“How was school，Ben？” I asked my grandson after he began kindergarten (幼兒園) this year.“The work is too long...and there’s not enough time to play，” he replied.

I couldn’t help but remember Ben’s own mother，my daughter，Jane，and her reaction (反應) to the first day of school.Julie was also disappointed with the first day of school and so was her little sister.“I want to go ‘sool’and you not let me！” my three?year?old daughter announced angrily after her big sister got on the big yellow school bus.

When Julie returned home that afternoon I asked her the same question that I asked Ben，“How was school，Julie？” Julie replied，“I didn’t learn to read today.”

This year as the school bus went by my house，my mind went back to those school days again.I could almost smell the chalk dust in the air.I also wonder what the children these days manage to get chosen to do in order to get out of school for a few moments since there are no erasers to clean.It was fun to be “chosen” for eraser cleaning duty.This was a task finished by going outside and beating erasers together while sneezing and coughing.No_wonder_so_many_babies_now_have_allergies_(過敏癥)，it’s_simply_because_we_all_have_chalk_dust_in_our_lungs!

On the first day of school，the expectation was so great that I would ready long before it was time to leave for school.We didn’t miss having backpacks because we had cigar boxes.We carried our small supplies inside a cigar box from one of the local stores.We saved the cigar boxes and used them from year to year until they fell apart.

The first day of school was exciting.It was a new beginning.The doors of knowledge had been opened.The first day of school is an event in our lives that most of us remember.It’s a big step for a small child toward leaving babyhood behind and so “there isn’t enough time to play”．

No matter how old we get，nor how much we learn，it still seems like “The work is too long...and there’s not enough time to play.”

50．Why did Jane become angry according to the passage?

A．Because she didn’t learn to read on the first day of school.

B．Because there was too much work for her to do at school.

C．Because she had no time to play at school.

D．Because she wasn’t allowed to go to school.

51．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 suggests that________.

A．the author was thinking of her school days jokingly

B．the author warned students against the harm of chalk dust

C．the author suffered from an allergy because of chalk dust

D．the author doubted whether her lungs had chalk dust

52．In the opinion of the author，the first day of school is________.

A．a(chǎn) day when a child is the happiest

B．a(chǎn) day when a child does much work

C．the beginning of great learning

D．the end of childhood full of toys

53．Which of the following may the author agree with?

A．Children have too much homework to do now.

B．Teachers should make their classes interesting on the first day of school.

C．School days haven’t changed over years.

D．People never have enough time to play once they start school.

Sitting in the play area of the doctor’s office，my children，Paul，four，and Bailey，three，built a Lego tower while we waited to be called for Paul’s examination.

“Good job，you guys，”I said，trying not to sound too tired.My husband was away on business，and it was difficult being alone with the kids.At times I felt like I was living in the jungle (叢林) rather than the suburbs.

“Don’t put the Lego in your mouth，Bailey，” I said.Paul grabbed (抓取) it from him.“That’s not nice，Paul，” I said.He gave back the Lego.I looked around the waiting room.A woman was eating something，a couple were talking，and an old gentleman in a blue jacket was reading a magazine.I wished I could sit quietly for a while.I wanted to be able to take a rest，or go shopping alone.At once，I was ashamed of myself.What kind of mother was I？“God，” I thought，“help me to be the very best mom I can be.”

The nurse came into the waiting room to get us.Just at that moment，the old gentleman in the waiting room put down his magazine and came up to me.With a smile on his face，he said，“Your children are most certainly lucky to have such a wonderful mother.”“Thank you，”I replied in a low voice and watched him walk back to his seat.We followed the nurse into the examination room.While she weighed Paul，I told her how that man had made my day.

Motherhood is still a jungle sometimes，but now when I feel tired I remember the encouraging words of the old gentleman.

46．The writer went to the doctor’s office because________.

A．one of her children liked to play there

B．her son Paul needed an examination

C．she was tired and needed to see her doctor

D．she wanted to have all her children examined

47．From Paragraph 2，we know the writer felt that looking after her children alone was________.

A．unfair                                              B．happy 

C．hard                                                D．interesting

48．In the old gentleman’s opinion，the writer________.

