With his leg lame and his teeth uneven, the boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world. He played with his classmates; and when asked to answer questions, he always _ his head without a word. One spring, his father brought home some saplings (树苗). of his children would plant a sapling and he promised, “Whoever his sapling best shall get a favorite gift.” The boy certainly wanted to get his father's gift. seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, he __ an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So after watering it once or twice, he never __ it. A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was to find it not only didn't die, but also grew some fresh. Compared with those of his brothers and sisters, his appeared greener. His father kept his，bought the little boy one of his favourite gifts and said from the tree he planted, he would surely become an outstanding when he grew up. From then on, the little boy slowly becameand confident. One night, he suddenly his biology teacher once said that plants grow at night. Why not go to see his tree? When he came to the courtyard, he found his father was working near his tree with a ladle(长柄勺). All of a sudden, he： his father had been secretly his small tree! He returned to his room, tears in his eyes. Decades passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist.，he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt. is the best nourishment(滋养品)of life; it is just a bucket of water, it can make the tree of life grow well.
试题分析：本文讲述了一个认为自己天生不幸的小男孩，经过一次种树的经历，受到父亲的鼓励和帮助而变得自信，后来成为美国总统的故事。文章旨在告诉读者，爱是滋润孩子心灵的最好的养料。 【小题1】 ． B 考查副词：根据文章第一句话可知，小男孩认为自己不幸运，因此很少和同学玩，故选seldom。Ever曾经；seldom很少；still仍然；often经常。 【小题2】C 考查动词：lower one's head “低下头”。小男孩自卑，与之相符的是低头逃避回答问题。Held拿；raised提高；lowered低头；covered覆盖。 【小题3】D 考查代词： 根据第三段中的“Compared with those of his brothers and sisters…”可知父亲让每个孩子种一棵树。Both两者都；None没有人；One一个；Each每个，故选D。 【小题4】C 考查动词： 父亲承诺树种得最好的人可以获得奖品，故选grow。Likes喜欢；protects保护；grows生长；watches观看。 【小题5】D 考查连词： 小男孩也想得到父亲的礼物，但是当看到兄弟姐妹都在细心呵护小树时，便失去了信心，选择了放弃，故选D项，表示转折。 【小题6】C考查短语： hit upon an idea “突然有了一个想法”。care for喜欢；get rid of除去；put forward(公开)提出(建议等)。 【小题7】B 考查短语：attend to照料，护理；appeal to吸引；adapt to使适应，改编；turn to求助于，依靠，转而从事于。 【小题8】A 考查形容词：小树的成长和小男孩的心理预期相反，所以他感到惊讶，故选surprised。frightened恐惧的；amused愉悦的，感到有趣的；disappointed失望的。 【小题9】B 考查名词：由A few days later和his appeared greener可知。Roots根；leaves树叶；branches树枝；seeds种子。 【小题10】A 考查名词：keep one's word “信守诺言”，和前文父亲的promise相呼应。 【小题11】D 考查名词：根据文章倒数第二段中“The little boy didn't become a botanist.”可知，父亲说小男孩会成为植物学家。Teacher老师；gardener园丁；president总统；botanist植物学家。 【小题12】C 考查形容词：第一段中小男孩不与同学交往和不回答问题，表明他悲观、不开朗、不自信。 种树事件是他第一次有好运气，第一次成功，无疑对他起到积极的作用，此前精神低落的状态逐渐改变。另外结合confident一词，应选optimistic。Satisfied满意的；certain确定的；optimistic乐观的；independent独立的。 【小题13】B 考查动词：根据his biology teacher once said that plants grow at night. 可知是回忆起。recall回忆，想起；believed信任；repeated重复；knew知道。 【小题14】A 考查副词：根据once said和后句“Why not go to see his tree？”可知，小男孩回想起来生物老师说过植物一般在晚间生长(此为常识)，故选generally。Generally一般地；hardly几乎不；recently最近；probably或许。 【小题15】B 考查动词：看到眼前的景象，小男孩立刻明白了(恍然大悟), 是父亲在暗中帮助他给树浇水，故选understood。remember记得；wonder想知道；admit承认。 【小题16】C 考查动词：根据上文内容，可知这里意思是他的父亲已经悄悄给小树浇过水了。Cutting切割；decorating装饰；watering浇水；providing提供。 【小题17】A 考查动词：well此处是动词，意为“(液体如泉般) 充盈，涌出”。小男孩被父亲的爱所感动，所以热泪盈眶。故选A。welling涌出；falling降落；dropping落下；crying哭。 【小题18】D 考查副词：表示转折关系，故选D。Therefore因此；Besides此外；Moreover此外；Instead代替。 【小题19】A 考查名词：小男孩和小树的共同点是都得到了关爱，故选A。Love爱；Water水；Disability残疾；Father父亲。 【小题20】D 考查短语：根据 it is just a bucket of water, it can make the tree of life grow well.可知even though 即使；so long as 只要；if only要是……就好了；now that既然。 考点：考查故事类短文