Linda Evans was my best friend—like the sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding.

When I was 13, my fami1y moved away. Linda and I kept in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special times—like my wedding and Linda’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back, stamped“Address Unknown”. I had no idea about how to find Linda.

Over the years, I missed Linda very much. I wanted to share happiness of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Linda could fill.

One day, I was reading a newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked very much like Linda and whose last name was Wagman—Linda’s married name.“There must be thousands of Wagmans.”I thought, but I still wrote to her.

She called as soon as she got my letter.“Mrs. Tobin!”she said excitedly,“Linda Evans Wagman is my mother.”

Minutes later I heard a voice that I recognized at once, even after 40 years. We laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives. Now the empty place in my heart is fil1ed. And there’s one thing that Linda and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!

1.The writer went to piano lessons with Linda Evans      .

A. at the age of 13

B. before she got married

C. before the writer’s family moved away

D. after they moved to new homes

2.They didn’t often write to each other because they      .

A. got married

B. had little time to do so

C. didn’t like writing letters

D. could see each other on special times

3.There was an empty place in the writer’s heart because she      .

A. was in trouble

B. didn’t know Linda’s address

C. received the card that she sent

D. didn’t have a friend like Linda

4.The writer was happy when she      .

A. read the newspaper

B. heard Linda’s voice on the phone

C. met a young woman who looked a lot like Linda

D. wrote to the woman whose 1ast name was Wagman

5.They haven’t kept in touch      .

A. for about 40 years

B. for about 27 years

C. since they got married

D. since the writer’s family moved away

The friendship between us never fades. Mary Allen was my best friend—like a sister I never had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, horseback riding, and so on.
When I was 13, my family moved. Mary and I   36  in touch through letters, and we saw each other on special  37  — like my wedding and Mary’s. Soon we were  38  with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less. One day a card that I sent came back,  39  “Address Unknown.” I had no idea how to   40   Mary.
Over the years, I thought of Mary often. I wanted to  41  stories of my children and then grandchildren. I need to share my   42 when my brother and then my mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Mary could  43 .
One day I was reading a newspaper   44  I notice a picture of a young woman who looked a lot like Mary and whose last name was Wagman— Mary’s married name. “There must be thousands of Wagmans,” I thought,  45 I wrote to her anyway.
She called as soon as she got my letter. “Mrs. Tobin!” she said excitedly, “Mary Allen Wagman is my mother”. Minutes later I heard a voice that I  46   at once, even after 40 years. We laughed and cried and asked about each other’s   47  .
Now the empty place in my heart is filled, and there is one thing that Mary and I know for sure: We won’t lose each other again!

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to play the character of Ronald McDonald for the McDonald's Corporation.

One day each month，we visited hospitals bringing a little happiness to the children there. But there were two rules placed on me during a visit. First, I could not go anywhere in the hospital  without permission. And second, I could not physically touch anyone within the hospital. They did not want me to carry germs(细菌)from one patient to another. Breaking either of these rules, I was told, I could lose my job. One day, as I was heading down a hallway and on my way home, I heard a little voice coming through a half­opened door，“Ronald，Ronald.”

I stepped in and saw a boy，about five years old, lying in his dad's arms, Mom with a nurse on the other side. I knew by the feeling in the room that the situation was grave. I asked his name. He told me it was Billy and that I did a few simple magic tricks for him. As I stepped back to say good­bye, he asked me “Ronald, would you hold me？”

At such a simple request, my heart was screaming, “Yes！”But my mind was screaming louder. “No！You are going to lose your job！”

 “Hold me” was such a simple request, and yet I searched for any reasonable excuses that allowed me to leave, but none. It took me a moment to realize that in this situation, losing my job may not be the disaster I feared. Then, I picked up this little boy. He was so weak and so scared. We laughed and cried for 45 minutes. With tears in my eyes, I left them. Less than 48 hours later, I received a phone call from Billy's mom that Billy had passed away. She and her husband simply wanted to thank me for making a difference in their little boy's life.

Billy's mom told me shortly after I left the room. Billy looked at her and said, “Momma, I don't care any more if I see Santa this year because I was held by Ronald McDonald.”

For the record, McDonald's Corporation did find it out, but, given the situation，permitted me to go on with my job. I continued as Ronald for another year before leaving the corporation to share the story of Billy and how important it is to take risks.

1. The underlined word “grave” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

     A. weak     B. serious   C. interesting   D. exciting

2.When Billy asked the author to hold him, at first the author ________.

