It was near Christmas during my first semester teaching a new school. I love my small special class more than any group I had taught in the past. They were hungry for knowledge and I was enjoying teaching.
Other teachers had told me that our children were from poor families and not to expect any child to bring a Christmas gift. In fact, I wasn’t expecting any gifts.
Imagine my surprise when every child brought me a gift on the day before our holiday break. First, I got a much-loved stuffed monkey from a shy girl. I was told, “He is my favorite, but I love you and I want him to be with you, Miss Taylor” How thrilled I was!
Next came a new set of Christmas tree lights that was “missing” from a mother's cupboard.
Finally, I came to one little boy’s gift which I had never received. It was an old, dirty and broken Christmas story book. Just then I wanted to express my happiness, I was interrupted(打斷)by the giver, “And see, it is new! It still has the price tag.”        "
When other children laughed at him, I stopped them and said, “Oh, books are good in that way. The story is always new if you have not read it before. Now, Let’s share one together.” Everyone listened quietly as I read the most wonderful Christmas story of my life.
I still keep those Christmas gifts, They always remind me of my lovely kids.
【小題1】Why did the teacher like her small special class?
【小題2】 When did the children bring their teacher gifts?
【小題3】Who sent a stuffed monkey to the teacher?
【小題4】Was the Christmas story, book new?
【小題5】How did the teacher feel when she got the presents?

閱讀理解

It was Sunday and Tom was staying home. After breakfast he went out into the garden and played quietly by himself. There were no kids around and he was used to playing alone quietly. He played with Bobby, the dog. He climbed up and down the trees. Sometimes a bird would come down to perch（停歇）on top of the doghouse.

Then Tom would have the greatest fun by throwing a stone or something at it. Though he never made it, he did like doing this kind of things.

Now Tom had been in the garden for half an hour. Suddenly a crack（碎裂聲）was heard and the little boy began crying.

“What’s the matter, Tom?” his mother looked through the kitchen window.

Tom ran into the kitchen.

“Mum,” he sobbed（抽泣）, “I broke Bobby’s plate. I didn’t know it was so fragile（易碎的）.”

His mother put her arms round him and said, “Don’t feel too bad, Tom. We have other plates for Bobby. But how did you break that one?”

“I throw this at a bird but missed, and it went straight to the plate.” In Tom’s hand was his father’s gold pocket watch.（金懷表）!

1.When did the story happen?

A．On a Sunday afternoon.	B．On a Sunday morning.
C．At noon.	D．In the evening.

2. When a bird perched on top of the doghouse, Tom ___. 

A．would like to play with it

B．was very interested in it by throwing a stone at it.

C．would like to give it something to eat.

D．would smile

3. There were no kids around and he was used to playing alone quietly. Here “kids” means ___

A．men

B．dogs

C．children

D．birds

4. How long had Tom been in the garden when his mother heard him cry?

A．An hour

B．A day

C．Two hours

D．Half an hour

5.“Though he never made it” means “___”        

A．Though he couldn’t hit a bird with a stone or something.

B．Though he couldn’t catch the bird.

C．Though he couldn’t have fun from the bird.

D．Though he couldn’t eat the bird.

 

I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.
My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (體操運動員). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.
I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.
If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.
During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.
At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. “Alice, you won the contest!” she said loudly.
“Really?” was all I could reply.
“Yes,” Ms. White said. “They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.
That night I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.
【小題1】Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

A．she had been good at sports	B．her sister’s show was perfect
C．she hated drawing and painting	D．her parents wanted her to do so

【小題2】 How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last?

A．Satisfied.

B．Worried.

C．Hopeful

D．Regretful.

【小題3】 From the story, we can infer that ________.

A．Alice’s parents disagreed with her choice of gymnastics

B．Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at first

C．Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the town

D．Alice couldn’t believe the news that she got the prize for painting

【小題4】 What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?

A．We should value our own gifts.	B．It takes time to find one’s gifts.
C．We could develop different gifts.	D．It’s never too late to show our gifts.

