The first day of school our professor introduced
himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched
my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled，little
old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said，“Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I' m eighty－seven years old. Can I give you a hug？”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may.”and she gave
me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age？”I asked. She
jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple
of children，and then retire and travel.”“No，seriously？”I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to
be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having
a college education and now I'm getting one. ”she told me. After class we
walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk- shake. We
became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave
class together and talk nonstop. I was always attracted listening to this “time
machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year，Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends
wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the
other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at
our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced
and stepped up to the podium(讲台). As she began to
deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her 3x5 cards
on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the
microphone and simply said，“I'm sorry I'm so nervous.
I gave up beer for Lent(一种威士忌的牌子) and this whisky is killing me. I'll
never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know.”
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing. There are only
four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success.” “You have to laugh and find humor every day.” You've
got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams，you
die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it.”
“There is a huge difference between growing older and
growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and
don't do one productive thing，you will turn twenty
years old. If I am eighty－seven years old and stay in bed for a year
and never do anything, I will turn eighty－eight.
Anybody can grow older. It’s non-optional but that doesn't take any talent or
ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.”
“Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have
regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do. The
only people who fear death are those with regrets.” She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The
Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our
daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun
all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her
sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the
wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you
can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word
of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it! These words have
been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
1.The writer provides the details about Rose in
Paragraph 2 to show that_______.
A. she was an innocent and enthusiastic person
B. she was an optimistic and humorous person
C. she was an aggressive person with a strong sense of
honor
D. she was an intelligent person with highly motivated
personality
2.Why does the writer compare Rose to “time machine”
in Paragraph 3?
A. To describe the friendship between Rose and her
young schoolmates.
B. To stress her old age and rich wisdom and
experience.
C. To show that she enjoyed dressing up in spite of
her old age.
D. To emphasize that she took on the challenge at such
an old age.
3.Which of the following best explains the sentence ”We
do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”(Paragraph
6)?
A. “If we lose our dreams, we will regret for what we
did when young.”
B. “If we don’t laugh every day, we will easily get
old.”
C. “Once we stop seeking and working for our dreams,
we will really become old.”
D. “Once we stop exercising, we will get weaker
physically and mentally.”
4.It can be inferred from Paragraph 6 that________.
A. those who don’t have dreams are as good as dead
B. growing old is uncontrollable but growing up is
optional
C. the elderly usually feel regretful for what they
did
D. our talent and ability decline with age
5.The method the writer uses to describe the character
of Rose is________.
A. making
comments
B. making comparisons
C. providing
arguments
D. giving examples
6.Which of the following is the best title for the
passage?
A. Meeting
challenges B.
Secrets to success
C. Dream in
heart
D. My best friend
