I was thirteen when my father got hurt. Looking back over the years, I sometimes wonder what I could have done differently that day. Spit twice over my shoulder when I saw the single magpie (喜鹊), maybe. But that's the thing about superstitions (迷信). You don't know how much power they have until you break them.
We lived in a dark shabby house in Bucks. Wood blocks laid over dirt on the floor. That part of England was full of cherry trees. Chalky soil．
The rice had caught in the bottom of the pot that morning at breakfast and all I could smell was burned rice. Even now when I think of that day I have the taste of burned rice in my mouth.
"I'm going to cut down the old cherry tree," my father announced.
"You've been saying that for years," said my mother lightly touching the end of her nose. Her nose ran all year long. Her arms rested on the table, a cup of tea placed between her hands, steam rising into the air. "You'll never get round to it. "
My stomach, balled into a tight little knot (结) relaxed itself．
"Millie's going to cry if you cut it down," said my younger brother, Simon, his eyes bright as a fox. "Silly Millie, silly Millie."
"Hold your noise," said my father patting Simon on the head. "And put back that butter. That's a week's ration (限额) you've got on your plate. "
"The war's over," said Simon in a low voice." We haven't had rationing for ages." Simon was right. Even sugar had come off points. However, we still occasionally received food parcels from distant cousins in Canada.
My father glared at him and then went on.
"Pigs. Burt says he'll come and help me take the tree down if he can have some of the wood."
"No," I said springing to my feet." You can't do it. That's my tree. Always has been. Always will be. I won't let you."
Tom, took a piece of toast, watching my reaction. My older brother, he knew what the tree meant to me．
"Now then, Millie," said my father softening his face. "That tree's wild. It's in the way."
1.The magpie is mentioned to show that _____.
A. Millie got much power on seeing the bird
B. things seemed to go wrong from the beginning
C. the bird caused Father's getting hurt that day
D. but for the bird Millie would have done differently
2.According to the passage, how many kids does the family have at least?
A. 6. B. 5. C. 4. D. 3.
3.By saying "balled into a tight little knot", the author means that Millie _____.
A. had a terrible stomachache that morning
B. felt like crying on hearing her brother's words
C. was afraid of her cherry tree being cut down
D. hated to hear her mother saying that way
4.From the passage, we can infer that _____.
A. there were already plenty of food supplies
B. Mother showed little interest in the cherry tree
C. the tree was a great danger to people walking by
D. the tree was finally cut down by father that day
5.When the author calls up the day, she feels _____.
A. regretful B. joyful
C. thankful D. Painful
There was once a young man walking down the streets of Rome, from one end of the city to the other, on his way to visit a relative. While walking, he happened to a beautifully impressive church and heard sounds coming from the building. They sounded like a lot of pounding（冲击）.
Deciding to satisfy his , he approached the building, opened the heavy door and looked inside the church. Well , all he could was an old man in front of a big piece of marble , the marble with a chisel（凿子） and hammer.
“Well , it must be something very ,” the young man probably thought to himself, “ he doesn’t even notice me.” He then left the church and continued with his .
Several days later, he returned on the same . It seemed that the old man was still going at it, so he decided to ask him what he was doing.
He again went to the door, opened it and looked inside. To his , there was a big statue of an angel with wings spreading out wide open, light on it through the stained glass windows, and it the front of the church.
He could not help it but the next moment he was right next to the old man, his jaw hanging wide open. He with absolute amazement and a puzzled look on his face. He just could not understand how the old man knew that there was an angel in that piece of and he could not help but him, “Sir , how did you know that there was an in that piece of marble?”
The old man and replied, “Son, there is an angel in every one of us. All we need to do is to take a hammer and a chisel and chip away at all those little piece that do not look like an angel.”
1.A. enter B. build C. pass D. visit
2.A. loud B. noisy C. pleasant D. rough
3.A. relative B. curiosity C. owner D. wife
4.A. hear B. see C. feel D. smell
5.A. wiping B. cutting C. taking D. turning
6.A. mysterious B. optimistic C. important D. strange
7.A. because B. although C. unless D. if
8.A. thought B. work C. journey D. pray
9.A. route B. square C. business D. time
10.A. usually B. secretly C. really D. absolutely
11.A. disappointment B. amazement C. relief D. joy
12.A. sitting B. kneeling C. lying D. standing
13.A. shining B. bathing C. throwing D. looking
14.A. decorate B. exposed C. shaded D. beautified
15.A. for B. at C. with D. in
16.A. shared B. wondered C. frowned D. noticed
17.A. stone B. clay C. marble D. wood
18.A. challenge B. ask C. praise D. question
19.A. admire B. inventor C. eagle D. angel
20.A. sat down B. turned around C. looked up D. came out
the morning train, he would not have been late for the meeting.
A. Did he catch B. Should he catch
C. Has he caught D. Had he caught
If we a table earlier, we couldn’t be standing here in a queue.
A. have booked B. booked C. book D. had booked
----How about your journey to Mount Emei?
----Everything was wonderful except that our car twice on the way.
A. slowed down B. broke down
C. got down D. put down
The boy made the same mistakes , which, of course, made his parents very angry.
A. more or less B. over and over again
C. sooner or later D. here and there