June and I were both poor when we were young. At that time, June always said, “ If I got rich, I would buy a bigger apartment and a new wardrobe(衣柜).” Of course, she said this just for fun and she never imagined that she would really become rich.
A few years ago, June was surprised and excited when she came into a fortune(財產(chǎn)) from her uncle, who had been single. After receiving it, she made a shopping list. On it she wrote down all the ways she could use to spend the money. Every time I told her not to spend all of the money and to save some, she would always say impatiently(不耐煩的), “ I know, I know!”
One day, when I was in June’s home, she passed a piece of paper to me. “I thought over your suggestion for several nights. I’ve decided how to use the money. I hope my money will be helpful to those who need help,” she said.
I was pleased to hear what she said. Then I took the paper and only saw the two words written by her: Charity and Family. I smiled and played a joke on her, “Don’t you want to move to a new apartment? That is what you have been dreaming of.”
“Actually, I have been looking forward to it, but now it doesn’t seem so important to me anymore,” she answered with a smile.
When I was about to put the paper on the table, I found there were still a few words. June had written: and a new wardrobe.
【小題1】June could get her uncle’s fortune because ________.

A．her uncle had no children

B．she treated her uncle very well

C．her uncle didn’t get along well with his children

D．she was very poor and her uncle wanted to help her

【小題2】How did the writer probably feel after seeing June’s shopping list at first?

A．Relaxed.

B．Worried.

C．Happy.

D．Impatient.

【小題3】How did June plan to spend her money at last?
①Buying a big apartment.
②Leaving some of it to her family.
③Donating all her money to charity.
④Getting a new wardrobe.
⑤Helping those who need help.

A．①②③

B．②③④

C．③④⑤

D．②④⑤

【小題4】 From the passage we can know that ________.

A．the writer told June to give the money to the poor

B．the writer helped June buy a new apartment

C．June’s parents didn’t have any brothers at all

D．June was poor when she was young

【小題5】Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?

A．June’s Life	B．June’s Friend
C．June’s Decision	D．June’s New Apartment

閱讀短文，按要求完成各題。

Close your eyes. Think about a happy memory. What do you see? What do you smell? Do memories smell? Haraid Vogt and Avery Gilbert think so. Smell and memory are very important to them. Why? They sell smells.

Who do they the smells to? And how can they sella smell? Businesses come to Vogt and Gilbert for help. Vogt and Gilbert find a smell to go with the business’s product. For example, Vogt and Gilbert worked with and expensive hotel in New York City. They developed a smell like expesive cologne(科隆香水)for the hotel’s owners. Then they put it in the air of the hotel hallway. Why did they choose the smell of cologne? A lot of businessmen stay at that hotel. The hotel’s owners want their guests(客人)to feel like they are in an expensive men’s club. And rich men wear expensive cologne.

Using smell to sell things is not new. Bakers know that the smell of baking bread brings in customers. They always make sure that people on the street can smell the baking bread. Chocolate makers do the same thing. And of course perfume (香水)makers sell smells.

In the past, only the food and perfume businesses used smell to sell their products. But today, more and more businesses are trying it, from hotels to airlines(航空公司). Some companies put a special smell on the advertisement that they send to customers. For example, one car company uses a perfume on their booklet that smells like a new car.

But do smells really sell? The answer seems to by yes. Smells become a part of our  memories. And memory is important in sales, why? When customers remember the name of a product, they usually choose it again. But there are a lot of choices these days, so it isn’t easy to remember product names. That’s why smell is important. It helps people remember.

In the future, will different computers and televisions have different smells? Vogt and Gilbert think so. They are sure that one day, most businesses will use smell to sell.

1.根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容完成句子填空（每空限填一個單詞）

From the first paragraph of the passage, we know Harald Vogt and Avery Gilbert sell ______ and they ______ memories smell.

2.根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容完成句子填空（每空限填一個單詞）。

According to the passage, smells are ______ for business because they can ______ people to remember the product names.

3.根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容回答問題。

According to the passage, how did Vogt and Gilbert help the hotel owner’s business?

                                                           

4.把短文中畫底線的句子譯成漢語。

                                                             

5.根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容用一個完整的英文句子（限10個詞以內(nèi)）回答問題。

What is the main idea of the passage?