When I was young,I liked to play jokes on people I knew,especially on my parents and friedns.One day my mother was   46   and I was playing with my younger brother Tony.

Suddenly I ran to my mother and said,“Tony fell from the open window!”She was very   47   and ran out of the kitchen.Then I said,“Don’t worry,I’m just   48  .”And my mother shouted at me,“If you do it   49  ,I’ll hit you.”

    One day I went swimming with my   50   in the sea.I wanted to play a joke on them.In the beginning,I went swimming   51  ,and I called out,“Help!”All my friends came to help me,only to   52   that I was joking.But the next time I wasn’t joking.I was so   53   that I swam in deep water. I tried my best to call my frineds for help,but this time nobody came to help me.

  54  ,They found I was telling the truth.They came and saved my life.They took me to the hospital.This is the best   55   in my life.From then on,I haven’t joked on anyone.

    1.A.writing          B.sleeping            C.cooking        D.running

    2.A.angry         B.worried              C.sorry            D.excited

    3.A.smiling       B.saying            C.playing            D.joking

    4.A.now          B.then             C.again            D.once

    5.A.friends        B.classmates         C.brothers         D.parents

    6.A.fast            B.slowly             C.well           D.alone

    7.A.find           B.understand            C.say           D.think

8.A.careful        B.careless             C.fast            D.slow

    9.A.In the end       B.At first             C.Since then       D.At that time

    10.A.time           B.sport             C.lesson            D.day

On my way home I knocked into a stranger as he passed by. “Oh. I'm terribly sorry,” I said. “That’s all right. Please excuse me too. I wasn't even  15  you. I wish I didn’t hurt you,” said the man.
We were very    16  . We said good-bye and went on our way.
But at home we often    17   our loved ones in a different way.
Later that day, while I was cooking the evening meal, my daughter stood beside me very quietly. When I turned around, I nearly    18  her down. “Move out of the way, ” I shouted. She walked away, tears（眼泪）in her eyes.
While I lay awake in bed, I realized how   19   I’d spoken. So I decided to get up to say sorry to my daughter. On the way to her bedroom, to my surprise, I found some   20  by the door of the kitchen. At that time my tears began to fall. I quietly went and got down on my knees by her   21 . She woke up and put her arms around my neck when I kissed（接吻）her. Then I asked, “Did you pick these flowers for me?”
She smiled and said, “I found them out by the tree. I picked them   22    they're pretty like you. I knew you’d like them. I stood quietly in order to give you a surprise.” “Oh dear, I'm really sorry for the way I acted today. I shouldn’t have shouted at you,” I said.
“That’s OK, Mom. I   23   you anyway,” she said.
I suddenly realized what a clever way it is to explain the word   24   like this: Father And Mother, I Love You!

My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.

I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.

Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.

“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.

Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.

After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.

When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.

Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.

1.The article is probably taken from       .

A．a newspaper                           B．an advertisement

C．a detective story                        D．a science book

2.What did the writer think of having good speech before the classes?

A．It was very useful.                       B．It was nothing important.

C．It was impossible.                       D．It was good for interviewing.

3.What were the writer’s problems when he was speaking?

a. He spoke too quickly.

b. He never stopped once he started talking.

c. He seldom kept eye contact with people.

d. He didn’t give others time to ask questions.

A．a, b              B．b, c              C．a, c              D．b, d

4.From the sentence “but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself,” we know that _____.

A．the writer’s friends couldn’t understand him

B．the writer still couldn’t make eye contact

C．the writer improved a lot

D．the writer didn’t slow down

5.Through the passage, the writer wants to tell us that _____.

A．seeing a speech specialist is necessary

B．speech is an important skill to have

C．good speech can help you make friends

D．good speech gets good affect

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.?

My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do. ?

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested(taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. I am filled with pride when my children call me “mean”. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.?

1. How many children does the writer’s mother have??

2. What can you infer(推测) from the passage??

3.The best title for this passage may be     . ?

完成句子,使改写后的句子完整,并与原句意思相符,注意每空只填一个单词。
【小题1】They were winners in the match finally.
They were winners in the match __________ ___________.
【小题2】He didn’t come because he was ill yesterday.
He didn’t come __________ ___________ his ___________yesterday.
【小题3】I wasn’t at school last week.
I was ____________ ______________ school last week.
【小题4】Tom was born in 1990. Jack was born in 1990,too.
Tom is ______ ______ _______ Jack
【小题5】What is the meaning of “exchange” ?
What do you _______ _______ “exchange” ?