It s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．It has been there for the past 10 years or so．It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas—the commercial aspects of Christmas-overspending．Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to avoid the usual presents．The idea came in an unusual way．

       Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by a church．These youngsters, dressed in ragged clothes, presenting a sharp contrast to our boys in their beautiful dresses and shoes．As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury that the poor team obviously could not afford．Well, we ended up defeating them．Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said．"They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．" That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought wrestling headgear and shoes for the youngsters and sent them anonymously （匿名地） to the church．On Christmas Eve? I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in the following years．

       For each Christmas, I followed the tradition．The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed expectation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to show its contents．As the children grew, they joined．

       May we all remember the reason for Christmas, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always．God bless梡ass this along to your friends and loved ones．

The author avoids usual Christmas presents because her husband _____．

       A．likes cheap Christmas presents

       B．likes expensive Christmas presents

       C．dislikes spending much on large Christmas presents

       D．dislikes spending much on unmeaningful Christmas gifts

The underlined word "luxury" in Paragraph 2 means "_____"．

       A．something of poor quality          B．something abundant

       C．something strange        D．something expensive

From the passage we can infer that in character the husband is _____．

       A．modest and mature     B．kind and practical

       C．strong-willed and vain             D．optimistic and outgoing

What is the most exciting thing for the family at Christmas?

       A．Preparing gifts．             B．Exchanging gifts．

       C．Opening the envelope．        D．Writing Christmas cards．

It s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．It has been there for the past 10 years or so．It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas—the commercial aspects of Christmas-overspending．Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to avoid the usual presents．The idea came in an unusual way．
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by a church．These youngsters, dressed in ragged clothes, presenting a sharp contrast to our boys in their beautiful dresses and shoes．As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury that the poor team obviously could not afford．Well, we ended up defeating them．Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said．"They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．" That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought wrestling headgear and shoes for the youngsters and sent them anonymously （匿名地） to the church．On Christmas Eve? I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in the following years．
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition．The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed expectation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to show its contents．As the children grew, they joined．
May we all remember the reason for Christmas, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always．God bless梡ass this along to your friends and loved ones．
【小題1】The author avoids usual Christmas presents because her husband _____．

A．likes cheap Christmas presents

B．likes expensive Christmas presents

C．dislikes spending much on large Christmas presents

D．dislikes spending much on unmeaningful Christmas gifts

【小題2】The underlined word "luxury" in Paragraph 2 means "_____"．

A．something of poor quality	B．something abundant
C．something strange	D．something expensive

【小題3】From the passage we can infer that in character the husband is _____．

A．modest and mature	B．kind and practical
C．strong-willed and vain	D．optimistic and outgoing

【小題4】What is the most exciting thing for the family at Christmas?

A．Preparing gifts．	B．Exchanging gifts．
C．Opening the envelope．	D．Writing Christmas cards．

It s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree．It has been there for the past 10 years or so．It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas—the commercial aspects of Christmas-overspending．Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to avoid the usual presents．The idea came in an unusual way．

         Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored by a church．These youngsters, dressed in ragged clothes, presenting a sharp contrast to our boys in their beautiful dresses and shoes．As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears．It was a luxury that the poor team obviously could not afford．Well, we ended up defeating them．Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said．"They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them．" That's when the idea for his present came．That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought wrestling headgear and shoes for the youngsters and sent them anonymously （匿名地） to the church．On Christmas Eve? I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me．His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in the following years．

         For each Christmas, I followed the tradition．The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas．It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed expectation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to show its contents．As the children grew, they joined．

         May we all remember the reason for Christmas, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always．God bless梡ass this along to your friends and loved ones．

1.The author avoids usual Christmas presents because her husband _____．

         A．likes cheap Christmas presents

         B．likes expensive Christmas presents

         C．dislikes spending much on large Christmas presents

         D．dislikes spending much on unmeaningful Christmas gifts

2.The underlined word "luxury" in Paragraph 2 means "_____"．

         A．something of poor quality                       B．something abundant

         C．something strange                                    D．something expensive

3.From the passage we can infer that in character the husband is _____．

         A．modest and mature                                 B．kind and practical

         C．strong-willed and vain                          D．optimistic and outgoing

4.What is the most exciting thing for the family at Christmas?

         A．Preparing gifts．                                   B．Exchanging gifts．

         C．Opening the envelope．                              D．Writing Christmas cards．

 

第二節(jié) 完型填空（共20小題；每小題1分，滿分20分）

閱讀下面短文，掌握其大意，然后從36—55各題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上涂黑。

Every April, Tim Reilly writes a birthday card for his son Matthew and leaves it on the kitchen table. And every year, after a few days, he reluctantly （不情愿地） removes it   36   and puts it on top of the   37   that have accumulated since Matthew' s disappearance.

His bedroom   38   as it was when Matthew, aged 30, walked   39   of the family home. On top of the cupboard is a yellowing copy of the Radio Times pitifully  40   the day when he disappeared.

Matthew was living at his parents' house when he left to  41   his daily walk. He was a good - looking artist who,   42   from feeling the pressure that came with his unsteady, highly competitive career, had no  43   to walk out on his life, family and friends and  44   return.

"The day he left was the same as any other,"   45   Tim, speaking quietly. "He didn't say goodbye but that wasn't  46  . He went for a walk every day. " The police started an investigation seeking for him or, worse, his body, but nothing   47   up. At first Tim   48  . Matthew to return after a couple of days, but as the weeks turned into months, and then years, Tim' s optimism has sometimes become weaker although his  49   to find his son has not.

Last Sunday, Matthew would have turned 40. After his disappearance Tim used to buy  50

for Matthew' s birthday each year but  51   he decided to just write a card. Each one   52   a loving message that Tim, 86, hopes Matthew will one day read.

Tim went into Matthew' s bedroom every day to let in some air and just think about him. When his wife became ill, it was terrible. She   53   a horrible death with her last   54  ：Where is Matthew?

"If I could  55   to Matthew," said Tim, "I'd just tell him to come home. It doesn't matter that he’s been away so long, I just want him to come back and I always will. "

36．A．covered    B．wrapped   C．unopened  D．untouched

37．A．flowers     B．cakes C．letters       D．others

38．A．puts  B．keeps C．a(chǎn)ppears     D．remains

39．A．out    B．a(chǎn)way C．off    D．over

40．A．mentioned       B．marked     C．dated D．printed

41．A．go     B．take   C．spend       D．cost

42．A．except      B．besides     C．a(chǎn)part D．but

43．A．way  B．method     C．interest     D．reason

44．A．seldom     B．hardly      C．never D．neither

45．A．remembers       B．recites      C．reminds    D．thinks

46．A．reasonable       B．unusual     C．responsible       D．necessary

47．A．showed     B．caught      C．started      D．turned

48．A．imagined  B．expected   C．desired     D．hoped

49．A．determinationB．a(chǎn)ssumption  C．consideration    D．identification

50．A．cards B．gifts  C．clothes      D．shoes

51．A．eventually B．occasionally     C．temporarily      D．especially

52．A．reads B．says   C．consists     D．contains

53．A．escaped    B．a(chǎn)bolished  C．suffered    D．performed

54．A．question   B．sentence    C．intention   D．problem

55．A．turn  B．speak C．shout D．write