二、完形填空。（每小题1.5分，共15分）
One day when I was five years old, my mother was washing the dishes in the kitchen. I 1 her about a new girl at school, and she looked up at me and said, "2 are your two best friends?"
I was not 3 what to say, "Um... Julie and May." My mother 4 washing the dishes and asked me, "Well, what about Kate and Cindy?" "But they're my 5." "Yes, but they can always be your best friends. Friends may come and go, but your sisters will always be there for you."
At that time I felt 6. How could my two sisters be my closest friends? We fought all the time over toys, food, and what to watch 7 TV. How could my sisters be my best friends? They were 8 me. Kate was ten and Cindy was eight. We all had our own friends at school. But my mother never let us 9 that sisters are lifelong friends. Like all mothers, she made us know how lucky we were to live together.
We didn't always get along well and fought just like any 10 sisters. Now twenty years has passed. We understand that our mother is right. Today we help, support each other through hardship.
()1. A. told B. spoke C. talked D. said
()2. A. What B. Who C. Where D. Which
()3. A. happy B. patient C. sure D. worried
()4. A. began B. enjoyed C. practised D. stopped
()5. A. sisters B. classmates C. friends D. cousins
()6. A. excited B. strange C. helpless D. terrible
()7. A. for B. in C. on D. about
()8. A. shorter than B. as strong as C. much older than D. more beautiful than
()9. A. think B. remember C. discuss D. forget
()10. A. other B. another C. others D. the other

三、阅读理解。(每小题3分,共21分)
A(2025·扬州市广陵区期末改编)
The red beans grow in southern land; How many loads in spring the trees?
Collect them till full is your ; They would recall sweet memories.
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
Love is a popular theme(主题) in Chinese poems. What symbols do you think best stand for love? The heart, rose or chocolate? This time we are going to look at a classic Chinese poem,
Love Seeds. It was written by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei who had a different understanding of the symbol of love.
In the first two lines, the poet shows his feelings of missing his friend, who lives in southern China, by describing the growth of red beans in spring. In classic Chinese poems, poets prefer to show feelings in an indirect or symbolic way. When describing the natural things or showing some symbols, Chinese poets always mean more than what's described on the surface.
In Chinese culture, red beans are seen as "love seeds", which have a strong cultural meaning. Because they are often hard, come in a heart shape, and can be stored for a long time. They have long been used as a symbol of love and loyalty(忠诚) between lovers.
In the last two lines, the poet wishes his faraway friend to collect as many red beans as possible, as the beans will bring back his friend's memories to the poet.
Instead of showing love to others by directly saying "I miss you" or using flowery language, this short poem can make readers feel deep love.
()1. 新考法 单词回填 Which word is the most suitable for ""?
A. home B. hand C. heart D. arm
()2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Love Seeds is written by Wang Wei, a great poet of the Song Dynasty.
B. Red beans have long been used as a symbol of loyalty between parents and children.
C. Wang Wei thinks red beans will bring back his friend's memories to him.
D. In classic Chinese poems, poets like to use a direct way to show feelings.
()3. What does the underlined word "they" refer to?
A. Red beans. B. Cultural meanings. C. Lovers. D. Chinese poets.