Grandma celebrated her fifty-third birthday just weeks before grandpa died of cancer in 1965. Although his passing was very difficult for her, I think their shared struggle to make his life longer taught grandma that good health was not to be taken for granted, and she made up her mind to live the rest of her own life as fully and as long as she could. One day, when she announced to attend lessons at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Portland, Oregon, where she lived, we rolled our eyes in embarrassment and helplessly wished she would just stay home and bake cookies as normal grandmothers did. Many years filled with countless dance lessons passed before we learned to appreciate the wonder of having a dancing grandma.

I suppose grandma's primary motivation for wanting to learn to dance was social. She had been a shy girl, always very tall and heavy, and had married into grandpa's quiet lifestyle before developing any elegance or confidence in her personal appearance. Dancing, on the other hand, filled her life with flash lights, wonderful parties, beautiful dresses, handsome young dance instructors, and the challenge of learning. Although the weekly dance lessons did not change her ample, two-hundred-pound figure, grandma surprised everyone with energetic performances on the dance floor, which soon gave her as much elegance and confidence as any Miss American competitor.

Having taken weekly dance lessons for years, my grandma learned various dances easily and was soon participating in dancing matches all over the Northwest. When I was fourteen, grandma proudly invited me to watch her compete in one of these matches to be held in the grand ballroom of the Red Lion Inn. My attitude was still unenthusiastic at that point, but to make her happy, my mother and I attended the match. As if to prove me wrong, grandma made a wonderful showing in every event she entered. I thought she was truly the queen of the ball during the dance, and my thoughts were shared by the judges a short time later when she was awarded a gold cup for her outstanding performance.

1.What did grandma learn from grandpa's death?

A. Good health was not there for everyone.

B. She should take dance lessons.

C. She had to struggle to live a better life.

D. She should wear beautiful dresses.

2.Normal grandmas usually ________ in the author's point of view?

A. took dance lessons

B. did some exercises at home

C. took care of grandchildren at home

D. did some housework at home

3.The author felt ______ when he was invited to watch grandma's match.

A. happy B. proud

C. excited D. uninterested

E

Manners nowadays in big cities like London are particularly non-existent. It’s nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her.

This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy(谦恭有礼) and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it’s not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for older women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves “ First come, first served”, while a gray-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is too often seen.

Older people, tired and easy annoyed from a day’s work, aren’t angels, either—far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend(推崇) this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.

If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems necessary, not only that communication in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. Shop assistant won’t bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductors pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on. It seems to us that it’s up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration (恶化).

1.What is the writer’s opinion concerning courteous manners towards women?

A. They no longer need to be treated differently from men.

B. Young men should give up their seats to young women.

C. “Lady first” should universally practiced.

D. Special consideration ought to be shown to them in some cases.

2.What does “ the rat race” in paragraph 2 probably mean in the passage?

A. A race that involves many people

B. A well-paid job

C. A fierce competition

D. A race for rats

3.According to the passage, communication between human beings would not be smoother unless ____.

A. people become more considerate towards each other

B. people are not so tired and easily annoyed

C. women are treated with more courtesy

D. public transport is improved

4.The main purpose of the passage is to ______.

A. call on people in big cities to pay more attention to politeness

B. blame the schoolboy’s rude behavior towards elderly women on tube or bus

C. criticize the fast pace of life in most of the big cities

D. tell young men to give their seats to elderly people and women

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

One day, as I was getting into my car, a woman stopped beside me and asked if I was going north. I wasn’t I asked her where she wanted to go. She told me that she had her bus and had to walk. I her to get in and said I would be happy to take her.

As I started , I thought to myself, “I am not in a ,” so I asked the lady what her ________destination was. She was going to work and was running . So I told her that I would ________ to drive her to work so that she wouldn’t be late! “I can’t you are doing this,” she said. “This is such a ________ gift. I just moved here three weeks ago and you are so ________ !”

As we near the office ________ where she worked, I ________ she put her hand into her bag for something. I asked her what she was ________ . She said, “I must have ________ my lunch bag at home.” I had just bought my ________ . “Here’s a lunch,” I said as I gave her a ________ and handed her my bag from the back seat.

She gave me a hug as she got out of the ________ . She said, “My husband died a few months ago and this is a sign that things will be ________ for me. Thank you.” I drove back home with my ________ singing and a big smile on my face!

1.A. and B. since C. until D. but

2.A. broken B. missed C. lost D. sold

3.A. invited B. expected C. encouraged D. begged

4.A. driving B. moving C. running D. going

5.A. hurry B. luck C. way D. rest

6.A. last B. real C. favorite D. final

7.A. busily B. late C. fast D. early

8.A. refuse B. remember C. offer D. start

9.A. believe B. doubt C. wonder D. think

10.A. cheap B. nice C. simple D. small

11.A. friendly B. patient C. worried D. strict

12.A. house B. store C. apartment D. building

13.A. said B. understood C. noticed D. knew

14.A. giving out B. looking for C. finding out D. asking for

15.A. left B. made C. saved D. taken

16.A. supper B. lunch C. breakfast D. bag

17.A. hug B. prize C. present D. smile

18.A. shop B. office C. car D. bus

19.A. good B. hard C. interesting D. true

20.A. life B. body C. mind D. heart

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