Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. "Father!" Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room.

"Father! What's that sound? Hassan screamed, his hands outstretched toward Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed and lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by rapid sharp sounds of gunfire. "They're hunting ducks." Ali said in a hoarse voice. "They hunt ducks at night, you know." Don't be afraid.

A siren(汽笛) went off in the distance. Somewhere glass broke and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, jolted from sleep and probably still in their pajamas, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness.

We stayed huddled that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. The end came when Russian tanks were rolling into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting.

Just before sunrise, Baba's car peeled into the driveway. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the doorway and I saw something on his face. Something I didn't recognize right away because I'd never seen it before: fear. "Amir! Hassan!" He cried as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. "They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn't work. I was so worried!"

We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night.

1.Who is the author of the passage?

A. Hassan         B. Ali         C. Baba          D. Amir

2.By saying “they are hunting ducks”, Ali ___________.

A. told the children the truth

B. tried to calm the children

C. played a joke on the children

D. cheered the children up

3.We can infer from the passage that__________.

A. there were thunderstorms that night

B. Afghan children were used to the war

C. that night was the end of people’s peaceful life

D. people on the street shouted and broke the windows

4. From the last sentence of the passage, we know_________.

A. the author was glad to see his father come home safe

B. there was a chance that a world in peace was to come

C. what happened that night seemed nothing to the author

D. Baba’s arms gave the author temporary comfort and joy

By choosing to let go of the past, we sweep out all the ashes that weigh us down and affect every aspect of our health, and our peace of mind.

  My friend Jean was divorced after a thirty-year marriage that produced three daughters, one son and eight grandchildren. Because she actually raised them single-handedly, Jean was hurt and angry that the children didn't take her part after the divorce. For months she refused to attend any family celebration to which her former husband Jim was invited. When I reasoned that her children’s understanding of the relationship with and between the parents was probably altogether different from hers, she stuck to the belief that she was right.

  One day Jean called in tears. “Saturday is my granddaughter's birthday, and I want to be with her, but I can’t bring myself to face my former husband.”  “Jim isn't the problem,” I said gently, “it's false pride. Instead of holding on to the painful past, which is over and done, let the feelings go and get on with your life. You're depriving yourself of the joy of sharing in these important occasions, while Jim feels free to experience them. Tell me, would you rather be right, or be happy?”

  That must have done the trick because when Saturday arrived, Jean appeared at her daughter's home carrying her famous chocolate-chip cookies and a beautiful birthday

cake.

How great it feels to let go! And the more we practice the art of letting go of all negativity, the better able we become to devote our thoughts, our time, and our energy to living joyfully in the present, what ever age we happen to be.

It can be inferred that ____.

   A. Jim did very little to bring up the children during their marriage.

   B. The writer thought Jean and Jim shouldn't have divorced.

   C. The children were on their father's side and didn't invite Jean to any family celebration.

   D. Jean had been too tough on Jim before they divorced.

The underlined phrase “depriving yourself of” is closest in meaning to ____ .

   A. persuading yourself to get              B. taking away from yourself

   C. taking false pride of yourself            D. talking yourself into showing

In the writer's opinion, ____.

A. Jean and Jim should be remarried

B. a broken family could live together in peace

C. to be happy is more meaningful than to be right

D. everyone should look into the future

Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. ‘‘Father!” Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room.

“Father! What’s that sound?” Hassan screamed, his hands outstretched toward Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed and lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by rapid sharp sounds of gunfire.

“They’re hunting ducks, ” Ali said in a hoarse voice. “They hunt ducks at night, you know. Don't be afraid.”

A siren(汽笛）went off in the distance. Somewhere glass broke and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, woken up from sleep. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close and held him with tenderness.

We stayed huddled (蜷缩）that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generations of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of the bombs and gunfire were not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any idea that a way of life had ended. The end came when Russian tanks were rolling into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting.

         Just before the sunrise, Baba’s car pulled into the driveway. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the doorway and I saw something on his face. Something I didn’t recognize right away because I’d never seen it before: fear. “Amir! Hassan!” He cried as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. “They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn’t work. I was so worried!”

We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night.

1.Who is the author of this passage?

A. Amir.                                 B. Ali.                                     C. Baba.                                 D. Hassan.

2.By saying “They’re hunting ducks”, Ali _______.

A. told the children the truth                                          B. played a joke on the children

C. tried to calm the children                                       D. cheered the children up

3.We can infer from the passage that  _______.

