Martin is an American boy. He is eight years old. His parents   41  _ five years ago and he is now living with his grandmother in New York.
　　One morning,  Jimmy ,  one of his classmates, came to his home with an exercises book in his hand. Jimmy lives in a house not far from Martin's. They often go to school together.
　　"Would you help me with this maths problem?" Jimmy said as soon as he came into the room. "It's too hard for me and I can't work it out."
　　"Let me try, " Martin said. "I   42  it isn't too hard for me. "
　　Martin tried his best but he couldn't work it out,   43   .
　　"If we had a small computer,  all the problems would be  44   for us to do. " Jimmy said.
　　"A small computer . . . , " Martin thought for a minute,  then he said, "I've got an idea. We can   45  one in a shop. "
　　"A computer is very   46   ,  and we don’t have enough money. "
　　"That's OK, " said Martin. "We can ask the new president (總統(tǒng))   47  some money. He said he would help anyone in trouble. I' m sure he will help us. He is very rich, you know."
　　So they decided to write a letter to the new president. Soon the letter was finished and they hurried to the post office.
　　In front of the post office stood a small box. They   48   the letter into the box carefully and went home happily.
The next morning, they    49   the post office on their way to school. They found   50  ,  the box was not a post box but trash-box (果皮箱).

Meeting the English Family

　　Rosa and her classmates were in a street in West London. The sky was dark. This was Rosa's big day, her first day in England.

　　Rosa got out of a taxi. The driver carried a very heavy bag for her. They walked through the rain to the front door of a big Victorian house.

　　A small girl opened the door. She was four years old. Her brother stood behind her. He was only two years old. One minute later, a young woman came to the door.

　　“Welcome to Wembley!” she said and she offered Rosa her hand.  “These are my two children, Elisabeth and Isaac” “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Frost! said Rosa with a strong Spanish accent.

　　The two children ran back into the living room.

　　“Don't worry about them! They're a little shy. And please call me Diana! Now let me show you your room and then we can have a nice cup of tea. Or would you like some coffee?”

　　“I'd like to try a cup of English tea, made in England.”

　　“This is your bedroom. There's a nice view (視野) of the football stadium (露天體育場) and here's a little desk where you can study. The bathroom and toilet are just opposite your door. Now I'll go and put the kettle on.”

　　“Excuse me. What's a kettle?”

　　“In England, we use a kettle to make hot water, we can then put the hot water in a teapot or use it to make coffee.”

　　Rosa was happy with her new home, but she was a little puzzled (困惑的). Perhaps her mother Maruja was right. The British were not normal people. They did not kiss when they met and they lived in large Victorian palaces. Their favourite drink was tea and they used strange metal kettles to make the water hot. What was she going to say to Elisabeth and Isaac? How could she make friends with two shy English children? Perhaps the answer was in the big, black psychology (心理學(xué)) book.

(1) It was Rosa' s big day. She and her classmates were in

[　　]

(2) Rosa's hostess (女主人) was called

[　　]

(3) What could Rosa see through the window when she was in her bedroom?

[　　]

(4) In this passage the underlined (下劃線的) word “it” means

[　　]

(5) After reading the passage, we know that

[　　]

A. Rosa had some trouble in getting on well with the hostess

B. the two children didn't like Rosa

C. Mr. Frost offered Rosa much help

D. Rosa was happy with the new family, but she couldn't understand some of their customs(習(xí)俗)

Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽車)

　　A small car can hold(容納)four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded(擁擠). A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel They could all travel together.

　　Mr.Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and bus a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents’home , the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.

　　Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.

1.From the passage, a van is also called ____________.

A．a(chǎn) motor car                            B．a(chǎn) motor home

C．a(chǎn) motorbike　                          D．a(chǎn) big truck

2. Before Mr. Hagen and his wife bought a van, they__________.

A．sold their old house

B．moved to their grandparents’house

C．built a new place for a van

D．sold their second car

3. A motor home is usually owned by a family with__________.

A．a(chǎn) baby　                              B．much money

C．more than two children                   D．interest in vans

4. Americans usually use motor homer____________.

A．to travel with all the family members of holiday

B．to do some shopping with all the family members

C．to visit their grandparents at weekends

D．to drive their children to school every day

5. Motor homes have become popular because___________.

A．they can take people to another city when people are free

B．they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays

C．some people think motor homes are cheap

D．big families can put more things in motor homes

 Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽車)
　　A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded. A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel They could all travel together.
　　Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and buy a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents’ home , the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.
　Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.
【小題1】 From the passage, a van is also called ____________.