“Mum, I want to make you a bet,” I said. “If I go a whole year without TV, will you give me a hundred dollars?”　　
“Well, if you can   1  do it, …”
“Of course I can,” I replied, trying to convince   2 .
In fact, all this started from my   3  of a picture in the newspaper. I couldn’t bear to look at that boy. He said that he had   4  one year without TV for a hundred dollars,   5 me with mocking eyes. It seemed he was saying, “I did it,   6  you can’t!”. I glared at the boy’s face.
That year I did a lot of things. For example, my father taught me to   7 , which became my favorite sport.   8  winter afternoons snowball wars with my neighbors offered daily drama. I went on bike trips with my friends and swam as much as a fish.　　
It was unbelievable how much   9  I had without TV. I learned so many new games. I guess the   10  thing I learnt, though, was self-motivation(上進(jìn)心).　　
I started to do my homework. I went from a D student to an A student within a couple of   11 .　　
I used to   12  reading if there were no   13 , but now I began to read and enjoy it. I could arrange off all the pictures just the way I wanted them—my own little TV, right   14  my head!
I’m surprised what I did. I got a lot more from the   15  than just the 100 dollars!

缺詞填空（根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容及首字母提示，填入所缺單詞）（共10空，每空1分，滿分10分）

Many books have been written about “the art of giving”. But what about the art of r  1  ? Sometimes, receiving a gift can be difficult, especially when someone buys you a gift you don’t want!

“I remember when I was about twelve years old, my parents b  2  me a purple purse,” laughs Guo Xiaojing. “It really made me feel embarrassed(尷尬), because I thought the purse was really ugly！Still, I pretended (假裝)that I liked it b  3  I knew it would make my parents happy!”

Han Ling agrees. “That sounds like my grandparents！A few years ago, my grandparents gave me an orange sweater f  4  my birthday. I used to wear it every time I visited them, but when I left their house, I took it off! Of course, this made me feel g  5  . It was a very nice thought, but my grandparents have different taste from me! I think it’s hard to buy clothes or other personal things for people.”

To make things easier, some people would rather just give money. In some cultures, h  6   , receiving money can make people uncomfortable. “When someone gives me money, it j   7    makes me think they’re being lazy,” says John Wilson. “In England, we have a saying: It’s the thought that counts. When s   8   gives me money, I feel they don’t think at all. I prefer to receive a gift that has some thought behind it. I don’t mind if it’s something I don’t need. If someone has thought about a g   9   for me, it always makes me happy.”

Different people have very different thoughts on this subject! So maybe the art of receiving is e 10   more difficult than the art of giving! What do you think?

動詞填空用括號內(nèi)所給動詞的適當(dāng)形式填空。（本大題共8小題，每小題1分，共8分）

1.Jane is such a kind girl that she always             (reply) to anyone with a smile on her face.

2.By the end of the 20th century, the weather             (affect) people’s life a lot.

3.I’m surprised to find that the price of bread             (rise) by 15% recently.

4.Have you ever thought about devoting all your life to             (support) different charities?

5.It’s said that women in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia            (not allow) to drive all the time.

6.Though there’s enough time, I prefer          (complete) the task quickly first to spend more time on my hobbies.

7.— Mary, could you help me?

— Wait a moment. I        (argue) about what colour to wear at tonight’s party with my elder sister.

8.The notice says that anyone who breaks the school rules             (punish) by our principal.

It began with a red paper clip and ended with a house. Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old Canadian, got a three-bedroom house through 14 trades (交換) that started with a single red paper clip.[來源:學(xué)�？�。網(wǎng)Z。X。X。K]
Encouraged by Kyle’s successful experience, now more and more young people around the world are starting their own trading activities. They set up websites where people can trade things they don’t usually use with other people. A website called Peerflix allows people to trade their used DVDs. These traders usually prefer face-to-face trading, which means they don’t have to worry about who is going to pay for the delivery (遞送).
Last year, a young girl in Beijing decided to follow the example of Kyle. She started with a paper clip and hoped to get a house in the end. After several trades she now has a piano which is more than 10,000 yuan. But she may still have a long way to go.
You may be puzzled about why people are doing this. In fact, everyone in the trade activities gets things that are useful to them. Just as Kyle said, “What’s more important to a man dying of thirst in the desert — one million dollars or a glass of water?” Kyle’s words probably show why these trades are poplar among young people.
4. Where can people trade things they do not usually use according to the passage?
A. On the Internet.    B. In Beijing.         C. In Canada.      D. In the desert.
5. Why are trading activities popular among young people?
A. Because they can make a lot of money by trading with other people.
B. Because the traders can get things that are useful to them.
C. Because young people love trading activities.
D. Because many young people want to get a house.
6. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. If you begin with a paper clip, you will finally get a house by trading.
B. A young girl in Beijing got a house through trading.
C. A glass of water is more important than one million dollars.
D. Many traders like face-to-face trading because they don’t have to pay for the delivery.