traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children
in rags huddling together inside the storm door on the top step.
"Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say "no" until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals,
wet with heavy snow.
"Come in and I"ll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them
cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again
on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at
it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, "Your cups
match your saucers." Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after
that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn"t said "Thank you." They didn"t need to.
They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were
only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my
man with a good steady job-these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were
still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.
B. they were beggars
C. they wanted old papers
D. they wanted a cup of cocoa
B. She had old papers to sell
C. She wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving feast
D. She wanted them to see how rich she was
B. she saw the cups matched the saucers
C. the writer"s slipcovers were very new
D. the writer was preparing a big meal while she was too hungry.
B. how you feel about your life
C. how you have helped others
D. what job your husband is doing
B. remind her that she had helped two children
C. remind her that she was very rich in the neighborhood
D. remind her how life should be
invited. We immediately rushed out to a 1 , and I bought a nice pink dress with a jacket. The dress was a
little 2 , but I had a month to go before the June 30 wedding and I would 3 a few pounds.
June 29 came and, of course, I hadn"t lost a single pound; in fact I had 4 two. But I 5 a nice new
girdle (紧身内衣) would cure everything. So on our way out of the city we 6 once again at the store. I ran
in and told the clerk I needed a 7 large girdle. The clerk found the box with the 8 girdle marked "LG", and
asked if I would like to try it on. "Oh, no, a large will fit just right. I 9 try it on."
The next morning was rather hot, one of those thirty-four degree days, I suppose, so I 10 to get dressed
until about 45 minutes before time to go. I opened the box only to 11 a new girdle in a small size. Since it was
too late to find another one and the dress wouldn"t 12 right without a girdle, a fight 13 in the hotel room
between me and the girdle. Have you ever tried to 14 20 pounds of potatoes into a five-pound bag? That"s it.
Finally my husband, 15 like crazy, got hold of each side and shook me down into it. At once I put on the pink
dress, which didn"t 16 very well with my red face, and was ready to go.
Finally we got to the 17 . I heard one of the people say that they were having a High Mass (大弥撒). I
turned to my husband and asked, "What is a High Mass?" He shrugged his 18 .
19 , I learned that this particular mass would last one hour, twenty-two minutes and eight and one half
seconds-the priest (神父) was going to bless 20 except my girdle.
( )1. A. hotel | B. store | C. church C. little C. lose C. gained C. demanded C. stopped C. width C. sold C. shouldn’t C. tried C. search C. fit C. broke up C. push C. shouting C. work C. church C. head C.Luckily C. anything | D. office D. perfect D. miss D. lost D. figured D. entered D. depth D. talked D. mustn’t D. waited D. look D. wear D. broke away D. shake D. smiling D. look D. hotel D. hands D.Unfortunately D. everything | ||||||||||||||||||||||
阅读理解。 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
One day I got a duck from a friend who lived two miles south of my house. I brought the duck home in a bag. It was obvious that the duck missed his family very much upon his arrival. Left to himself, he would at once turn his head homeward. I tried to shut him together with other ducks for several days, but with no use at all. There seemed to be but one thought in the mind of him, and that was home. So I decided to let him out, but I kept about fifty yards behind him. I followed, thinking he would soon lose his way and came back. But he seemed to have an exact map of the country in his mind. Soon he met a dog. He paused and looked at the animal for a moment, and then turned to the right along a road which led to a railroad station. He had now gone about half the distance, and was getting tired. A little pool of water by the roadside caught his eye. Into it he bathed, drank, and rested for a few moments, and then started homeward again. For a while, he realized that he had got into the wrong direction, and turned his face southward again. Finally we came in sight of the home path, which led up to the farmhouse. It was now nearly night and I had no time to watch the experiment further. But as he neared the path he seemed suddenly to see some familiar things, and rushed at the top of his speed. I followed close behind. Into the house yard he rushed with uplifted wings as if he was eagerly telling his partners the story of his adventures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. What does the author think about the duck? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
[ ] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
A. Interesting and careful. B. Curious and enthusiastic. C. Intelligent and determined. D. Brave and experienced. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2. As soon as the duck arrived at a new place, he seemed _____. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
[ ] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
A. glad B. nervous C. tired D. homesick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
3. The underlined part “the experiment” in the last paragraph refers to "_____". | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
[ ] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
A. if the duck had the ability to get on well with other ducks. B. if the duck was born with a good sense of direction. C. if the duck could discover the author. D. if the duck could find his way home. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
4. What"s the purpose of the writer"s writing the text? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
[ ] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
A. To share us a duck"s interesting trip. B. To present his opinions about a duck"s remarkable experience. C. To express his curiosity about a duck"s interesting trip. D. To examine why a duck would like to rush on it"s own. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
完形填空 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
"I couldn"t move. I"ll have to wait here until you return." I said to my friends. I felt so aching and my 1 gave out under me. But at the last moment I 2 with great strength and walked with my friends. This was what I had experienced 12 years before when I was climbing Mt Huangshan, and this 3 cheered me up. Compared to the climbing of the Huangshan Mountain, going up the Wansheng Mountain (万圣山) seemed much 4 . The only 5 was the snow. On the 27th of January 2008, I went out alone, climbing the Wansheng Mountain. On my way I saw children playing 6 on the road, making snowmen or driving toy wooden trucks on the snow. Soon I 7 myself at the foot of the mountain. Looking up at the snow-covered giant mountain and seeing the steep slippery (滑) road with thick ice and snow, I suddenly felt a little 8 , but the 9 of the footprints in the snow made me feel 10 that this was a safe access to the top of the mountain. About 40 minutes later, I reached the edge of the forest on the mountain. Stamping on the road, I could feel the 11 of ice and snow. In some places, there were snow drifts and piles of ice, which were pushed aside to let people go more easily. Seeing the white-covered pine trees, I couldn"t help entering the 12 . In spite of the heavy 13 , many trees were still standing straight, but some were bent down with snow and ice, some even 14 . Walking on the path in the forest, I could see no more 15 . Suddenly I realized that it was 16 to walk in such dirty weather. In my childhood, I had witnessed thousands of trees, big or small, falling down one after another in a flash. Fearing that the 17 of dominoes (多米诺) might happen, I hurried 18 . Now I"m sitting beside a warm stove, writing about my trip while my memory is still 19 . I regard this to be one of the most exciting moments, one that I"ll 20 forever in my life. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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