My husband Ollie had retired from teaching and we were making plans to travel together to Florida．Then he was terribly ill and became very weak, hardly able to speak．Weeks passed and it became clear that Ollie was near death, but I prayed day and night that he could get better．
One of us was always in Ollie's hospital room－either me, or our grown children, Bruce and Karen．One day, in his broken and weak speech, Ollie told Bruce, “Go home．You should be with Gwen．” Gwen was Bruce's wife．They had been married for six years and lived hundreds of miles away．Gwen was about to have a baby．We felt an extra sadness, knowing Ollie would never see his first grandchild．
“I don't want to leave you, Dad,” Bruce said．Ollie repeated, “You should be with Gwen．” Reluctantly, Bruce left．“When the baby comes,” he promised Ollie, “you will be the first to know．” A few days later, around 2 p．m．, Ollie awoke from a sleep．He turned and looked at me．I sat close to hear his weak words．“The baby is coming now．It's a boy,” he said．For a moment his eyes were filled with tears．Then he went back to sleep again．Not long after that, Karen ran into the room．“Bruce called,” she said, a smile lighting her face．“Gwen gave birth to a healthy baby boy around two o' clock．”
Ollie smiled; he had been the first to know．That night, Ollie died in his sleep．
(1)
Ollie didn't travel to Florida because________．
[ ]
A．
he was too weak to travel
B．
he could hardly be able to speak
C．
he could not afford the trip
D．
he was waiting for his grandchild to be born
(2)
Why did Ollie want Bruce to be with Gwen?
[ ]
A．
Ollie thought it was too much trouble for Bruce to stay at hospital．
B．
Ollie wanted Bruce to bring the baby along as soon as it was born．
C．
Ollie didn't want his son to be absent when his baby was born．
D．
Ollie couldn't bear his son seeing him dying with a broken heart．
(3)
The underlined word in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to________．
[ ]
A．
Disappointedly
B．
Unwillingly
C．
Excitedly
D．
Immediately
(4)
What can we learn from the passage ?
[ ]
A．
Ollie and his wife had planned to settle in Florida．
B．
Ollie cared for his son more than his daughter．
C．
Ollie was sad about not being able to see his first grandchild．
One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read：
For washing the car ＄5.00
For making my own bed this week ＄1.00
Going to the provision shop ＄0.50
Playing with little sister ＄0.25
Taking out the rubbish ＄1.00
Getting a good report card ＄5.00
And for sweeping the common corridor ＄2.00
Total ＄14.75
His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment．I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind．So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote：
For nine months I carried you, growing inside me No Charge
For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you No Charge
For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose No Charge
When you add it all up, the full cost of my love No Charge
Well, when he finished reading, he had big tears in his eyes．He looked at his mother and said,“Mummy, I love you．”Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the“bill”“All paid．”
(1)
What's the best title for this passage?
[ ]
A．
Part-time Job
B．
Mother's Love, No Charge
C．
Payment for House Work
D．
Greedy Mother
(2)
The write wrote the passage in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
show that children should be paid for their housework
B．
show that children should not be paid for their housework
C．
show a clever way of teaching children
D．
tell children how to spend their spare time
(3)
How do you think of the mother in the passage?
[ ]
A．
Clever
B．
Greedy
C．
Cold－hearted
D．
Selfish
(4)
From the last passage we know that ________
[ ]
A．
the boy got all the money he wanted
B．
the mother was unwilling to give the money to the boy
C．
the boy realized that it was not right to ask for money for the housework
D．
the mother was angry with what the boy said
阅读理解
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 1 ．”
Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 2 , but consider the sky and the sea． 3 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 4 ．”
Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 5 into the world．”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 6 , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 7 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8 to any of you．”
Red could stand it 9 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 10 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”
Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．
The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 11 ．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 12 ．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 13 , drawing close to one another for comfort．
In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 14 yourselves, each trying to dominate 15 ．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 16 ?Join hands with 17 and come to me．”
Doing as they were told, the colors 18 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 19 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 20 one another．
