My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged “shmily” with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. “Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. There was no end to the places where “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” were found on car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were put inside shoes and left under pillows. “Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel(壁炉架)and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents’ house as the furniture.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love --- one that is pure and enduring (持久的). However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. It was based on passionate(热情的)affection which not everyone is lucky enough to experience.

But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents’ life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily.” It was written in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet (花束). As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s coffin and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came: S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.

1.According to the passage, where may the word “shmily” be found?

a.in the flour containers

b.on the mirror

c.on the sheet of toilet paper

d.on pillows

e.on the furniture

A.a, b     B. b, c     C. a, d     D. b, e

2.The first paragraph is mainly about ________.

A.what the word “shmily” means

B.how the author’s grandparents played their special game

C.how the author appreciated her grandparents’ game

D.how the author’s grandparents cared for each other

3.The underlined phrase “pop up” in Paragraph 1 means ________.

A.appear    B. change    C. survive    D. work

4.According to the passage, the author _________.

A.thought the game was meaningless

B.believes everyone can experience true love

C.doubted the existence of true love at first

D.sometimes left “shmily” around the house

5.Grandpa tried to make Grandma comfortable by _______.

A.singing songs to her every day

B.painting the room yellow

C.encouraging her to go outside

D.helping her take a hot shower every day

 

When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was badly crippled (跛脚), and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare, I would be ashamed of the unwanted attention. If ever noticed or bothered, he never let on.

It was difficult to walk together—and because of that, we didn’t say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, “You set the pace. I will try to follow you.”

Our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. He went to work sick, and even in bad weather. He almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. It was a matter of pride for him.

When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help... Such times my sister or I would pull him through the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y., on a child’s sleigh to the subway entrance. Once there, he would try to grasp handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice free. In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in Brooklyn on his way home. www.7caiedu.cn

When I think of it now, I am surprised at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to suffer from shame and disability. And I am also surprised at how he did it—without bitterness or complaint.

He never talked about himself as an object of pity, not did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a “good heart”, and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.

Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don’t know exactly what a “good heart” is. But I know the times I don’t have one myself.

He has been away for many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about my troubles, when I am envious of another’s good fortune, when I don’t have a “good heart”.

1.How did the man treat his father when he was young?

A.He helped his father happily.

B.He never helped his father.

C.He helped his father, but not very happily.

D.He only helped his father take a walk after supper.

2.As a disabled man, his father____.

A.didn’t work very hard

B.didn’t go to work from time to time

C.hated those who had good fortune

D.was happy and satisfied, and never lost hope

3.What does the underlined word “reluctance” mean in the article? It means ____.

A.anger

B.sadness

C.happiness

D.unwillingness

4.How did the father get to work usually?

A.By subway.

B.By bus.

C.By wheelchair.

D.By bike

 

My mother really knows how to get others to do what she suggests. Besides my father, her neighbors and even a stranger in a grocery store, has fallen under her 36  .

One day we were shopping in a supermarket. When we were passing by the baby aisle(过道), she    37 a young mother browsing through different brands of powdered milk. Her baby was playing with a toy. My mother   38  babies so she went up to the woman and chatted with her.

My mother is an easy person to like. She has the kindest eyes in the world, so it isn’t 39 

to trust her. She 40 with the baby a little bit and told the woman about how I used to be cute at that age, too. They laughed together.

The woman was about to put Brand X Milk Powder in her cart when my mother suggested Brand Y  41 because it obviously had better vitamins. Would you believe the woman actually

42      brands just like that?

She really does know how to influence people. But what about her getting other people to

43     whatever she tells them?

My father and I actually had a long conversation about her  44 on how to influence people. According to my father, my mother is just a really likeable person, and she has 45 been

like that, even when he first met her. Chatting people up is natural for her.

During our conversation, I realized that what my mother has is the  46 to build rapport(亲善) with other people. With rapport comes  47 . People are more likely to be influenced by those who they think understand their viewpoints or share their opinions.

1.

A.leadership

B.control

C.instruction

D.influence

 

2.

