I came to study in the United States a year ago. Yet I did not know the American society until I was injured in a car accident. After the accident, I had to see a doctor and go to court. When the accident happened, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and decided to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He said he had good reason to charge me and that if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me to find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.

But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report only contained ten lines, and it cost me $215.

My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to fire him. And he made me pay him $770.

Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Because of my inexperience, I told the insurance the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time … and I left without getting a cent.

My experiences taught me two things about America: firstly, in a country like America, money is everything. It is more important than friendship, honor or professional morality; secondly, foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about America, we should see both its advantages and disadvantages.

1. The author’s roommate offered to help him because ________.

A．he felt sorry for the author.

B．he thought it was a chance to make some money

C．he knew the doctor was a very good one

D．he wanted the author to have a good lawyer

2. A good lawyer is important for the author to _______.

A．be properly treated

B．talk with the person responsible for the accident

C．recover before he leaves America

D．eventually get the responsible party to pay for his injury

3. Which of the following statements is wrong according to the passage?

A．The author has learned a lot through the experience.

B．Everything about America is advantageous.

C．The author’s roommate helped him but charged for that.

D．The author’s final examination report only contained ten lines but cost $215.

4. What conclusion can you draw from this story?

A．Going to court is something very common in America.

B．One must be very careful while driving a car.

C．There are more disadvantages in America than advantages.

D．Money is more important than other things in the US.

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."
She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．
The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs．I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．
But I hesitated．
My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"
I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．
【小题1】When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."

She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．

The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs．I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．

    But I hesitated．

    My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"

I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．

1.When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

A．envied him   B．laughed at him       C．encouraged him  D．didn't believe him

2.Why did the author give up the contract?

A．Because his wife was strongly against it．            

B．Because the pay was not attractive enough．

C．Because he wanted to care about his two kids．

D．Because he didn't want his family life damaged．

3.According to the passage, we can infer the author _____．

A．used to be a country singer                           

B．preferred his present life

C．went on the road to fame            

D．regretted giving up his contract

4.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．One should know himself．           

B．Interest is the best teacher．

C．Family should come first．          

D．Every dog has its day．

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."

She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．

The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs. I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．

But I hesitated．

My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"

I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．

66．When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

A．envied him               B．laughed at him          C．encouraged him   D．didn't believe him

67．Why did the author give up the contract?

A．Because his wife was strongly against it．       

B．Because the pay was not attractive enough．

C．Because he wanted to care about his two kids．

D．Because he didn't want his family life damaged．

68．According to the passage, we can infer the author _____．

A．used to be a country singer                   B．preferred his present life

C．went on the road to fame                        D．regretted giving up his contract

69．What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．One should know himself．                     B．Interest is the best teacher．

C．Family should come first．                      D．Every dog has its day．