Little Robby, our neighbour’s nephew, carefully drew some water into a bowl and started for the door. How I hated this water rationing (定量供应). We were forced to bathe in the deep little pond we shared with Jessie, our cow. Wells were dry, and crops transformed to dust.
I watched Robby sitting down onto the steps to my house. Bees buzzed circling his hair, and he buzzed with them. I remembered his aunt’s words: I don’t know what I was thinking when I took him in. The crash killed my sister, and he wasn’t hurt, but he can’t talk. He’s in a world of all his own.
Why couldn’t she see the wonderful gifts this boy possessed? He was blessed with a loving nature and a deep admiration for all living things, and I knew he could talk to animals. My heart ached for Robby, who was to stay with us for the summer, and had already been the dearest part of our world, eagerly tending the garden with me and my husband, Tom.
On a string around Robby’s neck hung a whistle, in case he was ever lost or in danger. After all, he could not call out for help. But he knew perfectly well that the whistle was not a toy. Blowing on it would bring us both running. I had told him the story of the boy who cried wolf, and I knew he understood me.
I sighed as I cleared up the last supper dish. Every ounce of recycled water was saved for a tiny vegetable garden Robby had planted. Tom turned to me. “You know, honey, I’ve been thinking about...”
Before he could continue, a scream from the yard made us jump. My God! It’s Robby’s whistle! When we reached him, he was pointing excitedly to the sky. Looking up, we saw the most magnificent sight: Rain Clouds! “Robby! Quick! We need all the pots and pans!”
Robby raced with me to the house. A drop of water fell on my pot and then another. Soon the yard was enveloped in soaking, glorious rain. We all stood with faces held upward to feel the comfort of it. Tom picked up Robby and danced about the pots, shouting and whooping, “Rain for Robby!” Tom swung about to show me Robby’s face: he was laughing right out loud, “W-W-Wobby’s!” “Wobby’s … wain … Mom,” giggling（咯咯地笑）, and stretching out one tiny hand in the shape of a cup to catch the rain.
I hugged them both, tears of joy mixing with the rain.
【小题1】The underlined phrase “the wonderful gifts” in the 3rd paragraph refers to Robby’s ______.

A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.

Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist (拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.

When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.

1.The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.

2.One night he went out for _______ alone.

3.Suddenly he found his_______ was gone.

4. The Italian gave up his watch to him at last because ________.

5.Who was robbed of the watch on earth?

【小题1】The most universal f__________ expression is the smile, which is to show happiness and put people at ease.
【小题2】We hadn’t told anybody else about our plan, but c__________, he seemed to have
known what we would do next.
【小题3】--What happened to Tom yesterday?
--He had a car accident, but f__________ he was not injured.
【小题4】In order not to let others hear what they said, they talked in a w___________.
【小题5】When the dog attacked me, I picked up a stick and d__________ myself.
【小题6】Though She was very successful, she was never c__________ with what she had
achieved. 
【小题7】Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest scientists in the world, has been
s___________ with illness for many years. （斗争）
【小题8】--What do you think of my new dress?
--It’s pretty, but I don’t think it’s suitable for this __________. (场合)
【小题9】Steven Spielberg is one of the best d__________ in the world, who has made a lot of
excellent movies. (导演)
【小题10】At last Yuan Longpin succeeded in finding a way to increase rice harvests without
__________ the areas of fields. (扩大)

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those who knew them best — the people of Puerto Rico. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West Indies, off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east coast of the United States. Often they pass near Puerto Rico or cross it on their way north. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saint’s Day on which it arrives. Two of the most destructive storms were the Santo Ana in 1840 and the San Ciriaco in 1899.

Giving girls’ names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “Storm”, written by George Stewart in 1941. In it a weatherman amused himself by naming storms after girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how she Maria grew and developed, and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States.

Weathermen of the U.S. Army and Navy used the same system during World WarⅡ. They were studying weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they spotted one, they gave it a girl’s name. The first one of the year was given a name beginning with [A]. The second one got a name beginning with [B]. They used all the letters from A to W, and still the storms kept coming. They had to use three lists from A to W to have enough names to go around. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet. It served as a model for the system the Weather Bureau (局) introduced in 1942.

　　Before 1950 the Weather Bureau had no special system for naming hurricanes. When a hurricane was born down in the West Indies, the Weather Bureau simply collected information about it. It reported how fast the storm was moving and where it would go next. Weather reports warned people in the path of the hurricane, so that they could do whatever was necessary to protect themselves.

　　This system worked out fine as long as weather reports talked about only one hurricane at a time. But one week in September 1950 there were three hurricanes at the same time. The things began to get confused. Some people got the hurricanes mixed up and didn’t know which was which. This convinced the Weather Bureau that it needed a code for naming the storms in order to avoid confusion in the future.

Hurricanes were first named after the _________.

       A. date on which they occurred　 B. place where they began

　    C. amount of destruction they did　     D. particular feature they have

The practice of giving girls’ names to hurricanes was started by _________.

　    A. a radio operator       B. an author                 C. a sailor              D. local people

The purpose for which weathermen of the army and navy began using girls’ names for hurricanes was ________.

　    A. to keep information from the enemy      B. to follow the standard method of the United States

　    C. not given in the article　  D. to remember a certain girl

The Weather Bureau began naming hurricanes because it would help them _________.

　    A. collect information more rapidly　  B. warn people more efficiently

　    C. make use of military (军事的) records　 D. remember them