t started school yet. She’s only four.”

“A four-year-old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child’s return ticket to Jersey costs…let me see…￡13.50. So if the railway pays your hotel, you will owe ￡1.50. The law is the law, but since the fault was mine… ”

The woman stood up, took the child’s hand and left the office.

1.Harry was worried because ________.

A．the woman was angry with him

B．he had not done his work properly

C．the Jersey timetable was wrong

D．the little girl didn’t have a return ticket

2.Harry started talking to the little girl ________.

A．because he was in difficulty and did not know what to do

B．because he had a little girl about the same age as this girl

C．because he wanted to be friendly to the little girl who looked so nice

D．when he suddenly realized that he could find a way out from the little girl

3.When Harry said, “The law is the law, but since the fault was mine…” he means that ________.

A．they must follow it without other choice, even though the fault was his

B．he had to be strict with the woman because of the law, although he didn’t want to

C．the woman had to pay him ￡1.50 and the railway would pay her for the hotel

D．she should pay ￡1.50, but he had made a mistake, she could go without paying

4.How did the woman feel when she left the office?

A．angry            B．peaceful          C．embarrassed       D．nervous

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida for a long weekend to warm themselves up during one particularly icy cold winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years ago. They both had jobs, so it was decided that the husband would fly to Florida on a Thursday, and his wife would follow him the next day. Upon arriving as planned, the husband checked into the hotel. There he decided to open his laptop and send his wife an e-mail back in Minneapolis. However, he accidentally left off one letter in her address and sent the e-mail without noticing his error.
In the same time: In Houston, a woman had just returned from her husband’s funeral(葬礼). He was a minister of many years who had been “called home to glory” following a heart attack. The woman checked her e-mail, expecting message from family and friends. Upon reading the first message, she fainted(昏厥)and fell to the floor. Her son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor and saw the computer screen which read:
To: My Loving Wife
From: Your Departed Husband
Subject: I’ve arrived!
I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then. Hope your journey is as uneventful(平静)as mine was.
P.S. Sure is hot down here.
【小题1】Why did the couple decide to go to Florida for weekend?

The old couple who lived in a cottage on the edge of the village were envied for the happiness of their marriage． They never quarreled and were always affectionate to one another． Sadly, after thirty-four years of this happiness, the husband became ill and died．

The wife was overcome with grief． Her children tried to comfort her, but to no avail． Her neighbors tried to comfort her, but with similar lack of success． Weeks and months went by, and still the woman was grieving; tears fell down her cheeks from morning till night．

Then a holy man came to the village． People told him about the woman, and asked him to try to help her． The holy man went to the woman’s house． Dressed in his rough woolen robe, he sat down with the grieving widow and listened, carefully, to her story． When she had spilled out all her sorrow, he reached into one of the deep pockets in his robe, and drew out a tiny, little mustard（芥末） seed． “I think I may have a cure for your grief,” he said． “I want you to go round the people in this region, and look for a family that has no sorrows． When you find this family, give them this little mustard seed, and then come back to me．

The woman set off in search of such a family． She visited every home in the district, and talked to the people． She listened to their stories, just as the holy man had listened to hers． In time, she almost forgot about the mustard seed, because every single family she met was carrying some kind of sorrow．

One day, she happened to meet the holy man again, and he stopped to ask how she was feeling． She was surprised at first, at his question, and then she suddenly remembered the mustard seed, still safely in her purse． “I’m sorry, I haven’t found a family without sorrows yet,” she told him． “But you yourself are cured of your grief,” he smiled． “The mustard seed is a great healer!”

What does the underlined word “grieving” mean?

   A． amused     B． sad         C． angry       D． astonished

What did the holy man ask her to do to end her sorrow?

   A． to go to church for help．

   B． to live with the family that has no sorrows with the mustard seed．

   C． to help others so that she can feel the happiness from the bottom of her heart．

   D． to find a family that is always happy and give them the mustard seed before returning to him．

How did the woman treat the families she visited?

   A． She was a good listener．

   B． She helped them to solve the problems they met．

    C． She gave every family a mustard seed．．

   D． She told them her unfortunate story．

Who on the earth heals the woman’s grief?

