It snowed again. My seventh Christmas was round the corner. I dreamed of getting the present from Father Christmas until my elder sister dropped the bomb, “There is no Father Christmas.”

  I ran to my grandmother’s house, for she always told the truth. Grandma was at home. I told __11___ everything. “No Father Christmas?” she was a little ___12____. “Don’t believe it. Put on your coat, and let’s go.”

  “Go? Where, Grandma?” I asked.

  “Kerby’s Store.”

  As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars and said, “Take the __13___ and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of the Kerby’s.

  For a few seconds I just stood there, holding the money, wondering ___14___ to buy, and who to buy it for.

  I thought of ___15___ I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors … I suddenly thought of Bobbie Decker, a __16___ with bad and messy hair. He sat right behind me ___17____ Mrs. Pollack’s class.

  Bobbie ___18___ went to any party during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, ___19____ we all knew that he didn’t have a cough, and he didn’t have a coat. I decided to buy Bobbie a red warm coat ___20____ he would like.

  That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and ___21___ “To Bobbie, From Father Christmas” on it. Grandma told me Father Christmas never let people know that he ___22___ them. Then she drove me over to Bobbie’s house, telling that I was helping Father Christmas ____23___ the presents.

Grandma parked the car along the street, and we hid behind the trees near Bobbie’s house. Then Grandma said to me, “All right, Father Christmas, get going.”

  I took a deep breath, rushed to his front door, put the present down. ____24___ the door, rang the doorbell and flew back to the safety of the ____25_____ and Grandma. We waited breathlessly in the dark for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie.

  That night, I realized that Father Christmas was alive and well, and we were on his team.

1.A. him  B. her   C. them   D. you

2.A. angry   B. happy   C. tired   D. afraid 

3.A. book   B. coat   C. present   D. money

4.A. what   B. when   C. where   D. how

5.A. everybody   B. nobody   C. somebody   D. anybody

6.A. girl   B. boy   C. man   D. woman

7.A. for   B. on   C. in    D. with

8.A. always   B. often   C. sometime   D never

9.A. so   B. if   C. but   D. and

10.A. where   B. that   C. who   D. why

11.A. read   B. say   C. write   D. spell

12.A. helped   B. believe   C. taught   D. made

13.A. give up   B. give away   C. put up   D. put off

14.A. on   B. behind   C. outside   D. over

15.A. shop   B. cars   C. door   D. trees

 

On a cold December morning, my mother and I were walking home from pizza store. We were  35  warmly and equipped with the video we had been trying to watch. I was feeling a little tired  36  I was carrying our shopping bags of snacks and the video.

They were so  37  that I decided to throw away some of them. So I started to walk towards the dustbin when I noticed a poor man stepping out of the restaurant in front of us. He held a paper bag with his dirty hand. He  38  over to another nearby dustbin and started looking  39  it.

I suddenly felt very upset. I know this man would take all he could get, so I walked up to him and  40  the drink and some snacks to him. The man, with lines on his face and wrinkles(皺紋) on his forehead, looked up in  41  and took what I gave him.

A huge smile spread across his face and this made  42   feel indescribable satisfaction(滿意). I felt like I couldn’t be happier with myself, but then he said, “Wow, first someone gives me this sandwich, then this drink, and now some tasty food, this is my daughter’s  43  day!”

He thanked me happily and started off on his bike. I even heard him whistling(吹哨) a song as he  44  away.

I now understand what is meant by the saying “giving is getting”. Everyone in the world needs help, everyone can  45  help and everyone will be helped by something kind.

The image(圖像) of that man’s happiness  46  by my small gift appears in my mind every time I have the chance to do something nice.

1.A. welcomed                   B. dressed                           C. invited                    D. served

2.A. because             B. when                                C. although                         D. after

3.A. dry                       B. dirty                                 C. heavy                     D. salty

4.A. jumped               B. climbed                           C. fell                                    D. headed

5.A. through              B. around                            C. for                                    D. over

6.A. showed              B. threw                              C. returned                         D. handed

7.A. sight                   B. danger                            C. surprise                          D. trouble

8.A. him                      B. me                                    C. us                                     D. them

9.A. busy                    B. boring                    C. terrible                            D. lucky

10.A. walked             B. rode                                 C. ran                                   D. flew

11.A. offer                           B. receive                            C. refuse                    D. share

12.A. drawn                        B. led                                    C. caused                            D. taken

 

 

How old was I? I can’t remember. Maybe I was only 10. It was the first    16    without my father because he was away for something. He left me to fill that sad place in my mother’s heart. It was the Christmas when I stopped being a    17    and tried to play Father Christmas myself. I really wanted to make it happy and bright again. It was the Christmas of the    18   .

