Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.

 I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception（接收）.

 My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.

 In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell how my playpen（婴儿圈栏）sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".

As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit the farm every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle（喧闹）of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.

Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.

My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.

Then the radio announcer of this oldie station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves. “Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower...”.

1.The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that

    ________.

A. it was too cold and quiet

B. she could only sing one song on the small farm

C. there was nothing more that could make her excited

D. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat

2.From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.

    A. passed away four years ago

 B. left the small farm with Lord

C. left for Lord to live her own way

    D. preferred to be with Lord

3.The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.

A. recalled       B. comforted       C. shouted        D. sighed

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage _______.

A. The writer was able to sing before she could speak.

B. The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city.

C. The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower".

D. The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______

A. Cherish life                      B. My happy childhood

C. Our small farmhouse               D. Mom’s music

Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stars. She was soon out of breath (气喘吁吁).
“I suppose I had better go to the doctor,” she thought.
She went to the doctor and told him her problem.
“I’m not surprised at all,” he said. “It’s obvious what your problem is.”
He looked her over then gave her some advice.
“If you don’t do what I say, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “you will have a heart attack. It could kill you.”
Ellen Parker was very worried as she left the doctor’s. She knew that she had to take his advice but it would not be easy and it would take time.
The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher’s shop (肉铺).
“I’d like ten pounds of steak (牛排), please,” she said.
“Certainly, madam,” the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and put it on the scale (天平).
“That’s just under ten pounds,” he said.
“That big enough,” Mrs. Parker said.
The butcher worked out the price.
“At $4.99 a pound that will be $49.50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat,” Mrs. Parker said.
“If you don’t want to buy it,” the butcher replied angrily, “why did you ask me to get it for you?”
“My doctor told me that I am over-weight and I have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of meat looked like.”
【小题1】Why did Ellen Parker visit the doctor?

A man made a nice talking machine. It could weigh people. The man wanted to try the machine before he could make a lot of these kinds of machines.
He put the machine into the waiting room of a station . There were always lots of people in  and out there.
The first one began to use the machine. It was an Indian woman. When she stand on the machine, the machine thought for a few minutes to decide which language it should speak.  “Good morning, madam,” it said in Indian. “Your weight is 72 kilos. That’s three kilos more. If you eat more fruit and vegetables, you will be soon all right. Wish you a nice day.”
The second one who used the machine was a nice Chinese girl. She stood on the machine and waited to hear her weight. “Good morning , Miss ,”the machine said in Chinese. “Your weight is 45 kilos. It’s all right for your age and height. Go on to eat what you eat every day. Wish you a nice day.”
The third one to use the machine was a very fat American woman. She thought for a long time before standing on the machine. But as soon as she stood on the machine, the machine spoke quickly in English , “Good morning . Will one of you get off?”
【小题1】The nice talking machine could_____

Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy. He used to be a“problem child”, but a recent? ???? with his mother changed his life. He didn’t use to give his mother many problems. ??? , after his father’s death a few years ago, Martin’s life became ???? more difficult. His mother couldn’t afford to pay for her child’s education. To do this, she ???? work, and so was often not at home.

His mother looked after him as ????? as she could. Unfortunately, Martin still caused problems. He was not ???? in studying and he often got in to trouble. Luckily, his mother was very ???? and didn’t give up trying to help him. In the end, she ???? a difficult decision:to send him to a boys’boarding school. Martin hated it and used to cause a lot of trouble.

One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. The teacher said it was necessary for Martin to ???? with his mother. Martin called his mother, but to his ???? , this phone call changed his life. “It was exactly ???? Ineeded, ”he said. “My mother helped me to understand how much she had given me. She also told me that even though my father was no longer with us, he was ???? me and would always take pride in every thing good I do. That’s when I decided to change. I realize that ???? my father died, I have been afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my mother pay more attention to me. ”

　　 Now Martin has ???? changed. He has been working hard and is now one of the best students in his class. How was he able to change?His mother’s???? helped him to feel good about himself.

1.A. conversation??? ?? B. report???? ?? C. survey???? ? D. speech

2.A. So?????????????? B. But??????? ? C. Therefore?? ? D. However

3.A. very??? ???????? B. many?????? ? C. much??????? D. too

4.A. could??????????? B. had to???? ??? C. should????? D. would

5.A. soon???????????? B. quickly??? ?? C. well??????? ? D. good

6.A. pleased????????? B. tired????? ??? C. bored?????? ? D. interested

7.A. worried????????? B. patient??? ??? C. careful???? ?? D. serious

8.A. made???????????? B. took?????? ?? C. got???????? D. thought

9.A. argue??????????? B. say??????? ? C. discuss???? ?? D. talk

10.A. surprised??????? B. surprising ??? C. surprise??? ?? D. surprises

11.A. which??????????? B. what?????? C. that??????? ?? D. how

12.A. seeing?????????? B. noticing?? ?? C. helping???? ?? D. watching

13.A. since??????????? B. before???? ?? C. after?????? ?? D. when

14.A. always?????????? B. hardly???? ?? C. really????? ?? D. just

15.A. advice?????????? B. love?????? ?? C. idea?????? ? D. decision

The train started moving. It was packed with people of all ages. Most of them were working men and women and young college boys and girls. Near the window sat an old man with his son, who looked about thirty years old.

As the train moved, the son was filled with joy because he was very excited at the scenery outside. He said in a high voice, “See Dad, the green trees and the scenery are very beautiful!” It made the other people feel very strange. Everyone started talking in a low voice about the old man’s son. Suddenly, it started raining. Raindrops fell on the travelers through the open window. Seeing the rain, the old man’s son said happily, “See Dad, how beautiful the rain is!” Hearing these words, a young lady became angry with the man, as the raindrops were dropping on her new clothes. She couldn’t help shouting at the noisy son and his father.

“Can’t you see it is raining? You! Old man! If your son is not feeling well, get him to a mental hospital quickly and please don’t disturb us any more!” The old man’s face turned slightly red and then in a low voice, he replied, “We are on the way back from hospital. He was blind at birth. Only last week he can see again. The rain and the nature are new to him. Please forgive him.” All the other people became quiet.

1.How old was the old man’s son?

2.What did people think of the son’s behavior（行为）? They thought he was _________.

3.What was wrong with the son when he was born?

4.What do you think of the young lady?

5.According to the passage, what does the writer want to tell us?