请你根据下列提示，用英语写一篇短文，谈谈“感恩”的意义。
When we grow up, we often get a lot of love, support and help from our teachers, friends as well as our parents. However, we seldom express our gratitude to them. Being grateful to others is what we shouldn’t forget.
注意： 1. 无须写标题，不得照抄英文提示语；
2. 或者列举生活中的事例，或者谈谈自己的看法；字数120左右。
阅读下列各小题，根据汉语提示，用句末括号内的英语单词完成句子。
1.__________________________ whether our pay will be raised by 5% this year. (difference)
今年工资是否上调百分之五将会很不一样。
2.If the victim is badly injured, _____________________ to get the victim to the hospital at once. (vital)
如果受害者伤势严重，至关重要的是立即带他去看医生或去医院。
3.___________________________，the movie Inception can hardly be well understood. (divide)
如果把《盗梦空间》分成几部分，将很难看懂。
4.From my point of view, it is you, rather than your husband, ______________ your spoiled child. (blame)
在我看来，是你，而不是你丈夫，应为宠坏孩子负责任。
5.The committee consists of 20 members, _________________________ are women. (quarter)
委员会有20个成员，其中四分之一是女性。
6.I cannot _______________________ the poem, but perhaps I will if I read it again. (sense)
我不懂这首诗，但或许再读一遍就会懂。
7.So __________________ in the novel that he didn’t notice his father at the door. (absorb)
他如此专注于小说，以至于丝毫没有注意站在门边的父亲。
8.On the top of the mountain _________________ surrounded by tall trees. (lie)
山顶上有一座被大树环抱的古庙。
9. ___________________, Joan of Arc showed great bravery in the battle. (as)
尽管是个女孩儿，圣女贞德在战争中表现得英勇无畏。
10.I _________________ by some students in the exam, but in fact I’m totally innocent. (accuse)
有些学生指责我在考试中作弊，但事实上我完全是无辜的。
So the little girl now walked on, her bare feet quite red and blue with the cold. She carried a small bundle of matches in her hand, and a good many more in her tattered dress. No one had bought any of them the live long day； no one had given her a single penny. Trembling with cold and hunger crept she on, the picture of sorrow: poor little child!
The snow-flakes fell on her long, fair hair, which curled in such pretty ringlets over her shoulders; but she thought not of her own beauty, or of the cold. Lights were glimmering through every window, and the savor of roast goose reached her from several houses；it was New Year's eve, and it was of this that she thought.
In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected beyond the other. She sat down, drawing her little feet close under her, but in vain, she could not warm them. She dared not go home, she had sold no matches, earned not a single penny, and perhaps her father would beat her，besides her home was almost as cold as the street，it was an attic; and although the larger of the many chinks in the roof were stopped up with straw and rags. The wind and snow often penetrated through. Her hands were nearly dead with cold; one little match from her bundle would warm them. Perhaps, if she dared light it, she drew one out, and struck it against the wall, bravo! It was a bright, warm flame, and she held her hands over it. It was quite an illumination for that poor little girl; no, I call it rather a magic taper, for it seemed to her as though she was sitting before a large iron-stove with brass ornaments, so beautifully blazed the fire within! The child stretched out her feet to warm them also; alas, in an instant the flame had died away, the stove disappeared, the little girl sat cold and comfortless, with the burnt match in her hand.
1.The author emphasized that the story happened on New Year’s Eve in order to _________.
A. highlight the cold weather
B. contrast with the girl’s sadness.
C. present the time
D. describe the situation
2.Which below is not the reason why the little girl dared not go home?
A. She earned not a single penny.
B. Her father would beat her.
C. Her home was almost as cold as the street.
D. She didn’t finished selling her matches.
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph told us ___________.
A. the girl was so cold that she formed an illusion that she sat beside a stove
B. a stove did give her some warmth on such a cold night
C. the thought she had could give her warmth
D. the light the match gave out did warm the little girl
4.The little girl gave us an impression of being __________.
A. beautiful and kind B. poor but imaginable
C. poor and pitiful D. poor but lively
You may have heard the term “the American Dream”. In 1848, James W. Marshall found gold in California and people began having golden dreams. That 19th century “American Dream" motivated(激发) the Gold Rush and gave California its nickname of the "Golden State".
The American Dream drove not only 1800s gold-rush prospectors(采矿者) but also waves of immigrants throughout that century and the next. People from Europe, and a large number of Chinese, arrived in the US in the 19th century hoping that in America they would find gold there. But most, instead, worked as railroad laborers. They created the oldest Chinatown, in San Francisco, and gave the city a Chinese name "the old gold hill".
In the 20th century, some critics said that it was no longer possible to become prosperous through determination and hard work. Unfair education for students from poor families and racial discrimination almost made the American Dream a nightmare(噩梦).
Then, in the 1990s, California saw a new wave of dreamers in Silicon Valley. People poured their energy into the Internet. This new chapter of the American Dream attracted many business people and young talents from China and India to form start-ups and seek fortune in America.
Better pay, a nice house, and a rising standard of living will always be attractive. However, the new American Dream is no longer just about money. It encourages Americans to consume wisely to protect the environment, improve the quality of life, and promote social justice（正义）.
