A woman id her sixties lived alone in her little cottage with a pear tree at her door. She spent all her time taking care of the tree. But the children nearby drover her    21      by making fun of her. They would climb her tree and then run away with pears,     22   “Aunty Misery” at her.

One evening, a passer by asked to    23     for the night. Seeing that he had an   24   Face, she let him in and gave him a nice    25   . The next morning the stranger, actually a sorcerer (巫師), thanked her by granting (允準(zhǔn)) her   26     that anyone who climbed up her tree  27   not be able to come back down until she   28  it.

     When the children came back to steal her   29   , she had them stuck on the tree. They had to beg her

long   30   she gave the tree permission to let  31    go. Aunty Misery was free from the   32   at last.

One day another man    33    her door. This one did not look trustworthy to her,   34   she asked who he was . “I am Death, I’ve come to take you   35    me.” said he.

Thinking fast Aunty Misery said, “Fine, but I’d like to  36    some pears from my dear tree to remember the 37          

it brought to me in this life. But I am too    38   to climb high to get the best fruit. Will you be so   39    as to do it for me?” With a deep sigh, Mr. Death climbed up the tree   40   and was immediately stuck to it. No matter how much he warned or begged, Aunty Misery would not allow the tree to let Death go.

A. hopeless    B. painful   C. dull   D. crazy

A. calling     B. shouting   C. announcing  D. whispering

A. stay       B. live       C. hide     D. lie

A. interesting  B. honest    C. anxious    D. angry

A. gift      B. kiss      C. treat     D. smile

A. suggestion     B. demand      C. permission D. wish

A. could     B. should     C. might    D. must

A. permitted   B. promised      C. answered    D. declared

A. branch    B. food    C. tree     D. fruit

A. after      B. while     C. since       D. before

A. it        B. them      C. him        D. her

A. trick     B. question     C. trouble     D. difficulty

A. stepped into   B. left for       C. stopped at    D. walked around

A. so      B. but         C. although       D. because

A. with     B. off         C. upon         D. for

A. choose      B. pick      C. shake      D. hit

A. honor       B. pleasure   C. hope      D. excitement

A. light        B. short      C. old       D. thin

A. proud       B. kind       C. fine      D. smart

A. disappointedly       B. cheerfully      C. unwillingly     D. eagerly

A certain student passed all his examinations. Then he went to college to  21  his studies. There he wrote down his  22 for a course in English, but after the first 23 , he didn’t go to it any more.
The English lecturer 24_this student was always absent (缺席的) and thought he had  25_to another course, so he was  26  when he saw the boy’s name on the list of students who wanted to take the English  27at the end of this year.
The lecturer had  28 a difficult paper, which followed his  29 closely, and he was eager (熱切的) to see  30 this student would answer the questions. He  31__the boy’s answers would be very bad, but when they  32 him and he examined them  33 , he was able to find only one small mistake in them. As this surprised him greatly, he  34 the paper repeatedly but still couldn’t find more than one mistake, so he  35 for the student to question him about it.
When he came and sat down, the lecturer asked him, “I  36 you came to my first lecture and you’ve been absent from all the others. But I’ve examined your  37 carefully and I’ve found only one small mistake in it. I’m curious (好奇的) to know your  38 .”
“I’m very  39  about that mistake,” answered the student. “After the examination, I  40  what I should have done. I would not have made that mistake if I had not been confused by your first lecture.” 

A little boy was visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot(彈弓）to   21 in the woods. He practiced and practiced but could never   22  the target. Becoming somewhat   23 , he headed back for dinner.
As he was returning, he saw Grandma’s   24 duck. Without thinking, he shot his slingshot, hit the duck right   25 the head and killed it. He was shocked and sad. Quickly, he   26 the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his   27 watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After   28 that day, Grandma said, “Sally, you wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me that he wanted to   29 in the kitchen today, didn't you, Johnny?” And then she   30 to him, “Remember, the duck?” Then Johnny did the dishes.
Later, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to __31__ fishing, and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I __32__ Sally to help me make supper.” But Sally smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right. Johnny told me he wanted to __33__.” And she whispered again, “Remember, the   34  ?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny   35 at home.
After several days, Johnny finally couldn't   36 it any longer. He went to Grandma and   37 that he had killed her pet duck and asked for her   38 .
Hearing this, Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the   39 and saw the whole thing from the house. And because I   40 you, I forgive you, but I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make you her slave.”

A group of graduates got together to visit their old university professor.

The conversation soon turned into complaints about  26  in work and life. To offer his guests coffee, the  27  went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of  28  — porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some  29  , some expensive, some delicate — telling them to help themselves to the  30  .

    When all the students  31  a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, "If you have  32  , all the nice-looking expensive cups have been taken up,  33  the plain and cheap ones. While it is  34  for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the  35  of your problems and stress. "

    "Be assured that the cup itself adds no  36  to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even  37 what we drink. "

    "What all of you really want is coffee,  38  the cup, but you  39  went for the best cups … And then you began  40  each other's cups. "

    "Now consider  41  : Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain  42  , and the type of cup we have does not determine, nor  43  the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we  44  to enjoy the coffee. Fully appreciate the coffee, not the cups! Don't let the cups   45  you ... enjoy the coffee instead. "

1.A. stress             B. progress         C. condition        D. pride

2.A. advisor       B. professor        C. monitor     D. graduate

3.A. glasses       B. bowls        C. trays       D. cups

4.A. plain-looking   B. beautiful       C. modern       D. nice-looking

5.A. pot                B. sugar        C. milk         D. coffee

6.A. made               B. had          C. cooked      D. served

7.A. talked             B. discussed        C. noticed     D. decided

8.A. leaving behind  B. falling about      

C. leaving about    D. falling behind

9.A. strange       B. wonderful        C. normal      D. important

10.A. source            B. purpose     C. doubt        D. result

11.A. price             B. quality          C. sweet        D. color

12.A. proves            B. tastes      C. hides        D. steals

13.A. more than         B. less than        C. other than       D. rather than

14.A. consciously       B. wisely      C. shyly       D. carelessly

15.A. showing      B. eyeing      C. exchanging       D. praising

16.A. it                B. that             C. this             D. one

17.A. jobs              B. money        C. position         D. life

18.A. change            B. increase         C. discover         D. lower

19.A. try               B. manage       C. fail             D. plan

20.A. envy              B. drive       C. support     D. assess

A certain student passed all his examinations. Then he went to college to  21  his studies. There he wrote down his  22 for a course in English, but after the first 23 , he didn’t go to it any more.

The English lecturer 24_this student was always absent (缺席的) and thought he had  25_to another course, so he was  26  when he saw the boy’s name on the list of students who wanted to take the English  27at the end of this year.

The lecturer had  28 a difficult paper, which followed his  29 closely, and he was eager (熱切的) to see  30 this student would answer the questions. He  31__the boy’s answers would be very bad, but when they  32 him and he examined them  33 , he was able to find only one small mistake in them. As this surprised him greatly, he  34 the paper repeatedly but still couldn’t find more than one mistake, so he  35 for the student to question him about it.

When he came and sat down, the lecturer asked him, “I  36 you came to my first lecture and you’ve been absent from all the others. But I’ve examined your  37 carefully and I’ve found only one small mistake in it. I’m curious (好奇的) to know your  38 .”

“I’m very  39  about that mistake,” answered the student. “After the examination, I  40  what I should have done. I would not have made that mistake if I had not been confused by your first lecture.”