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．
Small moments sometimes last a very long time．And a few words－though they mean 1 at the time to the people who say them－can have great power．
I recently heard a story from Malcolm Dalkoff, who has been a professional 2 for the last twenty-four years, mostly in advertising．
As a boy, Dalkoff was terribly shy and 3 ．He had few friends and no self-confidence．Then one day, his high-school English teacher, Ruth Brauch, asked the class to write their own chapter that would 4 the last chapter of the novel since they had been reading To Kill a Mockingbird．Dalkoff wrote his chapter and turned it in．Today he cannot recall anything special about the chapter he wrote, or what 5 Mrs．Brauch gave him． 6 , what he does remember is the four words in the paper：“This is good writing．” Four words．They 7 his life．
“Until I read those words, I had no idea of who I was or what I was or what I was going to be,” he said, “After reading her 8 , I went home and wrote a short story, 9 I had always dreamed of doing but never believed I could do．”
Over the rest of that year in school, he wrote many short stories and always brought them to Mrs．Brauch for instruction．“She was 10 , helping and honest．She was just what I needed,” Dalkoff said．
I had the meanest(吝啬的)mother in the world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal(麦片粥), eggs and toast．Others had cokes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids'．But at least I was not alone in my suffering．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing．We had to wear clean clothes every day．Other kids always wore their clothes for days．We reached the height of disgrace(丢脸)because she made our clothes herself, just to save money．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by 9∶00 each night and up at 7∶45 the next morning．So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law．She made us work．I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us．Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, however, would merely be content with black marks．None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout(辍学者)．
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children．I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world．
(1)
From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was _________．
[ ]
A．
not generous at all
B．
very strict with her children
C．
very mean with money matters
D．
very cruel(残忍的)to her children
(2)
Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
[ ]
A．
Eating differently from other kids．
B．
Wearing clean clothes which were made by mother．
C．
Going to bed early and getting up early．
D．
Letting mother know where they were．
(3)
It can be inferred from the passage that _________．
[ ]
A．
the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies
B．
mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law
C．
all the other kids studied better than the writer
D．
the writer's family lived a miserable life
(4)
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Mother practised economy in running her home．
B．
The writer is very thankful for her mother．
C．
The writer is severe(严厉的)with her children when bringing them up．
I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do．Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income．I tried journalism, but I didn't think I was any good, then finance, which I hated．Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher．I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull．
I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel．Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words．
It takes confidence to make a new start－there's a dark period in-between where you're neither one thing nor the other．You're out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you're too ashamed to say, “Well, I'm writing a navel, but I'm not quite sure if I'm going to get there．” My confidence dived．Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside．
Then I met an agent(代理商)who said I should send my novel out to agents．So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback．I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel．
The next problem was finding a publisher．After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal－that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for．
It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck－of fate, really．When you set out to do something different, there's no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract(合同)of the publisher－to be a published writer －is unbelievably rewarding(有回报的)．
(1)
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 mean?
[ ]
A．
I was waiting for good fortune．
B．
I was trying to find an admirable job．
C．
I was being aimless about a suitable job．
D．
I was doing several jobs for more pay at a time．
(2)
The author decided to write a novel ________．
[ ]
A．
to finish the writing course
B．
to realize her own dream
C．
to satisfy readers' wish
D．
to earn more money
(3)
How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?
[ ]
A．
Disturbed．
B．
Ashamed．
C．
Confident．
D．
Uncertain．
(4)
What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?
[ ]
A．
It pays to stick to one's goal．
B．
Hard work can lead to success．
C．
She feels like being unexpectedly lucky．
D．
There is no end in sight when starting to do something．