Mom first saw the coat at Tobias, a nice    19    shop in our town’s little shopping mall. It was dark green. And it was a    20   , heavy, wool dress coat. Mom pulled it out from the rack(架) and held it up. “Long enough,” she said in a low voice and    21   .

“I need a new coat,” Mom smiled before the mirror. She looked good on any clothes,       22    this coat suited her much better. She looked at the    23   , then hung the coat back on the rack, standing there once more to    24    

    Eighty-seven dollars. But I decided to buy it for her. As we moved on    25   the mall, I found some excuse to return and asked one of the Tobias ladies to    26    the coat.

I helped clean every yard(庭院) in our neighbourhood—some yards twice, and soon I got the coat. The store ladies helped me put it in their biggest    27    with bright blue paper and thick silver ribbon(絲帶). I don’t remember    28    I got it home, but I can still feel the wonderful    29    and pride that filled me. I would imagine the big space which the box would take up under our tree. Here it was—joy, peace and    30   —all in the box, waiting for Mom’s surprise.

1.A. Easter         B. Christmas        C. Halloween    D. Thanksgiving

2.A. child          B. son          C. student      D. teacher

3.A. tree           B. bag          C. coat         D. ribbon

4.A. children’s    B. women’s     C. girl’s      D. men’s

5.A. big            B. wide         C. thin         D. long

6.A. tried it on    B. put it on    C. kept it on   D. turned it on

7.A. though         B. or           C. for          D. and

8.A. price          B. design       C. color        D. material

9.A. taste          B. feel         C. sound        D. smell

10.A. through       B. over         C. past         D. across

11.A. sell          B. send         C. keep         D. wash

12.A. tank          B. basket       C. bag          D. box

13.A. how           B. why          C. whether      D. when

14.A. development   B. excitement   C. improvement D. advertisement

15.A. courage       B. confidence   C. love         D. honesty

 

I often go to a shopping center with my mother. The shopping center is new and__1__. There are lots of great things there.  There are __2__and food. There are many people there. ___3__do many people come here to buy things? Do you know? Let me tell you. The things there are good and at a very great price. The ____4__there are nice and friendly. So I buy a T-shirt ___5__ red for only 2 dollars.

My sister Mary has a yellow sweater. It’s very nice. But it’s too small. She ___6____a new one. She goes to the shopping center with us on Sunday. Because she doesn’t go to __7____ that day. There are many clothes on__8____. They are very nice. They are in all___9___. There are red, black, red and blue ones. She likes a blue sweater very much. __10____it’s too big. At last, she takes a green sweater for only 0 dollars.

1. A. old     B. big     C. boring    D. sad

2. A. vegetables  B. fruit  C. dessert   D. clothes

3. A. What    B. When   C. Why     D. Where

4.  A. people   B. girls    C. clerks    D. boys

5.  A. with     B. to      C. in        D. on

6.  A. want    B. needs    C. haves    D. buy

7.  A. school   B. shop     C. store    D. home

8. A. sale     B. shop    C. sweater   D. food

9.  A. sizes     B. colors   C. clothes   D. things

10. A. And     B. But      C. Or      D. Too

 

Choose the words or expressions and complete the passage（選擇恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞語完成短文）：（14分）

Ben is reading the following magazine article now. He wants to find out more about a special kind of theft.

Identity(身份) theft

The modern world is very convenient. It's     85     to buy or rent things. We can do a lot of our shopping and banking on the Internet. However, we also face a growing problem: identity theft.

We often give our personal information to stores. That     86     our birth date, personal ID number, and home address. When we apply for a store membership, we give our information to a stranger. When buying something online, we do the same thing.

87    work hard to get that information. They- steal receipts(收據(jù)) and     88     computers. They also try to steal our passwords. They can use that information to become" another person. That's identity theft.

One common crime is to apply for a credit card using     89     else's name. The thief buys expensive things but doesn't pay the bill. That can hurt a victims credit. With bad credit, it's harder to get bank or car loans.

90     can you prevent identity theft? First, be careful about giving away personal information.    91    give someone your birth date and personal ID number when necessary. Second, tear up old credit card receipts and bank statements if you don't want them. Finally, some experts recommend paying in cash as much as possible.

1. A) hard                     B) interesting            C) easy                      D) exciting

2. A) includes                 B) collects                C) consists                D) means

3.A) People                  B) Thieves                C) Engineers              D) Bank clerks

4.A) break into               B) break out               C) work for                D) keep off

5. A) someone                B) no one                 C) anyone                 D) everyone

6.A) When                   B) Where                 C) How                   D) Why

7. A) Never                   B) Ever                  C) Only                   D) Even