When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted bit stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring hack at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.
“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.
1.What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?
A. To introduce Stephanie to her.
B. To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C. To put the materials back in the yard.
D. To show his artwork to her.
2.In his mother’s eyes, the writer_______.
A. was a born artist
B. always caused trouble
C. was a problem solver
D. worked very hard
3.The underlined word “rainbow” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A. the rainbow in the sky
B. the stripes on the pavement
C. something imaginative and fun
D. important lessons learned in childhood
4.It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.
A. encourage children to paint
B. value friendship among children
C. discover the hidden talent in children
D. protect rather than destroy children’s dreams
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意， 然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑.
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be _1_ Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d 2?” Just when I started to 3that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 4at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 5that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t 6. Somebody had thought 7of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 8Christmas there special and memorable, I 9remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 10for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 11a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 12with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were 13. Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 14them that they couldn’t open their presents 15every child had come forward. Finally the 16they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 17up the room. The 18in the room was obvious, and 19wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew 20that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1.A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2.A. found B. prepared C. got D. expected
3.A. doubt B. hope C. suggest D. accept
4.A. broke in .B. settled down C. turned up D. showed off
5.A. relief B. loss C. achievement D. justice
6.A. blamed B. loved C. forgotten D. affected
7.A. highly B. little C. poorly D. enough
8.A. present B. first C. recent D. previous
9.A. hardly B. instantly C. regularly D. occasionally
10.A. strength B. independence C. importance D. safety
11.A. kept up with B. caught up with C. came up with D. put up with
12.A. none B. few C. some D. each
13.A. fine B. special C. helpful D. normal
14.A. reminded B. guaranteed C. convinced D. promised
15.A. after B. until C. when D. since
16.A. chance B. gift C. moment D. reward
17.A. lit B. took C. burned D. cheered
18.A. atmosphere B. sympathy C. calmness D. joy
19.A. it B. such C. something D. everybody
20.A. by B. till C. for D. from
The traffic rule says young children under the age of four and ____ less than 40 pounds must be in a child safety seat.
A. being weighed B. to weigh
C. weighed D. weighing
Playing on a frozen sports field sounds like a lot of fun. Isn’t it rather risky, ____?
A. though B. also
C. either D. too
—According to my grandma, it is a good idea to eat chicken soup when you have a cold.
—_____, scientists agree with her.
A. Sooner or later B. Once in a while
C. To be exact D. Believe it or not
“You ____ have a wrong number,” she said. “There’s no one of that name here.”
A. need B. can
C. must D. would
