We moved to a new area when our son was in Grade Five. Before we moved, we took him to spend half a day at his new school. There he saw his new classmates and teachers. He enjoyed the visit. During the almost 150-kilometre drive home, he told us that he had told some of the students the dace when we would move there. And he had also invited them to visit us.
The moving day, a Saturday, was a busy day. We arrived at our new house at noon. About an hour later, kids began to come and soon one of them invited our son to his house to play for the afternoon.
By the time he returned, he knew where most of the kids lived and the histories of their families.
On Monday morning, the doorbell rang just before the time he would leave for school. Then it rang again and again.
By the time he was ready, we had eight young boys waiting to walk to school with him on his first day. They all live near us.
I asked them if their parents had sent them. The answers surprised and pleased me, "No, we just came so that he would have someone to walk with." and "It is the right thing to do."
The friendships were formed(形成) from that day. We have lived here for nearly six years and the same group of kids still play together, go to parties on weekends together, and surfing the Internet together.
I am still thinking how welcoming and kind those kids are. And how lucky my son is to have them as friends.
1.Before the family moved to the new area, the son was taken to his new school to ______.
A. invite the teachers to visit them B. get to know it
C. see if the school was far D. play with his classmates
2. Why did the doorbell ring again and again on Monday morning?
A. Because no one answered it. B. Because it was time for school.
C. Because kids were coming one by one. D. Because there was something wrong with it.
3.Which of the following is true?
A. The family moved to the new house on Saturday afternoon.
B. The kids visited the house before the family arrived.
C. The son knew the kids well before he got there.
D. The son was invited to play in a kid's house later that afternoon.
4. The passage shows us that ______.
A. it's easy to move to a new place B. it's kind of people to help a new comer
C. it's good to make new friends D. it's better to live in the same place
"Tom? Are you in bed yet?" called Mrs White. There was no answer. Mrs White put down her book and went to her 14-year-old son's room. Tom was sitting in front of a bright computer screen on which a colourful dragon jumped and shouted.
"Oh, Tom! You're still playing on that computer. You must stop now. It's half past eleven. If you don't go to bed soon, you'll be very tired tomorrow," said Mrs White.
"But I've nearly beaten the dragon," said Tom. Mrs White could see the excitement on her son's face. She sat down beside him.
"You are always playing on that computer. You spend more time with this machine than with your family," she said with a smile. "What's special about it? Show me what it can do!"
"I think this is a great computer, Mum!" he said happily. "The hardware (硬件) is good. There's so much memory and it has some wonderful software programs. This game, 'Dragon Player', is my favourite, but I sometimes borrow games from Daniel and other friends. I don't have to worry about any infected（感染） disks because I have a virus（病毒） detector (探测器) which can go over any disk and check it for viruses. Let me show you!" Tom began tapping. The screen changed in answer to his orders.
"Oh, Tom," laughed Mrs White. "I'm sure it's a wonderful computer, but I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
1.When Mrs White was calling Tom, he was ______.
A. playing computer games in' his bedroom B. playing with a dragon in his bedroom
C. playing "Dragon Player" in the study D. lying in bed reading a book
2. Tom was excited because ______.
A. the computer has a good memory B. the hardware is good
C. he had nearly won the game D. his mother came to see him
3. What do we know about Mrs White?
A. She loves her son too much.
B. She loves computer games too.
C. She is very hard on his son.
D. She is as wonderful as the computer game.
"Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else can make you happier," the researchers from a team at the University（大学）of British Columbia and Harvard Business School reported.
Their experiments on 600 volunteers in the US showed people were feeling happier when they spent money on others.
The team asked their 600 volunteers about their income（收入），their daily costs, gifts for others and donations to charity. "No matter how much money each person made, those who spent money on others could get greater happiness than those who spent money only on themselves," Dunn said.
Dunn's team also surveyed 16 workers at a company in Boston after they received an award of between $3,000 and $8,000. "Of course they felt happy after receiving the awards," they wrote in their report. "But when they gave the people in need $5, they were happier."
"The findings showed that as little as $5 could be enough to produce happiness on a whole day," Dunn said.
1. There were ______ people in all who took part in the experiments.
2.The underlined word "experiments" means ______ in Chinese.
A. 会议 B. 表演 C. 实验 D. 化验
3.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. Money is not important for people.
B. Money really can "buy" happiness if you spend it on others.
C. We should try our best to give our money to more people in need.
D. Spend all the money on others and you'll feel happier.
For years I wanted a flower garden. I'd spend hours 31 different things I could plant. I believe they would look nice together.
But then we had Mattew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children! I was too 32 raising them的grow a garden.
Money was tight（拮据）,as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something expensive. And I'd have to say, "Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't 33 on trees, you know."
34 , all five got through high school and college（大学）and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden. Then, one morning on Mother's Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a 35 tree, planted right in my garden. I thought it 36 be a weeping willow(垂柳),because I saw things 37 around on all its branches（树枝）.Then I put my 38 on and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my garden!
I went outside to have a look. It was 39 ! There were dollar bills all over that tree. There was also a note in the tree. It 40 ,"We all love you, Mom."
1.A-talking about B. thinking of C. preparing for D. looking after
2.A. tired B. careless C. busy D. poor
3. A. grow B. make C. come D. get
4.A. Clearly B. Naturally C. Certainly D. Finally
5.A. money B. new C. young D. tall
6.A. should B. can C. must D. need
7. A. blowing B. turning C. producing D. appearing
8.A. overcoat B. hat C. shoes D. glasses
9. A. strange B. true C. special D. perfect
10. A. says B. writes C. shows D. describes
－ It's a pity that none of these educational CD-ROMs is suitable for me.
－______. I can show you some others.
A. That's all right. B. Why not say so? C. No problem. D. Don't worry.
－ It seems to me traveling by plane is dangerous.
－ I don't think so. ______ planes have the best safety records.
A. At most B. At least C. At last D. At present
