I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin.

In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything had happened.

“Who did this?” my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.

“This is your entire fault, Katherine,” my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.

From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told to each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.

But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.

In July, the Whites sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new drivers license, Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.

The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.

Jane was killed immediately.

I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I had ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.

When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girl’s tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches(拐杖).

To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We are so glad that you are alive.”

I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.

Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.

Mrs. White said, “Jane is gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister’s death?”

They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.

How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

   A. The author’s parents were less caring.    B. The author’s parents were less loving.

   C. The author’s parents were less friendly   D. The author’s parents were less understanding

How did the accident happen?

   A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroad and a truck hit their car.

   B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

   C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

   D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroad.

The accident took place in _____.

   A. Florida     B. California       C. South Carolina       D. New York

The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because _____.

   A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

   B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

   C. They didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

   D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

From the passage we can learn that _____.

   A. Amy has never recovered from the shock   B. Amy changed her job after the accident

   C. Amy lost her memory after the accident    D. Amy has lived quite a normal life

White was the owner of a private school in a town. Last year, he married one of his classmates.The beautiful woman spent much time in learning nothing during middle school.   But she wasn't worried about anything in the future, because her parents were very rich and could provide her with everything.So he could make poor Mr White listen to her. Mr White was busy in dealing with school affairs and his wife had to stay at home alone.But she hated the lonely and boring life.Her father introduced her to some businessmen who wanted to employ her .But she wanted to stay with children.So her husband was asked to allow her to work in his school.At first her husband didn't agree with her. She didn't supply money to him any more, so the poor man had to give in.Otherwise , his school would shut down for lack of her money. The woman could not teach students, because she knew neither maths nor physics.She thought she often played in the zoo,so she decided to teach biology.But she didn't know how to teach the subject at all.She thought hard, and finally she decided to bring the students to the zoo.
Pointing to a crocodile, she shouted ,”Look at it carefully! It’s a whale!”
“Excuse me ,madam,” said a student.   “It’s a crocodile!”
“Shut up!” Mr White said angrily.   “It’s a whale!”
【小题1】Why did Mr White have to employ Mrs White as a teacher ?

A.Because his school would shut down without her money.
B.Because Mrs White learned many things during school time.
C.Because no businessman wanted to employ Mrs White.
D.Because Mrs White knew something about biology.
【小题2】Which of the following is not true about Mrs White?
A.She was the daughter of a rich man.
B.She often went to the zoo to study animals.
C.She knew nothing about the subject of biology.
D.She was one of Mrs White’s classmates.
【小题3】What happened when Mrs White brought her students to the zoo?
A.The students didn't know whales and crocodiles.
B.Mrs White taught the right animals to her students.
C.A whale came up to the bank to have a breath.
D.Mrs White mistook a crocodile for a whale.
【小题4】Why didn't Mr White agree to accept his wife as a teacher?
A.Because he wanted to change his fate of listening to his wife.
B.Because he knew his wife could not be a good teacher.
C.Because his wife liked being at home.
D.Because his wife only knew something about maths and physics.

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