Maria was a 42-year-old lady. She always said she had one of the world’s best　 1　

She worked for National Park Service at the Statue of Liberty（自由女神雕像）in New York City. “　 2　 come here from all over the world,” Maria said. “Helping them learn about’ Lady Liberty’ is really　 3　 .”

332

　　Maria began her day just like one of the visitors. She took a fifteen-minute boat　 4　 to Liberty Island, where the statue　 5　 ．Then she helped visitors see the exhibits in the museum. The museum is　 6　 the famous statue. In the museum, Maria often talked with visitors

　 7　 they climbed to the statue’s crown.（皇冠）“It’s fun to talk with all these people,” she said. “Besides, it　 8　 me my exercise. There are 154 steps on the way to the crown.”

　　（　�。�1．A. jobs 　　　　　　    B. places 　　　　　　　　 C. parks 　　　　　　   D. museums

　　（　�。�2．A. Readers 　　　　  B. Learners 　　　　　　 C. Reporters 　　　　 D. Visitors

　�。ā　。�3．A. boring 　　　　　　 B. interesting 　　　　   C. special 　　　　　　 D. terrible

　�。ā　。�4．A. run 　　　　　　　　 B. hike 　　　　　　　　    C. ride 　　　　　　　　 D. travel

　　（　�。�5．A. rested 　　　　　　 B. stayed 　　　　　　    C. made 　　　　　　   D. stood

　�。ā　。�6．A. on 　　　　　　　　  B. over 　　　　　　　　   C. inside 　　　　　　   D. behind

　　（　�。�7．A. as 　　　　　　 &nb
sp;  
;   B. until 　　　　　　　　   C. for 　　　　　　　　  D. though

　　（　�。�8．A. plans 　　　　　　  B. gives 　　　　　　　　  C. helps 　　　　　　   D. does

 

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!
【小題1】How many children did the writer have?

A．Three

B．Four

C．Five

D．Six

【小題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．

【小題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

【小題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

A lady in an old cotton dress and her husband, dressed in an old suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked into the president of Harvard’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such country people had no business at Harvard. She frowned(皺眉). “We want to see the president,” the man said softly. “He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary said coldly. “We’ll wait,” the lady replied.
For hours, the secretary didn’t talk to them, hoping that the couple would finally become tired and go away. They didn’t. And the secretary finally decided to disturb the president. “Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she told him. He frowned too. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time to spend with them.
The president walked toward them unwillingly. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to set up a memorial(紀念碑) to him somewhere on campus. ” The president was so surprised that he shouted sharply, “We can’t put up a statue(塑像) for every person who attended Harvard and died. This place would look like a cemetery (墓地).
“Oh, no” the lady explained, “We don’t want to build a statue. We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at their plain clothes, and said with surprise, “A building! Do you have any idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly. “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they set up the university with their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
【小題1】What did the old couple go to Harvard for?

A．They wanted to see their son.

B．They had an important meeting

C．They went to Harvard just to start a university

D．They wanted to meet the president of Harvard.

【小題2】Why didn’t the president come out to meet the couple?

A．He was really busy at that time.

B．The secretary didn’t allow the couple to meet the president.

C．He was important and didn’t have time for unimportant people.

D．He had an important friend to meet and had to spend some time together.

【小題3】From the passage, we can know ______.

A．the old couple were in fact rich people

B．the secretary was afraid of the old couple

C．the old couple’s son was killed in Harvard

D．the president of Harvard was kind and patient to anyone

【小題4】The best title of the passage is “______”.

A．A Statue or A Building	B．How Stanford University Was Built
C．A Visit to Harvard University	D．A Strange Old Couple

A lady in an old cotton dress and her husband, dressed in an old suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked into the president of Harvard’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such country people had no business at Harvard. She frowned(皺眉). “We want to see the president,” the man said softly. “He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary said coldly. “We’ll wait,” the lady replied.

For hours, the secretary didn’t talk to them, hoping that the couple would finally become tired and go away. They didn’t. And the secretary finally decided to disturb the president. “Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she told him. He frowned too. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time to spend with them.

The president walked toward them unwillingly. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to set up a memorial(紀念碑) to him somewhere on campus. ” The president was so surprised that he shouted sharply, “We can’t put up a statue(塑像) for every person who attended Harvard and died. This place would look like a cemetery (墓地).

“Oh, no” the lady explained, “We don’t want to build a statue. We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at their plain clothes, and said with surprise, “A building! Do you have any idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly. “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they set up the university with their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

1.What did the old couple go to Harvard for?

A．They wanted to see their son.

B．They had an important meeting

C．They went to Harvard just to start a university

D．They wanted to meet the president of Harvard.

2.Why didn’t the president come out to meet the couple?

A．He was really busy at that time.

B．The secretary didn’t allow the couple to meet the president.

C．He was important and didn’t have time for unimportant people.

D．He had an important friend to meet and had to spend some time together.

3.From the passage, we can know ______.

A．the old couple were in fact rich people

B．the secretary was afraid of the old couple

C．the old couple’s son was killed in Harvard

D．the president of Harvard was kind and patient to anyone

4.The best title of the passage is “______”.

A．A Statue or A Building                    B．How Stanford University Was Built

C．A Visit to Harvard University               D．A Strange Old Couple

 

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