For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 a.m., except Sunday, and went to work. I__41__saw my father home from work ill. He had no hobbies, __42__taking care of his family.
For 22 years, __43__I left home for college, my father__44__me every Sunday at 9:00 a.m.. He was always interested in my__45__,or how my family was doing, and I never once heard him__46__about his lot (生活状况) in life. The calls even came when he and my mother were in other states.
Nine years ago when I__47__my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent three days__48__my house. He would not__49__me to pay someone to have it done. All he __50__was a cup of tea, a paint brush and to talk to him. But I was too__51__.I had a law practice to run, and I could not take__52__to hold the brush, or talk to my father.__53__things happened several times later.
The morning on Sunday. January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me__54__,this time from my sister’s home in Florida. But the__55__came again at 4:40 p.m. that day. My father was in the__56__in Florida with an aneurysm (动脉瘤).I got on an airplane__57__, and on the way, I__58__of all the times I had not taken the time to talk to my father. I determined that when I arrived, I would__59__for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him.
I arrived in Florida at 11:30 p.m., my father had__ 60__at 9:12 p.m.. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or to wait for me.
【小题1】.

A.ever B.neverC.alwaysD.often
【小题2】.
A.exceptB.rather thanC.more thanD.or rather
【小题3】.
A.becauseB.beforeC.althoughD.since
【小题4】.
A.visitedB.praisedC.telephonedD.met
【小题5】.
A.workB.lifeC.study D.plan
【小题6】.
A.worryB.careC.talkD.look
【小题7】.
A.builtB.foundC.boughtD.sold
【小题8】.
A.repairingB.paintingC.cleaningD.decorating
【小题9】.
A.teachB.orderC.forceD.allow
【小题10】.
A.askedB.keptC.orderedD.served
【小题11】.
A.smart  B.upsetC.busy D.tired
【小题12】.
A.practiceB.taskC.teaD.time
【小题13】.
A.DifferentB.Similar C.FunnyD.Strange
【小题14】.
A.as usualB.in painC.casuallyD.finally
【小题15】.
A.callB.momentC.situation D.scene
【小题16】.
A.churchB.schoolC.homeD.hospital
【小题17】.
A.immediatelyB.happilyC.graduallyD.carefully
【小题18】.
A.heardB.spokeC.thoughtD.demanded
【小题19】.
A.take upB.make upC.turn upD.put up
【小题20】.
A.started outB.given inC.passed awayD.come back

I know it is wrong to envy your children. But when I see my son, Tonio and his younger brother Sam going down a slide together, one’s arm around the other, I know I have missed something wonderful.

Not only did I never have a brother, but also I had no friendships like theirs. My sister was old enough to help take care of me, so she was more a mother than a playmate, and I was more a pest than a friend. A brother would have been wonderful, but it was not in the family planning.

Now I finally live with brothers, my sons, Tonio and Sam. I am watching them build the kind of relationship that I once dreamed about. They go to bed together. When one comes into our bed after a nightmare, my wife and I know that before morning his brother will follow.

Sam manages the world with more ease than his elder brother, whose frustrations often bring him to tears. With a sincere “Smile, Tonio,” Sam is the one who comforts him. Tonio, on the other hand, has stopped playing with boys at his age who don’t like playing with Sam. They are always backing each other up.

I don’t know what kind of relationship they will have when they grow up. Parents always want their children to have what they never could. I want them to have each other. So I imagine them going to the same college, marrying sisters and living on the same block.

That’s why I was so worried the day Tonio started kindergarten. I felt that I would lose something too. As we headed for school that morning, both boys seemed relaxed, as if neither had any idea that the day was going to be different, that starting then, Tonio would be leaving behind his brother, his best friend, his right arm.

Tonio’s first day was chaotic, with hundreds of children outside looking for their teachers. Before any of us could say goodbye, Tonio disappeared with his new classmates. He turned to wave and then was gone. It was so sudden. Sam even didn’ t see him go. Although parents had been asked to ease the craziness of the first day by statying out of the school, I lifted Sam up and took him to Tonio’s classroom, looking for a glimpse of Tonio. Sam spotted him first.

My wife and I didn’t head back home immediately, stopping instead at a coffee shop to treat Sam to hot chocolate. We even let him eat ice-cream with his fingers. Sam was still quiet, so I asked him if he missed his brother already.

He didn’t answer. Instead he asked, “Daddy, is Tonio going to be gone forever?”

“No, Sammy,” I said, feeling happy about his sweet question. “Not forever, just until three o’clock.”

I sometimes think that the greatest thing I have ever done is to help create these brothers. And I didn’t stop with them. We had another child, and for the third time in a row, it was a boy. It wasn’t long before his brothers climbed into the crib(婴儿床) to play with him. I am surrounded by brothers.

1.What makes the author envy his sons?

A. He has no friends like Sam and Tonio.

B. He has only one brother in his family.

C. He doesn’t enjoy brotherhood as they do.

D. He doesn’t have a good relation with his sister.

2.What does the underlined word “pest” in paragraph 2 mean?

A. a bad person     B. an annoying person

C. a good companion    D. a lovely brother

3.What can we learn about the two little brothers?

A. Tonio often encouraged Sam when Sam burst into tears.

B. The two brothers went to the same kindergarten.

C. Neither of the brothers played with other children.

D. They supported each other in different ways.

4.The author was worried the day Tonio started his kindergarten, because__________.

