For years I wanted a garden．I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together．

But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen．I was too busy raising them to grow a garden．

Money was not enough．Neither was time．Often when my children were little,

one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know．”

Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own．I started thinking again about a garden．

Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen．Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard．There were things blowing around on it．       Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw．

There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look．It was true! There were dollar bills(帳單), one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree．There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom．We love you!”

Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books．A new page started in my life．

That was three years ago．My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted．When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did．It feels like they’re right there with me．Now every year when winter comes, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I’ll see next spring in my little garden．I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time．

I’m still not sure that money grows on trees．But I know love does!

1.How many children did the writer have?

A．Three            B．Four             C．Five              D．Six

2.What did the mother mean when she said “Money doesn’t grow on trees”?

A．She was too busy to plant a money tree at that time．

B．She had to save money so that she could have a garden．

C．It wasn’t easy for her to make money to raise all the children．

D．They didn’t have much money because the mother lost her job．

3.The “money tree” appeared in the writer’s yard _________．

A．before her children were born

B．one spring morning when the children were little

C．a(chǎn)fter the children went to school

D．on a Mother’s Day after the children left her

4.The children planted a money tree in their mother’s yard because _________．

A．their mother needed money badly

B．they wanted to show their love to their mother

C．it was time for them to give the money back to her

D．they wanted to live together with their mother forever

 

We were doing the best to control the fire of the burning garage (車庫). Outside, I heard the sounds of cats crying. I couldn’t stop—I would have to look for the cats after the fire was put out.

    It took a long time to finally bring the big fire under control. No one inside was hurt. At that point I was free to find out where the cat noises were from. There was still a lot of smoke and heat coming from the building. I followed the meowing to the sidewalk in front of the garage. There, crying and huddled (擠作一團) together, were five frightened kittens (小貓). They must have been inside the building, as their fur was badly hurt.

    I wanted to find the mother cat. It was clear that she had gone into the burning garage and carried out all her babies, one by one—unbelievable.

    We finally found her. Her paws and face were blackened, and her fur was burned all over. You could even see her reddened skin under the burned fur. She could hardly move. I picked her up, and she relaxed in my arms as much as her pain would allow. I decided to save this brave little cat and her family.

    The vet told me they would watch the kittens and their mother for the night, but they weren’t confident about the mother’s chances.

    About a week later, I found out she was going to live. We named her Scarlet because of her reddened skin.

    I was happy to see Scarlet get together with the kittens again. She touched each of them, nose to nose. She had been in danger for five times and it had paid off. All of her babies had survived.

    As a fireman, I see heroic acts every day. But what Scarlet showed me that day was the kind of bravery that can only come from a mother’s love.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the story?

A. The writer went to look for the cats as soon as he heard them crying.

B. The firefighters put out the fire quickly and no one was hurt.

C. The writer didn’t find the cats until the smoke and heat were gone.

D. The mother cat moved all her babies out of the fire to a safe place.

2.Why did the writer decide to save the cats?

A. Because he was amazed at the mother cat’s courage.

B. Because the cats attracted many people’s attention.

C. Because he didn’t want to see any living things die.

D. Because it had taken him much time and effort to save them.

3.The writer talks about the cat’s story to show that ________________.

A. animals should be taken good care of

B. mother’s love can be great and brave

C. it is meaningful to help others

D. a cat always has nine lives

 

An English traveler found himself in Norway with only enough money to buy the ticket for his journey back home, As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he decided that he could easily spend the time without food. So he bought a ticket and got on the ship. The man closed his ears to the sound of the lunch bell(鈴子). When dinner time came, he didn’t go to dinner room, saying that he was not feeling very well.
The next morning he still didn’t have breakfast and at lunchtime he again stayed in his room. But at dinner time he was so hungry that he went to the dinner room and ate everything the waiter put in front of him. He got ready for the quarrel(吵架).
“Bring me the bill (賬單),” he said. “The bill, sir?” said the waiter in surprise, “There isn’t any bill, On our ship meals are included (包括) in the money for the ticket,” said the waiter.
【小題1】The story happened_________.

A．in England	B．on a ship from Norway to England
C．in Norway	D．on a ship from England to Norway

【小題2】Why didn’t the traveler go to the dinner room first?

A．Because he had no money	B．Because he didn’t feel very well.
C．Because he didn’t want to eat anything.	D．Because he didn’t hear the sound of the bell.

