Have you read any books by Washington Irving？Now I will tell you a story written by him. The name of the story is Rip Van Winkle, and it is also the name of the hero in this story. There are three characters in this story, Rip Van Winkle and his wife, Dame Van Winkle and their dog, Woof. Dame Van Winkle is a sharp-tongued (说话尖酸的、刻薄的) woman. Both Rip Van Winkle and the dog are terrified of her, even of her voice.

        There is a scene that can describe how Rip Van Winkle and his dog feel in front of Dame Van Winkle:

          Rip had just one way of replying to his wife's talk:  he only put his head back on his shoulders, looked up toward heaven, and said nothing. . . True, in the woods, Woof was as brave as an honorable dog should be， but as soon as Woof entered the house, his head bent low, his tail lay on the ground or curled between his legs. He went around the house with a guilty look, watching Dame Van Winkle out of the corner of his eyes, ready to run from the room at the slightest sign of her displeasure.

       This was the time when England ruled America. One day, Rip Van Winkle went into the mountain with his dog for an escape of his wife. He drank something given by some strangers and fell asleep. That was 20 years! His wife died and America got freedom from England, and I think that's what the story wants to tell us:  both the poor man's independence and nation's independence.

         Why does Irving's story attract people?  Because he wrote so vividly（生动地）. That sets me thinking:  How he observed things so carefully?  If you read through this story, you can't help smiling or laughing from time to time!

阅读短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。每个选项只能用一次。

The New Year

    One New-year morning, Edward's father gave him two dollars. He left the house happily. He wanted to buy some books. On the street, he saw a poor family, the father, mother and three children. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, and they were shivering(颤抖).

    “Happy New Year!” Edward said to the man. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} . He couldn't understand English. But he pointed to his mouth. It seemed he was saying, “We have nothing to eat.”

    Edward understood. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} , and he gave one dollar to the man, and the other to his wife.

    Their eyes were full of gratitude(感激)! They said something in their language. It probably meant, “Thanks a lot.”

    When Edward came home, his father asked what books he had bought.

    “{#blank#}4{#/blank#},” said Edward, “I gave my money to some poor people. They seemed to be very hungry. I can buy my books until next New Year.”

    “My dear boy,” said his father, “Here are some books. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. I saw you give the money to the poor family. Be ready to help the poor and every year will be a happy New Year to you.”

A．He took out his two dollars

B．The children had little clothes on

C．I have bought no books

D．The man shook his head

E．I give you these books for your kindness

    My name is Xia Jun. I come from Changsha. Now I live in Foshan with my aunt. My favourite star is Kobe. I think he's a very good basketball player. I want to be like him, so I play basketball every day.

    I have a new friend in Foshan. His name is Chen Xun. He is a reporter (记者). Chen Xun is twenty-six years old. He is from Harbin. This boy is very great. He plays basketball very well. I can learn a lot about basketball from him. He likes taking photos and dancing. Chen Xun and I both like travelling (旅游). We plan to go to Yunnan next week. I think we'll have a great trip (旅行).

⑴题判断正误；⑵题完成句子；⑶～⑷题简略回答问题；⑸题将文中划线句子译成汉语。

    Hello! I'm Barbara Green. I'm a girl. Look! I'm from America. I live at 225 King Street, Washington. (华盛顿) My telephone number is 474-8980. My e-mail address (电子邮箱地址） is barbaragreen@sina.com. Do you like to give a call or send an e-mail to me? I'd like to be your friend.

    Everyone wants to relax (放松) after working or studying for a long time. I have many ways to relax. Let me tell you some of my favorites.

    I am a big sports fan (迷). So I often watch or play many kinds of sports. But my favorite is football. I find it really cool.

    I usually listen to music in my free time. My favorite is some beautiful piano music. Some people can't do things well when listening to music, but for me, it is not the case, I think I can study better with my favorite light music.

    I also like visiting places of interest in China and in other countries, and enjoying nice food there. It helps me to know more about various people and places.

    "How are you?" is a nice question. It's a friendly way people in the United States greet each other. But "How are you?" is also a very unusual question that often doesn't have an answer.

    When a person meets a friend on the street and asks "How are you?", he only expects to hear the answer "Fine." even if the other person isn't! The reason is that "How are you?" isn't really a question and "Fine." isn't really an answer. They are simple ways of greeting people and saying "Hello".

    Sometimes, people also don't say directly what they mean. For example, when someone asks "Do you agree?", the other person might be thinking "No, I disagree." But it isn't very polite to answer so directly, so the other person might say. "I'm not so sure." It's a nicer way to say that you don't agree with someone.

    People also don't say directly what they are thinking when they finish conversations with others. For example, many conversations over the phone end when one person says, "I've got to go now." Often, the person who wants to hang u gives an excuse: "Someone's at the door." "Something is burning on the stove!" The excuse might be real, or it might not be. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn't want to talk any more, but it isn't very polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn't hurt the other person's feelings.

    Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an opinion， or ending a conversation, people often don't say directly what they are thinking. It's an important way that people try to be nice to each other, and it's all part of the game of language!