A. Tonio might not spend so much time with Sam

B. Tonio might not do well with his study

C. he was afraid he would lose Tonio forever.

D. he wanted Tonio to have what he didn’t have

5.On the first day of the kindergarten, __________.

A. Tonio had a nice day playing with his new classmates

B. Sam was very sad because Tonio was gone forever

C. Sam was allowed to have ice-cream with fingers as usual

D. the father felt happy when he sensed Sam’s love to Tonio

6.What does the title “Surrounded by Brothers” suggest?

A. The author experienced brotherly affection by raising his sons.

B. The author often plays with his sons whenever he has time.

C. Parents want their children to stay at home and play together.

D. The youngest son is always surrounded by his elder brothers.

 

 When I was a teenager I volunteered to work at the water station at a 10,000 m race.My  36  was to pass out water to the runners. I remember being so excited to see all the different kinds of    37   who passed by and   38  a cup of water. The next year I signed up for the   39   and gave it a shot.

The first 10,000 m race was quite an experience. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. At times, I didn’t   40   if I could finish.

At one point near the end, a 70-year-old man ran past me very   41   , and I felt embarrassed that I was 50 years younger than him and I couldn’t even keep up with him. I felt      42   for a second.

But then I   43    something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had   44   capacities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my   45    was only to finish.

After a minute, it   46  me that this was a lesson I could draw from . I learned  47  about myself in that moment. I turned my   48   into inspiration.

I decided that I would not   49  running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and  50  properly and one day I would be one of those 70-year-olds who were still running. As I   51  the finishing line, I was proud  52  my accomplishment.

In life we all have those moments when we  53  ourselves to others. It’s only   54  . Don’allow those moments to weaken you. Turn them into   55   and let them inspire you. Use them to show you what is possible.

1.A. position    B. direction      C. decision        D. target

2.A. trainers    B. runners        C. fans      D. volunteers

3.A. begged     B. drank   C. dropped       D. grabbed

4.A. project      B. service          C. race     D. experience

5.A. doubt        B. know    C. answer         D. promise

6.A. slowly        B. fast      C. quietly D. carefully

7.A. surprised  B. satisfied       C. amused        D. defeated

8.A. forgot        B. realized        C. remembered        D. abandoned

9.A. different   B. wonderful    C. valuable       D. proper

10.A. dream     B. plan      C. goal      D. job

11.A. happened        B. hit         C. occurred      D. attracted

12.A. everything      B. anything       C. nothing         D. something

13.A. disappointment B. embarrassment       C. agreement          D. achievement

14.A. sign up    B. pick up         C. give up          D. keep up

15.A. predict    B. behave         C. prepare        D. pretend

16.A. found      B. crossed        C. held      D. left

17.A. in    B. upon    C. of         D. for

18.A. combine B. control          C. compare      D. contribute

19.A. natural   B. frequent       C. important    D. terrible

20.A. condition         B. motivation   C. situation      D. protection

 

For 52 years my father got up at 5:30 am every morning, went to work, and returned home at 5:30 pm. I never saw my father stayed home from work ill, nor did I ever see my father lay down to take a nap. He had no hobbies, other than taking care of his family. All he asked from me, his daughter, was to help him while he was repairing something, so we could have some time to talk.

For 22 years, after I left home for college, my father called me at 9:00 am every Sunday. Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days in the 80-degree Kansas heat, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked for was a glass of iced tea. Five years ago, at age 71, my father spent five hours putting together a swing set for my daughter. Four years ago, my father drove all the way from Denver to Topeka, with an eight-foot Colorado Blue Spruce (云杉) in his truck, so that we could have a part of Colorado growing on our land.

On the morning of January 16, 1996, my sister telephoned me; my father was in the hospital with an aneurysm(动脉瘤) in Florida. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way I realized that I hadn’t communicated with him as much as I’d always wanted to. I vowed(发誓) that when I arrived, I would have a long talk with him. I arrived in Florida at 1 am, only to find that my father, at the age of 76, had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

1. From the first paragraph we can infer that the author’s father ______.

A. was a good driver      B. was in good health

C. sometimes fell ill         D. had no hobbies

2. The underlined phrase “other than” in the first paragraph can be replaced by “______”.

A. except       B. including      C. without     D. due to

3. According to the last paragraph, we can know that the author’s father was born in ______.

A. 1916          B. 1918             C. 1920        D. 1922

4. The author wrote the article in order to ______.

A. praise her father            B. remember her father

C. show her father loved her   D. let her father be known

 

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.

    My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I' m so glad I did.

    On the way to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape.After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.

    On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn't believe it — there weren't any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.

    The little baby whale—actually as big as our boat—was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. "She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe—and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off. They swam into the distance.

    In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.

1. In Para2 the author says "I' m so glad I did." because _________.

    A. he witnessed the whole process of fishing

    B. he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

    C. he experienced the rescue of the whales

    D. he spent the weekend with his family

2.The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________.

    A. she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

    B. the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

    C. she had no other whales around to turn to for help

    D. the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

3.What is the theme of the story?

    A. Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.

    B. Fishing provides excitement for children.

    C. It's necessary to live in harmony with animals.

    D. It's vital to protect the whale in the ocean.

 

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