One day newly wedded Nancy lost her ring while helping to plant potatoes. Friends were called and the field was searched long but in vain. Later, when the potatoes were harvested, Everyone looked out for the ring but it remained lost. Another year came round and all the farmers working in the field kept their eyes open. The following year was the same. And year after year, whoever had business in the field always had Nancy’s ring in his mind.

Then the farm changed hands but it went no farther than to cousins. So the memory of the lost ring remained alive until thirty-eight years had passed. Then came a spring day when a man was ploughing the field behind a pair of horses. Even after thirty-eight years he still looked out for the ring, and knew just which part of the field Nancy had lost it in. At this time, when he came there, he found it .He picked it up, put it carefully into his pocket, left his horse, and ran all the way down to the village and placed it into Nancy’s hand.

【小题1】．The underlined word “in vain”  in the 1^st   paragraph  most probably means “_______”.

  A. suggested .     B. returned no result   C. insisted         D. decided

【小题2】．How did Nancy come to lose her ring?

      A．She lost it while helping to harvest tomatoes in the field

      B．She lost it while watering the plants in the field.

      C．She lost it while working in the field.

      D．She lost it while helping to plant potatoes in the field.

【小题3】．What did the ploughman do after finding the ring?

      A．He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

      B．He ran back to tell everybody in the village.

      C．He placed it in a secret spot.

      D．He returned it to the owner.

【小题4】．What can you infer from the story?

      A．The ring was invaluable.

      B．People on the farm were honest and helpful.

      C．The ring’s mysterious disappearance was the work of supernatural power.

      D．Nancy no longer expected that her ring would be found again.

Harry is eighteen now. He studies in a middle school. His parents like him very much and hope he can become a famous man. So they often tell him to study hard and they do all for him. They call him at six in the morning, after breakfast his father takes him to school in a car and in the afternoon, as soon as the young man comes back, the supper is ready. Of course, he never washes his clothes or goes to buy something in the shops.

Once Harry’s father was sent to London on business. He would stay there for half a year. Leaving, he told his wife to take good care of their son. The woman had to get up earlier and did all her husband did before. And two months later she was so tired that she was ill in bed. Now the young man got into trouble. He couldn’t do any housework. He had to do as his mother told him. Even he didn’t know where to get on the bus!

Yesterday Harry’s mother found his shoes were worn out and told him to buy a new pair in the shop. But he didn’t know how to choose. The woman had a sigh(叹息) and gave him a shoe pattern(鞋样) and told him to buy a pair of shoes himself. It’s Saturday today and Harry doesn’t go to school. With a policeman’s help, he found a shop. The shopkeeper was friendly to him. The man brought a lot of shoes and asked him to choose. When he was trying on a pair, suddenly he remembered something and took them off. The man was surprised and asked, “What’s the matter, young man?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve left the shoe pattern at home!”

【小题1】. _______ always does some housework in the morning.

 A. Harry’s mother        B. Harry’s father    C. Harry                   D. Nobody

【小题2】. Harry’s parents do all instead of him because _______.

  A. he’s too young                            B. he has poor health

  C. they hope he spends all time on studies    D. he’s busy with his studies

【小题3】. The woman had to look after her son by herself because _______.

 A. she was stronger than her husband     B. her husband wasn’t at home

 C. she knew the young man well         D. she was freer than her husband

   One Friday morning, Andrew announced to his wife that he finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Andrew felt worried --- what if Mr. Larchmont refuses to grant his request? Andrew had worked so hard and of course, he deserves a wage increase.

The thought of walking into Larchmont’s office left Andrew weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he finally mustered up the courage to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the ever-frugal Harvey Larchmont agreed to give him a raise!

Andrew arrived home to a beautiful table set with their best china, and candles lit. His wife, Tina had prepared a fine meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office might have broken the good news to her!

Next to his plate Andrew found a lettered note, reading: "Congratulations, my love! I knew you'd get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!" He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Tina was.

After dinner, Andrew was on his way to the kitchen when he observed a second card had slipped out of Tina's pocket onto the floor. He picked it up. He read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you just how much I love you even though you did not get the increase."

Suddenly tears swelled in Andrew's eyes. Total acceptance! Tina's support for him was not conditional upon his success at work.

The fear of rejection is often softened when we know someone loves us regardless of our success or failure.

【小题1】. Why was Andrew worried about asking for a salary raise?

   A. He was afraid of being turned down.      B. He didn’t think he ought to get a raise.

   C. He wife didn’t support him in this.        D. His superior had refused him once.

【小题2】. What does the underlined word “muster” in the second paragraph probably mean?

  A. To gather something.                      B. To make use of something .                      C. To create something.                                        D. To consume something

【小题3】. Andrew felt ______ when he discovered the truth.

   A. angry                      B. disappointed                     C. relaxed       D. moved

【小题4】. Tina prepared a good meal, _________.

   A. because she knew her husband would make it

   B. because she wanted to comfort her husband

   C. but she didn’t know what the result would be

   D. and she wrote a letter to her husband.

    We often hear people talking about a generation gap (代沟). The name is new, but the idea is old. Young people and their parents don’t understand each other. The world has always kept changing. During the second century after Christ a wise man said, “Bury me on my face because in a little while everything will be turned upside down.”

   There has always been a gap between generations, but more people talk about it now. Old Mr. Ellis thinks he understands what has happened.

   “When I was a boy, I thought the world was a beautiful place. My life was very pleasant. But when I was older, I learned about people who were treated badly, people who didn’t have enough to eat. I wanted to help them, and I married a girl who wanted to help them, too. We went to meetings and talked a lot, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. ”

   “Our children grew up in a world at war. They didn’t know when the fighting would stop. They wanted their children to have nice clothes and toys. They didn’t want to think about the future. They thought nothing could be done about it.”

   “Now I have grandchildren, and they have their own ideas. They are trying to make the world better. They are trying to help other people. They’re making people listen to them. I am proud of their generation.”

【小题1】. The wise man mentioned in the text told people to bury him on his face so that when everything is turned upside down he will _____.

A. lie on his back        B. lie on his stomach   C. stand quietly         D. sit in peace

【小题2】. Which generation did NOT want to do anything to make the world a better one?

 A. Mr. Ellis’ generation         B. His grandchildren’s generation

 C. His children’s generation     D. None of the above.

【小题3】. Which generation is/was more efficient in making the world better one?

A. Mr. Ellis’ generation.           B. His children’s generation.

C. His grandchildren’s generation.   D. None of the above.

【小题4】. What is the writer’s attitude towards the generation gap?

A. Unacceptable.    B. Awful.     C. Funny.       D. Objective

Love is a telephone which always keeps silent when you are longing for a call, but rings when you are not ready for it.   36  .

Love is a telephone which is seldom program-controlled or directly dialed. You cannot get an immediate answer by a mere "hello", let alone go deep into your lover's heart by one call. Usually it had to be relayed by an operator,   37  .

38  .When you are ready to die for love, you only find, to your disappointment, the line is already occupied by someone else, and you are greeted only by a busy line.

Love is a telephone which is not always associated with (与…有联系)happiness.   39  .

Love is a telephone which, when you use it for the first time, makes you so nervous and excited   40  .

A. When you pick up a phone, you never know whether it brings sweetness or bitterness.

B. and you have to be patient in waiting.

C. so everything can be done in a second.

D. As a result, we often miss the sweetness from the other end.

E. that you will hate to make another call.

F. Love is a telephone which is always busy.  

G. that you either hold the receiver upside down or dial the wrong number.