In 1970, my five brothers, my sister and I lived in the housing projects of Toronto with our parents. My father was a factory worker, and my mother stayed at home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets of the projects sharing joy and candies with the children there. He loved it as much as they did!

But around the Christmas in 1970, my father was out of his job and money was tight. In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren’t sure what they’d provide for us.

That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus. He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not disappoint the other kids in the neighborhood.

As my father left the house and went down the walkway, Santa Claus was walking up, with a great sack full of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a Merry Christmas. The happy man handed Dad the sack and walked away down the block.

We never knew who the man was and who showed us great kindness on a snowy Christmas night. We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree. His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas.

Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger. Each year we tell the story of the mysterious Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving gifts to others in need.

1.The author’s father ________.

A. was once the richest man in his hometown

B. was working in a government office

C. had to support a family of 9 people

D. looked like Santa Claus most

2.What happened in 1970?

A. The author’s father was out of work.

B. The author’s mother lost her job.

C. They had a little money left for Christmas.

D. They had the worst Christmas in their lives.

3.The author’s family knew ________.

A. who the mysterious Santa Claus was

B. why the mysterious Santa Claus helped them

C. how they could repay the mysterious Santa Claus

D. they could find the mysterious Santa Claus one day

4.It can be inferred（推断）that ________.

A. the mysterious Santa Claus was one of their relatives

B. the mysterious Santa Claus was a rich man in the area

C. the sack from the mysterious Santa Claus was very expensive

D. the author’s family were all thankful to the mysterious Santa Claus

In 1970, my five brothers, my sister and I lived in the housing projects of Toronto with our parents．My father was a factory worker, and my mother stayed at home．Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets of the projects sharing joy and candies with the children there．He loved it as much as they did!

But around the Christmas in 1970, my father was out of his job and money was tight．In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren’t sure what they’d provide for us．

That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus．He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not disappoint the other kids in the neighborhood．

As my father left the house and went down the walkway, Santa Claus was walking up, with a great sack full of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a Merry Christmas．The happy man handed Dad the sack and walked away down the block．

We never knew who the man was and who showed us great kindness on a snowy Christmas night．We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree．His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas．

Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger．Each year we tell the story of the mysterious Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving gifts to others in need．

1．The author’s father ________．

       A．was once the richest man in his hometown

       B．was working in a government office

       C．had to support a family of 9 people

       D．looked like Santa Claus most

2．What happened in 1970?

       A．The author’s father was out of work．

       B．The author’s mother lost her job．

       C．They had a little money left for Christmas．

       D．They had the worst Christmas in their lives．

3．The author’s family knew ________．

       A．who the mysterious Santa Claus was

       B．why the mysterious Santa Claus helped them

       C．how they could repay the mysterious Santa Claus

       D．they could find the mysterious Santa Claus one day

4．It can be inferred （推断）that ________．

       A．the mysterious Santa Claus was one of their relatives

       B．the mysterious Santa Claus was a rich man in the area

       C．the sack from the mysterious Santa Claus was very expensive

       D．the author’s family were all thankful to the mysterious Santa Claus

“Get out of the plane!” Justin shouted. Teddy and he dropped to the ground,….
When Kathy and Victor reached the edge of the grassland, flames(火焰)were shooting more than five meters into the air.
Kathy couldn’t believe what she was seeing. One glance told her they needed medical attention immediately. She questioned Justin, “ Is there anyone in the plane?”
“No,” he said.
“Where are you able to radio for help?”
“There was no time.”
“ I’m a distance runner.” Kathy said, “I’ll go for help.” Looking at the seriously injured men, she said, “It may take me several hours to get out.” She started out.
When she was 23, Kathy set a women’s-course record in a Marathon. She had run 42 kilometers. But now she was running the race of her life. She had nearly 30 kilometers of hard wilderness to cover to get help.
Kathy had been running for two hours. This was far back into the wilderness. The trail(小径) grew unclear. She stopped to take a quick compass(指南针) reading. She had run for more than 20 kilometers. Her heart fell, her muscle(肌肉) aching. Finally she saw her car in the distance.
She jumped into the car and sped away. She reached a holiday house and called the police.
During the wait she walked around, relaxing her legs and drinking water. It took almost two hours for a helicopter to reach her. They needed her for one more task.
【小题1】“Now, she was running the race of her life” means that ________________.

"Get out of the plane!" Justin shouted. Teddy and he dropped to the ground…
When Kathy and Victor reached the edge of the meadow, flames of the fire were shooting more than five meters into the air．
Kathy couldn't believe what she was seeing．One glance told her they needed medical attention immediately．She questioned Victor, "Are you able to find someone nearby for help?"
"There are no farmers, nor villagers nearby," he replied．
"I'm a distance runner, and I'll go for help．" Looking at the seriously injured men, Kathy said to Victor, "It may take me several hours to get out．" She started out．
When she was 23, Kathy set a women's record in a Marathon of 42 kilometers．But now she was running the race of life. She had nearly 30 kilometers of hard wilderness to cover to get help．
Kathy had been running for two hours．This was far back into the wilderness．The country path was growing vague．She stopped to take a quick compass reading．Yes, she had run almost for more than 20 kilometers．Her heart fell, her muscle aching．And finally she saw her car in the distance．
She jumped into the car and sped away．She reached a holiday house and called the police．
During the wait, she walked around, relaxing her legs and drinking water. It took almost two hours for a police helicopter to reach her at the trail end．They needed her for one more task．
【小题1】Who actually had the airplane accident?

It is a typical case. A young professional has just moved to a new city. She is very active in her new job but wishes to meet people socially outside of work. How does she do this？
　　Signing up for a night class is always a good starting point. Not only is it an ideal way to meet like-minded people，it can also be a great new learning experience. Pubs and clubs can be a good meeting place but can be a bit hard if you are on your own.
　　Join a gym
　　GL-14 health club in Manchester city centre is a gym which also has lots of member activities outside the gym from charity fashion shows to dinner dances giving members a chance to socialize away from the treadmill（繁忙的工作）. Or if you want a gym with a difference，try a“Green Gym”for people who want to exercise but wish to be outdoors and doing something that will benefit the environment at the same time. The“work out”could involve such activities as practical conservation or gardening work. It’s a great way to get people’s heart and muscle working. And many agree that meeting other people and having a matter and a laugh is a big attraction of the scheme.
　　Reading groups
　　In the Reading Groups，Jenny Hartley suggested that there may be as many as 50，000 people in reading groups in the UK. They range from informal groups of friends or colleagues who meet in someone’s home or at the local pub，to discuss a book. If you want something a bit more structured，lots of libraries have reading groups and could have a broader group of members.
　　Statistics
　　The BBC recently conducted a survey called Going solo：single life in the 21st century. You can look at the overall results or search by area. It found that：
　　*69％ of people thought that the gym was a good place to meet new
　　*Pubs or clubs were considered to be good meeting places by 58％ of people in the UK
　　*68％ thought that work was a good place to meet people
　　*72％ thought that internet chat was not an ideal way to meet people
（  ）56．“Green Gym”in Paragraph 3 refers to an activity in which you can________.
A．have night classes with like-minded people
B．do something good for the environment on your own
C．discuss a book with other members at a pub
D．benefit the environment while doing outdoor exercise
（  ）57．Which of the following is a Green Gym activity？
A．Gardening work.         B．Chatting on the Internet.
C．A charity fashion show.    D．A dinner dance away from the treadmill.
（  ）58．What’s the most popular place to meet new people outside of work？
A．Pubs or clubs. 　B．The Internet.  C．The working place. D．The gym.