题目内容
A tornado is a r__________ column of air from a thunderstorm to the ground.
rotating
When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching (紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three- year-old Meghan.
“ We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing,” I said.“We’ll share what we have with them.”
I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.
“I’ll help you find something for the little girl when I’m done with this,” I said.
The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy’s flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said.“You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. ‘”Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy, too.”
Swallowing hard, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you value most.
Honest benevolence (善行) is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little girl she doesn’t know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.
The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.
A slow smile spread across Brett’s face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars.
Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan’s gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.
Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.
It’s easy to give that which we don’t want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn’t it? However, the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart..
【小题1】Why does the author give a detailed description of a particular picture in the Sunday newspaper?
A.To create an atmosphere of fear and depression brought by the tornado. |
B.To appeal to unconcerned people to donate for the poor families. |
C.To show the helplessness and hopelessness of the family mentioned in the paper. |
D.To stress what touched her and made her decide to help the hopeless family. |
A.They were encouraged to donate some valuable things by the mother. |
B.Meghan’s decision inspired them to donate their favorite things. |
C.They also wanted to show generosity by giving away their valuable things. |
D.Meghan’s gesture reminded them to replace their favorite things with new ones. |
A.she was deeply puzzled by what the little girl did |
B.she had trouble persuading Meghan not to give away Lucy |
C.she was greatly moved by Meghan’s unexpected decision |
D.she was uncertain what consequences Meghan’s action would bring about |
A.sincere donation means offering help to others whole-heartedly |
B.true giving means giving others what you treasure most |
C.true generosity means helping others at the cost of your own benefit |
D.honest benevolence means devoting yourself to the career of donation |
A.The Greatest Love | B.A Beautiful Heart |
C.True Generosity | D.A Precious Gift |
Hurricane(飓风) reached the northeastern United States today and caused death and destruction everywhere. The killer storm carried winds of 135 miles per hour. The high winds and heavy rains created extremely dangerous waves. It is not yet known how many people died or were hurt in this storm, but it is said that the numbers will be very high.
With the arrival of the tornado season, the National Weather Service is again telling people how to protect themselves from these deadly storms. The winds from tornadoes are the most violent winds on earth. They can blow up to 400 miles per hour. A tornado looks like a funnel(漏斗). It is also very loud. It may sound like a train coming at you. In fact, the winds from a tornado can pick up a train and throw it around. If a tornado is seen in your area, it is very important that you protect yourself. A basement (地下室) is the safest place to go. Try to wait under a table in the basement. Stay away from windows. If you are outside or in your car, try to find a narrow place to hide.
As the area tries to deal with the worst flood of the century, there are many heartwarming stories of people helping other people. From all over the world people have sent food and clothes to help the thousands who have had to leave their homes. Many volunteers have come to help to make sandbags and use them to build walls against the overflowing river. While the result of this disaster will be terrible for many, it is beautiful to see people coming together to help others and save lives.
1.What does the underlined word “tornado” mean?
A.台风 |
B.龙卷风 |
C.洪水 |
D.冰雹 |
2.Which of the following is WRONG about tornados?
A.They look like a funnel. |
B.They come regularly every year. |
C.They are the most violent winds on Earth. |
D.They carry winds of 135 km per hour. |
3.According to the passage, a person who sees a tornado in his area had better NOT ______.
A.drive his car away as fast as possible |
B.go to the basement and wait under a table |
C.find a narrow place to hide |
D.stay away from windows |
4.We can learn from the passages that ______.
A.nobody tried to help the local people |
B.hurricane damaged the northwestern coast of US |
C.when there is flooding, sandbags can be made and used to build walls |
D.people are often taught how to protect themselves from snowstorms |