It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.

Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt, began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.

"I'm sorry, sir," said the first soldier. "I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."

And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…"

Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"

"No, no, sir," said the young man. "My bus was all right, but the dead horses were in its way!"

21. The military camp was built in the village to _______.

A. stop the soldiers going to towns

B. stop the soldiers meeting their friends

C. train the new soldiers

D. make the young men live quietly

22. The young officer was worried because _______.

A. a traffic accident had happened

B. he was afraid something happened to the nine soldiers

C. the nine soldiers didn't come back on time

D. the nine soldiers drank too much in the town

23. Which answer do you think is right?

A. I'll believe only the last soldier.

B. The officer believed the nine soldiers.

C. I'll believe none of the nine soldiers.

D. The officer won't punish his soldiers.

We were on our way home from Houston one Saturday morning. We decided to stop at a local gas station to get coffee and something to snack on since it was a good hour and a half before we got home.
    When we were done, we got back into our car and before I started it,  we noticed a man standing outside in front of the building. He was a homeless man with worn clothes and it looked like he had gone in and gotten himself some coffee or something warm to drink since it was cold this time of the year. He must have not had enough money to get something to eat.
    Then a dog walked up to the front of the building. I could tell she was a “she”, because you could tell that she had baby dogs. She was terribly in need of something to eat and I felt so bad for her. I knew if she didn’t eat soon, she and her baby dogs would not make it.
    I and my wife sat there and looked at her. We noticed that people walked by and didn’t even pet her, like most people do when they walk by an animal in front of a store. We still did not do anything. But the homeless man, who I thought did not buy himself anything to eat, went back into the store. And what he did brought tears to me and my wife. He had gone into the store and with what money he may have had, bought a can of dog food and fed that dog.
    This story plays a great part in our lives. You see, that was Mother’s Day weekend. And a lot of people forget that some animals are parents too.
    It took a homeless man, to show me what I should have done. He make me a better man that day.

24. The homeless man only had something to drink because _______.
A. he didn’t have enough money for food          B. he was thirsty only
C. the store only provided drinks                  D. he felt cold that day

25. Seeing what the poor man did for the dog, the author and his wife ________.
A. were puzzled                         B. were greatly moved
C. regretted they hadn’t done anything     D. were indifferent

26. If the homeless man hadn’t given the dog food to eat, she and her babies would ____.
A. not survive    B. have to attack people   C. not have to die  D. lose their homes

27. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A. A kind Homeless Man              B. A Lucky Mother Dog

C. Mother Day’s Weekend             D. Animals Are Parents Too

Movies we can't wait to see

　　American Hustle (December 18)

　　What it's about: Pulling inspiration from the FBI's Abscam operation of the late 1970s, American Hustle is a good combination of criminals and the law in an effort to find out corrupt (腐败的) politicians.

　　Who it stars: A cast doesn't get much better than this: Bradley Cooper (Richie DiMaso); Christian Bale (Irving Rosenfeld); Amy Adams (Sydney Prosser); Jeremy Renner (politician Carmine Polito); and Jennifer Lawrence (Irving's wife Rosalyn).

　　The comments: With so many attractive names, American Hustle looks to be all but a success with audiences and critics.

　　Inside Llewyn Davis (December 20)

　　What it's about: In the folk scene of Greenwich Village in 1961, a musician by the name of Llewyn Davis is struggling to make something of his career. The film is in memory of him and his music.

　　Who it stars: Oscar Issac (Llewyn Davis); John Goodman; Garrett Hedlund; Justin Timberlake; and Carey Mulligan.

　　The comments: Ethan and Joel Coen wrote and directed this humorous drama, and T¬Bone Burnett executive produced the music, which plays an important part in the film.

　　Saving Mr. Banks (December 20)

　　What it's about: Saving Mr Banks records a true story about Walt Disney's persistent persuasion of P.L. Travers (the author of the novel Mary Poppins) that finally led to the famous novel being turned into a movie.

　　Who it stars: Tom Hanks (Walt Disney); Emma Thompson (P.L. Travers); Culin Farre; Paol Giamatti and Bradley Whitford.

　　The comments: Directed by John Lee Hancock, critics have praised a lot the performances of Hanks and Thompson.

　　The Wolf of Wall Street (December 25)

　　What it's about: In the 1990s, stockbroker Jordan Belfort was living an extremely rich life won from his tricky plan—that is, until his plan began to fail and resulted in his arrest.

　　Who it stars: Adapted from Belfort's autobiography (自传) and directed by Martin Scorsese, with Leonardo DiCaprio as the “wolf” himself, it also stars Jonah Hill; Margot Robbie; P.J. Byrne and Jon Favreau.

　　The comments: The movie's release recently caused a heated discussion when it looked like it was going to drop off the 2013 calendar altogether; thankfully, Paramount is still trying to meet the December 25 release date. It is still in doubt, but we are all waiting to see the film during Christmas with high expectation.

28. If you are interested in music, you may choose ________ to see.

　 A. American Hustle                   B. Inside Llewyn Davis

C. Saving Mr Banks                   D. The Wolf of Wall Street

29. Who is the main character in the film Saving Mr Banks?

　 A. Leonardo DiCaprio.　　          　B. Tom Hanks.

　 C. Llewyn Davis.                     D. Walt Disney.

30. What do the four films have in common?

　 A. They are all humorous films.

B. They all tell true stories about famous people or incidents.

　 C. They are all adapted from popular novels or autobiographies.

　 D. They are all bound to release around Christmas.

31. Where can you find the passage?

　 A. A book review.                     B. A guidebook for tourists.

C. An entertainment magazine.           D. A science report.

A year ago in August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was hard, and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift—$ 7,000, a legacy (遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident. “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.
    But the Fusses weren’t the only people in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in other, it was more than $ 100,000.
      It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money, more than $ 3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm.
     Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They liked comparison shopping and would go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase.
     Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.”
     Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy—a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cent—should enrich the whole community (社区) and last for generations to come.
     Neighbors helping neighbors—that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story.
32. According go the text, the Fusses ______.
   A. were employed by a truck company       B. were in financial (经济) difficulty
   C. worked in a school cafeteria                 D. lost their home
33. Which of the following is True of the Hatches?
   A. They were relatives of Dave Fuss.      

  B. They left the family farm to live in an old house.
   C. They gave away their money to their neighbors.

 D. They helped their neighbors to find jobs.
34. Why would the Hatches go from store to store?
   A. They decided to open a store.                 B. They wanted to save money.
   C. They couldn’t afford expensive things.    D. They wanted to buy gifts for local kids.
35. According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were ______.
   A. understanding         B. narrow-minded        C. childlike       D. curious
    

__36__. People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money.

 Most of the money today is made of mental or paper. _37_. One of the first kinds of money was shells.

 Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa.

 The first mental coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the centre. ___38___.

 Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. ___39_. Sweden and Russia used copper(铜) to make their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver.

 But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. ___40__. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than the paper money used today.

 Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.

A. The first coins in England were made of tin(锡).

B. But people used to use all kinds of things as money.

C. No one knows for certain when people began to use money.

D. People strung(串连) them together and carried them from place to place.

E. Money, as we know, is all made of paper.

F. They began to use paper money.

G. Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services