A.noticed

B.kept

C.watched

D.felt

 

3.

A.admires

B.adores

C.adopts

D.praises

 

4.

A.obvious

B.difficult

C.necessary

D.natural

 

5.

A.sang

B.dealt

C.spoke

D.played

 

6.

A.instead

B.finally

C.yet

D.anyhow

 

7.

A.bought

B.considered

C.compared

D.switched

 

8.

A.hear

B.accept

C.need

D.understand

 

9.

A.plan

B.advice

C.secret

D.speech

 

10.

A.always

B.frequently

C.seldom

D.occasionally

 

11.

A.desire

B.motivation

C.purpose

D.ability

 

12.

A.relationship

B.respect

C.trust

D.kindness

 

Edward Estlin Cummings was a poet well-known for how he wrote his poems He wrote his poems with capital (大写的) letters in the words . For example, the title of one of his poems is “The little horse is newlY” The “Y” is a capital letter. He also used “i” instead of “I” to refer to himself in the poems.

     Edward was born on October14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Edward’s father was also named Edward. Young Edward’s mother was named Rebecca. She loved to spend time with her children. She also taught Edward Jr how to write poems. Edward’s sister was born 1896 and her name was Elizabeth. Edward’s father was the first professor of Sociology at Harvard University. He later became the minister of one of Boston’s respected churches. He was the one who taught his son to use his hands as well as his mind. Edward Jr used his hands to paint abstract art.

E.E.Cummings was a very smart boy. Edward was 12 when he became a freshman in high school. He loved circuses, ballets, music and amusement parks.

     Edward graduated from Harvard in 1916. During World War I , he joined the army and was sent to France where he drove an ambulance. He and his friend from Harvard were arrested because people thought they were German spies. They were kept in one room where they slept , ate , talked and tried to deal with their fears and boredom. Edward wrote his first book, published in 1922, called The Enormous Room, based on his wartime experiences.

     E.E.Cummings was a poet that made his own rules in poetry. He was one of the most popular poets of the 20th century.

1.Which is a special feature of E.E.Cummings’ poems?

A. Their titles are all written with capital letters.

B.A special capital letter is used in them to refer to the writer.

C. He used “Y” to refer to “you”.

D. He used letters in a special way in them

2.What’s the second paragraph mainly about?

A. Edward’s schooling               B. Edward’s parents

C. Edward’s family                  D. Edward’s childhood.

3.E.E.Cummings was arrested in the war because ___________.

    A. he went to France without permission     B. he looked like a Frenchman

    C. he was thought to be German agent   D. he drove away a car that belonged to the army

 

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find.

“Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even opened an entire roll of toilet paper to leave “shmily” on the very last sheet. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled (潦草地写) hurriedly were found on dashboards (仪表板) and car seats, or taped to steering wheels.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism (怀疑态度) had kept me from believing in true love — one that is pure and lasting. However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their flirtatious (爱调戏的) little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on devotion and passionate love.

Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other’s sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome and old he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew “how to pick ‘em.”

But there came a dark cloud into my grandparents’ life: when my grandmother got breast cancer. Gradually it took over the whole of her body. One day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily.” It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet (花束). The family came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket (棺) and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and sadness, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby (催眠曲,). Shaking with my own sorrow, I would never forget that moment.

S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.

1.The point of the article is to ________.

A. give advice on how to keep love fresh  

B. explain to readers the meaning of “shmily”

C. show the true love between the writer’s grandparents

D. express how much the writer loved her grandparents

2.What is the function of the second paragraph?

A. To support the first paragraph.                  B. To introduce the next paragraph.

C. To give the main idea of the article.     D. To make the article more interesting.

3.The author’s grandmother ________.

A. used to kiss her grandfather in secret

B. died from breast cancer, which spread all over

C. played crossword puzzle daily with her grandfather

D. considered her grandfather old and careless

4.What is the author’s attitude toward her grandparents’ love?

A. She doubts whether it was true love.

B. She finds their way of expressing love strange.

C. She admires their romantic and passionate love.

D. She thinks she will never be able to love like that.

 

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