A man was selling medicine at a fair（集市）．At first he sold bottles of a cure（药剂）for colds（感冒）for just a dollar a bottle．
Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．
Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．
“And now，ladies and gentlemen，he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever．
“And，ladies and gentlemen，the man continued，“I'm not going to charge（向……要价……）you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle．Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle． Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever．
Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．
One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it？Then another person cried，“Yes， you look as if you're at least sixty years old．
“Thank you，sir，thank you，the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine．
The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man ．One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by，“Is that true？he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？
“Don't ask me，the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years．
1.What did the man sell at first at the fair？
A．bottles
B．a cure for colds
C．a cure for old age
D．a medicine that made people live forever
2.How much did the man charge for the cure for old age？
A．one dollar a bottle B．twenty-five dollars a bottle
C．fifty dollars a bottle D．ten dollars a bottle
3.What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage？
A．仆人 B．朋友 C．助手 D．同伴
4.What does this passage really mean？
A．The man is not honest，and so is his assistant
B．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive． ．
C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy．
D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever．
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother＇s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father＇s Day, on the third Sunday in June．These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents．They raise their children and educate them to be responsible（有责任感的） citizens．They give love and care．These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers．More mothers now work outside the home．More fathers must help with child care．
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways．On Mother’s Day people wear carnations．A red one symbolizes a living mother．A white one shows that the mother is dead．Many people attend religious services to honor parents．It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery（墓地）．On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants．They often have outdoor barbecues for Father＇s Day．These are days of fun and good feelings and memories．
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts．Children make them in school．Many people make their own presents．These are valued more than the ones bought in stores．It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”．Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays．
1.Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
A. Parents bring children
B. Parents give love and care to children
C. Parents educate children to be good persons.
D. Parents pass away before children grow up
2.What do you know from the passage?
A. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.
B. Fewer women worked outside the home in the past
C. Not all the children respect their parents
D. Fathers are not as important as mothers at home
3.Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
A．It has only two kinds of colors．
B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day．
C．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May．
D．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes．
4.On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, _______．
A．everyone goes to visit the cemetery
B．people usually have family parties
C．children always go to parents’ home
D．hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts
Anna lived on the side of a valley．One summer, there was a very big , and a lot of houses down below Anna＇s were washed away．Anna＇s house was enough to escape the flood, so when the water had and the other houses were there with no roof and no walls and all covered with mud（泥）, her house was just all right．
Her house was quite small, her husband was dead, and she had four children, Anna took in one of the families that had lost in the flood and she her home with them until it was for them to rebuild their house．
Anna＇s friends were when they saw Anna do this．They could not understand why Anna wanted to give so much more work and trouble when she already had quite a few children to ．
“Well,” Anna her friends, “at the end of the First World War, a woman in the town where I then lived found herself very , because her husband had been killed in the and she had a lot of children I have now．The day before Christmas, this woman said to her children, ‘We won’t be able to have much for Christmas this year, so I’m going to only one present to all of us．Now I’ll go and get it．’ She came back with a who was even poorer than they, and who had no parents．‘Here’s our ,she said to her children．
The children were and happy to get such a present．They the little girl, and she grew up as their sister．Such was that Christmas present．”
1.A．accident B．flood C．fire D．earthquake
2.A．below B．big C．high D．small
3.A．reduced B．come C．disappeared D．appeared
4.A．rising B．standing C．flowing D．falling
5.A．so B．for C．but D．since
6.A．nothing B．anything C．something D．everything
7.A．gave B．shared C．found D．built
8.A．necessary B．important C．obvious D．possible
9.A．worried B．disappointed C．satisfied D．puzzled
10.A．them B．him C．herself D．us
11.A．supply B．grow C．support D．educate
12.A．asked for B．talked with C．turned up D．explained to
13.A．sad B．rich C．poor D．happy
14.A．storm B．rain C．war D．flood
15.A．because B．which C．that D．as
16.A．get B．make C．send D．buy
17.A．boy B．student C．teacher D．girl
18.A．child B．daughter C．present D．sister
19.A．angry B．lovely C．excited D．sorry
20.A．disliked B．gained C．led D．welcomed
A warm welcome _______to the Russian guests at the airport tomorrow morning.
A. is given B. has been given C. is going to give D. will be given
------Which of the two computer games did you prefer?
------Actually I didn’t like________.
A. both of them B. either of them C. none of them D. neither of them
The man answered the phone in a loud voice at the meeting, _______made Andy annoyed.
A, that B. what C. who D. which