A．lived a very hard life                           B．was a very good mother

C．didn’t love her children enough            D．was lucky to have so lovely children

49．What can we learn from the passage?

A．The writer often went shopping alone.

B．The writer’s husband was always on business.

C．The writer doesn’t know how to be a good mother.

D．The writer was greatly encouraged by the old gentleman’s words.

A large cat arrived at a farm where many mice lived.None of them dared go outside for fear of being__26__by the cat.

The mice decided to hold a__27__to find a way of stopping themselves from being in__28__.One day，when the cat was out，mice of all ages__29__into the meeting room.

“Let’s build a big trap，”one mouse__30__.When this idea was__31__，another said，“What about poisoning (毒死) her？”But__32__knew where to buy the poison.One young mouse，whose mother had become the cat’s food，__33__said，“Let’s cut her teeth，so she can do no more harm.”But the meeting did not accept his__34__.

At last，one mouse，__35__than the rest，jumped onto a table.Waving a bell，he called for__36__，“Be quiet！We’ll tie this bell to the cat’s tail，so we’ll always know__37__she is！We’ll have__38__to escape，and the slower and weaker mice will hear her coming and be able to__39__！” Hearing the words，everyone got__40__and they congratulated him on his good idea.

“We’ll tie it so tightly (緊緊地) that it will never__41__！”

“She’ll never be able to walk__42__again！Why，the other day，she suddenly appeared right in front of me！Just imagine...”

However，the wise mouse said，“We must__43__who is going to tie it on her tail.” There was not a sound in the room.Nobody was__44__enough to put the plan into action.The meeting ended without any decision being made.

It’s often very__45__to have bright ideas，but putting them into practice is a more difficult matter.

26．A.trained                                        B．taught 

C．caught                                             D．invited

27．A.party                                           B．test 

C．game                                               D．meeting

28．A.return                                         B．danger 

C．fact                                                 D．need

29．A.rushed                                        B．swam 

C．flew                                                D．stepped

30．A.questioned                                    B．explained 

C．suggested                                        D．a(chǎn)nswered

31．A.supported                                    B．discussed 

C．a(chǎn)ccepted                                          D．refused

32．A.everybody                                   B．nobody 

C．somebody                                        D．a(chǎn)nybody

33．A.angrily                                        B．happily 

C．carefully                                          D．slowly

34．A.present                                        B．reason 

C．idea                                                 D．excuse

35．A.younger                                      B．longer 

C．stronger                                           D．wiser

36．A.pleasure                                      B．silence 

C．help                                                 D．information

37．A.where                                         B．what 

C．how                                                D．who

38．A.experience                                   B．power 

C．time                                                D．space

39．A.shout                                          B．watch 

C．stay                                                 D．hide

40．A.worried                                       B．excited 

C．surprised                                          D．tired

41．A.drop off                                      B．turn up 

C．get up                                              D．put off

42．A.gladly                                          B．quickly 

C．quietly                                             D．directly

43．A.believe                                        B．learn 

C．imagine                                            D．decide

44．A.honest                                         B．brave 

C．rich                                                 D．old

45．A.easy                                            B．difficult 

C．strange                                            D．important

It is often________that one trouble never comes alone.In my rush to leave I forgot to take the plan I had made the night before.

A．to say                                            B．saying   

C．said                                                D．being said

The class ________seven groups，each having eight students.

A．divides into                                     B．is divided into

C．separates from                                 D．is separated from

I don’t think they can finish the work on time，________？

A．do I                                              B．don’t I  

C．can they                                          D．can’t they

—Shall we have a picnic this Sunday?

—Unless it________.

A．rains                                              B．will rain  

C．has rained                                        D．rained

—What do you think of their performances?

—Very wonderful.I was deeply________with the last one.

A．moved                                           B．impressed  

C．developed                                       D．enjoyed

It is Ms Chen’s serious attitude________her work and her interesting methods of teaching that make us like her very much.

A．with                                               B．on 

C．towards                                          D．a(chǎn)bout

Don’t forget to read the________on the bottle before you take the medicine.

A．descriptions                                   B．comprehension

C．behaviour                                       D．instructions