It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me.
She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed, enthusiastically responding, “Of course!” And she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.
“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously.”
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”
We became instant friends. Over the course of the year, Rose made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she took great delight in the attention given to her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet (宴会) and I’ll never forget what she taught us.
As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note card on the floor. A little embarrassed she simply said, “I’m sorry. This whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so 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 have 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. Anyone can grow older. 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.”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral(葬礼) to honor the wonderful woman.
【小题1】While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about
________.

It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me.

She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”

I laughed, enthusiastically responding, “Of course!” And she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.

“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then retire and travel.”

“No seriously.”

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”

We became instant friends. Over the course of the year, Rose made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she took great delight in the attention given to her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet (宴会) and I’ll never forget what she taught us.

As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note card on the floor. A little embarrassed she simply said, “I’m sorry. This whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so 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 have 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. Anyone can grow older. 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.”

At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral(葬礼) to honor the wonderful woman.

1.While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about

    ________.

  A. her age          B. her dream      C. her life       D. her motivation

2.The underlined sentence “She was living it up” in the text most probably means

   ________.

  A. she did as well as she was expected

B. she spent much money in her college life

  C. she did things that she enjoyed

D. she deserved(应得) praise due to her study

3.In Rose’s opinion, one can learn to grow up by __________.

  A. getting new ideas

B. regretting his mistakes

  C. gaining new knowledge every day

D. finding chances to do productive things

4.What else did Rose most probably say at the football banquet?

  A. “It seems my young days are over.”  

 B. “The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

 C. “When we are old, we can’t do anything. So enjoy in time!”

 D. “Have a good time and don’t do much in order to stay young.”

5.The story of Rose in the text shows that __________.

 A. it is never too late to learn in your life.

 B. it is good for old people to have friendship.

 C. it is never too late to be all you can possibly be.

 D. it is very important to have a healthy body when people are old.

It was midday when I got the call that my grandfather was not well and he was quickly getting worse. My family did not know how long he would stay in the world. I knew I had to get to the hospital to tell him how much I loved him. As I drove to the hospital, I pictured him before I got to tell him how much he meant to me. Trying to fight back the tears, I wanted to stay calm when I saw him.
When I got to the hospital, I hurriedly looked for his hospital room. I found him in a semi-conscious state (半清醒状态). On my knees, I said softly, “Hello, Grandpa.”
Still feeling shy, I decided not to leave his bedside without letting him know. While I asked about how he was, he told me, “I’ll be fine, Henry.” although we both knew that wasn't true. Then he asked me with a smile how I was doing.
Hearing what my grandpa said, I was much moved. I made the decision that I had to show my gratitude for him. As I found all the courage (勇气) I had, I hold his hand tightly. I cried out, “Grandpa. I just want to let you know how much I love you. I hope you already know that yet I just want to make sure.” By this time, tears were rolling down my face. All those years of love that I had shut and not let him know, became free.
Smilingly, he said, “I know. Thank you for telling me that. All I have on this planet is my family and my love for them. If there is anything I could ask of you, I want you to be good to your family, your mother, your father, and your brother. That’s all I want of you.”
What I learned that day changed my whole life. From then on, I began telling people how much I love them, care for them, and respect them. I get in touch with, for example, my babysitter, my barber, to show my appreciation. I go down into the city once a week and serve pizza to the homeless. I wake up every morning and list everything I’m thankful to in my life.
【小题1】The author got the news of Grandpa’s illness________.