【小題3】The traveler went to the dinner room to eat something because__________

A．his friend had given him some money	B．The waiter had asked him to change his mind
C．he learned that there was no bill on the ship	D．he was too hungry

【小題4】How many meals did the traveler have on the ship?

A．Only one.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．None.

【小題5】After the traveler finished eating,___________.

A．he had a quarrel with the waiter over the bill

B．he drank a lot

C．he asked the waiter to bring him the change (零錢)

D．he came to know that travelers on the ship had free (免費的)meals

One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.
Her mother said, “Don’t be afraid, honey. Take courage!”“What’s courage?” she asked, running to her mother’s bed. “Courage is the brave breath,” her mother answered. “Mum, do you have courage?”“Certainly.” The girl held out her little hands, saying, “Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me.”
After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists(握拳) nervously, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, “It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of ‘breath’ to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.”
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat(戰(zhàn)勝) is nobody but ourselves.
【小題1】The girl walked back because _______.

A．the bathroom was too far away.	B．her mother wouldn’t go with her
C．she was too afraid of the dark	D．the bedroom door was locked

【小題2】We learn from the reading that _______.

A．the girl went to the bathroom by herself

B．the girl pretended to be terrified of nothing

C．the girl’s mother was able to blow brave breath

D．the girl’s mother was very proud of herself

【小題3】To stop “mother’s breath” from running away, the girl ________.

A．held out her little hands	B．clenched her fists
C．talk to her mother	D．held her own breath

【小題4】The writer mainly wants to tell us that ________.

A．a(chǎn)dults are always brave enough

B．children learn to be brave quickly

C．the fear in one’s mind is the real problem

D．the mother can deal with anything with breath

【小題5】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．The Fearless Mother	B．One Lonely Girl
C．One midnight	D．The Breath of Courage

請先通讀下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后從每小題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項中選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。（共15小題：每小題1分，滿分15分）

There once was a master who went to India. In those times, we didn't have airplanes or many kinds of transportation that we do now. So the master went to India 1  . And when he got there, he saw a lot of fruit. In India they have plenty of fruit to sell, but much of it is 2 because they can't grow much 3  the water situation. So he saw one basket, a big basket of some very red, long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop, not expensive at all.

So he 4 and asked, "How much per kilo?" And the shopkeeper said, "Two rupees."(印度貨幣) Two rupees in India is 5 ; it's like dirt (塵土). So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it: Oh, my God! His 6  watered, his mouth watered and burned, his eyes were burning, his head was burning and his face became 7 . As he coughed terribly , he 8  up and down, saying, "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

But he still continued to eat the fruit! Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You're crazy, man. Those are chilies（辣椒）! You can't eat so many; they're not good for you! People use them 9  a condiment（作料）, but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can't just eat them by the handful like that; they're not 10 !" So the silly master said, "No, I can't stop! I paid money for them, 11  now I'll eat them. It's my 12 !"

And you think that master was silly, right? Similarly, we sometimes do a lot of things like that. we still continue just because we've 13  money, time, effort and love into it. Just like the man who ate the chilies and felt so bad but couldn't stop because he didn't want to waste the money he'd paid.

So 14  you've lost something, let it go and move on. That's better than continuing to 15  .

1.                A．by air          B．on foot         C．by taxi    D．by car

 

2.                A．delicious        B．cheap          C．expensive D．fresh

 

3.                A．because of      B．with the help of   C．in need of D．a(chǎn)s a result

 

4.                A．got up          B．went up        C．turned up D．looked up

 

5.                A．something      B．nothing         C．everything D．a(chǎn)nything

 

6.                A．eyes           B．ears           C．mouth    D．nose

 

7.                A．sad            B．ugly            C．red  D．cold

 

8.                A．searched       B．climbed         C．jogged   D．jumped

 

9.                A．a(chǎn)s             B．for            C．to   D．with

 

10.               A．medicine       B．vegetables      C．fruit  D．food

 

11.               A．instead         B．a(chǎn)nd            C．but   D．a(chǎn)lso

 

12.               A．money         B．food           C．fruit  D．drink

 

13.               A．joined         B．spent          C．paid  D．put

 

14.               A．a(chǎn)s if           B．ever since      C．even if    D．so that

 

15.               A．fight           B．fail            C．try   D．lose