Until I was twelve years old, I thought everyone in the world knew about the grinnies, if I thought about the term at all－which is unlikely．After all, everyone in my family used the word quite naturally, and we understood each other．So far as I knew, it was a word like any other word－like bath, or chocolate, or homework．But it was my homework which led to my discovery that grinnies was a word not known outside my family．
My last report card had said that I was a “C” student in English, and my parents, both teachers, decided that no child of theirs would be just an average student of anything．So nightly I spelled words aloud and answered questions about the fine points of grammar．I wrote and rewrote and rewrote every composition until I convinced my mother that I could make no more improvements．And the hard work paid off．One day the teacher returned compositions, and there it was－a big fat, bright red “A” on the top of my paper．Naturally, I was delighted, but I didn't know I was attracting attention until the teacher spoke sharply, “Helen, what are you doing?”
Called suddenly out of my happy thoughts, I said “Oh, I've got the grinnies!” The teacher and my classmates burst into laughter, and then I understood that grinnies were used inside my family．Other people were not so lucky．
And it is really lucky to have the grinnies, an uncontrollable, natural state of great pleasure．Grinnies are shown on the outside by sparkling eyes and a wide, wide smile － not just any smile, but one that shows the teeth and stretches the mouth to its limits．A person experiencing the grinnies appears to be all mouth．On the inside grinnies are characterized by a feeling of joyful anxiety．Grinnies usually last just a few seconds, but they can come and go．Sometimes, when life seems just perfect, I have occasional attacks of the grinnies for a whole day．
The term originated in my mother's family．Her younger sister, Rose, who had deep dimples(酒窝), often expressed her pleasure with such a grin that the dimples appeared to become permanent．When Rose was about four, she started explaining her funny look by saying, “I have the grinnies”．The term caught on, and it has been an important word in our family now for two generations．
The occasion doesn't matter．Anything can bring on the grinnies－just so long as one feels great delight．When my brother finally rode his bicycle－without training wheels－from our house to the corner and back, he came home with the grinnies．When I was little, my mother's announcement that we would have homemade ice cream for dessert always gave me the grinnies．My father had the grinnies when I was chosen to make a speech at the end-of-school-year ceremony．Grinnies can be brought on by a good meal, a sense of pride, a new friend, a telephone call from someone special, an achievement．Or sometimes one gets the grinnies for no reason at all：just a sudden sense of happiness can bring on a case．Whatever brings them on, an attack of the grinnies is among life's greatest pleasures．
In fact, now that I look back on the experience, I feel sorry for my seventh-grade teacher．I think it's a pity that she didn't know the word grinnies．It's such a useful term for saying, “I'm really, really pleased!”
(1)
After the writer was twelve years old, she ________．
[ ]
A．
thought everyone knew the meaning of “grinnies”
B．
equaled “grinnies” to bath or chocolate in meaning
C．
got to know “grinnies” was used only inside her family
D．
discovered the word “grinnies” through her mother
(2)
When her English teacher called her name, the writer was ________．
[ ]
A．
looking at the big “A” on the top of her paper
B．
listening to her English teacher attentively
C．
too happy to notice what's happening around her
D．
busy rewriting and improving her compositions
(3)
According to the writer, the word “grinnies” originates from ________．
[ ]
A．
her mother
B．
her aunt
C．
her brother
D．
her father
(4)
The writer feels sorry for her seventh-grade teacher because the teacher ________．
[ ]
A．
has no pity on her students
B．
should not have laughed at her
C．
doesn't have any luck to meet her parent
D．
has no idea of what “grinnies” is
(5)
What method does the writer use to explain “grinnies”?