The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has become the model of the new American Dream. After
years of hard work, he grew from a poor young man from Austria into a super movie star and then a governor.
Many people hope his story can save the American Dream and give California a brighter future.
1.It can be inferred that_________.
A. America’s golden dream could never be realized
B. America’s golden dream had bought great fortune to Chinese immigrants
C. different times have different themes of the American dream
D. determination and hard work are the best way to realize the American dream
2.Why did most of the early immigrants work as railroad laborers?
A. Because they could earn more money as railroad laborers.
B. Because they had to make a living by working as railroad laborers．
C. Because they thought railroad was the first step to find gold.
D. Because railroad laborers were greatly honored at that time.
3.The underlined sentence “his story can save the American Dream” (in the last paragraph) indicates that________．
A. the dream of seeking fortunate in America is easy to realize
B. most of the immigrants to America don’t reach their previous goals
C. the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger is among the common examples of the immigrants
D. the immigrants have made great contributions to California
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Wave of Immigrants to America
B. Make Fortunes Abroad
C. Hard Work Leads to Success
D. Changes of America’s Golden Dream
Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents' house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town, I noticed that the family was there, standing outside the closed gas station.
My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents' house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, "I can't stand it!"
"What?" asked my mother.
"It's those people back there at the gas station, standing in the rain. They've got children. It's Christmas. "
When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children- two girls and a small boy.
My father rolled down his window. "Merry Christmas," he said.
"Howdy," the man replied.
"You’re waiting on the bus?" my father asked.
The man said that they were.
"Well, that bus isn't going to come along for several hours, and you're getting wet standing here. Winborn's just a couple miles up the road. They've got a shed with a cover there, and some benches," my father said. "Why don't y'all get in the car and I'll run you up there."
The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing.
Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three glum faces mutely gave him his answer.
"Well, I didn't think so," my father said, winking at my mother, "because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. We'll just go get them before I take you to the bus stop."
All at once, the three children's faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering.
When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy.
When they left, my father reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars, which was all he had left. He pressed the money into the man's hand. The man tried to give it back, but my father insisted. “Take it. I've been broke before, and I know what it's like when you can't feed your family." We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, looking back at the little girl hugging her new doll.
1.For the majority, what the story impresses most on us is __________.
A. father’s kind offer to the family in the rain
B. mother’s generosity to give all our Christmas presents away
C. that my sister and I had no alternative as to my parents’ decision
D. that the family who got help seemed to be indifferent
2.The writer didn’t get the Christmas presents, but he/she was happy. The reason was_________.
A. his/her parents taught his/her a good lesson
B. they learned the joy of making others happy
C. they would get another presents somewhere else
D. they were likely to get more presents from others
3.We can draw a conclusion from the story that _________.
A. only you help others heart and soul can you feel more happy
B. God helps those who help themselves
C. Present rose to others with fragrance lingering at hand.
D. Happiness takes no account of time
4.After reading the story, you will have the feeling of _________.
A. great happiness B. light sadness
C. little sorrow D. some warmth
The host poured the tea into the cup and placed it on the small table in front of his guests, who were a father and daughter, and the cover on the cup. Apparently thinking of something, he hurried into the inner room, leaving the thermos(热水瓶) on the table. His two guests heard a cupboard opening.
They remained sitting in the sitting room, the ten-year-old daughter looking at the flowers outside the window, the father just about to take his cup, when the crash came, right there in the sitting room. Something was hopelessly broken.
It was the thermos, which had fallen to the floor. The girl looked over her shoulder, shocked, staring. It was mysterious. Neither of them touched it, not even a bit. True, it hadn’t stood steadily when their host placed in on the table, but it hadn’t fallen then.
The explosion caused the host to rush back. Gawking at the steaming floor, the host said, “It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter!”
The father started to say something. Then he said softly, “Sorry, I touched it and it fell.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said the host.
When they left the house, the daughter said, “Daddy, did you touch it?”
“No, but it stood so close to me.”
“But you did not touch it. I saw your reflection in the window glass.”
The father laughed. “What would you give as the cause of its fall?”
“The thermos fell by itself. The floor is not smooth. Daddy, why did you say that you…”
“That won’t do, girl. It sounds more acceptable when I say I knocked it down. There are things which people accept less the more you defend. The truer the story you tell, the less true it sounds.”
The daughter was lost in silence for a while. Then she said, “Can you explain it only in this way?”
“Only in this way,” her father said.
1.Which statement is a possible theme of this story?
A. People should take the blame for what they didn’t do.
B. People rarely tell the truth.
C. If you defend yourself, people will believe you.
D. You can’t always make people believe the truth.
2.The underlined phrase “Gawking at” probably means ___________.
A. staring at with anger
B. looking at curious
C, looking at in a dull way
D. glancing at hopelessly
3.It can be inferred from the story that the father____________.
A. didn’t know the host well
B. didn’t think the host would believe the truth
C. was sorry that he told the truth
D. felt satisfied that he didn’t tell the truh
4.From the story we know that the daughter ___________ .
A. thought her father should tell the truth
B. didn’t know why the thermos fell
C. glancing at hopelessly
D. looking at in a dull way
