Once upon a time a man became a great archer(射手).He asked the king to declare him as the greatest archer of the country. The king was about to do so when an old servant of the king said，“Wait，sir.I know an old man who lives in the forest. He is a much greater archer. Let this young man go to him and learn from him for at least three years.”
The man could not believe that there could be a greater archer than him，but he went and found the old man and he was! For three years he learned from him.Then one day，when he thought he had learned everything，the thought arose in him：“If I kill this old man，then I will be the greatest archer.”
The old man had gone to cut wood and he was coming back carrying wood on his shoulder. The young man hid behind a tree,waiting to kill him. He shot an arrow(箭). The old man took a small piece of wood and threw it.It struck the arrow and the arrow turned back and wounded the young man.The old man came，took out the arrow and said.“I knew that some day or other you were going to do this. That’s why I have not taught you this secret. There is no need to kill me. My master is still alive,and I’m nothing before him. You must be with him for at least thirty years. And he is very old，So go fast! Find the old man!”
【小题1】The underlined word in the 1st paragraph is closest in meaning to “_______________ ”.

Once there was a father and a son. They were ill-tempered(坏脾气的) and never gave way to others.
One day the father decided to _46___some friends to dinner in his house. He __47____ his son to buy some meat in town. When the son got _48____his father wanted, he turned back and walked towards the town gate. Just then a man was coming from the outside. The gate wasn’t __49___enough to let two men in and out at the same time. But __ 50 of them would give way to the other. They___51___ straight face to face inside the gate hour after hour. But the father was worried. " What shall I do? My son hasn’t____52___ yet. I can’t wait any longer.” He wanted to know what the ___53____ with his son was. So he left his friends at home, and he himself went to the town to look for his son.
“You may first take the ___54_____ home for my friends. Let me stand here against him ____55____.” He said to his son when he knew what had happened.

Do you often think of your parents? You may say, “Of course, I     31   .I buy a present for my mother on Mother’s Day and on Father’s Day I give my father     32   , too.” But what about the other days of the year ?
I have a friend whose parents live in another city. One day 1 went to see her. We had a nice conversation. Then she wanted to      33    . So she dialed(拨号) the number, but then she put down the phone. After about fifteen      34    , she dialed the number again “Hi, Mom…”
Later I asked, “    35     did you dial the number twice?” She smiled, “My parents are old and      36     . They can’t get close to the telephone quickly. I always do so when I call them. I just want to give them      37     time to answer the call.”
My friend is a good girl. She is     38    thinking about her parents. You also want to be a       39     child, right? Please always remember to     40   your parents often, not just on some important days.

Life is like the four seasons. Now I am very old, but when I was young, it was the spring of my life. I was born, I played a lot, and then I started school. I learned many new things. Like a flower, I grew bigger every day. There were happy days and sorrowful days: some days the sun shone, and some days it didn’t.
In my twenties, I had a good job. I was strong and happy. Then I married (结婚) and had a child. In those days, I didn’t have much time to think. Every day I was busy and worked very hard. And so, I started to get some white hairs. The summer of my life passed quickly.
Then the days got shorter. Leaves fell from the trees. My child was a university student, and then an engineer. My home was much quieter. I started walking more slowly. One day I stopped working. I had more time. I understood this was my autumn, a beautiful time when the trees change color and give us nice fruits.
But the days kept getting shorter and colder. Winter has come. I am older and weaker. I know I do not have many days left, but I will enjoy them to the end.
【小题1】The writer started walking more slowly in the          of his life.