When I was a boy, my father told me that he could do anything he wanted to．Dad said that he wanted to be the first to develop color prints in our city, and so he did．
When I was 16, Dad looked closely at the violin I played and announced that he wanted to make one．He read about violinmaking, and then became a violinmaker at the age of 43．He bought the tools and materials, opened a small store and set Mom up as the shopkeeper, while he worked at a local company．He retired from the company 17 years later and continued to make violins and other instruments．
Dad often guessed why the Stradivarius violins sound so beautiful．Some experts claimed that it was the unique varnish(油漆)that gave those instruments their beautiful sound．Dad argued that chemists could analyze the varnish－if that were the answer．
One of Dad's friends asked him once which kind of wood was used to make violins．When Dad explained that the top was made of spruce, his friend said that he had an old piece of spruce Dad might be interested in．
He worked for the next 12 months making a violin from the wood that his friend had given him．It proved to be a superior violin and it would become Dad's masterpiece．He was convinced that the secret of the Stradivarius sound was in the wood itself．
Later, the instrument was stolen．Dad's spirit was broken by the robbery, and he stopped making instruments．But he kept the music shop until he was 80 years old, selling guitars and violins．
My father has been gone for 14 years now．The violin has been missing for more than 25 years．Somewhere a musician is playing a late-20th-century violin with an excellent tone．The owner today may never understand why this ordinary-looking violin sounds so much like a Stradivarius．
(1)
The author mentions his father's developing color prints ________．
[ ]
A．
to show that his father's real interest was not in making violins
B．
to prove that his father could do anything he wanted to
C．
to give an example proving that his father was an inventor
D．
to describe the real thing that made the author believe his father
(2)
What did the author's father think about Stradivarius violins?
[ ]
A．
The varnish was different from the others．
B．
The way of making them was special．
C．
The wood of the violins was special．
D．
They could only be analyzed by chemists．
(3)
From the underlined sentence, we can learn that the author's father ________．
[ ]
A．
liked the violin very much
B．
got crazy after this happened
C．
lost interest in instruments
D．
didn't want to become famous
(4)
How long did the author's father live after the violin was stolen?
[ ]
A．
About 11 years．
B．
About 14 years．
C．
About 25 years．
D．
About 80 years．
(5)
We can infer from the last paragraph that the author ________．
Are you a man or a mouse? When people ask this question they want to know if you think you are a brave person or a coward(胆小鬼)．But you will never really know the answer to that question until you are tested in real life．Some people think they are brave, but when they come face to face with real danger, they act like cowards．Other people think of themselves as cowardly, but when they meet danger, they act like heroes．
Lenny Sputnik had always thought of himself as a nervous person．He got worried before examinations．He worried about his job and his health．All he wanted in life was to be safe and healthy．Then, on 15th January 1982, a plane crashed into the Potomac River in Washington．Lenny went to the river to see what was happening．Then he saw a woman in the ice-cold water．Suddenly Lenny did not feel afraid．He kept very calm and did a very courageous thing．He jumped into the Potomac, swam to the woman, and kept her head above the water．Seventy-eight people died that day．Thanks to Lenny Sputnik, it was not seventy-nine．
When you are in a very dangerous situation and feel afraid, the body automatically produces a chemical in the blood．This chemical is called adrenalin．With adrenalin in the blood system, you actually feel stronger and are ready to fight or run away．However, when you are completely terrified, the body can produce too much adrenalin．When this happens, the muscles become very hard and you find that you cannot move at all．You are then disabled with fear．That is why, when we are very frightened, we sometimes say that we are ‘petrified’．This word comes from the Greek word ‘peters’ which means ‘stone’．We are so frightened we have become like stone．
(1)
According to the writer's opinion, a brave person can be judged by ________
[ ]
A．
his words
B．
his thought
C．
his action
D．
his looks
(2)
From what Lenny did, we can conclude that ________
[ ]
A．
Lenny had a good chance
B．
Lenny was brave
C．
Lenny liked swimming
D．
Lenny wanted to be a hero
(3)
In great danger, a hero always keeps ________．
[ ]
A．
nervous
B．
worried
C．
calm
D．
disappointed
(4)
Adrenalin in our body is ________．
[ ]
A．
harmful
B．
useless
C．
changeable
D．
dangerous
(5)
If a person's body produces too much adrenaline, he will ________．
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