When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. It was far more heartbreaking than I’d expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment. There were so many things to deal with. It all seemed endless. I was lonely. I hated the silence of the apartment.

But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell sound asleep.

The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been abandoned by his owner who’s moved out. So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him. Having something else to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he had no intention of going anywhere. I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father’s best friend.

From then on, things grew easier. With Willis in my lap time seemed to pass much more quickly. When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.

It’s now been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat. But I know that we rescued each other. I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.

1. When the author first saw the cat, she_____________.

   A. was very happy                  B. felt sympathy for him

   C. didn’t know what to do         D. was angry with his crying

2. The underlined sentence in the third paragraph implies that the author___________.

   A. needed something to fill the empty apartment

   B. was too busy and tired to keep a cat

   C. loved to stay alone in the apartment

   D. needed something to take care of to kill time

3. The cat rescued the author by ____________.

  A. making her feel better in her hard times

  B. giving her courage to go on with her life

   C. helping her tidy the department

  D. telling her what life is

4. We can learn form the passage that _________.

   A. Willis was named after his previous owner

   B. Willis didn’t like staying in the apartment

  C. the author and Willis were both homeless

  D. time passed quickly after the author adopted Willis

5. What’s the best title for the passage?

   A. A little cat                         B. A painful experience

   C. How to take care of animals          D. What I got from a little cat

Lane waited on the bench nearest the bridge, as he had been instructed.. The strong wind blew straight across the river, and he had to put his overcoat closer about him.
He went over his instructions in his mind. The spy would appear at four o’clock. He would talk to Lane for a while, after which he would get up, leaving his newspapers behind. The plans would be found inside.
A distant clock began to strike the hour. As if from nowhere, a man appeared and sat down beside Lane, placing his newspaper on the seat between them. He was thin and middle-aged, and seemed in need of a good meal. He didn’t look like a successful spy, Lane thought. His talk about the weather was uninteresting.
A few minutes later he got up and continued on his way. Lane picked up the paper which lay on the bench, as if he wanted to read the news. He was excited to see the plans, stuck on the center page. At that moment, however, there was a strong gust of wind which lifted the newspaper into the air, like a kite, and blew it into the river.
【小题1】Which of the following statement is TRUE?

When my father was dying, I traveled a thousand miles from home to be with him in his last days. It was far more heartbreaking than I’d expected, one of the most difficult and painful times in my life. After he passed away I stayed alone in his apartment. There were so many things to deal with. It all seemed endless. I was lonely. I hated the silence of the apartment.
But one evening the silence was broken: I heard crying outside. I opened the door to find a little cat on the steps. He was thin and poor. He looked the way I felt. I brought him inside and gave him a can of fish. He ate it and then almost immediately fell sound asleep.
The next morning I checked with neighbors and learned that the cat had been abandoned by his owner who’s moved out. So the little cat was there all alone, just like I was. As I walked back to the apartment, I tried to figure out what to do with him. Having something else to take care of seemed like the very last thing I needed. But as soon as I opened the apartment door he came running and jumped into my arms. It was clear from that moment that he had no intention of going anywhere. I started calling him Willis, in honor of my father’s best friend.
From then on, things grew easier. With Willis in my lap time seemed to pass much more quickly. When the time finally came for me to return home I had to decide what to do about Willis. There was absolutely no way I would leave without him.
It’s now been five years since my father died. Over the years, several people have commented on how nice it was of me to rescue the cat. But I know that we rescued each other. I may have given him a home but he gave me something greater.
【小题1】 When the author first saw the cat, she_____________.

The blue eyes that looked at him from outside the door were like the light through a maginifying glass (放大镜) when it is at its brightest and smallest, when paper and leaves begin to smoke.

"Hey . "  said the man in the door.  " Remember me? "

" Yes. "  the boy said. whispering.  "Rick. "

    He felt so surprised to see Rick. All of Rick seemed to be shown in the eyes. With a strong feeling that ought to have hurt him.

  " You knew me."  Rick said.  " You hadn't forgotten. "

  " You're--just the same. " the boy said. and felt much thankful.

    He seemed even to be wearing the same clothes, the same blue shirt and grey trousers. He was thin, but he was built to be lean; and he was still, or again. sunburnt. After everything, the slow white smile still showed the slight feeling of happiness.

    " Let's look at you." Rick said, dropping into a chair. Then slowly he felt more at home, and he became once more just Rick as if nothing had happened. There were lines about his eyes. and deeper lines on his cheeks. but he looked like-just Rick, lined by sunfight and smiling.

      " When I look at you." he said,  " You make me think about me, for we look like each other. "

      " Yes, " said the boy, eagerly,  " they all think we both look like my grandfather. "

1.On his return. Rick_______.

A. had not changed much

B. looked very old

C. was much thinner than before

D. was wearing different clothes

2.Rick and the boy are probably________.

A. brothers                     B. related

C. friends                      D. neighbours

3.You could describe Rick as________.

A. old and friendly              B. old and nervous

C. thin and nervous             D. thin and friendly

4.From the passage we can tell that the boy_____.

A. was worried that Rick had forgotten him

B. was proud of what Rick had done

C. was pleased to see Rick

D. wondered where Rick had been

5.Rick and the boy_______.

A. had similar personalities

B. cared about each other

C. had lived in the same house

D. felt their friendship had changed

Lane waited on the bench nearest the bridge, as he had been instructed.. The strong wind blew straight across the river, and he had to put his overcoat closer about him.

He went over his instructions in his mind. The spy would appear at four o’clock. He would talk to Lane for a while, after which he would get up, leaving his newspapers behind. The plans would be found inside.

A distant clock began to strike the hour. As if from nowhere, a man appeared and sat down beside Lane, placing his newspaper on the seat between them. He was thin and middle-aged, and seemed in need of a good meal. He didn’t look like a successful spy, Lane thought. His talk about the weather was uninteresting.

A few minutes later he got up and continued on his way. Lane picked up the paper which lay on the bench, as if he wanted to read the news. He was excited to see the plans, stuck on the center page. At that moment, however, there was a strong gust of wind which lifted the newspaper into the air, like a kite, and blew it into the river.

Which of the following statement is TRUE?

    A. Sitting on the bench, Lane repeated his orders to himself

B. Lane would read about the plans in the newspaper.

C. The man Lane was expecting didn’t arrive on time

D. The man who suddenly appeared was not the one Lane was waiting for.

The spy was going to give Lane some important        .

    A. papers           B. information          C. instructions     D. advice

Lane found the spy very         .

    A. interesting      B. peculiar     C. ordinary     D. well-fed

The spy left the newspaper        .

    A. by the plan  B. by mistake   C. at Lane’s request   D. out of kindness