Long, long ago, when the world was new and the animals could talk, clams were the most talkative of all. And no wonder, for their mouths stretched（伸长）the full length of their bodies. The clams not only loved to talk, they told stories as well. Some of the stories were true and some were not.

It wasn’t long before all the animals were quarreling with each other, and all due to the stories that the clams were spreading. Raven finally got so tired of all the gossiping（闲言）that he called a council meeting and invited all the animals. Bear, Eagle, Wolf, and many others came. It was decided at that meeting that, in order to preserve the peace, a way must be found to put a stop to these unkind stories.

“Beaver,” said Raven, “we cannot decide how to punish the clams. You are a good worker. We know that you will keep working until you discover a solution, so we have chosen you to rid us of this problem.”

Beaver thought and thought, and at last she thought of a plan. She gathered up armloads of the clams—every last one of them—and carried them to the edge of the water.

   “What are you doing?” they asked in alarm.

“You shall see soon enough,” replied Beaver. “Never again will you spread your mean-spirited tales.”

Beaver waited there until the tide went out and then, quickly, she buried each and every one of those clams in the sand. The clams were outraged（激怒）! When Bear came down to walk along the beach, one of the clams opened its mouth to tattle（饶舌）on Beaver. But as soon as it did, sand and water ran in. The clam spit out the water. Again it opened its mouth, but as soon as it did, the sand and water ran into it, and all the poor clam could do was spit out the water and close its mouth. Even today, if you walk along the beach at low tide, you might see a little water shooting from beneath the sand here and there. That is just a clam spitting out the water it swallowed.  

1．Which question does paragraph 2 answer?

    A．Where was the council meeting held?

    B．What did the wolf say at the meeting?

    C．Why were all the animals quarreling?    

    D．How long did the animals’ meeting last?

2．What happened at the meeting?

    A．The clams got embarrassed

    B．A decision was made to solve the problem.

    C．The animals were quarreling fiercely.  

    D．Unkind stories spread among the animals.

3．Which information from the story supports the idea that the clams thought they were being treated unfairly?

    A．One of the clams said something unkind about the beaver.

    B．The clams talked with everyone who visited the beach.

    C．One of the clams spit out the water.

    D．The clams’ mouths stretched the full length of their bodies.

4．The beaver in this story is shown as the _______.

    A．group leader      B．complainer        C．problem solver          D．troublemaker

5．What is the most likely reason that the author wrote this story?

    A．To encourage readers to listen to each other.

    B．To explain why animals are mean to each other.

    C．To tell readers how to take care of a problem.

    D．To teach a lesson about the harm of gossiping.

Two weeks before Christmas，Mother told me we were going to my grandmother's house for the holiday.Grandma and Uncle Henry lived on a farm some 15 miles out of town.They had no electricity or running water and__1__what I considered the “good things” in life.They__2__made no plans for Christmas.When Christmas Eve arrived，Mom told me in her “I-mean-it” voice to__3__all the decorations(装饰物)from our tree.She packed those up，__4__all the trimmings(配料)for a __5__turkey dinner.

Christmas morning__6__perfectly，with the sun shining brightly across a fresh blanket of snow.__7__I sulked(生气)silently in the backseat of the car as we made our__8__to grandma's.This was going to be the __9__Christmas ever!

Grandma was__10__to see us as we walked up to her door.“What on earth are you doing here？”she stammered.“We weren't expecting__11__.It's Christmas，and I don't even have a turkey to cook for you.”“I knew__12__.”Mom said as we set boxes of goodies on the kitchen table.“That's__13__we brought one with us.”“We__14__have a tree，”Mom insisted.“__15__，what will we do with all these decorations？”

Uncle Henry quickly caught Mom's spirit.He called me to join him，and we found a perfect Christmas tree in the woods.Soon the house __16__fresh and piney as we decorated the tree，and the day__17__a festive air.The turkey dinner was very good，too.I was actually beginning to enjoy this unusual Christmas day!

Dessert was forgotten__18__Mom came out with the final surprise—a flaming(燃烧的)pudding! “Merry Christmas，Mother，”Mom said.“Dear me！” Grandma gasped.“I haven't seen a flaming pudding since I left England before I was married.”Tears of__19__filled her eyes.

