How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and the old wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasure and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each agc gives him without wasting any time in uselcss regrets.
Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after, and loved whatever he may do. It’s impossible for him to be given so much again in his life without having to do anything in return. Besides, life is always giving new things to the child. A child finds pleasure in playing in the rain, or in the snow. His first visit to the seaside makes him wild. But a child has his pains; he is not so free to do as he wishes. He is continually being told not to do this, not to do that, or being punished for what he has done wrong. His life is therefore not perfectly happy.
When the young man starts to make his own living, he becomes free from the rules of school and parents; but at the time he is forced to accept duties. He can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the law of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison, lf, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble, and has good health, he can have the great happiness of seeing himself make steady pro-gress in his job and of building up his own position in society.
Old age has always been thought of as the worst age to be, but it is not necessary for the old to be unhappy. With old age should come wisdom and tile ability to help others with advice wisely given. They can have the joy of seeing their Children making progress in life; they can watch their grandchildren growing up around them and, perhaps, best of all, they can, if their life has been a useful one, feel the happiness of having come through the battle of life safely and of having reached a time when they can lie back and rest, leaving others to continue the fight.
【小题1】The main reason children wish they were grown up, and the old wish they were young again is that ______.

A.both aren’t satisfied with the weak points at their ages
B.both enjoy the strong points at the other age by looking back or looking forward
C.the human beings should be like this
D.they don’t think both ages are acceptable
【小题2】“Enjoy what each age gives him without wasting time in useless regrets” means ______. 
A.Enjoy what is given to him by people at his age, feeling regrets
B.Enjoy himself at his own age, feeling regrets for a waste of time
C.Make full use of the time he is given at his age instead of regretting having no achievements
D.Enjoy his own age and took down on the people at other ages
【小题3】“Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard” means “______”. 
A.Children shouldn’t be made to live a hard life
B.All the children won’t have to work for their own living
C.Children shouldn’t answer for the hard life they are leading
D.A child bas few duties to try hard to make a living for himself or for his seniors
【小题4】 According to the passage, what is a child’s greatest dissatisfaction? 
A.He thinks he has not got the equal freedom as his seniors.
B.He thinks he knows less about things than the older do.
C.He thinks it easy for him to do something wrong.
D.He thinks the society doesn’t believe in him.

Famous centenarians (百岁老人) still active in arts, science are in no mood to retire. "Those who stand still, die," is one of Oliveira's favorite phrases. He knows from experience what it means, as the Portuguese film director has reached the age of 102 and is still active in his profession. Every year, Oliveira shoots a film and is currently working on his next project. "You have to work, work, work in order to forget that death is not far away," he said. When asked about his age, Oliveira said with some humility: "It's down to mother nature. It gave to me what it took from others."

   Being both mentally and physically fit in old age is partly a matter of luck, but it also has something to do with character. Not every white-haired person is wise and social skills, openness and the ability to train the brain are essential for senior citizens.

   Along with the architect Oscar Niemeyer (103), Nobel laureate Montalcini (101) and director Kurt Maetzig (100), Oliveira is one of those people of whom it would be very wrong to think as members of a listless elderly generation.

   Another master in his profession is the architect Oscar Niemeyer. The 103-year-old Brazilian is best known for his futuristic-looking buildings in Brasilia, but he also speaks out on behalf of the poor. "The role of the architect is to struggle for a better world where we can develop a form of architecture that serves everyone and not just a privileged few," said Niemeyer recently. He spends almost every day working in his office in Copacabana, and even when he falls ill he keeps working on ideas: After a gallbladder (胆囊) operation he composed a samba tune (桑巴舞曲) in the clinic.

   Another man who could sing a song about age is 107-year-old Heesters. The Dutch-born opera singer spent most of his life performing in Germany, where he still works. Recently Heesters said: "I want to be at least 108-years-old." He also plans to keep performing. "Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?" Heesters has not given up trying to add to his tally of awards and is looking for a "good stage role".

   Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who is 101-year-old and is still active in medical science, has described the force that keeps driving her on: "Progress is created through imperfection." In 1986 she and her lab colleague were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work on nerve growth factor. She's convinced that humans grow on challenges.

   With so many brilliant examples given, we can see clearly that age is no barrier to some high achievers.

1.From the first two paragraphs, we can see ______.

  A. being active at 102 is achievable for everybody

  B. Oliveira owes his long life to his mother’s help

  C. being fit in old age is a matter of luck and character

  D. social skills and wisdom are difficult for the senior

2.How many centenarians are mentioned in this passage?

  A. 4          B. 5            C. 6           D. 7

3.By saying "Should I just sit at home and wait until they come and pick me up?” in Paragraph 5, Heesters shows us he ________.

  A. wants to sit or lie in comfort

B. is waiting for people to pick him up

  C. is willing to work till he dies

D. prefers to give performance at home

4.In the passage so many examples were given to show ________.

  A. old age is a big problem if you want to succeed

  B. as a senior citizen, you have to be open-minded and optimistic

  C. old people should never think of themselves as old

  D. old age cannot prevent a great person from achieving a lot

5.In the writer’s opinion, the architect Oscar Niemeyer is not ________.

 A. intelligent       B. pessimistic          C. positive             D. diligent

 

How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.

     Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child — things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has his parents. He is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is continually being told not to do things or being punished for what he has done wrong.

When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.

1.According to the second paragraph, the writer thinks that __.

    A. life for a child is comparatively easy

    B. a child is always loved whatever he does

    C. if much is given to a child, he must do something in return

    D. only children are interested in life

2.After a child grows up, he __.

    A. will have little time playing

    B. has to be successful in finding a job

    C. can still ask for help in time of trouble

    D. should be able to take care of himself

3. The underlined word "responsibilities" in the second paragraph means__________.

    A. duties      B. jobs       C. suggestions     D. desires

4.The main idea of the passage is _________ .

    A. life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains

    B. young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard

C. childhood is the most enjoyable time in one's life

D. one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life

 

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