Directions: Read the following passage, Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage．

Secret Santas

On Christmas morning, Linda wakes up, and tries to imagine the wide-eyed surprise of children in another household as they unwrap the presents she carefully chose for them．Linda has never met the children, but that’s all part of the joy of giving as secret Santas, she says．

"It's an amazing feeling to buy gifts on an anonymous （匿名的） basis," says Linda．"It brings a whole new meaning to the holidays．"

Linda and Tony are an American couple living in Toronto, Canada, and Linda did charitable work as a member of the American Women's Club of Toronto．As the name suggests, members are U．S．citizens living in Toronto, who join together for fellowship and community service．

To find her "adopted" family, Linda goes to the local schools and requests a wish list for a family that's struggling to survive．Last year she helped a single mother with three children．The mother works as a cleaning lady in a nursing home．

"The list is always heartbreaking．They have an opportunity to ask for anything and do just the opposite, asking for basic clothes or simple toys," she says．"We always buy the kids a new winter coat, hats, and gloves．" She also buys gifts for the parents．

Last year Linda asked the mother for a second wish list--one that didn't include the basics．"Every child should have a Christmas that sticks with them for a lifetime．" She purchased iPods for the two older children and a video game system for the youngest．"I have learned a very valuable lesson in all of this," says Linda．"Pay attention to what's going on in your own backyard--no matter where you live．"

The joy of giving as secret Santas is much sweeter when the gift is anonymous．

What reaction does Linda imagine the children will have? （No more than 5 words）

（2 marks）．

Why did Linda join the American Women's Club of Toronto?

（No more than 10 words）                                   （2 marks）

Why did Linda ask for a second wish list? （No more than 15words）

（3 marks）

What kind of people does "secret Santas" in the passage refer to?

（No more than 12 words）                                       （3 marks）

Paul was dealing with a crisis. The new girl Linda in class really liked him a lot. Paul was not happy about it.

    Paul's good friend, Sam, tried to comfort him.  "What's the big deal? I think Linda is kind of cute and nice enough."

    Paul glared at Sam. "Then why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend? There she is, sitting all by herself at the other end of the cafeteria. Go there and ask her to be your honey!"

    "She's crazy about you, not me," Sam replied.

    "Well, I don't want any girlfriend, especially not a girl like her! "Paul growled.

    Sam wouldn't give up.  "The only thing pesky about her is that she keeps writing you those notes ."

    "I don't like notes at all!" Paul interrupted. He took another sip of milk.

"Did you notice those strange brown eyes? Why aren't they normal red or pink?"

    Sam took another look at Linda. "I think her face is a lovely shade of green. And her dark green curly hair is quite pretty. Besides, she's very gentle and that's what really matters."

    Paul stuck out his tongue. "I think I'm going to be sick!  I'd better save my dessert for later." He crammed a small bag of Maggot Munchies into his even smaller shirt pocket.  "The fact is, I have a problem. That girl is getting on my nerves!  "

    Sam followed Paul’s example and decided to save his dessert for later. However, he carefully placed the bag into his lunch box.  "Do you have any ideas about how to solve your problem?" Tremor asked.

    "I'm going to be mean and rude to her," Paul announced.  "I'll call her names and make ugly faces at her."

    "That's how you treat everyone," Sam reminded his friend.

Paul nodded. "It's time that Linda got to know the real Paul !"

1. What does the underlined part "a crisis" in Paragraph 1 refer to?

    A. how to get away from Linda             B. how to win Linda over

    C. how to get Sam's help                  D. how to save money

2.How did Linda feel about Paul ?

    A. She didn't like him because he was rude.       B. She was annoyed by his strange appearance.

    C. She didn't have any strong feelings about him.   D. She fell in love with him.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A. Paul pretended to be rude in order to make Linda stop liking him.

    B. Sam thought that looks were more important than personality.

    C. Sam thought that Linda was cute.

    D. Paul offered his dessert to Linda to make her sick.

4. Sam appreciate Linda in the following aspects EXCEPT         

    A. her eyes         B. her hair           C. her face          D. her character

5.What is implied from this passage?

A. Linda will be Sam's girlfriend.       B. Paul has fallen in love with another girl.

C. Paul and Linda are classmates.      D. Paul and Linda are colleges students.

 

Linda British was an outstanding teacher who felt that if she had the time, she would like to create great art and poetry. When she was 28, however, she began to get severe   36 . Her doctors discovered that she had an enormous brain tumor (瘤). They told her that her   37  of surviving an operation were about 2 percent. Therefore,   38  operate immediately, they chose to wait for six months.

