Many years ago, when I was working as a volunteer(志愿者)at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Lisa. The poor little girl had a very serious disease and was dying. The doctor had done his best but no medicine really worked. The only chance to save her seemed to be a blood transfusion(输血)from her five-year-old brother. The little boy had the same disease before and had developed the antibodies(抗体)to fight the illness.

    The doctor talked to me little boy about what they planned to do, and asked him if he would be willing(愿意的)to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate(迟疑)for a moment. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it can save Lisa."

    As the transfusion was going on, the little boy lay quietly in bed next to his sister. He looked at her and smiled all the time. When everything was done and the color returned to his sister's face, his smile disappeared and he looked a little afraid. He looked up at the doctor and asked, "Will I start to die now?"

    He was too young to understand the doctor. He thought he would have to give all his blood to his sister, but he agreed.

阅读下列短文, 从下面每个小题的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

One day, Ben was playing basketball in the living room, breaking a vase. To cover his terrible action, the frightened boy glued the pieces together and put the vase back to its place.

That evening her mother noticed the cracks (裂纹). But to her surprise, the repair work was actually very good. At dinner time, she asked her boy if he broke the vase. Fearing punishment, the boy said that a neighbor's cat jumped in from the window and knocked the vase off. His mother was quite clear that her son was lying. However, she said nothing.

Before going to bed, the boy was asked to go to the study. In the study, his mother didn't look angry. On seeing her son carefully come in, she gave him one chocolate, saying "This chocolate is a reward (奖励) for your imagination: a window-opening cat!" At that moment, the boy felt the chocolate was a hot potato. “Did mom find holes in my excuse?” he thought. “You know, all the windows were closed.” Mother continued calmly and took out two chocolates into his hand, “An award for the perfect repair.”

Now with the chocolates in hand, the boy wished the ground to open up and bury him! He told the truth. “So I have to punish you for your lie.” The mother said with a serious voice and took back his chocolates. The boy bent down his head in shame. “But your honesty should have the award—a box of chocolates.” The mother suddenly bent to kiss his cheek, speaking gently to the crying boy, “My son, honesty values more than anything.”

The other day, my husband called me to the balcony(阳台). "Come, dear, look at that car!" 

"What's up?" I asked, looking down at the square in front of our apartment building. A driver was trying to park between two cars. 

"That must be a woman," my husband said.

"How do you know?"

"I've watched the car move back and forth twenty times. Men can't be so bad at driving!"

"What if the driver is a man?" I asked.

"I bet you 50 yuan that the driver is a woman!"

We stood on the balcony and watched the car. It felt a little silly. Five minutes later, the car was finally parked perfectly, and a man slowly got out.

"Fifty yuan please," I said to my husband as he silently walked away.

My husband is not alone in looking down on female drivers. On weekends, my friend Lily likes traveling around the city by bus. But she always hesitates to get on a bus if the driver is a woman. "I can't trust a female driver," she told me one day. "Women are not born to drive, you know."

"Sorry, but I don't know," I said. I go to work by bus every day, and I never think female drivers are any worse. In fact, they are often more careful than men. Research also shows that female drivers are 8.8 times less likely to cause accidents than male drivers.

There are not many female bus drivers, though. And in the history of Formula One(一级方程式赛车), only 0.26 percent of drivers have been women. Without role models, many girls may think they are not meant to be good drivers. But the ability to drive has nothing to do with gender. Women can drive well, too. It's time to stop making jokes about female drivers.

"I killed the wrong goose (鹅), " a man complained in his letter about the Xinhua Dictionary. It was the 1970s. The man wanted to kill a male goose. He didn't know the difference between male and female goose, so he turned to the dictionary for help. It read, "The male geese have a yellow bump on their head."

The man chose a goose that matched the description. But when he opened its stomach, many eggs poured out, and the man was angry. 

The dictionary wasn't totally wrong. However, it didn't make it clear that all geese have a yellow bump on their head. Males have just bigger ones. The dictionary's editors corrected it in the next edition (版本) . 

Since its birth in 1953, the Xinhua Dictionary has been used as an encyclopedia (百科全书) by people across China. More than 600 million copies have been sold. 

In 1949, about 80 percent of China's population was uneducated. Xinhua Dictionary succeeded in opening up knowledge to millions of Chinese people. "I had no education when I was little. The dictionary helped me get into high school. " Said a woman in her 50s. 

Over the past 50 years, the dictionary has been improved in each edition. "鲟"was once explained as"can be eaten". Later editions made it clear that it was "an animal in danger". The meaning of "豹"is no longer "wild animals whose fur can be made into clothes". New editions have included many new meanings. The character "晒" (to dry something under the sun) , for example, now has a second meaning: to share. Popular expressions like "初心"have also been added to dictionary. 

In a way, Xinhua hasn't just explained words; it has shaped the way Chinese people think. According to an article in Southern Weekly, "When children write about a spring outing, the sky is always ‘cloudless for ten thousand miles'. They will always ‘sing and dance' on the way. " "Both sentences, " the editor added, " are from examples in the Xinhua Dictionary."

Last week I went to an art show. A painting caught my eyes. To my amazement, it was painted by Steven, one of my {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Then many things about him came into my mind.

Steven was from a poor family. His parents{#blank#}2{#/blank#}not afford to buy him some basic things that he needed. Once our school provided gloves for poor children. I put Steven's name on the list. He was so {#blank#}3{#/blank#} when he received a pair. He loved to wear them and they were always {#blank#}4{#/blank#} than anybody else's. 

Steven had a gift(天赋) for painting and he could {#blank#}5{#/blank#} understand what I described in class. But he didn't have money to buy the paper for painting. So sometimes, I {#blank#}6{#/blank#} him some. He parctised hard. And I often showed his paintings of the class. He was greatly {#blank#}7{#/blank#}.

One day just before the summer vacation, he came to {#blank#}8{#/blank#} some art books. When the new term began, he showed some of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} paintings to me. I felt shocked . They were very good. Then we talked a lot. He said he would keep on. 

Later he was admitted(录取) to a famous art university. After graduation, he had many difficulties, but he never gave up. He was always {#blank#}10{#/blank#} his best to improve himself. His hard work and strong mind led to his success.

Alan is an English boy. Now he studies in Yuxin Middle School. He is in Grade Seven. His telephone number is 5774330. He has a dog. It's black and white. The dog is very clever. Alan likes it very much. Its favorite food is the bone (骨头). Every day when Alan gets home, the dog is waiting for him at the door of the house.

Alan's friend, Amy, is an American girl. She is in Shanghai, too. They are in the same grade, but in different classes. Her phone number is 8779655. She has a pet panda. It's also black and white, but it's not a real panda. It's a toy. The panda is very clean. Amy often washes it. Where is the panda now? Oh, it's sleeping with Amy. Every night it sleeps with Amy.