As a young man, Tom was a famous artist with a wife and two fine sons. One night, his older son was ill. Tom and his wife thought it was nothing serious. But the boy died suddenly that night..

    After his son died, Tom always felt very sad. To make matters worse, his wife also left him later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son, Emie. Sadly, he turned to alcohol(酒) for help.

As time went by, Tom began to lose everything he had——his land, house, etc. A few months later, Tom passed away alone in a small bar. Hearing of Tom's death, I thought,"What a complete failure!"

   But later, I began to change my earlier opinion. I knew Tom's now adult son, Emie. He is one of the kindest, most caring men. I saw the love between Emie and his children. And I thought that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.

One day, I asked him what made him become such a specia1 person. Emie said quietly, "My father came into my room every night, give me a kiss and said,"love you, son."

     Hearing his words, I understood everything. Tom didn't leave many things behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and left behind his best love.

Dear Dale,

    I'm David, and I'm your new penfriend. I'm 12 and I live in Vancouver, a city in Canada. I have short black hair and black eyes.

    My mother and father are from Beijing, China and we speak Chinese and English at home. My father is a doctor and my mother is a teacher. My sister Amy is 22. She doesn't live at home, because she works in New York, USA. She likes yellow. My brother Jack is at university (大学) and he studies computer science. He is 18 and we live in the same room. We like blue, so the walls (墙) of our room are

blue.

    Please write and tell me about you and your family.

    All the best,

David

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

B

    Fraser is four years old. He has autism(自闭症). He lives in his own world. Everything is very difficult to him. He doesn't want to play with other children. He doesn't want to say any words to others. His parents are worried about him.

    Then Billy, a cat, comes. It helps Fraser go out of his world.

When Billy sees Fraser, it runs to him quickly. It sits beside Fraser with its paws on Fraser's legs. They seem to be old friends. Fraser says, "This is our cat. He can come to live with us." "I know our life changes," says Fraser's mother.

    Billy stays with Fraser all the time. They play together, listen to the story together and sleep together. When Fraser walks in the garden, Billy is never far away. When Fraser is unhappy, it always lies beside him.

    It seems crazy. But Billy is like Fraser's angel. Fraser changes a lot. The doctor says he is getting better. He doesn't have to see the doctor now.

A

    Little Tom likes cartoons very much. When the cartoons begin on TV, he does nothing until they're over. Sometimes he'd rather(宁可）wait for a long time and go to bed late. In the morning his mother has to wake him up, or he'll be late for school.

    Yesterday Tom heard there would be an interesting cartoon today. This morning, as soon as he got up, he turned on the television, but he didn't see the program on it. He had to have breakfast and then go to school. After school he ran home while his mother was cooking supper in the kitchen. He hurried to the sitting room and turned on the television again, but he couldn't find the cartoon. He rushed into the kitchen and asked his mother for help.

    “It's only five now，''said the woman. “Your program will be after supper. ”

    “Well，let's have supper right now!”

    Kwanzaa is a celebration of African American history and culture. It begins on December 26th and continues until New Year's Day, January 1st.

    During the festival, a family member, usually the youngest child, lights candles in a special candleholder. Each night a candle is lit. Traditionally there are three green candles, three red candles and a central black candle. They represent the seven Kwanzaa principles (原则). The principles are believed to play a big role in building strong, successful families, neighborhoods, etc. In the evenings, adults share stories and explain how to follow the seven principles in daily life. On the sixth day, which falls on New Year's Eve, family and friends get together to enjoy a large meal.

    Kyle, a third grader, wrote this about Kwanzaa, "When we celebrate Kwanzaa, we have many people at home, light the candles, and have a nice dinner. We learn the meaning of Kwanzaa and remember family members. We say something good about them. Last year, we remembered my grandmother."

    In 1966, Dr. Karenga created Kwanzaa. He was studying the history of Africa at that time. Dr. Karenga wanted to create a holiday to bring African Americans together and celebrate their history and culture. He called the holiday "Kwanzaa". In fact, the name comes from an African language, and it means "first fruits of the harvest (收获季节)".

    As usual, Betty was sitting alone during break. As she sat, she heard a quiet "meow" nearby and found a little cat with a band showing the name "Lucky".

    She picked up the cat and went to ask her teacher if she could help the cat find his home as a class project.

    "Are you willing to organize this project?" Mrs. Smith asked. She had tried for months to get Betty to speak up in class, but Betty had stayed quiet. Maybe this was her chance to shine!

    Betty thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, we need to put up signs around the neighborhood and call the local newspaper." Tony also suggested that they call the Animals' Home. Soon students were busy drawing posters. Two students were making phone calls. Mrs. Smith was surprised to find Betty was so confident and really showed an ability to lead.

    Betty, however, was not thinking about being a leader or being shy. Her mind was on finding this lost cat's home.

    The two students making phone calls came back and announced, "The Animals' Home said that a family reported a lost cat named Lucky! They said they'd call the family to come and get him!" The class cheered. Ten minutes later, a woman showed up and said with joy, "Thank you for returning Lucky! He was very 'lucky' to have been found by such a caring group of students!"

    The class celebrated their success. Mrs. Smith celebrated, too. Betty sat comfortably with her classmates for the first time, laughing and joking. Mrs. Smith believed it was indeed lucky that Betty had found the cat—lucky for both of them!