“What is the most important thing you’ve done in your life?” The question was put to me during a presentation I gave to a group of lawyers.
The answer came to me in an instant. It’s not the one I gave, because the situation was not right. As a lawyer in the entertainment industry, I knew the audience wanted to hear some amusing stories about my work with well-known people, but here’s the true answer:
The most important thing I’ve ever done occurred on October 8,1990. I began the day playing tennis with an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while. Between points we talked about what had been happening in each other’s lives. He and his wife had just had a baby boy, who was keeping them up at night.
While we were playing, a car came screaming up the road toward the courts. It was my friend’s father, who shouted to my friend that his baby had stopped breathing and was being rushed to the hospital. In a flash my friend was in the car and gone, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
For a moment I just stood there, paralyzed(呆若木鸡). Then I tried to figure out what I should do. Follow my friend to the hospital? There was nothing I could accomplish there, I convinced myself. My friend’s son was in the care of doctors and nurses, and nothing I could do or say would affect the outcome. Be there for moral support? Well, maybe. But my friend and his wife both had large families, and I knew they’d be surrounded by relatives who would provide more than enough comfort and support, whatever happened. All I could do at the hospital, I decided, was to get in the way. Also, I had planned a full day with my family, who were waiting for me to get home. So I decided to head back to my house and check in my friend later.
As I started my car, I realized that my friend had left his truck and keys at the courts. I now faced another problem. I couldn’t leave the keys in the truck. So I decided to go to the hospital and give him the keys.
When I arrived, I was directed to a room where my friend and his wife were waiting. As I had thought, the room was filled with family members silently watching my friend comfort his wife. I went in and stood by the door, trying to decide what to do next. Soon a doctor appeared. He approached my friend and his wife, and in a quiet voice told them that their son had died.
For a long time the two held each other and cried, unaware of the rest of us standing around in pained silence. After they had calmed themselves, the doctor suggested they spend a few moments with their son.
My friend and his wife stood up and walked past their families. When they reached the door, my friend saw me standing in the corner. He came over and hugged me and started to cry. My friend’s wife hugged me, too, and said , “Thanks for being here.”
For the rest of that morning, I sat in the emergency room of that hospital and watched my friend and his wife hold the body of their infant son, and say goodbye.
It’s the most important thing I have ever done. The experience taught me two lessons.
First: The most important thing I’ve ever done happened when I was completely helpless. None of the things I had learned in university, in three years of law school or in six years of legal practice were of any use in that situation. Something terrible was happening to people I cared about, and I was powerless to change the outcome. All I could do was standing by and watching it happen. And yet it was critical that I do just that--- just be there when someone needed me.
Second: The most important thing I’ve done almost didn’t happen because of things I had learned in classroom and professional life. Law school taught me how to take a set of facts, break them down and organized them. These skills are critical for lawyers. When people come to us for help, they’re often stressed out and depend on a lawyer to think logically. But while learning to think, I almost forget how to feel. Today I have no doubt that I should have leapt into my car without hesitation and followed my friend to the hospital.
From that one experience I learned that the most important thing in life isn’t the money you make, the status you attain or the honors you achieve. The most important thing in life is the kids’ team you coach or the poem you write----or the time when you’re just somebody’s friend.
【小题1】 When he was asked about the most important thing he had done in life at a presentation, the author _______.

