(an extract from Stuart Little)

    When Mrs. Frederick C. Little's second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse. The truth of the matter was, the baby looked very much like a mouse in every way. He was only about two inches high; and he had a mouse's sharp nose, a mouse's tail, a mouse's whiskers(胡须)，and the pleasant, shy manner of a mouse. Before he was many days old he was not only looking like a mouse but acting like one, too-wearing a gray hat and carrying a small cane(手杖).Mr. and Mrs. Little named him Stuart, and Mr. Little made him a tiny bed.

    Unlike most babies, Stuart could walk as soon as he was born. Mrs. Little saw right that the baby clothes she had provided were unsuitable, and she set to work and made him a fine little blue suit. Every morning, before Stuart dressed. Mrs. Little went into his room and weighed him on a small scale(称)which was really used for weighing letters. At birth Stuart could have been sent by first class mail, but his parents preferred to keep him rather than send him away. At the age of a month, he had gained only a third of an ounce(盎司), his mother was so worried that she sent for the doctor.

    The doctor was happy with Stuart and said that it was very unusual for an American family to have a mouse. He took Stuart's temperature and found that it was 98.6, which is normal for a mouse. Everything seemed to be all right, and Mrs. Little was pleased to get such a good report.

    "Feed him up!" said the doctor cheerfully, as he left.

    The home of the Little family was a pleasant place near a park in New York City. In the mornings, the Littles were up early as a general rule. Stuart was a great help to his parents, and to his old brother, because of his small size and because he could do things that a mouse can do and was willing to do them.

我的母亲

    母亲生在农家，勤俭诚实。为我们的衣食，母亲要给大家洗衣服，缝补衣裳。在我的记忆中，她的手终年是鲜红微肿的。白天，她洗衣服，洗一两大盆。她料理家务永远丝毫也不敷衍，就是屠户们送来的黑如铁的布袜，她也给洗得雪白。晚间，她抱着一盏油灯，还要缝补衣服，一直到半夜。她终年没有休息，可是在忙碌中她还把院子屋中收拾得清清爽爽。桌椅都是旧的，柜门的铜活久已残缺不全，可是她的手老使破桌面上没有尘土，残破的铜活发着光。院中，父亲遗留下的几盆石榴，永远会得到应有的浇灌与爱护，年年夏天开许多花。

    从这里，我学到了爱花，爱清洁，守秩序。这些习惯至今我还保存着。

    有客人来，无论手中怎么窘，母亲也要设法弄一点东西去款待。舅父与表哥们往往是自己掏钱买酒肉食，这使她脸上羞得飞红，可是殷勤地给他们温酒作面，又给她一些喜悦。到如今我的好客的习性，还未全改，因为自幼看惯了的事情是不易改掉的。

    母亲活到老，穷到老，辛苦到老。可是，母亲并不软弱。那时有多少变乱啊！有时候兵变了，有时候内战了，城门紧闭，铺店关门，昼夜响着枪炮。这惊恐，这紧张，再加上一家饮食的筹划，儿女安全的顾虑，岂是一个软弱的老寡妇所能受得起的？可是，在这种时候，母亲的心横起来，她不慌不哭，要从无办法中想出办法来。她的泪会往心中落！这点软而硬的性格，也传给了我。在做人上，我有一定的宗旨与基本的法则，什么事都可将就，而不能超过自己画好的界限。我怕见生人，怕办杂事，怕出头露面；但是到了我非去不可的时候，我便不敢不去，正像我的母亲。从私塾到小学，到中学，我经历过起码有二十位教师吧，但是我的真正的教师，把性格传给我的，是我的母亲。母亲并不识字，她给我的是生命的教育。

    当我小学毕业的时候，亲友一致地愿意我去学手艺，好帮助母亲。我晓得我应当去找饭吃，以减轻母亲的困苦。可是，我也愿意升学。我偷偷地考入了师范学校——制服、饭食、书籍、住处，都由学校供给。只有这样，我才敢对母亲说升学的话。入学，要交十元的保证金。这是一笔巨款！母亲作了半个月的难，把这巨款筹到，而后含泪把我送出门去。当我由师范毕业，被派为小学校的校长，母亲与我都一夜不曾合眼。我只说了句：“以后，您可以歇一歇了！”她的回答只有一串串的眼泪。新年到了，正赶上倡用阳历，不许过旧年。除夕，我请了两小时的假，由拥挤不堪的街市回到清炉冷灶的家中。母亲笑了。及至听说我还须回校，她愣住了。半天，她才叹出一口气来。到我该走的时候，地递给我一些花生说：“去吧，小子！”街上是那么热闹，我却什么也没看见，泪遮迷了我的眼。

    生命是母亲给我的。我之能长大成人，是母亲的血汗灌养的；我之能成为一个不十分坏的人，是母亲感化的。她一世未曾享过一天福，临死还吃的是粗粮。唉！还说什么呢？心痛！心痛！

（作者：老舍  有删改）

完形填空

        It might have been a really bad stressful day, feeling trapped inside by the cold and snow which surrounded us.My husband got dressed and 1that he was going outside to build a giant snowman.

       At first he stood alone，2massive amounts of snow.Soon after a neighbor joined in.Then we reluctantly put on our snow gear and3outside.It wasn't long4we were smiling and enjoying the 5of snow that Mother Nature had provided.Others came to our yard one by one to give a  6in the making of our giant snowman.

       In the end we all stood back and7at what we had created.He was eleven feet high, twenty­five feet around at the base and 8with many household items supplied by various9．People drove by and smiled.Some even stopped just to enjoy his10．

       With the passing of time, the spring made its 11back into our yard and the snowman changed form12．In a final effort to save what we created for just a little bit 13，somebody stopped by and changed the snowman's 14to look like a rabbit.As I prepared for the start of another week, I decided to 15my e­mail before going to bed.I found a (an) 16message that contained the subject line：17the snowman.

       The e­mail said：your neighbor looks on in disbelief！Now you people are relishing(享受)the sounds and smells, along with18of spring.But I am sure people will never forget the 19energy displayed in Mr.Snowman.You and your family keep it up, as this is what the world needs now.More power to you and your loved ones, keep  20with the world around!

       Perhaps it was more than a snowman we built that day.The message seems clear.Our environments will turn out to be what we make of them.The possibilities are endless and the choice is ours.

Notes：

①reluctantly adv.勉强地，不情愿地　②disbelief n．不相信