There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy son. The businessman wanted his son to realize the value of labour and said：“Today，I want you to go out and earn something，failing which you won’t have your meals tonight.”

He went crying straight to his mother. Her heart melted at her son’s eyes. She gave him a gold coin. When the father asked his son what he had earned，the son presented him the gold coin. The father asked him to throw it into a well.

The next day. he asked his son to earn something. This time he went crying lo his sister who gave him a coin. When he showed it to his father he again asked him to throw it in a well. Then the father asked him to earn more money.

This time since there was no one to help him，the son was forced to go to the market. One shopkeeper told him he would pay him two coins if he carried his trunk to his house. He did so and sweated plenty. As he returned home he was asked to do the same. The son almost cried out. He could not imagine throwing his hard―earned money like this. He cried,“My entire body is aching. You are asking me to throw the money into the well. “

At this moment，the businessman told him one feels the pain only when the fruit s of hard labour are wasted. On the earlier two occasions he was helped and therefore had no pain in throwing the coins into the well. The son had now realized the value of hard work. He promised never to be lazy and to safely keep the father’s wealth. The father handed over the keys of his shop to the son and promised to guide him through the rest of the life.

56. Which of the following is TRUE'?

A. At first the son was hard-working and responsible.

B. The father taught his son a lesson in a good way.

C. The father didn’t like his son at a11.

D. The businessman was a little lazy.

57. According to the passage，the father wanted his son to realize    .

A. the importance of helping others                   B. the importance of money

C. the value of hard labour                               D. the value of money

58. It can be inferred from the passage that

A. the mother was very generous

B. the sister was very warm―hearted

C. the father was very strict

D. the shopkeeper was very cruel

59. According to the last paragraph，we can guess the boy was likely to        .

A. look for a good job                                       B. use up his father’s wealth

C. become a successful guide                            D. follow his father’s career

In the kitchen of my mother's houses there has always been a wooden stand with a small notepad and a hole for a pencil.
I'm looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can't be the same pencil. The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.
"I'm just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years." I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. "You still use a pencil. Can't you afford a pen?"
My mother replies a little sharply. "It works perfectly well; I've always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days. "
Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, "One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on."
This story, which happened before I was born, reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible exhibits at every meal.
【小题1】Why has the author's mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

In the kitchen of my mother's houses there has always been a wooden stand with a small notepad and a hole for a pencil.

I'm looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can't be the same pencil. The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.

"I'm just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years." I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. "You still use a pencil. Can't you afford a pen?"

My mother replies a little sharply. "It works perfectly well; I've always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days. "

Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, "One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on."

This story, which happened before I was born, reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible exhibits at every meal.

1.Why has the author's mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

2.What is the author's original opinion about the wooden stand?

3.The author feels embarrassed for____________.

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

In the kitchen of my mother's houses there has always been a wooden stand with a small notepad and a hole for a pencil.
I'm looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can't be the same pencil. The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one.
"I'm just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years." I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. "You still use a pencil. Can't you afford a pen?"
My mother replies a little sharply. "It works perfectly well; I've always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days. "
Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, "One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on."
This story, which happened before I was born, reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible exhibits at every meal.

1. 1.

   Why has the author's mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

   1. A.
      To leave messages.
   2. B.
      To list her everyday tasks.
   3. C.
      To note down math problems.
   4. D.
      To write down a flash of inspiration.
2. 2.

   What is the author's original opinion about the wooden stand?

   1. A.
      It has great value for the family.
   2. B.
      It needs to be replaced.
   3. C.
      It brings her back to her lonely childhood.
   4. D.
      It should be passed on to the next generation.
3. 3.

   The author feels embarrassed for____________.

   1. A.
      blaming her mother wrongly
   2. B.
      giving her mother a lot of trouble
   3. C.
      not making good use of time as her mother did
   4. D.
      not making any breakthrough in her field
4. 4.

   What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      The mother is successful in her career.
   2. B.
      The family members like traveling.
   3. C.
      The author had little time to play when young.
   4. D.
      The marks on the breadboard have disappeared.

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand (木架) with a small notepad (记事本)　and a hole for a pencil.
I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother. Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did. Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely  the original one.
“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years.” I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil. “You still use a pencil. Can’t you afford a pen?”
My mother replies a little sharply. “It works perfectly  well. I’ve  always kept the stand in the kitchen. I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in those days.”
Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently. My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty. One of the children must have taken the paper. So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back. It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on.”
This story—which happened before I was born—reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is, as a gifted mathematician. I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work. Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards. Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics. Those symbols have travelled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible (看不到的) exhibits at every meal

1. 1.

   Why has the author’s mother always kept the notepad and pencil in the kitchen?

   1. A.
      To leave messages
   2. B.
      To list her everyday tasks
   3. C.
      To note down maths problems
   4. D.
      To write down a flash of inspiration
2. 2.

   What is the author’s original opinion about the wooden stand?

   1. A.
      It has great value for the family
   2. B.
      It needs to be replaced by a better one
   3. C.
      It brings her back to her lonely childhood
   4. D.
      It should be passed on to the next generation
3. 3.

   The author feels embarrassed for             

   1. A.
      blaming her mother wrongly
   2. B.
      giving her mother a lot of trouble
   3. C.
      not making good use of time as her mother did
   4. D.
      not making any breakthrough in her field
4. 4.

   What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      The mother is successful in her career
   2. B.
      The family members like travelling
   3. C.
      The author had little time to play when young
   4. D.
      The marks on the breadboard have disappeared
5. 5.

   In the author’s mind, her mother is             

   1. A.
      strange in behaviour
   2. B.
      keen on her research
   3. C.
      fond of collecting old things
   4. D.
      careless about her appearance