For years I wanted a garden．I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．

But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．

Money was not enough．Neither was time．Often when my children were little,

one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know．”

Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about a garden．

Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．There were things blowing around on it．       Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw．

There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look．It was true! There were dollar bills(帐单), one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree．There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom．We love you!”

Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．A new page started in my life．

That was three years ago．My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they’re right there with me．Now every year when winter comes, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I’ll see next spring in my little garden．I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time．

I’m still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

1.How many children did the writer have?

A．Three            B．Four             C．Five              D．Six

2.What did the mother mean when she said “Money doesn’t grow on trees”?

A．She was too busy to plant a money tree at that time．

B．She had to save money so that she could have a garden．

C．It wasn’t easy for her to make money to raise all the children．

D．They didn’t have much money because the mother lost her job．

3.The “money tree” appeared in the writer’s yard _________．

A．before her children were born

B．one spring morning when the children were little

C．after the children went to school

D．on a Mother’s Day after the children left her

4.The children planted a money tree in their mother’s yard because _________．

A．their mother needed money badly

B．they wanted to show their love to their mother

C．it was time for them to give the money back to her

D．they wanted to live together with their mother forever

For years I wanted a garden．I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．
But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．
Money was not enough．Neither was time．Often when my children were little,
one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know．”
Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about a garden．
Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．There were things blowing around on it．       Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw．
There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look．It was true! There were dollar bills(帐单), one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree．There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom．We love you!”
Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．A new page started in my life．
That was three years ago．My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they’re right there with me．Now every year when winter comes, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I’ll see next spring in my little garden．I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time．
I’m still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

1. 1.

   How many children did the writer have?

   1. A.
      Three
   2. B.
      Four
   3. C.
      Five
   4. D.
      Six
2. 2.

   What did the mother mean when she said “Money doesn’t grow on trees”?

   1. A.
      She was too busy to plant a money tree at that time．
   2. B.
      She had to save money so that she could have a garden．
   3. C.
      It wasn’t easy for her to make money to raise all the children．
   4. D.
      They didn’t have much money because the mother lost her job．
3. 3.

   The “money tree” appeared in the writer’s yard _________．

   1. A.
      before her children were born
   2. B.
      one spring morning when the children were little
   3. C.
      after the children went to school
   4. D.
      on a Mother’s Day after the children left her
4. 4.

   The children planted a money tree in their mother’s yard because _________．

   1. A.
      their mother needed money badly
   2. B.
      they wanted to show their love to their mother
   3. C.
      it was time for them to give the money back to her
   4. D.
      they wanted to live together with their mother forever

I was in line waiting to pay．In line there were two people before me．A little boy was buying some rather strange clothes．He chatted with anyone who was interested in the clothes and soon we learnt that he was going to a kindergarten（幼儿园） party． He had done a great job of putting together interesting costumes．

I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change（零钱）．It seemed that he had robbed his pig bank（猪形储蓄罐）to do this shopping．However, the cashier told him he was short after counting all the money．The boy thought for a moment and said, “Please keep the shirt and I will come back with more money．

It was clear that he had already used all the money he had and he was $ 8．00 short． The lady in front of me said, “Well, I could pay half of that．“I told the boy that I could pay the other half．We dug into our handbags．However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills（纸币）and we needed the cashier to get the change for us．Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change．It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react（反应） with the same mind．All wanted to be of help．Within minutes the cashier said, “I have too much money．” The cashier didn’t need our ten-dollar bills．Then the lady in front of me, who had been the first to offer help, said, “Wait! I didn’t even get a chance to give anything!”

I smiled at her and said, “You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this．“ The little boy smiled and thanked us．We wished him the best and he left．I was left with a good feeling．I had seen the love and goodness of others all around me．The woman in front of me smiled and said, “It sure feels good to give, doesn’t it?” I smiled back and said, “Yes !”

1．What is this passage mainly about?

A． Love and goodness．                B． Culture and tradition．

C． Friendship and honesty．             D． Communication and understanding．

2．Why did the writer and the woman both feel glad?

A． Because the boy had saved some money．

B． Because they both didn’t need to give anything．

C． Because the cashier didn’t look down on the boy．

D． Because all the shoppers around were willing to help the boy．

3．What does the underlined word “touching” most probably mean?

A．令人感动的         B．令人难过的           C．令人失望的          D．令人害怕的

4．What’s the correct order of the following events?

a． The cashier got enough money for the boy’s shirt．

b． The cashier counted the boy’s money．

c． The shoppers looked for some change in their pockets．

d． The boy went to the line to pay．

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

    Joe and Jeff worked for a factory．

    When this story happened，they were working around a very large house．Job was do the cleaning．It Was not a difficult job，but sometimes it was a little dangerous，because they had to walk below where workmen were working．Often these workmen dropped something from the top of the house many meters high to the ground．

    One morning Joe Was working near the house with a cigarette(香烟)behind one of his ears．Suddenly somebody on the top shouted，“Look out!”

    But Joe did not “look out”．He looked up．And as he did so，a long knife foil off the top of the house．

    Luckily，the knife missed Joe’s head，but it cut off one of his ears．

    At once he put his hand to one side of his head and cried out．“I’ve lost all ear．Help! Help!”

    Jeff ran up to help his friend．

    “Look for my ear．”Joe told him．“It must be on the ground somewhere．”

    Jeff looked everywhere for the missing ear．At last he found an ear on the ground．He picked it up and carried it to Joe．

    “Here you are，”he said，“I’ve found it．”Joe looked at it．“No，that’s not my ear，” he said，“Mine had a cigarette behind it，”

1．What were Joe and Jeff?

    A．Soldiers        B．Drivers         C．Farmers   D．Cleaners

2．How did Joe lose his ear?

    A．He cut it off by himself              B．Jeff cut it off with a knife

    C．A falling knife cut it off                D．A cigarette burned it up

3．At the end of the story Jeff found _________。

    A．someone else’s ear                     B．Joe’s ear

    C．a long knife                                 D．a cigarette

4．From the passage，we know Joe was not________

    A．strong                               B．kind

    C．serious                                 D．clever

5．Which is most possible title(题目)for this passage?

    A．A Lost Ear                                B．A Busy Cleaner

    C．A Falling Knife                             D．A Forgetful Man