People all over the world celebrate the new year. However, not all countries celebrate in the same way, and in some countries, the new year doesn’t begin on the 　46　 date very year.

In many countries, the new year begins on 1st January, but people start celebrating on 31st December, New Year’s Eve. In New York many people go to celebrate in Times Square. 　47 　 they’re waiting for the New Year, they listen to music, sing traditional songs and have fun. Just before 12 o’clock, everyone 　48 down from 10: 10, 9, 8… As soon as it’s 12 o’clock, everyone shouts very 　49 , “Happy New Year!”

New Year’s Day is often a family day. Some families get together for a special meal. When the weather is fine, many families go out for a 　50 .

On New Year’s Day, many people make resolutions for the new year. They 　51　 a list of things, such as “I will help out more with housework. I will work 　52 at school than others.” or “I won’t spend so much time playing video games.” When they have made 　53 list, they read it to their family or friends and promise to 　54 their resolutions.

So it doesn’t matter how they celebrate, 　55 people in countries all over the world, it’s a time to say goodbye to the old year, and to welcome the new.

46. A. familiar　　　　 B. same　　　　　 C. important　　　　 D. normal

47. A. If　　　　　　 B. Even though 　　 C. While　　　　　 D. Before

48. A. comes　　　　 B. turn　　　　　　 C. looks　　　　　　 D. counts

49. A. loudly　　　　 B. quietly　　　　　 C. sadly　　　　　　 D. safely

50. A. walk　　　　　 B. secret　　　　　 C. job　　　　　　　 D. treatment

51. A. put on　　　　 B. write down　　　 C. take away　　　　 D. look after

52. A. quickly　　　　 B. hard　　　　　　 C. harder　　　　　 D. hardly

53. A. its　　　　　　 B. his　　　　　　 C. her　　　　　　　 D. their

54. A. follow　　　　 B. make　　　　　 C. do　　　　　　　 D. give

55. A. by　　　　　　 B. for　　　　　　　 C. with　　　　　　 D. from

Once upon a time there lived a woman who had a bad temper(脾氣). She  1 at everyone around her. For most of her life she believed the anger inside her was  2  else’s fault(過錯).

She went to see a wise monk(高僧) to ask for  3  . The monk told her to take a large pot（罐子) from his kitchen, fill it with  4 , and stand outside on the sidewalk in front of his house. “It’s hot outside,” the monk said to her “When a person  5 , you must give him or her a glass of water. Do this until there is no 6  left inside you.”  7  she stood outside with a water pot and served water to walkers every day for the next several weeks.

Every morning she asked   8  if there was any anger inside her. And every morning the answer was, “yes.” So she continued  9 water. Until one afternoon when a man walked up, took the water pot out of her hand and drank the water up, and then  10 it onto the ground as he went on his way.

The woman was very  11 . Unable to control herself, she  12  the pot and threw it at the rude man. The pot broke into pieces over the back of his head and he fell to the ground, bleeding.

As the woman calmed down, she realized the mistake of what she had made and began to cry. She called 911 and  13  what had happened. A moment later an ambulance(救護(hù)車) and two police cars arrived and took the man away. Then one of the police officers walked over to the woman, who was  14 crying, and said, “ The city owes(欠) you a big ‘thank you.’ That man has been  15 our wanted list for over a year now. He is an important suspect in many murder cases and robberies.”

1.                A．pointed        B．laughed         C．smiled    D．screamed

2.                A．a(chǎn)nybody        B．somebody       C．everybody D．nobody

3.                A．information     B．news           C．a(chǎn)dvice    D．message

4.                A．juice           B．water          C．milk D．coffee

5.                A．walks past       B．drives past      C．rides past D．runs past

6.                A．water          B．money         C．a(chǎn)nger    D．energy

7.                A．Because        B．But            C．So   D．Unless

8.                A．herself         B．himself         C．itself D．themselves

9.                A．drinking        B．serving         C．selling    D．buying

10.               A．put            B．dropped        C．fell   D．threw

11.               A．happy          B．excited         C．surprised  D．a(chǎn)ngry

12.               A．gave up        B．picked up       C．put up D．cleared up

13.               A．spoke          B．told           C．reported  D．a(chǎn)sked

14.               A．a(chǎn)lready         B．still            C．a(chǎn)lways D．never

15.               A．on            B．in             C．a(chǎn)t    D．to

One day, a little monkey and a little fox went out to play. They saw an apple tree on the other side of the river. There were many big and red apples on it. But there was no bridge over the river. The monkey thought hard and had an idea. They pulled down(推倒) a tree and put it over the river as a bridge.
The monkey said, “My old friend, you go there first.” But after the fox went to the other side, he kicked(踢) the tree into the river and ran to the apple tree. “How can I get there without the tree?” cried the monkey. The fox laughed and said, “You just stand there and watch me eating the apples.” The monkey was very angry.
Suddenly it began to rain. The water level(水位) in the river rose（上漲） and the tree flew away with the water.
“You can eat all the apples. But you can’t come back,” shouted the monkey.
The fox stopped eating and looked at the monkey sadly.
【小題1】The little monkey and the little fox wanted to        on the other side of the river.