When I was growing up，I had an old neighbor，Dr. Gibbs．He didn’t look like any  1   I __2  ．He never invited us to play in his yard，but he was a very   3    person．

When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives，he was planting trees．He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest．

The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees．He never watered his new trees．Once I asked why．He said that watering plants spoiled them，and that if you   4   them，each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker，so you had to make things difficult for them and  __5   the weaker trees early．

He talked about how watered trees grew shallow（淺的）roots，and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water   6    the earth by themselves．  7   roots were very important．

So he never watered his trees．He'd planted an oak and，  8   watering it every morning，he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper．I asked him why he did that，and he said it was to get the tree's attention．

Dr. Gibbs died several years   9   I left home．Every now and then，I walked by his house and looked at the trees   10   I watched him   11   about twenty-five years ago．They’re very big and strong now．I planted some trees a few years later and carried water to them for a whole summer．After two years of   12   too much，whenever a cold wind blows in，they  13  a lot．

Every night before I go to bed，I check on my two sons．Mostly I pray（祈禱）that their lives will be easy．But lately I've been thinking that it's time to change my prayer．I know my children are going to face difficulties．There's always a cold wind   14   somewhere，so   15   we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart，so when the rains fall and the winds blow，we can face it strongly and won't be beaten down．

1．A．doctor                   B．farmer                 C．planter                   D．a(chǎn)dult

2．A．know                    B．knew                   C．have known           D．had known

3．A．healthy                  B．weak                   C．kind                       D．bad

4．A．developed              B．watered               C．created                  D．caught

5．A．pick out                 B．clean out              C．come out                      D．give out

6．A．over                      B．on                       C．towards                 D．under

7．A．Thick                    B．Thin                    C．Short                     D．Deep

8．A．because of             B．rather than                  C．instead of               D．instead

9．A．when                    B．a(chǎn)fter                    C．before                    D．so that

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

11．A．stick                    B．plant                    C．weigh                    D．beat

12．A．noticing               B．pulling                 C．caring                    D．worrying

13．A．fall                      B．increase               C．shook                    D．shake

14．A．a(chǎn)nnoying              B．continuing            C．blowing                 D．dropping

15．A．long as                B．far                       C．that                       D．what

We know that trees are useful in our everyday life. They   1   us many things, such as wood, oxygen(氧氣), rubber, medicines and many other things. They can   2   tell us a lot about our climate. The following are the reasons. If you cut across a tree, you can   3   that it has many rings. Most trees grow one   4   ring every year. Because of this reason, we know   5   a tree is. A tree over a hundred years old means that it has more than a hundred   6  . When the climate is dry(干燥的) or very cold, the trees do not grow very much and their rings are usually   7  . When it is wet and   8  , the rings are much thicker. If the rings are suddenly very thin or suddenly very thick, this means that the    9   changed suddenly. If we look at the rings on the trees, we can   10   about the climate for a hundred years. We can see how our climate is changing today.

1.                A．give           B．a(chǎn)sk            C．get  D．tell

2.                A．too            B．a(chǎn)s well          C．either    D．a(chǎn)lso

3.                A．hear           B．feel            C．see D．look

4.                A．new           B．old            C．young    D．short

5.                A．how tall        B．how old         C．how long D．how far

6.                A．leaves          B．a(chǎn)pples          C．rings D．trees

7.                A．big            B．thin            C．thick(厚的)    D．long

8.                A．cold           B．cool            C．hot D．warm

9.                A．climate         B．things          C．people   D．life

10.               A．think          B．talk            C．learn D．change

Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit (限速)?

If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk (象鼻) said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear( 矛 ) as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who took hold of the elephant’s tail, insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The last, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.

Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.

To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water (溫水)in the third. Now put your left hand in the hot water. Put your right hand in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it is hot.

1.There were _______ blind man who were trying to tell what an elephant was like in the story.

2.The man who touched the elephant’s ears must be very_______.

3.The underlined word “it” in the last line of the paragraph refers to ___.

4.What makes people think about simple facts differently?

5.It can be inferred from the passage that we should__________.

The clock in the old building in front of Max showed six o'clock. As the clock began   1  , he noticed a tall man with a bag walking to him. 2 turned around, looked at the clock, and then moved his steps   3  . Max walked faster as well. Miss Fritz invited him for dinner. He didn't want to be  4 .

"I’m glad you can come," Miss Fritz said. "I've  5  a lovely cake for us. " She pointed Max to a chair. "Good thing I prepared just now. A surprise visitor just left. " "Who  6  you?" Max asked.

"A teacher  7 a school for the deaf. He was totally deaf （耳聾的）himself. What a poor man! But he could  8  the shape of my mouth perfectly. He wrote down   9   he wanted to tell me." "Why was he here?"

"Well, the   10  needs more money. I was glad to help out. I got    11   money from the bank so I was able to give him five hundred   12  ." "Did he just leave? Was he a   13  man with a bag?"

"Yes."

"We'd better 14  the police. I don't think that man is honest. I know for sure   15   was not totally deaf," How did Max find it out?

1.                A．to go           B．to work         C．to run    D．to ring

2.                A．Max           B．A teacher       C．The man  D．Miss Fritz

3.                A．farther         B．closer          C．slower    D．faster

4.                A．late            B．early           C．polite    D．tired

5.                A．passed         B．given           C．made D．sold

6.                A．helped         B．decided         C．visited    D．traveled

7.                A．by             B．behind         C．a(chǎn)round   D．from

8.                A．fit             B．take           C．read D．find

9.                A．what           B．who           C．whom    D．which

10.               A．factory         B．school         C．police D．bank

11.               A．little           B．some          C．no   D．less

12.               A．chairs          B．bags           C．clocks     D．dollars

13.               A．fat            B．thin            C．tall   D．short

14.               A．beat           B．call            C．catch D．save

15.               A．I              B．it             C．he   D．she

London is such a wonderful city. It is very large. The Thames River runs   __1  the city from west to east. So the city has   2    parts: the South and the North. In the North, there are important buildings, shops, big parks and interesting places.
The weather in London is good. In winter it is not very cold and in summer it is not very hot   3  the city is near the sea. People say   4  London is a foggy city and it often rains. It is true.
Last year, when I   5  in London I met one of the   6  fogs in years. You could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Cars and buses moved along with their lights on. When evening fell, the weather   7    even worse. The fog was as thick as milk.  8  the buses and cars stopped. I happened    9    an important meeting on the other side of the town, but it was impossible to find a car. I had to get there   10 .