Feeling exhausted and hopeless, I began walking to my car. Every step seemed tiring, and every step was another to survive. As I looked up into the sky I thought about how my grandmother had left me, and my anger began to return. I was annoyed by the loss, and my belief in God was beginning to fade. I couldn’t understand why these things happened. So as I stood in a public parking lot a million questions formed in my mind. Why did this happen to me? Aren’t we supposed to get signs from the people that pass on? Why did I not feel her presence anymore? Is there a heaven?

Suddenly, a woman driving right by my side rolled down her window and distracted my unanswered thoughts. “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” she said loudly. Thinking she was going to ask for my parking spot, I simply pointed to my car. The thought of having to say where my car was seemed like too much to bear. “No, excuse me,” she said again.

At this point, I felt I had no choice but to see what this annoying lady wanted. As I got closer, I was startled—was this my grandmother’s nurse, Adu, who lived with her during her final months? I soon realized that she wasn’t, although the resemblance was unusual. Then, I realized that this Adu was searching for something in her bag. Surprisingly, I was overcome by a sense of relief that led me to be patient the entire time the lady was searching. Others would be nervous by a stranger reaching in their bag, but I wasn’t. She finally reached to the very bottom of her bag and handed me a three-page booklet. “It looks like you need this,” she said calmly with a warm smile on her face.

I looked down at the mysterious and obviously used booklet and on the front cover in big bold letters read “What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?”

It took me only a few seconds to comprehend the exchange with this woman, but by the time I looked up, she was gone.

I walked slowly into my car holding the tiny little booklet that was given to me with fear that it would fly away in the wind. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but I knew that if my grandmother had anything to do with that I didn’t want to let it go.

I felt a sense of relaxation as I opened the first page. It explained how people pass on, but their spirit remains with us. This was the first time since my grandma had passed that I felt her with me, just like I had wanted. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I did know that I finally felt happiness from the surprising change in events.

I couldn’t, and still can’t, believe what had happened to me on that day. I don’t remember the specific details that you usually hear about like what the person was wearing, the time of day, or even the weather, but it doesn’t matter. It was a random day in November when my life turned back around and I began to feel hope again. It was real. It was a miracle. And, I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

1.The author refused to say anything to the woman but just pointed to her own car at first mainly because ______.

A. the author did not know the woman

B. the woman interrupted the author’s thoughts

C. the author was too weak to say anything

D. the author thought she wanted to use the vacant parking space

2.What can we learn about the author’s grandmother?

A. She was kind to the author.

B. She left nothing to the author.

C. She often made the author angry.

D. She lost faith in God.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The author and the woman became good friends later.

B. The woman turned out to be the author’s grandmother’s nurse.

C. The author knows the specific details about this experience.

D. The author was very grateful to the unknown woman.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. What Hope for Dead Loved Ones?

B. Miracle at the Parking Lot

C. True Love for My Grandmother

D. Adu, My Grandmother’s Nurse

Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year's surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.

On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. “It's very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one,” said an expert from Britain's National Portrait Gallery.

The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image —commonly known as the “Flower portrait”— was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare's death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.

“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays,” Tarnya Cooper, the gallery's curator (馆长), told the Associated President.

The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

“There have always been questions about the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”

Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation and the results will come out later this month.________

1.What makes the birthday of Shakespeare dramatic this year?

A. It was found that he painted a portrait in 1814 instead of in 1609.

B. The Flower portrait has been found to be a fake.

C. Three portraits of Shakespeare are being tested to identify a real one.

D. It was found that there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare's plays around 1818 to 1840.

2.Which statement is True according to the passage?

A. Portraits of Shakespeare are all unreliable.

B. “Flower portrait” was a portrait of Shakespeare given to Desmond Flower.

C. 1814 might be when the portrait was drawn.

D. The Flower portrait is not often used as a cover for Shakespeare's play.

3.How many methods were used to test the portrait?

A. Not mentioned.B. TwoC. ThreeD. At least four.

4.The best title for this passage is “________”.

A. Birthdays often involve surprises

B. The surprise on the 441st birthday of Shakespeare

C. One portrait of Shakespeare is a fake

D. How can we know Shakespeare's appearance?

5.Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?

A. Soon we'll know which portrait is reliable.

B. Maybe we cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare.

C. If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more.

D. For now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a mystery.

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