As a boy I was always small for my age. I was also five years younger than one of my brothers and seven years younger than the other. As a result I often felt left out when their friends came over to play. I was either too small or too young for whatever they were doing and they didn't want their younger brother listening in on their conversations either. More often than not I found myself outside playing alone and feeling forgotten.

I remember one spring afternoon feeling especially lonely as I sat in the yard behind our house. We lived miles from town and I rarely saw my own friends outside of school. I heard my brothers laughing from inside the house and felt a single tear coming down my cheek. At that moment I saw a large brown dog walking over to me. He looked happy and his tail was wagging as well. Even though he didn't know me he greeted me like a long lost friend, licking my chin and sitting beside me on the spring grass. It must have been at least an hour that I petted and talked to this four-legged angel. He let me pour out all my troubles and share my deepest thoughts before he kissed my cheek goodbye and ambled off either to Heaven or his home. I went back inside feeling happy, knowing that no matter what life may hold I was loved. Now over 40 years later I still remember that angel with a smile.

I believe that God sent him in that moment of sadness to remind me just how much he loved me. There is nothing more important than knowing we are loved. When we are loved, we will learn to love others. Learning to love helps us to understand ourselves and other people better.

1.How did the writer feel when his brothers’ friends came?

A. Proud. B. Lonely. C. Worried. D. Happy.

2.The writer shared his troubles and thoughts with the dog because ______.

it was his friend

B. it could understand him

C. it was friendly to him

D. it looked like an angel

3.From Paragraph 2, we can learn that ______.

A. the boy met a long lost friend

B. the boy had no friends at school

C. the dog helped the boy realize that he was loved

D. the dog spent the afternoon with the boy and his brothers

4.The author wrote the story to______.

A. encourage people to talk about their troubles

B. tell people they should treat animals friendly

C. share his unforgettable experience with us

D. show knowing you are loved is the most important

 

Dear Guys,
I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.
One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉强地) agreed.
Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.
However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.
It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.
Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.
The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.
This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.
Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.
Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.
“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.
“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.
And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”
I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.
Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.
It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.
I surprised myself—and I’m sure you as well—by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.
Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”
Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”
And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.
Sincerely, Jen Cordery
【小题1】The writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.

A.she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries
B.she wanted to refresh her childhood memories
C.she could not refuse the polite request from the young man
D.she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight
【小题2】Which of the following is closet in meaning to the underlined word “game”?
A.anxious B.brave
C.afraid D.curious
【小题3】Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?
A.To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.
B.To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.
C.To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.
D.To express her dislike towards softball.
【小题4】What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.
A.inspired B.encouraged
C.awkward D.depressed
【小题5】 What happened to the ball at last?
A.The writer managed to throw the ball back.
B.The boy got the ball back by himself.
C.The writer threw the ball away out of anger.
D.The boys got angry and left without the ball.
【小题6】What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?
A.To express her regret over what she did the day before.
B.To announce that she would never play all games again.
C.To joke on her inability to throw the ball over the fence.
D.To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.

The captain of a ship and a merchant(商人)were friends.The merchant had a young son,who wanted to be a sailor(水手),so the captain took him for voyages in his____ .One day when the captain had come from a ___ with a lot of money,the merchant told him that the price of iron(铁) had_____ and suggested that he should buy some with his money.“I’ll ____ it for you in my storehouse _____you return from your next voyage,and perhaps you’ll get ____ money.” But while the captain was away,the price of iron went up _____ 60% ,so the merchant sold it and kept the money.When the captain came back,his____ friend told him that he was very sorry and the mice had____ all the iron. The captain knew that his friend was____ lies,but he stayed ____and said,“I knew that you had problems_____mice in your storehouse.” After a few days,the captain started _____ voyage,and when he returned home,he said to the merchant,“I’m very sorry,but _____our voyage a bird came down and carried your son away.” The merchant was very____ and said,“Birds cannot carry boys!” “And _____ can mice eat iron,” answered the captain.The merchant took the captain to a_____ ,who said,“The merchant must____the captain the money which he got when he ___the iron,and then the captain must_____ the merchant’s son back to him.”

1.A. car B. cart C. ship D. plane

2.A. voyage B. travel C. business D. visit

3.A. fallen B. raised C. widened D. risen

4.A. keep B. hide C. hold D. put

5.A. when B. since C. after D. until

6.A. many B. more C. a bit D. less

7.A. on B. in C. to D. by

8.A. dishonest B. honest C. real D. former

9.A. sold B. borrowed C. eaten D. drunk

10.A. talking B. making C. telling D. saying

11.A. friendly B. calm C. quiet D. angry

12.A. about B. in C. on D. with

13.A. another B. next C. the other D. other

14.A. while B. after C. during D. before

15.A. boring B. puzzled C. angry D. afraid

16.A. yet B. neither C. so D. either

17.A. lawyer B. manager C. child D. judge

18.A. return B. give C. offer D. lend

19.A. kept B. bought C. sold D. stole

20.A. bring B. fetch C. carry D. catch

 

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