My father died in December. He had spent the last several years in hospital, and my mother spent a lot of her time        him. That is without doubt, a      situation for any family. And the       was a team of fairly frustrated family members.

My biggest frustration was trying to        why he didn’t make choices that would       him to be involved more fully in the lives of his grandchildren. Yet he      each and every one of them. Every morning he asked my mother which of his grandbabies was going to       that day. He had frequent visits from his collection of loving grandkids. Kids would have the place      up instantly—toys everywhere, cushions off the couches and the TV channel       to their station. Every visit was a kid invasion into his space. Interestingly, he was not at all bothered by the       or chaos at all. He was never       with them and he certainly never shouted at any child. Visits ended with       and kisses.

I felt that relationship wasn’t good enough because he didn’t actually do anything        my children. My dad didn’t read to the children, and certainly        played a board game or did a puzzle with them. He didn’t take them out for        or do any of the other things I saw active grandparents doing with their grandchildren. It made me sad that he was        to get on with the kids.

A couple of weeks after his death, my 9-year-old daughter turned up in my bedroom at midnight to share a

       of him done by herself. Included in the picture were several messages and        —one for each day since he had died. The most striking one to me was“I loved EVERYTHING about you, Grandpa”.

Apparently, I was       . All that time I thought he wasn’t doing anything with his grandchildren, but he was very actively doing the thing that was most        to them. He loved them. And it was all they needed.

1.A. preparing for               B. taking care of                  C. believing in                      D. looking forward to

2.A. personal                       B. boring                               C. difficult                   D. dangerous

3.A. result                                      B. solution                            C. reward                             D. review

4.A. explain                          B. describe                           C. accept                              D. understand  

5.A. expect                          B. allow                                 C. force                                 D. persuade

6.A. respected                    B. ignored                            C. loved                                D. blamed

7.A. leave                             B. cry                                     C. visit                                   D. perform

8.A. set                                 B. messed                   C. given                                 D. lit

9.A. introduced                            B. switched                          C. pointed                            D. checked

10.A. impression                 B. alarm                                C. expression                       D. noise

11.A. careful                        B. intelligent                        C. inconvenient                   D. impatient

12.A. tears                                     B. quarrels                          C. tricks                                 D. hugs

13.A. to                                 B. with                                   C. at                                  D. on

14.A. frequently                 B. always                               C. never                                D. occasionally

15.A. walks                           B. books                                C. jokes                                 D. interests

16.A. hoping                        B. offering                            C. failing                                D. promising

17.A. dream                         B. plan                                   C. story                                 D. drawing

18.A. statements                 B. photos                              C. suggestions                      D. problems

19.A. guilty                           B. rude                                  C. wrong                               D. firm

20.A. honest                        B. important                         C. normal                              D. equal

