That was my grandmother's first Christmas without Grandfather. When my parents and I arrived at her little house ,we found she had waited up all night for us.
Grandfather had always said that the Christmas tree was the most important decoration (装饰物) of all. So first we took out the beautiful tree that was stored in the closet (贮藏室). But the star was missing. It was my grandmother's favorite part of the tree.
"Why? It must be somewhere in the closet," my grandmother said.
As we opened up boxes one by one and found no star, my grandmother's eyes were full of tears. Grandfather had given it to her some fifty years ago, on their first Christmas together. But on her first Christmas without him, the star was gone.
The next morning, my family sat down together to open the presents.
"The last gift is to Grandmother from Grandfather," Father said, in a strange voice.
"From whom?" There was surprise in my grandmother's voice.
"I found this gift in Grandfather's closet when we got the tree down," Mother explained.
My grandmother opened the box. There was a shinning (发亮的) golden star and a note in it:
Don't be angry with me, dear. I broke your star while putting away the decorations, and I couldn't bear to tell you. I hope it brings you as much happiness as the first one. Merry Christmas!
Love,                                                                                                                                         Bryant
根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳答案。（10分）
【小题1】 The family couldn't find the star on the Christmas tree because _____.

When I was seven years old my mom was diagnosed（诊断）with cancer．The doctors told us my mom might be saved with surgery（手术）．But it could also kill her．She chose to have it．

The day before the surgery I was off school，and my morn planned the best day of my life，everything I loved at seven and everything that would put a smile on my face．The day began with her waking me up saying，" Kate，I have a surprise for you．Come and see．"The surprise was a doll I had wanted for the longest time．Throughout the day，she told me every- thing that she thought ! would need to know to grow up and be a good person；she told me to be the best I could be and that I would always make her proud．We had a picnic in the park，and it was so cold that we moved to the car．The day was filled with laughter．For the first time in a long time I could see she was really happy．I would never forget her smile，or the way her eyes shone as if we were the same age．It was the best day of my life，and I will never forget the conversations we shared．

My mother managed to live through the surgery．Now when I look back，I realize that the best day of my life could be her last and this could be the last day I would remember with her，the last one we shared．I also understand how unselfish a mother is．

1．Who made the decision to have the surgery in the story?

A．The doctors．                                         B．The patient．

C．The writer．                                          D．The patient's family．

2．What did the writer's mother do the day before the surgery?

A．She stayed at home to have a good rest．

B．She went to the doctor's for advice．

C．She turned to her family for comfort．

D．She stayed all day with her child．

3．Why was the writer's mother happy that day?

A．Because she left her child a special memory．

B．Because she realized her child had grown up．

C．Because she was proud of what her child had done．

D．Because she expected the surgery to be successful．

4．The underlined sentence in the last paragraph suggests that ________

A．her mother was ill again．                  B．the surgery was unsuccessful

C．her mother was getting better               D．the surgery was very simple

5．Which of the following words best describes the writer's mother?

A．Hardworking．       B．Famous．          C．Rich．                D．Great．

阅读下面对话，根据对话内容及首字母提示，在空白处填入一个适当的单词。

My life，as it really is，is always filled with sadness and little joy．However，no matter  (1)w ______happens，I can always face it bravely．

    In July，last year，I couldn’t believe the  (2) n        : I became the first in the entrance exam and I could enter the only key high school in my hometown! Then I rushed to my home and told my parents．But my father didn’t seem as  (3) e          as I was．He just kept smoking without saying a word and my mother put her head down and couldn’t help crying．

    I wasn’t (4) s       at what I saw at all．I knew very well what my family was like. My mum had been in bed for two years because of her disease. I knew my family lived a  (5 )h ______ life and couldn’t afford my tuition fee(学费)．I felt so upset at that moment but I could say (6) n  ______   to my parents．

    I decided to help my father with his work to support my family instead of continuing my schooling．

    To my surprise，things completely  (7) c________   just three days before the beginning of the new term．My head teacher who had taught me three years came to my family with some money. The money had been (8) r_______   by my schoolmates. He encouraged me, “Always have a dream.”

    At the same time，my father also earned some extra money so that he could afford part of my tuition fee．

    I knew I was so (9)l_______   and decided to study harder in return．With tears in my eyes，I stepped into the key high school that I had dreamed of．

I have been studying hard since I entered the high school．Whenever I meet (10)d        ，I always  think of my teacher and schoolmates，and I can always get enough courage to go on．Because I have a college dream and must work hard for it no matter how hard life is．Just as a philosopher’s saying goes，“When one door shuts，another opens in life．’’