I could not keep the tears__20__my eyes，either.I knew then that Mom had also given me the best Christmas present ever—she had taught me what a beautiful thing it is to give.

1．A.prepared      B．lacked 

C．refused  D．desired

2．A.also      B．still 

C．never      D．hardly

3．A.replace        B．collect 

C．remove  D．show

4．A.instead of    B．by the side of

C．along with      D．in spite of

5．A.normal        B．complete 

C．fresh       D．separate

6．A.dawned       B．passed 

C．broke      D．happened

7．A.But      B．So 

C．And        D．Then

8．A.decision       B．way 

C．wish       D．plan

9．A.last      B．busiest 

C．best        D．worst

10．A.expected    B．eager 

C．surprised        D．ready

11．A.anyone       B．others 

C．someone        D．no one

12．A.you    B．it 

C．that         D．this

13．A.how  B．why 

C．where     D．when

14．A.may  B．will 

C．can         D．must

15．A.Meanwhile        B．Therefore

C．However        D．Otherwise

16．A.improved  B．smelled 

C．became  D．changed

17．A.showed up        B．carried on

18．A.until  B．after 

C．because  D．unless

19．A.sadness     B．joy 

C．regret      D．worry

20．A.inside        B．back 

C．into         D．from

Two weeks before Christmas，Mother told me we were going to my grandmother's house for the holiday.Grandma and Uncle Henry lived on a farm some 15 miles out of town.They had no electricity or running water and__1__what I considered the “good things” in life.They__2__made no plans for Christmas.When Christmas Eve arrived，Mom told me in her “I-mean-it” voice to__3__all the decorations(装饰物)from our tree.She packed those up，__4__all the trimmings(配料)for a __5__turkey dinner.

Christmas morning__6__perfectly，with the sun shining brightly across a fresh blanket of snow.__7__I sulked(生气)silently in the backseat of the car as we made our__8__to grandma's.This was going to be the __9__Christmas ever!

Grandma was__10__to see us as we walked up to her door.“What on earth are you doing here？”she stammered.“We weren't expecting__11__.It's Christmas，and I don't even have a turkey to cook for you.”“I knew__12__.”Mom said as we set boxes of goodies on the kitchen table.“That's__13__we brought one with us.”“We__14__have a tree，”Mom insisted.“__15__，what will we do with all these decorations？”

Uncle Henry quickly caught Mom's spirit.He called me to join him，and we found a perfect Christmas tree in the woods.Soon the house __16__fresh and piney as we decorated the tree，and the day__17__a festive air.The turkey dinner was very good，too.I was actually beginning to enjoy this unusual Christmas day!

Dessert was forgotten__18__Mom came out with the final surprise—a flaming(燃烧的)pudding! “Merry Christmas，Mother，”Mom said.“Dear me！” Grandma gasped.“I haven't seen a flaming pudding since I left England before I was married.”Tears of__19__filled her eyes.

I could not keep the tears__20__my eyes，either.I knew then that Mom had also given me the best Christmas present ever—she had taught me what a beautiful thing it is to give.

1．A.prepared 　 B．lacked C．refused D．desired

2．A.also 　 B．still C．never 　 D．hardly

3．A.replace 　　 B．collect C．remove D．show

4．A.instead of B．by the side of C．along with 　 D．in spite of

5．A.normal 　　 B．complete C．fresh 　　 D．separate

6．A.dawned 　　 B．passed C．broke 　 D．happened

7．A.But 　 B．So C．And 　　 D．Then

8．A.decision 　　 B．way C．wish 　　 D．plan

9．A.last 　 B．busiest C．best 　　 D．worst

10．A.expected B．eager C．surprised 　　 D．ready

11．A.anyone 　　 B．others C．someone 　　 D．no one

12．A.you B．it C．that 　　　 D．this

13．A.how B．why C．where 　 D．when

14．A.may B．will C．can 　　　 D．must

15．A.Meanwhile 　　 B．ThereforeC．However 　　 D．Otherwise

16．A.improved B．smelled C．became D．changed

17．A.showed up 　　 B．carried on

18．A.until B．after C．because D．unless

19．A.sadness 　 B．joy C．regret 　 D．worry

20．A.inside 　　 B．back C．into 　　　 D．from