It was a hot summer day．My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．
I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day．I ran into my parents' room to find Dad．When I saw him on the phone, he was crying．I'd never seen my dad cry before．My heart sank．What possibly could have happened?
"Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say．That's when it hit me．I knew that Suzie had died．Max has been my dad's best friend for years．Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body．Her brain was OK．She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids．Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body．Yet although she couldn't live a normal life ，she was still happy．
When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together．As we grew up, we grew apart．She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest．When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia．About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end．Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life．She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate．In a way, she lived through me．
After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral．When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me．I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket(棺材)．
Her funeral was very different from any funeral I'd ever been to．After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her．I remember crying so hard, I felt weak．My cheeks burned from the tears．My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I'm glad I did it．
When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong．I learned so much from her．She gave me more than I could ever give to her．I will never forget her or the talks we had．I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．
(1)
What does the underlined part “In a way, she lived through me．” mean?
[ ]
A．
Suzie got to know what life outside hospital was like by sharing my experience．
B．
Suzie was financially dependent of me．
C．
Suzie managed to pull through her illness with the help of my family．
D．
Suzie was too weak to live her own life．
(2)
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
[ ]
A．
Suzie was the only person helping the author with difficulties．
B．
The author feared that she might also get the same disease as Suzie．
C．
The author benefited a lot from talking on the phone with Suzie．
D．
The author didn't understand Suzie was her true friend until Suzie's death．
(3)
What is the most important lesson the author learned from Suzie's death?
[ ]
A．
Never let go of a friend even if you are apart．
B．
Be thankful for what we have in our life．
C．
Talking with a friend can cure your illness．
D．
We can learn more from our friends than they do from us．
It was a hot summer day．My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．
I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day．I ran into my parents' room to find Dad．When I saw him on the phone, he was crying．I'd never seen my dad cry before．My heart sank．What possibly could have happened?
"Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say．That's when it hit me．I knew that Suzie had died．Max has been my dad's best friend for years．Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body．Her brain was OK．She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids．Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body．Yet although she couldn't live a normal life, she was still happy．
When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together．As we grew up, we grew apart．She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest．When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia．About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end．Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life．She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate．In a way, she lived through me．
After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral．When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me．I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket(棺材)．
Her funeral was very different from any funeral I'd ever been to．After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her．I remember crying so hard, I felt weak．My cheeks burned from the tears．My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I'm glad I did it．
When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong．I learned so much from her．She gave me more than I could ever give to her．I will never forget her or the talks we had．I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．
(1)
What does the underlined part “In a way, she lived through me．” mean?
[ ]
A．
Suzie got to know what life outside hospital was like by sharing my experience．
B．
Suzie was financially dependent of me．
C．
Suzie managed to pull through her illness with the help of my family．
D．
Suzie was too weak to live her own life．
(2)
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
[ ]
A．
Suzie was the only person helping the author with difficulties．
B．
The author feared that she might also get the same disease as Suzie．
C．
The author benefited a lot from talking on the phone with Suzie．
D．
The author didn't understand Suzie was her true friend until Suzie's death．
(3)
What is the most important lesson the author learned from Suzie's death?
[ ]
A．
Never let go of a friend even if you are apart．
B．
Be thankful for what we have in our life．
C．
Talking with a friend can cure your illness．
D．
We can learn more from our friends than they do from us．
I consider myself something of an expert on apologies．A quick temper has 1 me with plenty of chances to make them．In one of my earliest 2 , my mother is telling me,“Don’t watch the 3 when you say,“I’m sorry”．Hold your head up and look straight at the person in the 4 , so he’ll know you 5 it．
My mother thus made the key point of a 6 apology：it must be direct．You must never 7 to be doing something else．You do not 8 a pile of letters while apologizing to a person 9 in position after blaming him or her for a mistake that turned out to be your 10 ．You do not apologize to a hostess, whose guest of honor you treat 11 , by sending flowers the next day without mentioning your bad 12 ．
One of the important things we should have for an 13 , apology is a readiness to answer for our careless mistakes．We are used to making 14 , which leaves no 15 for the other person to 16 us．Since most people are open-hearted, the no excuse apology leaves both parties feeling 17 about themselves．That, after all, is the 18 of every apology．It 19 little whether the apologizer is wholly or only partly at fault：answering for one’s 20 encourages others to take their share of the blame．