I recall my mother’s voice which called me to order, and often ended with some strong proverb to express the gravity of the wrong done. It was common practice for my mother to send me off soul-searching with a proverb.

Of the many interactions I had with my mother those many years ago, one stands out with clarity. I remember the occasion when Mother sent me to the main road, about twenty yards away from the farmhouse, to invite a passing group of seasonal work-seekers home for a meal. She instructed me to take a container along and collect dry cow dung (牛粪) for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work-seekers.       

The thought of making an open fire outside at midday, cooking in a large three-legged pot in that high heat, was enough to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother, and after serving the group, she called me to the balcony, where she usually sat to attend to her sewing (缝纫).

Looking straight into my eyes, she said, “Tsholofelo, why were you so unhappy when I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?” Despite my attempt to deny her allegation (断言), and using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my alleged behavior, Mother, giving me a firm look, said, “A foot has no nose.” It means, “You can’t detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.” Had I denied the group of people a meal, it may have happened that, in my travels some time in the future, I found myself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame me, Mother continued, “A person is a person because of another person.”   

1.We learn from the passage that Tsholofelo’s mother often _____.   

A. quoted proverbs when she was talking with others

B. asked Tsholofelo to read more proverbs

C. collected proverbs in her spare time                

D. used proverbs to teach Tsholofelo

2.What was Tsholofelo’s attitude towards the meal?

A. Unwilling.           B. Interested.      C. Critical.  D.Unconcerned.    

3.The atmosphere on the balcony was probably _____.

A. very strange         B. a bit tense           C. quite lively   D. pretty relaxed 

4.According to the passage, Tsholofelo’s mother seemed to hope Tsholofelo could be _____.    

A. flexible and creative    B. sincere and honest  

C. active and confident     D. sympathetic and helpful

Susan Williams went to a boarding（寄膳宿）school. Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school.

Dear Mom and Dad，

I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school headmaster is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.

The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed. This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.

As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away. Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste­paper basket, which caught fire. There was a curtain near the waste­paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning. The headmaster phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the firefighters arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.

The headmaster says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

I am very sorry about this.

Much love, Susan.

P. S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams, I just want you to know how bad things could have been！

51. In this letter Susan wanted　　　　.

A. to tell her parents about the fire

B. to ask for a million dollars

C. to tell her parents she had failed her exams

D. to tell her parents she had to leave school

52. The headmaster might be angry with Susan because　　　　.

A. she had failed her exams

B. she had been caught smoking in bed

C. she had not phoned for the fire department in time

D. it was her fault that the school had caught fire

53. Susan told her parents about the fire　　　　.

A. to warn them about what the headmaster would do

B. to make them less angry at her real news

C. to make them feel worried

D. to make them laugh

My First Trip in the United States
I still remember my first day in the U. S. very clearly. My friend was waiting for me when my plane   36  at Kennedy Airport at three o’clock in the afternoon. The weather was very  37 and it was snowing, but I was too excited to   38  . From the airport, my friend and I took a taxi to my    39   .On the way, I saw the skyline of Manhattan for the   40  time and I looked in surprise at the famous skyscrapers（摩天大楼） and their man-made   41  .  42   me unpack at the hotel, my friend left and promised to return the next day.
  43  my friend had left, I went to a   44   near the hotel to get something   45    . Since I couldn’t speak a single word of English, I couldn’t tell the    46   what I wanted. I was very worried and started to make some   47   ,but he didn’t understand me. Finally, I ordered the    48  thing as the man at the next table was   49   . After dinner, I started to walk along Broadway   50   I came to Times Square with its theatres, neon lights, and crowds of people. I did not feel tired, so I   51  to walk around the city. I wanted to see   52  on my first day, although I knew it was impossible.
When I returned to the hotel, I couldn’t fall asleep, lay    53  and thought about New York. It was a very big and amazing city with many high-rise buildings and streams of cars, and full of   54  and busy people. I also decided right then that I had to learn to    55  .

  I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.

    I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism（乐观）, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”

    My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers（移民局官员）, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

How did the author get to know America?

A. From radio programs          B. From books and pictures                     

C. From her mother              D. From her relatives

Upon leaving for America the author felt __________.

A. excited          B. confused          C. worried          D. amazed

For the first two years in New York, the author __________.

A. often lost her way       

B. did not think about her future

C. studied in three different schools    

D. got on well with her stepfather

What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

A. She worked as a translator.

B. She attended a lot of job interviews.

C. She paid telephone bills for her family.

D. She helped her family with her English.

The author believes that __________.

A. her future will be free from troubles

B. it is difficult to learn to become patient

C. there are more good things than bad things

D. good things will happen if one keeps trying      

_____ it is a good thing I did not get the post I had applied for, though I must admit that I was disappointed at the time.