As Christmas is coming, there are presents to be bought, cards to be sent, and rooms to be cleaned. Parents are __1__ with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children. If the gifts are large, this is sometimes a real problem. On Christmas Eve, young children find the excitement almost unbearable. They are torn between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to __2__ up late so that they will not miss the fun. The wish for gifts usually proves stronger. But though children go to bed early, they often lie __3__ for a long time, hoping to get a short look at Father Christmas.

Last Christmas, my wife and I __4__ hid a few large presents in the storeroom. I fear the moment when my son, Jimmy, would ask me where that new bike had come from, but __5__ he did not see it.

On Christmas Eve, __6__ took the children hours to go to sleep. It must have been nearly midnight when my wife and I went quietly into their room and began __7__ stockings. Then I pushed in the bike I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree. We knew we would not get much sleep that night, for the children were sure to get up early. At about five o’clock the next morning, we were __8__ by loud sounds coming from the children’s room—they were shouting excitedly! __9__ I had time to get out of bed, young Jimmy came riding into the room on his new bike, and his sister, Mary, followed closed behind pushing her new baby carriage. Even the baby arrived. He moved on the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him. Suddenly it burst. That woke us up __10__. The day had really begun with a band（巨響）！

A. faced       B. met     C. filled  D. pleased

A. get   B. stay    C. stand   D. wake

A. awake     B. wake   C. asleep D. sleep

A. hopefully B. busily C. gladly D. successfully

A. sadly       B. unluckily    C. possible      D. fortunately

A. it     B. they    C. I  D. we

A. filling     B. sewing       C. mending     D. preparing

A. troubled  B. frightened  C. woken D. shocked

A. Before    B. After   C. Until   D. Since

A. all  B. nearly C. happily      D. completely

PAUL’S brother bought him a new car as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve (前夜), Paul saw a boy walking around the new car, admiring it.
"Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.
Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was amazed. "You mean your brother just gave it to you? Boy, I wish...." Paul knew what he was going to wish for — a brother who would buy him a car. But the boy surprised Paul.
"I wish that I could be a brother like that," he said.
Astonished, Paul invited the boy to go for a ride in the new car.
After a short ride, the boy said, "Would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul thought the boy wanted to show the car to his neighbors. But Paul was wrong again.
The boy ran up the steps of his house. Soon he came back carrying his crippled (殘廢的) little brother. He pointed to the car. "Look!" he said to the little boy. "His brother gave him that car for Christmas. Some day I’m gonna give you one just like it!"
Paul got out and lifted the little boy into his car. The older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them went on a wonderful holiday ride.
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned how good it felt to give.
53. Paul’s brother gave him ___ as a Christmas present.
A. a suit                             B. a car                       C. a bicycle           D. a card
54. When the boy saw the car, he wished that ____.
A. he could buy a car for himself                             B. he had a brother to buy him a car
C. he could buy a car for his brother                  D. he could have a ride in the car
55. When the boy asked Paul the drive the car in front his house, he wanted ___.
A. to show off to his neighbors                         B. his brother to see the car
C. Paul to drive him home                                D. to enjoy a ride in the car
56. The story mainly tells us ______.
A. practice makes perfect                                 B. it is important to make money
C. giving makes people feel good                       D. a friend in need is a friend indeed

In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.

Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit terminally (晚期的）in patients— even when those patients are their parents. This deprives（剝奪）the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.

Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 terminally in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.

It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients’ communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies . Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their great need to be informed, to be kept up - to - date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to cope with the coming of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death.

The elders of today's Americans _______ .

A. are often absent when a family member is born or dying

B. are unfamiliar with birth and death

C. usually see the birth or death of a family member

D. have often experienced the fear of death as part of life

Children in America are deprived of the chance to________.

A. visit a patient at hospital   B. visit their family members

C. learn how to face death    D. look after the patients

The need of a dying patient for people to accompany him shows________.

A. his wish for communication with other people      B. his fear of death   

C. his unwillingness to die             D. he feels very upset about his condition

It may be concluded from the passage that________.

