Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.　
　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.　
　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.　
　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.　
　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.　
　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.　
　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:　
　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”
　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, making life strong and warm.
　　thread: 线　　　 quilt: 被子
　　1. Why did the parents try to earn a lot of money?
　　A. To pay for the food.
　　B. To pay off the debt.
　　C. To pay for the hospital.
　　D. To pay the high tuition.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. The parents sent flowers on Valentine’s day.
　　B. The parents liked to say “I love you.”
　　C. The father was too tired to have a good temper.
　　D. The mother had no job.

　　3. From the passage, we can know that _________.
　　A. the father made much money from his work
　　B. Susan couldn’t understand her mother
　　C. the parents always loved each other
　　D. the mother was worried about her husband

　　4. How did Susan feel towards her parents at last?
　　A. sad　　　　　 B. glad　　 　　C. worried　　　 D. easy

　　5. Which is the best title?
　　A. Love is inside.　　　　　　　　 B. Love is outside.
　　C. Love is seen everywhere.　　 　 D. Love is seen anytime.
　

　　In the fall of 1992, when Vicki was ten, she and her father, Jim, happened to notice an advertisement for a new flight school. Her father suggested to her that since she wanted to be an astronaut, she might want to take a flying lesson, just see if she liked it. She was excited.
　　Vicki continued with her flying lessons. She was so brave and devoted that she impressed her teacher and soon passed ground school with straight—A’s. She would have passed her pilot exam, too, if she had been old enough. Instead, she’ll have to wait until she is 16 to get her pilot’s license.
　　Vicki made her first record-breaking flight in September 1993, at the age of 11. She flew a small plane across the United States, from Augusta to California. Although by law she had to have a licensed pilot at her side, he never touched the controls or helped her in any way. She was the youngest woman pilot to fly across the U.S. and the youngest pilot ever to fly across the U.S. from East to West. That direction is considered the most difficult flight because it means flying against the wind. And in fact on part of her flight she had to fight her way through strong headwinds. Because she was flying a small plane and FAA rules limited her to flying no more than eight hours each day, the trip took several days with eight stops. Her parents followed along on commercial flights, meeting her at each stop.
　　40. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. Jim took Vicki to the flight school.
　　B. Vicki asked her father to send her to the flight school.
　　C. Jim advised Vicki to take the flying lessons.
　　D. Vicki didn’t like the flight school.

　　41. What made Vicki’s first record-breaking flight difficult?
　　A. The strong winds.　　 B. Her age.　　 C. Her plane.　　 D.Her experience.

　　42. Vicki was the youngest pilot _____.
　　A. in history in America
　　B. to fly across the U.S. alone
　　C. to fly across the U.S. from East to West
　　D. to break the first flight record in the world