One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying(陪伴)the older ones. Later, I discovered that I was completely wrong.

I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.

It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson, ” I said.I decided they must be outside.Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.

Finally, in desperation(绝望), I called his girlfriend’s house. His girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”

He came on the phone.I was not my usual calm, patient. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.

The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts — a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.

1.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because________.

A.she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter

B.she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend

C.the older children have always loved the younger ones

D.she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night

2.Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that _________.

A.her son had brought his girlfriend home

B.her son had left home with his girlfriend

C.she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son

D.she should have taken the children along with her

3.“It was only part of the truth.” implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also _________.

A.had their pictures taken                  B.received some gifts

C.had a birthday party                     D.showed off their best clothes

4. Which is the best title of this passage?

A.An Evening Out                         B.Modern Teenagers

C.Mother and Children                     D.A Precious Birthday Gift

 

Very far away from the city lived a poor farmer and his wife. In front of their house was a small dirt road. Very few cars drove on this road because it was so far from the city. On the dirt road, there was a big hole filled with water. The hole was very deep, but drivers on the road didn't know just how deep. Drivers always drove into the hole, but they never drove out.

One day, a man in a new car was driving down the road. He saw the hole with the water, but he didn't think it was very deep. He drove into the hole, but he couldn't drive out. The man saw the farmer on his tractor working in the field, and he signaled to the farmer. The farmer drove over to the man in the new car.

“Is there a problem?”asked the farmer.

“Yes,”said the man.“My car is stuck in this hole. Can you help me?”

“Maybe,”said the farmer.“But I'm very busy.”

“lf you help me, I'll pay you,” said the man.

“OK,”said the farmer. The farmer pulled the car out of the hole with his tractor, and the man paid him a lot of money. The man looked at the farmer and said,“You must. make a lot of money pulling cars out of this hole day and night.”

“Actually, no,”said the farmer.

“Why not?”asked the man.

“The hole is very deep, and a lot of people get stuck and ask for help. But I don't make money day and night because I don't pull cars out at night.”

“At night I'm busy filling the hole with water,” answered the farmer.

1.The reason why few cars drove on the small dirt road was that __________ .

A.there was a big and deep hole             B.the couple was not polite enough

C.it had a long distance from the city          D.drivers were afraid of being in the hole

2.According to paragraph 2, we can know about the man in a new car __________ .

A.he just learned to drive a car              B.it was the first time that he passed there

C.he knew how deep the hole was            D.he knew the farmer in the field

3.What did the farmer usually do at night?

A.He helped pull out cars.                  B.He made money.

C.He filled water to the hole                 D.He slept at home.

 

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.

My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.

On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We talked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?

The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.

1.Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?

A.He was silent most of the time.             B.He was too proud of himself.

C.He did not love his children.               D.He expected too much of her.

2.When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel         .

A.nervous          B.sorry             C.tired             D.safe

3.What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?

A.More critical.                          B.More talkative

C.Gentle and friendly.                      D.Strict and hard-working.

4.The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to         .

A.the author’s son                       B.the author’s father

C.the friend of the author’s father           D.the café owner

 

In 1982, Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the sailing track and floating in a lifeboat, alone. His supplies were  36 . His chances of surviving were small.  37 when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later, he was alive — much  38 than he was when he started, but alive.

His  39 of how he survived is interesting and attractive. His subtle act — how he  40 to catch fish, how he evaporated sea water to 41 fresh water — is very interesting. But the thing that  42 my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when it seemed no  43  continuing the struggle, when he was  44  greatly, when his lifeboat was pierced and after more than a week’s struggling with his weak body. He was starved and  45  exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only sensible choice.

When people  46 these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in  47 dangerous circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the courage to carry on  48 major difficulties.

"I tell myself I can  49 it," wrote Callahan in his book. "Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over,  50  courage and strength."

I wrote that down after I read it  51 it struck me as something important. And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed 52 off or when my problems seemed too powerful. And every time I've said it, I have always come back to my senses.

The truth is, our circumstances are only bad  53 to something better. But others have been through much worse, that is, in comparison with what  54 have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over again, and it will help you  55 the rough spots with a little more perseverance(毅力) .

1.                A.less            B.little           C.few  D.enough

 

2.                A.And           B.Yet            C.Still  D.While

 

3.                A.thinner         B.poorer         C.worse    D.fatter

 

4.                A.attitude        B.imagination      C.instruction D.story

 

5.                A.tried           B.tended         C.managed  D.intended

 

6.                A.make          B.collect          C.select    D.replace

 

7.                A.attacked        B.caught          C.froze D.cheated

 

8.                A.operation       B.taste           C.message  D.use

 

9.A improving        B. suffering    C. strengthening        D. increasing

10.               A.firmly          B.completely      C.surely D.generally

 

11.               A.deal           B.defend         C.survive    D.observe

 

12.               A.similarly        B.likely          C.probably  D.commonly

 

13.               A.for the lack of    B.in spite of       C.in support of   D.as a result of

 

14.               A.handle         B.carry          C.follow D.inspect

 

15.               A.rolling up       B.using up        C.building up D.making up

 

16.               A.but            B.so             C.although   D.and

 

17.               A.far            B.long           C.near  D.short

 

18.               A.related         B.measured       C.contributed    D.compared

 

19.               A.you           B.others         C.we   D.another

 

20.               A.see through     B.cut through     C.get through    D.think through

 

 

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 road to the harbour 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 aren’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, some-times 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.The author says “I’m so glad I did ” (in Para. 2)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 harbour survived the storm owing to____________.

A.the shape of the harbour

B.the arms of the bay

C.the still water in the channel

D.the long coast line

3.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

4.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 environment

 

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