I used to be a mortgage broker(贷款中间人) in the Phoenix area. In April 2007, the company that I had been with for a year went out of business. That was the latest of the four companies that I had worked for since 2000 .They all either went under or let most of the employees go, including me.

  In December 2007, the bank took back my house, and I had no choice but to move in with my parents, five miles away. My sister has three children, and she had no room. My fiancée(未婚妻), Brandi Wetch, and I have been living in my parents’ house for about a year and a half now.

  My mother, Sue, works part-time at a high school library. My father left for a job in the Marshall Islands a few months ago and will be gone for two years.

  I’m trying to be patient with finding a new job, but it’s been hard. I check the Internet for jobs every morning. I have sent countless letters but have never got a job. I have no idea how many other people are applying for the same job.

  I do the housework and washing, and I take care of the garden. Sometimes, I feel like the best part of my life is over. The worst part of the day is when I chat with my friends on the Internet. I’ve talked to about 10 old friends online. The first thing they usually ask is what I’m doing now.

  My mother, who is in her 60s, has been so patient and supportive. She acts like she’s happy to have us, not like we’re crowding her. We have learned what’s important since I lived here.

We can infer that the writer is living a _________ life.

A. busy B. rich    C. difficult     D. hopeful

How long has the writer been out of work?

A. For more than a year                     B. For a year and a half

C. For less than two years                   D. For more than two years

Which of the following types of work is NOT done by the writer in his parents’ house?

A. Looking after children                   B. Doing the housework.

C. Washing clothes and dishes       D. Applying for a job online.

It can be learned from the passage that the writer now________.

A. is preparing for his wedding    B. is fond of doing the housework

C. is patient with job-hunting       D. is afraid of being asked about work

Dad came in the midnight. We heard every sound, but we pretended to be asleep.

       Next morning he looked weak and thin, sitting in a chair by the kitchen fire. The light of the fire shone through his long empty sleeve. Everything went as usual. Grandma found something to do in the bedroom. Grandpa went out for some water. Mother, with her back to us, was getting the cakes ready for breakfast.

       But nothing was right. When grandma came out of the bedroom, she walked on tiptoe. When grandpa came back, he said nothing about the weather. At breakfast Mother passed us the fruit and said something, but her voice was too high.

       At last my sister, Lou, pushed back her chair. “It’s your turn to wash the dishes.” But I had washed the dishes the night before. I said nothing because it was not right to quarrel in front of Dad just home with the empty sleeve.

       “It is your turn,” Lou said again. I looked at her in surprise.

       “It is not,” I said because I suddenly remembered Mother had told us to go on as usual.

       “Children, children,” Mother said in a quiet, glad kind of voice.

       And Dad was smiling because he felt at home at last.

What do you know happened to Dad in the story?

A.He was badly ill.                                        B.He had a long journey.

C.He drank too much.                                    D.He lost one of his arms.

The family        when they saw Dad’s empty sleeve.

A.was too surprised to do anything                  B.felt sad and cried a lot

C.tried not to show their feelings                            D.showed no worry at all

From the story, we know          .

A.the two sisters often quarreled about who should wash the dishes

B.the family liked seeing the two sisters quarrelling after breakfast

C.Dad loved the two sisters very much though they often quarreled

D.Mother told the two sisters to quarrel with each other the night before

Which of the following can be the best title of the story?

A.The Quarrelling Sisters                               B.Dad Was Back

C.After the Accident                                      D.An Empty Sleeve

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 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 whale 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 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, sometimes 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 harbor                  B.the arms of one 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 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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