My father died in December. He had spent the last several years in hospital, and my mother spent a lot of her time 1 him. That is without doubt, a2situation for any family. And the 3 was a team of fairly frustrated family members.
My biggest frustration was trying to 4 why he didn’t make choices that would 5him to be involved more fully in the lives of his grandchildren. Yet he6each and every one of them. Every morning he asked my mother which of his grandbabies was going to 7that day. He had frequent visits from his collection of loving grandkids. Kids would have the place8up instantly—toys everywhere, cushions off the couches and the TV channel 9to their station. Every visit was a kid invasion into his space. Interestingly, he was not at all bothered by the10 or chaos at all. He was never 11with them and he certainly never shouted at any child. Visits ended with 12and kisses.
I felt that relationship wasn’t good enough because he didn’t actually do anything 13 my children. My dad didn’t read to the children, and certainly 14 played a board game or did a puzzle with them. He didn’t take them out for 15 or do any of the other things I saw active grandparents doing with their grandchildren. It made me sad that he was 16 to get on with the kids.
A couple of weeks after his death, my 9-year-old daughter turned up in my bedroom at midnight to share a
17 of him done by herself. Included in the picture were several messages and 18 —one for each day since he had died. The most striking one to me was“I loved EVERYTHING about you, Grandpa”.
Apparently, I was 19. All that time I thought he wasn’t doing anything with his grandchildren, but he was very actively doing the thing that was most 20 to them. He loved them. And it was all they needed.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      preparing for
   2. B.
      taking care of
   3. C.
      believing in
   4. D.
      looking forward to
2. 2.
   1. A.
      personal
   2. B.
      boring
   3. C.
      difficult
   4. D.
      dangerous
3. 3.
   1. A.
      result
   2. B.
      solution
   3. C.
      reward
   4. D.
      review
4. 4.
   1. A.
      explain
   2. B.
      describe
   3. C.
      accept
   4. D.
      understand
5. 5.
   1. A.
      expect
   2. B.
      allow
   3. C.
      force
   4. D.
      persuade
6. 6.
   1. A.
      respected
   2. B.
      ignored
   3. C.
      loved
   4. D.
      blamed
7. 7.
   1. A.
      leave
   2. B.
      cry
   3. C.
      visit
   4. D.
      perform
8. 8.
   1. A.
      set
   2. B.
      messed
   3. C.
      given
   4. D.
      lit
9. 9.
   1. A.
      introduced
   2. B.
      switched
   3. C.
      pointed
   4. D.
      checked
10. 10.
    1. A.
       impression
    2. B.
       alarm
    3. C.
       expression
    4. D.
       noise
11. 11.
    1. A.
       careful
    2. B.
       intelligent
    3. C.
       inconvenient
    4. D.
       impatient
12. 12.
    1. A.
       tears
    2. B.
       quarrels
    3. C.
       tricks
    4. D.
       hugs
13. 13.
    1. A.
       to
    2. B.
       with
    3. C.
       at
    4. D.
       on
14. 14.
    1. A.
       frequently
    2. B.
       always
    3. C.
       never
    4. D.
       occasionally
15. 15.
    1. A.
       walks
    2. B.
       books
    3. C.
       jokes
    4. D.
       interests
16. 16.
    1. A.
       hoping
    2. B.
       offering
    3. C.
       failing
    4. D.
       promising
17. 17.
    1. A.
       dream
    2. B.
       plan
    3. C.
       story
    4. D.
       drawing
18. 18.
    1. A.
       statements
    2. B.
       photos
    3. C.
       suggestions
    4. D.
       problems
19. 19.
    1. A.
       guilty
    2. B.
       rude
    3. C.
       wrong
    4. D.
       firm
20. 20.
    1. A.
       honest
    2. B.
       important
    3. C.
       normal
    4. D.
       equal

When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. It was far more heartbreaking than I’d expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment. There were so many things to deal with. It all seemed endless. I was lonely. I hated the silence of the apartment.
But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell sound asleep.
The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been abandoned by his owner who’s moved out. So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him. Having something else to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he had no intention of going anywhere. I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father’s best friend.
From then on, things grew easier. With Willis in my lap time seemed to pass much more quickly. When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.
It’s now been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat. But I know that we rescued each other. I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.
【小题1】 When the author first saw the cat, she_____________.

When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. It was far more heartbreaking than I’d expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment. There were so many things to deal with. It all seemed endless. I was lonely. I hated the silence of the apartment.

But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell sound asleep.

The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been abandoned by his owner who’s moved out. So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him. Having something else to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he had no intention of going anywhere. I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father’s best friend.

From then on, things grew easier. With Willis in my lap time seemed to pass much more quickly. When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.

It’s now been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat. But I know that we rescued each other. I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.

1. When the author first saw the cat, she_____________.

   A. was very happy                  B. felt sympathy for him

   C. didn’t know what to do         D. was angry with his crying

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph implies that the author___________.

   A. needed something to fill the empty apartment

   B. was too busy and tired to keep a cat

   C. loved to stay alone in the apartment

   D. needed something to take care of to kill time

3. The cat rescued the author by ____________.

  A. making her feel better in her hard times

  B. giving her courage to go on with her life

   C. helping her tidy the department

  D. telling her what life is

4. We can learn form the passage that _________.

   A. Willis was named after his previous owner

   B. Willis didn’t like staying in the apartment

  C. the author and Willis were both homeless

  D. time passed quickly after the author adopted Willis

5. What’s the best title for the passage?

   A. A little cat                         B. A painful experience

   C. How to take care of animals          D. What I got from a little cat