A. dying patients should be truthfully informed of their condition

B. dying patients are afraid of being told of the coming of death

C. most patients are unable to accept death until it can’t be avoided

D. most doctors and nurses understand what dying patients need

To be sure, only children experienced some things differently from those with sisters and brothers. Many feel more pressure to succeed. In the absence of brothers and sisters, only children also tend to look more exclusively to their parents as role models.

In India, 10-year-old Saviraj Sankpal founded a support group for the tiny minority of only children. Among other things, the group does volunteer work to counter the myth that they are not responsible. “People think we’re treated too kindly and ruined,” says Sankpal, a computer engineering student. “But I’d like to remind them how lonely it can get.”

Most only children, however, say they wish for sisters or brothers only when it comes to caring for aging, unhealthy parents. Britain’s David Emerson, coauthor of the book The Only Child, says that such a person bears a terrible burden in having to make all the decisions alone. Emerson knows from experience: After his father died, he chose to move his elderly mother from their family home, where she was vulnerable(易受攻擊的) to house breakers, to a new one with more security. “The move was quite hard on her, and she might feel that I pushed her into it,” he says. “After all, I am left with that responsibility.”

In the future, more and more only children will likely face similar choices. With working mothers increasingly the rule, many families are finding they simply don’t have the time, money or energy to have more than one child. As only children become common, perhaps the world will realize that the charge made against them is unjust.

1.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s attitude towards only children is 　　　. 

A. critical          B. objective       C. hostile     D. unjust

2.It can be inferred from the passage that only children’s parents should 　　　.

A. find a support group for their only children

B. do volunteer work to help their only children

C. let their only children make all the decision alone

D. set good examples for their only children

3.Emerson decided to move his elderly mother to a new house because he 　　　.

A. is the only one who cares about her

B. doesn’t want to leave her alone

C. wants to share the responsibility with her

D. is worried about her safety

4.It is quite usual now for a working mother to 　　　.

A. spend all her time and money on her only child

B. be responsible for bringing up her only child

C. have and bring up only one child

D. devote all her energy to her job

As a senior, my future is always on my mind. To be exact, thoughts of the future have kept me up countless nights and made me worry enough to do poorly on more than one test. Because of this, words of wisdom are a source of comfort. Steve Jobs gave a speech to Stanford’s graduating class in 2005 and his words resound repeatedly in my mind whenever I think about my future.

     It wasn’t always like that, though. It started when I became a junior, when college came into view. It’s the first big step to making your life your own. So when Jobs discussed his life as a student, some fears were eased. He, too, felt the need to attend college to make something of himself. He faced what many are extremely afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college and focus on what he felt was important. His story had a happy ending, of course, since he certainly turned out well.

This doesn’t mean that students shouldn’t attend college, but rather that they shouldn’t worry so much. You’ll get where you need to go, even if your path is a bit more winding than you’d like.

     Jobs talked about the hardships in his work. His love of his work helped him carry on and he got where he was meant to be, which restates the point: don’t panic.

    One particular part of his speech stayed with me. Steve Jobs quoted the saying “Stay hungry, stay foolish” and it has become my motto. Staying foolish is realizing that you are still a fool, no matter how much you’ve learned or experienced. There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things about which you are still uneducated.

    Steve Jobs’s level of success is attainable, and I aim to prove that. With the will power to go into the world living every day like it’s my last and allowing the future to take care of itself, I will do great things. In the last moments of my life, I’ll be proud of what I have done and hope to have all the wisdom a person could wish for.

1.The author felt worried when _________.

A. he had to take tests at school          B. he thought about his future

C. he had lots of sleepless nights         D. he searched for words of wisdom

2.What did the author gain from Jobs’s speech?

A. Courage to drop out of school.         B. Confidence in defeating Jobs.

C. Interest in computer industry.          D. Bravery to face uncertainties.

3.What did NOT Steve Jobs encourage students to do in his speech?

A. Have the desire to learn more.         B. Be content with what they know.

C. Stay calm in the face of hardships.      D. Be modest so as to learn more.