     A. was unwilling to do so      B. was glad to do so

     C. hesitated to do so          D. hurried to do so

3.What lesson did the author draw from his experience?

     A. To amuse others is enjoyable.       B. To take risks is important.

     C. To break rules is necessary.         D. To be fired is not fearful.

4. We learn from the story that ________.

     A.the author left the corporation because he broke the rules

     B.the author left the corporation because he didn't like the rules

     C.the boy was quite happy with the experience with the author

     D.the boy was quite happy with Santa at Christmas

Chuck was thirteen when he came home from the hospital. He came home not because he was getting better but because he wanted to be with people he knew and loved when he died. I came by the house to visit him and his family several times a week during his treatment. On most of my visits, Chuck was very weak. But the last time I saw him alive, he was awake. “I have got something for you.” He pulled out a piece of crumpled (弄皱的) paper from under his pillow. “I want you to give this to my mom and dad after I die. You’ll know when it’s right, I guess, won’t you?”

 “What is it?” I asked. “It’s a list of all the fun we had, and all the happy time when we laughed.” I almost gasped in great surprise.

 “Like what?” I asked quietly, trying to regain my calmness.

 “Like the time when Mom, Dad, Chrissie, Linda and me were dressed up as fruits and Dad was driving us to a costume party. Dad was a bunch of grapes and I was an apple, and the others were different things like bananas and pears.”

 And a policewoman pulled Dad over for speeding. When the policewoman came up to the car, she looked and started laughing so hard that she could hardly stand up. And we all started laughing and she said, “Where are you all heading — a salad bar?” Dad said he was sorry to be speeding, but his kids were getting so ripe（成熟的） that they were starting to draw flies. And she laughed till she had to take off her dark glasses and wiped tears from her eyes.”

 Chuck laughed and so did I. The list was full of laughing and fun. What a wonderful gift, I thought.

1.Why did Chuck go home from the hospital?

A. He had been cured by the doctors.

B. He got better and better.

C. He missed his friends and teachers.

D. He wanted to be with people who he knew and loved when he died.

2. What did Chuck write on the list?

A. What to do after his death.     B. His thoughts about fear, anger and disappointment.

C. What to do before his death.     D. All the happy time he had with his family.

3. Why did the policewoman laugh when she looked into the car?

A. Because she mistook the children for fruits.

B. Because she saw some flies around the children.

C. Because she was frightened.

D. Because the children were dressed in a funny way.

4. The underlined expression “pulled Dad over” probably here means “________”.

A. stopped Dad              B. punished Dad

C. put Dad into prison      D. knocked Dad down

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled，little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said，“Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I' m eighty－seven years old. Can I give you a hug？”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may.”and she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age？”I asked. She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple of children，and then retire and travel.”“No，seriously？”I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

 “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one. ”she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk- shake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always attracted listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

 Over the course of the year，Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium(讲台). As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her 3x5 cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said，“I'm sorry I'm so nervous. I gave up beer for Lent(一种威士忌的牌子)  and this whisky is killing me. I'll never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success.” “You have to laugh and find humor every day.” You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams，you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it.” “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing，you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty－seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty－eight. Anybody can grow older. It’s non-optional but that doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.” “Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.” She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it! These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

1.The writer provides the details about Rose in Paragraph 2 to show that_______.

A. she was an innocent and enthusiastic person

B. she was an optimistic and humorous person

C. she was an aggressive person with a strong sense of honor

D. she was an intelligent person with highly motivated personality

2.Why does the writer compare Rose to “time machine” in Paragraph 3?

A. To describe the friendship between Rose and her young schoolmates.

B. To stress her old age and rich wisdom and experience.

C. To show that she enjoyed dressing up in spite of her old age.

D. To emphasize that she took on the challenge at such an old age.

3.Which of the following best explains the sentence ”We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing”(Paragraph 6)?

A. “If we lose our dreams, we will regret for what we did when young.”

B. “If we don’t laugh every day, we will easily get old.”

C. “Once we stop seeking and working for our dreams, we will really become old.”

D. “Once we stop exercising, we will get weaker physically and mentally.”

4.It can be inferred from Paragraph 6 that________.

A. those who don’t have dreams are as good as dead

B. growing old is uncontrollable but growing up is optional

C. the elderly usually feel regretful for what they did

D. our talent and ability decline with age

5.The method the writer uses to describe the character of Rose is________.

A. making comments               B. making comparisons

C. providing arguments             D. giving examples

6.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Meeting challenges            B. Secrets to success

C. Dream in heart                D. My best friend