I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1994, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday: “Kerrel, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”
AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 12, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.
We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage.
I did not share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cold. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself.
I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.
I was 15 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.
【小题1】Which of the following statements about Kerrel’s father is true?

I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1994, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday: “Kerrel, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”

AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 12, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.

We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage.

I did not share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cold. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself.

I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.

I was 15 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.

1.Which of the following statements about Kerrel’s father is true?

A．He had stayed in the hospital since he fell ill.

B．He depended on the nurses in his final days.

C．He told no one about his disease.

D．He worked hard to pay for his medication.

2.What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

A．Kerrel couldn't understand her teacher.

B．Kerrel had special difficulty in hearing.

C．Kerrel was too troubled to focus on the lesson.

D．Kerrel was too tired to hear her teacher's words.

3.Why did Kerrel keep her father's disease a secret?

A．She was afraid of being looked down upon.

B．She thought it was shameful to have AIDS.

C．She found no one willing to listen to her.

D．She wanted to obey her mother.

4.The purpose of the passage is ________.

A．To tell people about the sufferings of her father.

B．To show how little people knew about AIDS.

C．To remember her father.

D．To draw people's attention to AIDS.

While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy (妊娠期) with my second child, we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana, where Marshall’s family live, to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday. Two days before we were to leave, we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby. Not knowing when this would happen, we decided to continue with our trip.

Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm, you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there. That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time. I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there. I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good, so he went out and got the first one for me.

During that trip, I totally got lost in the book, which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness. In the book, I noticed the name “Seamus”. I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that. I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too. Toward the end of the trip, I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book, which I was pretty excited about.

Soon after we put Jane down to bed, I had started labor (分娩), so I was unable to read. The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours, but Marshall stayed there with me, sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter. I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience. And ever since then, Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books. We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives.

We were sad to have lost the baby, but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption. And we gave this name to our adopted son. Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him, the name fits him perfectly.

1.Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?

A. Because the trip to Louisiana would take a long time.

B. Because she didn’t want to think of losing her baby.

C. Because she had nothing else to do except reading.

D. Because a good book could help her enjoy her trip.

2.According to the story, we can know that the Harry Potter books _________________.

A. made the family’s trip more exciting

B. include five books all together

C. have someone called Seamus in them

D. can help people deal with their problems

3.The writer named her son Seamus because ___________________.

A. she wanted to keep her trip in memory

B. she loved this name very much

C. her son doesn’t have Irish blood

D. it is a perfect name for a boy

4.Which of the following is TRUE about the couple?

A. They planned their trip after getting the shocking news.

B. They thought the cattle farm was too large to do anything on.

C. They felt excited when they almost finished the trip.

D. They liked reading Harry Porter very much after the trip.

5.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Funny Stories Of My Family           B. Seamus And Harry Potter

C. How We Got To Louisiana              D. How My Son Got His Name

While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy (妊娠期) with my second child, we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana, where Marshall’s family live, to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday. Two days before we were to leave, we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby. Not knowing when this would happen, we decided to continue with our trip.

Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm, you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there. That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time. I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there. I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good, so he went out and got the first one for me.

During that trip, I totally got lost in the book, which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness. In the book, I noticed the name “Seamus”. I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that. I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too. Toward the end of the trip, I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book, which I was pretty excited about.

Soon after we put Jane down to bed, I had started labor (分娩), so I was unable to read. The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours, but Marshall stayed there with me, sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter. I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience. And ever since then, Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books. We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives.

We were sad to have lost the baby, but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption. And we gave this name to our adopted son. Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him, the name fits him perfectly.

1.Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?

  A. Because the trip to Louisiana would take a long time.

B. Because she didn’t want to think of losing her baby.

  C. Because she had nothing else to do except reading.

  D. Because a good book could help her enjoy her trip.

2. According to the story, we can know that the Harry Potter books _________________.

  A. made the family’s trip more exciting          B. include five books all together

  C. have someone called Seamus in them         D. can help people deal with their problems

3. The writer named her son Seamus because ___________________.

A. she wanted to keep her trip in memory           B. she loved this name very much

C. her son doesn’t have Irish blood                D. it is a perfect name for a boy

4.Which of the following is TRUE about the couple?

  A. They planned their trip after getting the shocking news.

  B. They thought the cattle farm was too large to do anything on.

  C. They felt excited when they almost finished the trip.

  D. They liked reading Harry Porter very much after the trip.

5. Which is the best title for the passage?

  A. Funny Stories Of My Family            B. Seamus And Harry Potter

  C. How We Got To Louisiana              D. How My Son Got His Name