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I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a major insurance(保险业) company. I told him honestly why I wanted the job----I needed to keep my family in Boston. My wife recently died of a heart attack. A job in Boston would help me reduce some of the extreme trauma (精神创伤) and pain of the loss for my 16-year-old daughter. It was important for me to keep her in her high school. I could still hardly talk about the loss of my wife.

Bruce, the interviewer, was politely empathetic, but he didn't probe any further. He admitted my loss and with great respect, moved on to another subject. After the next round of the interview, Bruce took me to lunch with another person. Then he asked me to take a walk with him. He told me that he, too, had lost his wife. And, like me, he had also been married 20 years and had three children.

In his sharing, I realized that he had experienced the same pain as I had -----a pain that was almost impossible to explain to someone who had not lost a beloved one. He offered his business card and home phone number and suggested that, if I need help or just want someone to talk to, I should feel free to give him a call.

Whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I ever needed help. When he had no idea if we would ever see each other again, he helped our family deal with one of the greatest losses. He turned the normally cold business interview into a caring support for another person in need.  

1.The writer took part in the interview because __________.

A. he had lost his job and wanted to find a new one.

B. he had to support his family in Boston.

C. his wife had recently died of a heart attack.

D. his daughter needed money for schooling.

2.The underlined word "empathetic" in the second paragraph means ____.

A.善良的   B.容易相处的  C.聪明的  D. 同情的

3.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. Bruce invited the writer to lunch later.

B. Bruce shared his life experience with the writer.

C. Bruce was willing to help the writer.

D. Bruce finally gave the job to the writer.

4.We can infer(推断) from the passage that ______.

A. Bruce and the writer saw each other often.

B. the writer got little help from Bruce.

C. the writer learned much from the job interview.

D. the writer had a better life afterwards.

5.What is the best title for the passage?

A. An Act of Kindness     B. A Pleasant Interview  

C. The Same Experience   D. An Important Lesson

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried , the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
◆ One night I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as a head teacher. “ I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences(缺席).” Before he could say another word I choked up(哽咽). And said sadly, “ I love my son. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands.” For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line. The head teacher seriously said, “ Thank you for your time.”
◆ Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. He was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I took part in a parent-teacher meeting.I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turened himself around. On our way home, he said, “ Mum, remember that call from the head teacher last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but I heard what you said, It really hit me how much I was hurting you.That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
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【小题1】Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “withdrawn”?