【正文】
pen a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, ―It‘s so nice. Thanks… ‖ when you get Christmas or birthday presents. You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒 ) or flowers to a dinner party, but you‘re never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening. At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year doormen, babysitters, housecleaners, newspaper senders anyone who has often helped us. 6. What does ―close friends‖ mean in the passage? A. The friends who are very kind. B. The friends who live close to each other. C. The friends who were once classmates. D. The friends who you like most. 7. What kind of presents don‘t Americans usually open in front of the givers? A. The small presents. B. Christmas or birthday presents. C. The expensive presents. D. The presents for dinner party. 8. Why do Americans also give presents to housecleaners at Christmas? A. To pay them. B. To help them. C. To thank them. D. To make them work harder. 9. Which of the following do you think is right? A. American business people don‘t want presents because they are rich enough. B. The writer of this passage must be an American. C. Everyone must give presents to one‘s family and friends at Christmas. D. Government employees can get little presents from a foreigner. 10. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Presentgiving in the United States. B. Customs (習俗 ) in the United States. C. American people and presentgiving. D. When and how to give presents. C Derek was a little boy. He lived with his parents in a small house in a town. They did not have a big garden. Derek liked animals very much. One day he said to his father, ―I‘ve got a little money, Daddy. Can I buy a pony (小馬 ), please?‖ But his father answered. ―No, Derek, we can‘t have a pony in the garden, because it‘s too small and we haven‘t got a field. It‘s unkind(不仁慈 )for people to keep ponies in small gardens without a field. Ponies need a lot of space. ― Derek did not want to be unkind to a pony, so he did not ask his father again. But then his father got a job in another place, and he and his family left their small nice garden and a field, and Derek was very happy. There was a farm near their new house, and there were horses, cows and a few sheep there. Derek went to see them every day. He was five years old now, and he began to think of a pony again. ―My birthday is next month,‖ he thought. ―Perhaps Daddy will buy me a pony then.‖ After a little time. he began to talk about ponies to his parents