Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations．Now mid–aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．
That’s because we group people by age．We put our three –year – olds together in day– care center, our 13–year–olds in school and sports activities, and our 80 – year –olds in senior –citizen homes．Why?
That We live away from the old gets many reasons：young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most．
Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said．
The young, in turn, save the old．Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby．She was immediately surrounded．People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly rang for wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child．Babies have astonishing power to comfort and cure．
Grandparents are a special case．They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity．As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents：they are quieter, calmer, more trusting．
(1)
Now in an American family, people can find that ________．
[ ]
A．
children never live with their parents
B．
not all working people live with their parents
C．
aged people are supported by their grandchildren
D．
grandchildren are supported by their grandparents
(2)
The reason why old people are left alone may be that ________．
[ ]
A．
the old don’t like to live in a big family
B．
the young can’t get enough money to support the old
C．
different generations have different lifestyles
D．
the old are too weak to live with the young
(3)
The fact that the reporter told us shows that ________．
[ ]
A．
old people in America lead a hard life
B．
old people in America enjoy banana bread
C．
she had no time to take are of her children
D．
old people are easy to get along with
(4)
Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ________．
[ ]
A．
they had never seen a baby before
B．
the baby was clever and beautiful
C．
the baby brought them the hope for life
D．
the baby’ s mother would take care of them
(5)
Why do children not get attention from their parents?
[ ]
A．
Because they often make trouble and make their parents disappointed．
B．
Because their parents are too busy to take care of them．
C．
Because their parents have to take care of their grandparents．
D．
Because their parents have been out of work for a long time
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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