D
Mike Ingrarn had been a guard the Ohio State football team in the late 1950s．I believe he may have been captain in his senior year．He is a tough - looking guy，a hero in Columbus，a brave fighter in a red—and—gray uniform．  
One holiday season Jack and I had been at the F&R Lazarus department store downtown, and we saw，carrying a tall pile of boxes，someone who clearly was working in the Lazarus stockroom(仓库)．It was, Mike Ingram，post—Ohio state football player．
We stared—how could we help it? And Mike Ingram stopped in his track，looked right back at us，and said，with bite in his tone：“Yeah，it's me．”Meaning：Go ahead and stare if you must．
Couldn’t really blame him．There was nothing wrong with what he was doing——be was earning some money in the stockroom．But he was out in the world now, he wasn't where he had been when everything was bathed in sunlight；he was in Ohio Stadium，hearing the supporting shouts from 78，000 people who loved him and his teammates．He had moved past that trust of life’s roles，as everyone does．It was his misfortune to have，been famous very early；there must have been dozens and dozens of men in their twenties working in the Lazarus stockroom that holiday season，but Mike Ingram was the one sure to attract cnrious passers，because he was no longer who he was supposed to be．
68．When the writer met him in Lazarus，Mike was a           ．
A．salesman             B．manager             C．1aborer           D．customer
69．By saying“how could we help it?”the writer means that          ．
A．he and his friend just can’t force themselves not to look at Mike
B．he wonders whether he and his friend can help Mike
C．he and his friend can’t stop looking at each other
D．he and his friend can do nothing to stop Mike carrying the boxes
70．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Mike used to be very popular when he played in the Ohio State football team．
B．Many other people would stare at Mike like the writer when they run into him．
C．Working as an ordinary worker，according to the writer，is Mike’s misfortune．
D．Some people accept what life gives them．
71．We can infer from the passage that when Mike was stared at，he looked           .
A．nice                   B．worried                     C．shy                 D．unhappy

D

      Mike Ingrarn had been a guard the Ohio State football team in the late 1950s．I believe he may have been captain in his senior year．He is a tough - looking guy，a hero in Columbus，a brave fighter in a red—and—gray uniform．  

      One holiday season Jack and I had been at the F&R Lazarus department store downtown, and we saw，carrying a tall pile of boxes，someone who clearly was working in the Lazarus stockroom(仓库)．It was, Mike Ingram，post—Ohio state football player．

      We stared—how could we help it? And Mike Ingram stopped in his track，looked right back at us，and said，with bite in his tone：“Yeah，it's me．”Meaning：Go ahead and stare if you must．

      Couldn’t really blame him．There was nothing wrong with what he was doing——be was earning some money in the stockroom．But he was out in the world now, he wasn't where he had been when everything was bathed in sunlight；he was in Ohio Stadium，hearing the supporting shouts from 78，000 people who loved him and his teammates．He had moved past that trust of life’s roles，as everyone does．It was his misfortune to have，been famous very early；there must have been dozens and dozens of men in their twenties working in the Lazarus stockroom that holiday season，but Mike Ingram was the one sure to attract cnrious passers，because he was no longer who he was supposed to be．

68．When the writer met him in Lazarus，Mike was a            ．

      A．salesman              B．manager              C．1aborer           D．customer

69．By saying“how could we help it?”the writer means that           ．

      A．he and his friend just can’t force themselves not to look at Mike

      B．he wonders whether he and his friend can help Mike

      C．he and his friend can’t stop looking at each other

      D．he and his friend can do nothing to stop Mike carrying the boxes

70．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

      A．Mike used to be very popular when he played in the Ohio State football team．

      B．Many other people would stare at Mike like the writer when they run into him．

      C．Working as an ordinary worker，according to the writer，is Mike’s misfortune．

      D．Some people accept what life gives them．

71．We can infer from the passage that when Mike was stared at，he looked           .

      A．nice                    B．worried                      C．shy                 D．unhappy

Mike Ingram had been a guard on the Ohio State football team in the late 1950s. I believe he may have been captain in his senior year. He is a tough-looking guy, a hero in Columbus, a brave fighter in a red-and-gray uniform.

One holiday season Jack and I had been at the F & R Lazarus department store downtown, and we saw, carrying a tall pile of boxes, someone who clearly was working in the Lazarus stockroom (仓库). It was Mike Ingram, post-Ohio State football player.

We stared—how could we help it? And Mike Ingram stopped in his track, looked right back at us, and said, with bite in his tone:” Yeah, it’s me.” Meaning: Go ahead and stare if you must.