   A． The mustard seed                B． Her children   

    C． The families in the district        D． She herself

The old couple who lived in a cottage on the edge of the village were envied for the happiness of their marriage． They never quarreled and were always affectionate to one another． Sadly, after thirty-four years of this happiness, the husband became ill and died．

The wife was overcome with grief． Her children tried to comfort her, but to no avail． Her neighbors tried to comfort her, but with similar lack of success． Weeks and months went by, and still the woman was grieving; tears fell down her cheeks from morning till night．

Then a holy man came to the village． People told him about the woman, and asked him to try to help her． The holy man went to the woman’s house． Dressed in his rough woolen robe, he sat down with the grieving widow and listened, carefully, to her story． When she had spilled out all her sorrow, he reached into one of the deep pockets in his robe, and drew out a tiny, little mustard（芥末） seed． “I think I may have a cure for your grief,” he said． “I want you to go round the people in this region, and look for a family that has no sorrows． When you find this family, give them this little mustard seed, and then come back to me．

The woman set off in search of such a family． She visited every home in the district, and talked to the people． She listened to their stories, just as the holy man had listened to hers． In time, she almost forgot about the mustard seed, because every single family she met was carrying some kind of sorrow．

One day, she happened to meet the holy man again, and he stopped to ask how she was feeling． She was surprised at first, at his question, and then she suddenly remembered the mustard seed, still safely in her purse． “I’m sorry, I haven’t found a family without sorrows yet,” she told him． “But you yourself are cured of your grief,” he smiled． “The mustard seed is a great healer!”

1.What does the underlined word “grieving” mean?

   A． amused        B． sad           C． angry         D． astonished

2.What did the holy man ask her to do to end her sorrow?

   A． to go to church for help．

   B． to live with the family that has no sorrows with the mustard seed．

   C． to help others so that she can feel the happiness from the bottom of her heart．

   D． to find a family that is always happy and give them the mustard seed before returning to him．

3.How did the woman treat the families she visited?

   A． She was a good listener．

   B． She helped them to solve the problems they met．

    C． She gave every family a mustard seed．．

   D． She told them her unfortunate story．

4.Who on the earth heals the woman’s grief?

   A． The mustard seed                B． Her children   

    C． The families in the district                      D． She herself

II.阅读理解( 满分34分)
A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida for a long weekend to warm themselves up during one particularly icy cold winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years ago. They both had jobs, so it was decided that her husband would fly to Florida on a Thursday, and his wife would follow him the next day. Upon arriving as planned, the husband checked into the hotel. There he decided to open his laptop(笔记本电脑) and send his wife an e-mail back in Minneapolis. However, he accidentally left off one letter in her address and sent the e-mail without noticing his error.
In the mean time: In Houston, a woman had just returned from her husband’s burial. He was a minister of many years who had been “called home to glory” following a heart attack. The woman checked her e-mail, expecting message from family and friends. Upon reading the first message, she fainted(昏厥)and fell to the floor. Her son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor and saw the computer screen which read:
To: My Loving Wife
From: Your Departed Husband
Subject: I’ve arrived!
I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then. Hope your journey is as uneventful(平静)as mine was.
P.S. Sure is hot down here.
1. Why did the couple decide to go to Florida for weekend?
A. To visit their family and friends         B. To escape from the cold winter
C. To escape from their busy work         D. To attend a friend’s funeral
2. What mistake did the husband make after checking into the hotel?
A. He checked into a wrong hotel           B. He forget to bring the laptop
C. He misspelled her wife’s address         D. He forgot to mail his letter
3. The expression “called home to glory” probably suggests that the man had______.
A. gone back to his hometown            B. called his family to say hello
C. been awarded an honor               D. died and gone to heaven
4. How did the woman probably feel after reading the e-mail?
A. Pleased       B. Inspired       C. Frightened         D. Moved
5. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. The woman’s husband died of a heart attack
B. The woman liked to chat with her friends by e-mail
C. The couple held their wedding in Florida 20 years ago.
D. His wife wouldn’t go to Florida for his error.