Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.

 I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception（接收）.

 My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.

 In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell how my playpen（婴儿圈栏）sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".

As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit the farm every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle（喧闹）of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.

Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.

My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.

Then the radio announcer of this oldie station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves. “Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower...”.

1.The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that

    ________.

A. it was too cold and quiet

B. she could only sing one song on the small farm

C. there was nothing more that could make her excited

D. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat

2.From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.

    A. passed away four years ago

 B. left the small farm with Lord

C. left for Lord to live her own way

    D. preferred to be with Lord

3.The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.

A. recalled       B. comforted       C. shouted        D. sighed

4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage _______.

A. The writer was able to sing before she could speak.

B. The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city.

C. The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower".

D. The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse.

5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______

A. Cherish life                      B. My happy childhood

C. Our small farmhouse               D. Mom’s music

My earliest memory of dad is grabbing（抓住）his hand while we walked together. As I grew older, I remember my father and I listening to basketball games on the radio. I always fell asleep   35  the game was over. When I woke up in the morning, the score sheet with the   36  score on it would be lying next to me. I’ll always remember that.

On cold mornings my father would bring his bread truck by the house. I used to ride on the floor of that bread truck as he delivered（分送）the bread to the stores. The   37  and the warmth from the bread made my mouth water and kept me warm. I’ll always remember that.

My father would be present at all my games. One night before an important game my father told me   38  that he wouldn’t be able to watch the game because he had to deliver the bread and it was a three-hour   39 . The next day as the game drew near I thought about my dad. I happened to look across the field and   40  saw his bread truck pulling into the stadium. He managed to   41  the game. I’ll always remember that.

Years later I had become a   42 . I’ll never forget the voice on the phone early one morning telling me dad had just been killed in a traffic accident. I could hear my heart   43  in my ears. I   44  the phone and went back to my bedroom. After that nothing really   45  to me. I still taught in school but I couldn’t centre attention on my teaching. One day I was on the playground when a little boy walked up to me and grabbed my hand. His hand held mine the same way I used to hold my father’s by the last two fingers. At that moment I found my   46  in life again. You see even though my father was gone, he left something with me. He left me his smile, compassion and touch. My purpose was to use those gifts as he did. From that day on I started. I’ll always remember that!

This Thursday, across the US, kids are skipping school(缺课)and going to work with their parents. They’ll be making copies, sending faxes(传真)and sweeping floors. This is because April 28 is Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day all over the US. This holiday shows kids what it means to be a grown-up in the working world.
I still remember when this day started, I was very happy. Not only did I have the chance to miss school, but I also got to sit in my dad’s taxi all day long and we would go to a restaurant for lunch.
But after only 20 minutes of driving around the city. I was very bored. I couldn’t read my book in the car as I would get carsick(晕车)and my dad didn’t like to turn on the radio. I got hot and uncomfortable. people wouldn’t get into his taxi because they thought he already had a passenger: me—so nothing happened. It seemed years before we went out for lunch. I actually started to miss school.
While the point of the day is to give kids a chance to experience real-life jobs and give them an idea of the possibilities(可能性) for their futures, I got something completely different from the day. I learned to appreciate(重视) school. Where else do you get to play with your friends, do science experiments, read great books and write stories all in one day?
Just as you’ll have to learn to love your job later in life, learn to love school now. If you don’t already, try spending the day at work with your dad.
【小题1】When is the “Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day”all over the US?

I liked listening to the radio when I was young . I grew with the radio . I remember my grandparents had a small black radio when I was a little child . Every day at 6:00pm we listened to stories and had supper. There was a long story , but we could only hear a small part of it ----just 30minutes every day. It might take a few months to finish all the story . We listened to the story every night . And never got tired of it .

But as I grew older, I wanted to watch news reports on TV. I don’t want to listen to the radio any more. However my grandparents still want to listen to it . We have to have the radio and TV on at the same time. I watch TV and they listen to their stories on the radio.

根据短文内容判断正误，正确的在括号内填A，错误的在括号内填B。

1.My grandparents had a small red radio.

2.Every day we listened to the stories at 6:00pm when I was a little child.

3.We could listen to the radio only 30minutes every day.

4.Now I like listen to the stories on the radio and my grandparents like watching TV.

5.My grandparents don’t want to listen to the radio any more.