Couldn’t really blame him. There was nothing wrong with what he was doing--- he was earning some money in the stockroom. But he was out in the world now, he wasn’t where he had been when everything was bathed in sunlight ; he was in Ohio Stadium, hearing the supporting shouts from 78,000 people who loved him and his teammates. He had moved past that first of life’s roles, as everyone does. It was his misfortune to have been famous very early; there must have been dozens and dozens of men in their twenties working in the Lazarus stockroom that holiday season, but Mike Ingram was the one sure to attract curious passers, because he was no longer who he was supposed to be.

1．When the writer met him in Lazarus, Mike was a __________.

A．salesman              B．manager            C．laborer                D．customer

2．By saying “how could we help it?” the writer means that __________.

A．he and his friend just can’t force themselves not to look at Mike

B．he wonders whether he and his friend can help Mike

C．he and his friend can’t stop looking at each other

D．he and his friend can do nothing to stop Mike carrying the boxes

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

A．Mike used to be very popular when he played in the Ohio State football team.

B．Many other people would stare at Mike like the writer when they run into him.

C．Working as an ordinary worker, according to the writer, is Mike’s misfortune.

D．Some people accept what life gives them.

4．We can infer from the passage that when Mike was stared at, he looked __________.

A．nice                     B．worried               C．shy                     D． unhappy

阅读理解

　　If it Takes Kate twenty seconds to add 12 and 26, while Terry can do the sum in a quarter of the time on his pocket calculator, how much better grades will Terry get than Kate in the maths exam?

　　Pocket calculators are as cheap to buy as a pair of shoes, and as necessary to thousands of school children as a pencil and an eraser. Schools have tried to limit their use, by allowing them in science lessons, to save time, but by not allowing them to be used in maths classes. When children do their homework, a pocket calculator is a must. Nowadays in Britain, calculators can be used freely in school examinations, and already in many schools the only sound to he heard during a maths examination is the sound of children tapping out their answers.

　　Many parents feel that their children are being given a basic understanding of the facts of maths. “The process(过程)of addition, subtraction(减), multiplication, and division (除) is part of a training in logic (逻辑) which is important for every child. It teaches them to take the series of steps necessary in coming to a conclusion, ”says a local maths teacher. “With a calculator, the child can reach a right answer, but have no idea at all how he gets there. ”

　　Another teacher in the same school disagreed.

　　“Of course, the children understand the principles(原则) behind what they do on the calculator. It makes no difference to the mental processes they go through, except to make them much faster, and less boring. ”

　　“It's far easier to teach them to gasp the idea d division and multiplication by making them understand which button they need to push than to talk about apples being cut in pieces, ”said another teacher, who uses calculator to keep the interest of his class.

　　In any case, the pocket calculator is here to stay: it's taking them too much hard work out of mental arithmetic(算术) in all sorts of ways,. ..

1．From the passage we can know that ________.

[　　]

A．in Britain pupils are encouraged by schools to use pocket calculators

B．parents use the calculators to keep the interest of their children

C．people have different opinions on whether pocket calculators should be used in maths classes

D．all the teaches agree that pocket calculators should be used in classes but not in school examinations

2．As a local maths teacher says, children can reach the right answer with a calculator, but they ________.

[　　]

A．really don't know how they can get better grades

B．have no idea how to use the calculator properly

C．can't understand whether the answer is right

D．don't know how they get it

3．Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Calculators used to be as cheap as a pair of shoes.

B．Some schools don't allow the students to use pocket calculators in maths class.

C．How to add, divide, subtract and multiply is a question of maths.

D．It's easy to calculate with a calculator.

4．The author stands for the opinion that ________.

[　　]

A．students should be allowed to use pocket calculators freely except in maths classes

B．since the pocket calculator has been invented, it should be made use of

C．pocket calculators shouldn't be used by students in maths classes