From my earlier memory of Mother it somehow seemed quite natural to think of her as different, nor of everyday things as Father was. In those days he was a young-looking man. He did not hesitate to make friends with children as soon as they were able to talk to him and laugh at his stories. Mother was older than he was. She must have been a woman of nearly forty, but she seemed even older. She changed little for a long time, showing no indication of growing old at all until, towards the end of her life, she suddenly became an old lady.

I was always inquisitive about Mother’s age. She never had birthdays like other people, nor did anyone else in our family. No candles were ever lit or cakes made or presents given in our house. To my friends in the street who talked delightfully about their birthday parties, I would repeat my mother’s words that such celebrations were only foolish.

“Nothing but deception,” she would say. “As though life can be marked by birthdays. It’s deeds, not years, that matter.”

Although I often repeated her words and even prided myself on not having birthdays, I once could not help asking Mother when she was born.

“I was born. I’m alive as you can see, so what more do you want to know?” she replied, so sharply that I never asked her about her age again.

In so many other ways Mother was different. Whereas all the rest of the women I knew in the neighboring hoses took pride in their housewifely abilities, their new furniture, the neat appearance of their homes, Mother regarded all those things as of little importance. Our house always looked as if we had just moved in or were about to move out.

1. How did Father impress the author?

A. He liked writing stories. B. He loved making friends.

C. He was a very young man. D. He was popular with children.

2.Before the end of her life, Mother ___________.

A. looked quite young

B. looked like an old lady

C. looked younger than she was

D. looked like a forty-year-old woman

3.What does the word “inquisitive” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A. Certain B. Curious. C. Cautious. D. Confident.

4.What do we learn about Mother?

A. She was lazy. B. She was strict.

C. She was proud. D. She was special

Archaeologists(考古学家) studying Stonehenge and its surrounding area say they've dug up the relics of an untouched, ancient campsite that dates back to 6,000 years—a find that could rewrite British prehistory.

“This is the most important discovery at Stonehenge in over 60 years,” Professor Tim Darvill, a Bournemouth University archaeologist and a Stonehenge expert who did not take part in the new discovery, told the Telegraph. And as he told The Huffington Post in an email, the discovery changes earlier theories that Stonehenge was built in a landscape that was not heavily used before about 3000 B.C.

The discovery was made during a dig at Blick Mead, a site about 1.5 miles from Stonehenge. Researchers found charcoal(木炭)dating back to 4,000 B.C. and evidence of possible buildings, according to a statement released by the university. They also dug up burnt stone and tools, as well as the remains of animals—ancient cattle that served as food for ancient hunter-gatherers.

The researchers plan further analysis on the artificial objects but say they're worried the tunnel construction (隧道建设) could damage the site and get in the way of their work.

“Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for centuries—an answer to the story of Stonehenge’s past,” David Jacques, the University of Buckingham archaeologist who discovered the campsite, told The Guardian. “But our only chance to find out about the earliest part of Britain’s history could be ruined if the tunnel goes ahead.”

Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument made up of a ring of standing stones, lies eight miles north of Salisbury, England in Wiltshire. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1986.

1.The main purpose of the passage is _________.

A. to introduce a recent discovery of ancient relics

B. to call on people to protect the ancient relics

C. to warn the researchers not to do further analysis

D. to attract more tourists to visit Stonehenge

2.We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. the researchers express their concern that the relics might be ruined

B. the ancient campsite has been destroyed by the construction workers

C. archaeologists are repairing artificial objects founded in the relic site

D. the tunnel construction rewrites the earliest part of Britain’s history

3.In which section of a newspaper can we read this passage?

A. Travel. B. Business. C. Lifestyle. D. Culture.

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