The night before the operation after six months, she   39  to give herself away. She made a   40 , in which she would donate all of her body parts to those who needed them in   41 of her death.

  42 , Linda died after the operation. Afterwards, her eyes went to an eye   43  in Bethesda, Maryland, and from there to a recipient in South Carolina. A young man, aged 28, went from darkness to   44 . That young man was so   45  that he wrote to the eye bank thanking them for existing.

  46 , he said he wanted to thank the parents of the donator. They must   47  be magnificent people to have a child who would   48  her eyes. He was given the   49  of the British family on Staten Island. He arrived unannounced and rang the doorbell. After hearing his introduction, Mrs. British   50  and hugged him. She said, “Young man, if you’ve got   51  to go, my husband and I would love you to spend your weekend with us.”

He stayed, and   52  he was looking around Linda’s room, he saw that she’d read Hegel. He’d read Hegel in Braille as well.

The next morning Mrs. British was looking at him and said, “You know, I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.” All of a sudden she   53 . She ran upstairs and pulled out the last picture Linda had drawn. It was a portrait of her ideal man.

The picture was almost the same as this young man who had received Linda’s eyes.

Then her mother read the   54  poem Linda had written on her deathbed. It   55 :

Two hearts passing in the night

Falling in love

Never able to gain each other’s sight.

1.                A．heartaches      B．headaches      C．stomachaches D．backaches

 

2.                A．risks           B．happenings      C．chances  D．moments

 

3.                A．more than      B．other than       C．better than    D．rather than

 

4.                A．decided        B．suggested       C．prepared D．liked

 

5.                A．will            B．letter          C．notice    D．poem

 

6.                A．spite           B．case           C．charge   D．view

 

7.                A．Actually        B．Unbelievably     C．Surprisingly    D．Unfortunately

 

8.                A．hospital        B．center          C．school    D．bank

 

9.                A．silence         B．daytime         C．sight D．delight

 

10.               A．excited         B．joyful          C．grateful   D．proud

 

11.               A．However       B．Therefore       C．Furthermore   D．Yet

 

12.               A．partly          B．hardly          C．seldom    D．indeed

 

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

 

14.               A．news          B．a(chǎn)ddress        C．gift   D．hometown

 

15.               A．ran out         B．stood out       C．reached out    D．turned out

 

16.               A．somewhere     B．a(chǎn)nywhere       C．everywhere    D．nowhere

 

17.               A．a(chǎn)s             B．a(chǎn)fter           C．until  D．since

 

18.               A．shouted        B．laughed        C．waked D．remembered

 

19.               A．last            B．first           C．past  D．recent

 

20.               A．wrote          B．spoke          C．said  D．talked

 

 

This _____girl is Linda’s cousin.

A. pretty little Spanish             B. Spanish little pretty 

C. Spanish pretty little             D. little pretty Spanish

 

Writer/ Time	Topic: Who’s a better singer, Andy Lau (劉德華) or Jacky Cheung (張學友)?
Jim 8-15-2006 5:25 pm.	Some people say Jacky is the best Chinese singer. I don’t think so! Andy is the best. I went to his concert last year. It was so wonderful, I almost cried! OK, I did cry, but that’s because Andy is so handsome!
Tom 9-3-2006 4:38 pm.	I disagree with Jim. Andy sounds like every other singer. His voice is nothing special. On the other hand, Jacky’s voice is unique, and his songs are so romantic!
Linda 9-10-2006 8:54 pm.	I think they’re about the same. But Andy is a better actor. I’ve seen almost all of his movies. Remember the one where he was an airplane pilot, and his plane crashed near a farm? I love that movie!
John 9-16-2006 10:25 pm.	I also think Jacky is a better singer. I prefer his Cantonese (粵語) songs. Maybe they sound better because Cantonese is his first language.
Tom 10-2-2006 10:12 am.	I agree. Jacky’s Cantonese songs are better than his Mandarin (華語) songs. (Though, I still like all his songs!)

1.Who likes Andy Lau the best?      .

A．Jim

B．Tom

C．Linda

D．John

2.Why did Jim cry? Because      .

A．she was sad at a concert.	B．she had a broken heart.
C．she was angry at Jacky Cheung	D．she thought Andy Lau was very good looking

3.What’s Linda’s opinion?      .

A．Andy is a better singer.	B．Jacky is a better singer.
C．They both sing equally well.	D．Jacky is a better actor.

4.Why does John think Jacky’s Cantonese songs sound the best? Because        .

A．Jacky has no experience singing in Mandarin.

B．it’s his native language

C．his mandarin pronunciation is bad

D．Jacky’s Mandarin songs are boring.