I still clearly remember that day. I was on the side of the road for about four hours with my big jeep. I put signs in the windows that said, "Need a jack (千斤顶).”

As I was about to give up,a truck stopped and a man got off. He looked at the situation, made a judgment and went back to take a jack. After about two hours, we finished the job with sweats. We were both dirty. His wife took a large bottle of water for us to wash our hands.

I tried to put $ 20 in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so I went to give it to his wife as quietly as I could. I asked their little girl where they lived, thinking maybe Pd send them a gift. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon now,so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. After that, they were going to pick peaches and then go back home.

After I said goodbye and started going back to my jeep, the girl ran to me and handed me a tamale (玉米粽子)for lunch. I thanked them again and walked back to my jeep. When I opened the tamale, what did I find inside? My $ 20! I ran to the truck and the guy rolled down his window. He started shaking his head, smiled, and with what looked like great concentration said in English, "Today you, tomorrow me. ” Then he drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back.

This family, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours to help a stranger while others passed by quietly.

Since then I’ve helped many people like the Mexican family. I didn’t accept their money. Every time I was able to help,I felt as if I was putting something in the bank.

1.From the passage we can know that ________.

A.the Mexican man couldn’t speak English

B.the author’s jeep broke down on the road

C.the Mexican family came to Oregon for a visit

D.$20 was a small amount for the Mexican family

2.Why did the author hand the money quietly to the man’s wife?

A.Because the Mexican man had refused to accept it.

B.Because the Mexican man’s wife needn’t wash her hands.

C.Because the author thought the Mexican man’s wife was a bit greedy.

D.Because the author thought the wife wanted to use the money to buy peaches.

3.The Mexican man helped the author because he tended to think that ________.

A.it was completely wrong for others to pass by quietly

B.it was quite easy to help the author repair the jeep

C.it was possible that everyone might get into trouble

D.the author was a polite stranger and deserved the help

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The Mexican family lived a richer life than the author.

B. The Mexican family did seasonal work in Oregon in previous years.

C. The author was inspired to help others by the Mexican family.

D. What made the author cry was the tamale given by the girl.

The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and knocked into the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. “How embarrassing! I am getting so clumsy in my old age.”

Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said, “Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment.”

Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. “I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home.”

He looked at us and said, “I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”

Frank’s voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the school, I would shrink (畏缩) down into the seat hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch (喷出) a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!”

He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, “No, Dad.” It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, “Dad, I’m too old for a goodbye kiss. I’m too old for any kind of kiss.” My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. Then he turned and looked out the windshield. “ You’re right,” he said. “ You are a big boy....a man. I won’t kiss you anymore.”

Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke. “It wasn’t long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet (船队) stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a strong wind and was trying to save the nets and the floats.”

I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. “Guys, you don’t know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek…to feel his rough old face… to smell the ocean on him… to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.”

1.When his father drove him to the school, Frank would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear because ________.

A. he was ashamed of his father’s old truck

B. he thought he was old enough to go to school alone

C. he didn’t want his schoolmates to see his father

D. he hated the way his schoolmates stared at his father

2.In Frank’s eyes, when his father said “You are a big boy… a man.”, he probably felt ________.

A. disappointedB. hurtC. excitedD. proud

3.According to the story we can conclude that Frank’s father ________.

A. was quite confident in his skills in fishing

B. loved his children but hardly expressed it

C. seldom gave up faced with challenges

D. was full of devotion to his family

4.By saying the sentence “I wish I had been a man then…”, Frank meant ________.

A. he was fed up with his father kissing him goodbye

B. he deeply regretted what he had done to his father

C. he was then too young to refuse a goodbye kiss

D. he hoped that his father would forgive him

5.Which of the following may be the best title for this passage?

A. The Smell of the Ocean

B. We All Need Love

C. A Goodbye Kiss

D. Father’s Embarrassment

Tom was a clever boy, but his parents were poor, so he had to work in his spare time and during his holidays to pay for his education. In spite of this, he managed to get to the university, but it was so expensive to study there that during the holiday he found it necessary to get two jobs at the same time so as to make enough money to pay for his studies.

One summer he managed to get a job in a butcher’s shop(肉店)during the day-time, and another in a hospital at night. In the shop, he learnt to cut meat quite nicely, so the butcher often left him to do all the serving while he went to the back room to do the accounts(账目). In the hospital, on the other hand, he was, of course, allowed to do the simplest jobs, like helping to lift people and to carry them from one part of the hospital to another. Both at the butcher’s shop and at the hospital, Tom had to wear white clothes.

One evening at the hospital, Tom had to carry a woman from her bed to the place where she was to have an operation. The woman was already feeling frightened at the thought of the operation before he came to get her, but when she saw Tom, that finished her.

“No! No!” she cried.“Not my butcher! I won’t be operated on!” and fainted away(昏厥).

1. Tom made enough money by ________.

A. doing two jobs

B. working in a butcher’s shop

C. cutting meat well

D. studying in the university

2. Tom was a student, but at the same time he was__________.

A. a butcher and a doctor B. a manager and a doctor

C. an assistant D. a manager

3. The woman patient recognized Tom because ____________.

A. he was wearing white clothes

B. he was going to operate on her

C. he was now working in the hospital

D. he had sold meat to her

4.The underlined sentence “when she saw Tom, that finished her” means that the sight of Tom _________.

A. she felt better and better

B. took all her strength and courage away

C. broke her heart

D. made her decide to have an operation

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