A. there were thunderstorms that night                               

B. Afghan children were used to the war

C. people on the street shouted and broke the windows

D. that night was the end of people's peaceful life    

4.From the last sentence of the passage, we know _______.

A. Baba's arms gave the author temporary comfort and joy

B. there was a chance that a world in peace was to come

C. what happened that night seemed nothing to the author

D. the author was glad to see his father come home safe

 By choosing to let go of the past, we sweep out all the ashes that weigh us down and affect every aspect of our health, and our peace of mind.

  My friend Jean was divorced after a thirty-year marriage that produced three daughters, one son and eight grandchildren. Because she actually raised them single-handedly, Jean was hurt and angry that the children didn't take her part after the divorce. For months she refused to attend any family celebration to which her former husband Jim was invited. When I reasoned that her children’s understanding of the relationship with and between the parents was probably altogether different from hers, she stuck to the belief that she was right.

  One day Jean called in tears. “Saturday is my granddaughter's birthday, and I want to be with her, but I can’t bring myself to face my former husband.”  “Jim isn't the problem,” I said gently, “it's false pride. Instead of holding on to the painful past, which is over and done, let the feelings go and get on with your life. You're depriving yourself of the joy of sharing in these important occasions, while Jim feels free to experience them. Tell me, would you rather be right, or be happy?”

  That must have done the trick because when Saturday arrived, Jean appeared at her daughter's home carrying her famous chocolate-chip cookies and a beautiful birthday

cake.

How great it feels to let go! And the more we practice the art of letting go of all negativity, the better able we become to devote our thoughts, our time, and our energy to living joyfully in the present, what ever age we happen to be.

1. It can be inferred that ____.

   A. Jim did very little to bring up the children during their marriage.

   B. The writer thought Jean and Jim shouldn't have divorced.

   C. The children were on their father's side and didn't invite Jean to any family celebration.

   D. Jean had been too tough on Jim before they divorced.

2.The underlined phrase “depriving yourself of” is closest in meaning to ____ .

   A. persuading yourself to get              B. taking away from yourself

   C. taking false pride of yourself            D. talking yourself into showing

3.In the writer's opinion, ____.

A. Jean and Jim should be remarried

B. a broken family could live together in peace

C. to be happy is more meaningful than to be right

D. everyone should look into the future

Something roared like thunder. The earth shook a little and we heard the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. "Father!" Hassan cried. We sprung to our feet and raced out of the living room.

"Father! What's that sound? Hassan screamed, his hands outstretched toward Ali. Ali wrapped his arms around us. A white light flashed and lit the sky in silver. It flashed again and was followed by rapid sharp sounds of gunfire. "They're hunting ducks." Ali said in a hoarse voice. "They hunt ducks at night, you know." Don't be afraid.

A siren(汽笛) went off in the distance. Somewhere glass broke and someone shouted. I heard people on the street, jolted from sleep and probably still in their pajamas, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes. Hassan was crying. Ali pulled him close, clutched him with tenderness.

We stayed huddled that way until the early hours of the morning. The shootings and explosions had lasted less than an hour, but they had frightened us badly, because none of us had ever heard gunshots in the streets. They were foreign sounds to us then. The generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born. Huddled together in the dining room and waiting for the sun to rise, none of us had any notion that a way of life had ended. The end came when Russian tanks were rolling into the very same streets where Hassan and I played, bringing the death of the Afghanistan I knew and marking the start of a still ongoing era of bloodletting.

Just before sunrise, Baba's car peeled into the driveway. His door slammed shut and his running footsteps pounded the stairs. Then he appeared in the doorway and I saw something on his face. Something I didn't recognize right away because I'd never seen it before: fear. "Amir! Hassan!" He cried as he ran to us, opening his arms wide. "They blocked all the roads and the telephone didn't work. I was so worried!"

We let him wrap us in his arms and, for a brief moment, I was glad about whatever had happened that night.

56. Who is the author of the passage?

A. Hassan         B. Ali         C. Baba          D. Amir

57. By saying “they are hunting ducks”, Ali ___________.

A. told the children the truth

B. tried to calm the children

C. played a joke on the children

D. cheered the children up

58. We can infer from the passage that__________.

A. there were thunderstorms that night

B. Afghan children were used to the war

C. that night was the end of people’s peaceful life

D. people on the street shouted and broke the windows

59. From the last sentence of the passage, we know_________.

A. the author was glad to see his father come home safe

B. there was a chance that a world in peace was to come

C. what happened that night seemed nothing to the author

D. Baba’s arms gave the author temporary comfort and joy