I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin.

In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything had happened.

“Who did this?” my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.

“This is your entire fault, Katherine,” my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.

From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told to each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.

But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.

In July, the Whites sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new drivers license, Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.

The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.

Jane was killed immediately.

I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I had ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.

When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girl’s tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches(拐杖).

To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We are so glad that you are alive.”

I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.

Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.

Mrs. White said, “Jane is gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister’s death?”

They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.

How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

   A. The author’s parents were less caring.    B. The author’s parents were less loving.

   C. The author’s parents were less friendly   D. The author’s parents were less understanding

How did the accident happen?

   A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroad and a truck hit their car.

   B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

   C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

   D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroad.

The accident took place in _____.

   A. Florida     B. California       C. South Carolina       D. New York

The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because _____.

   A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

   B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

   C. They didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

   D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

From the passage we can learn that _____.

   A. Amy has never recovered from the shock   B. Amy changed her job after the accident

   C. Amy lost her memory after the accident    D. Amy has lived quite a normal life

I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin.

In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything bad happened.

“Who did this?” my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.

“This is all your fault, Katharine, ”my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.

From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told on each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.

But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.

In July, the White sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new driver's license（驾照），Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.

The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.

Jane was killed immediately.

I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I’ve ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.

When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girls' tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches（拐杖）.

To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We’re so glad that you’re alive.”

I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.

Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.

Mrs. White said, “Jane’s gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will ever bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister's death?”

They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.

1. The author of the passage is ________________.

A. Mrs. White’s niece

B. Jane’s school friend

C. the Whites’ cousin

D. Sarah’s friend from college

2. How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

A. The author’s parents were less caring.

B. The author’s parents were less loving.

C. The author’s parents were less friendly.

D. The author’s parents were less understanding.

3. How did the accident happen?

A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroads and a truck hit their car.

B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroads.

4. The accident took place in ________________.

A. Florida

B. California

C. South Carolina

D. New York

5. The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because ________________.

A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

C. they didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

6. From the passage we can learn that ________________.

A. Amy has never recovered from the shock

B. Amy changed her job after the accident

C. Amy lost her memory after the accident

D. Amy has lived quite a normal life

In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything bad happened.

“Who did this?” my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.

“This is all your fault, Katharine, ”my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.

From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told on each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.

But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.

In July, the White sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new driver's license（驾照），Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.

The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.

Jane was killed immediately.

I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I’ve ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.

When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girls' tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches（拐杖）.

To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We’re so glad that you’re alive.”

I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.

Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.

Mrs. White said, “Jane’s gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will ever bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister's death?”

They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.

1. The author of the passage is ________________.

A. Mrs. White’s niece

B. Jane’s school friend

C. the Whites’ cousin

D. Sarah’s friend from college

2. How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

A. The author’s parents were less caring.

B. The author’s parents were less loving.

C. The author’s parents were less friendly.

D. The author’s parents were less understanding.

3. How did the accident happen?

A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroads and a truck hit their car.

B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroads.

4. The accident took place in ________________.

A. Florida

B. California

C. South Carolina

D. New York

5. The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because ________________.

A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

C. they didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

6. From the passage we can learn that ________________.

A. Amy has never recovered from the shock

B. Amy changed her job after the accident

C. Amy lost her memory after the accident

D. Amy has lived quite a normal life

A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said; "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.

"We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习) with world-famous firms such as Honda.

"At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures. " Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛).

The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. " Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing," he said, " We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon."

The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It dealt with issues such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment.

Kieran said: " It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August. "

The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

1.66.The Young Inspirations mentoring program aims to _____.

A. train staff for world-famous firms

B. provide youth with unique experiences

C. offer job opportunities to young adults

D. equip the unemployed with different skills

2.67.According to Alex Goldberg, it is difficult for schools to offer the mentoring due to ______.

A. the shortage of money                  B. the cultural differences

C. the effect of unemployment              D. the lack of support from firms

3.68.According to the passage, the forum focused on how youth can ______.

A. build up their confidence at school

B. find work experience opportunities

C. improve their social skills for the future

D. play an active role in the change of society

4.69.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. the visit to the United Kingdom was amazing 

B. the youth have found a way to solve their problems

C. Kieran has made great progress in many aspects

D. the mentoring sessions are held every day except Friday

5.70.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Alex Goldberg, Founder of Young Inspirations

B. Kieran, Banbury School Pupil to Paris

C. Young People Find a World of Opportunity

D. Debates Help Youth with Their Grades

A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said; "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.

"We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习) with world-famous firms such as Honda.

"At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures. " Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛).

The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. " Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing," he said, " We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon. "

The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It dealt with issues (问题) such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment.

Kieran said: " It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August. "

The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

1.The Young Inspirations mentoring program aims to _____.

A．train staff for world-famous firms           B．offer job opportunities to young adults

C．provide youth with unique experiences      D．equip the unemployed with different skills

2.According to Alex Goldberg, it is difficult for schools to offer the mentoring due to _____.

A．the lack of support from firms              B．the cultural differences

C．the effect of unemployment               D．the shortage of money

3.According to the passage, the forum focused on how youth can ____.

A．build up their confidence at school          B．find work experience opportunities

C．improve their social skills for the future      D．play an active role in the change of society

4.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A． the visit to the United Kingdom was amazing

B． Kieran has made great progress in many aspects

C． the youth have found a way to solve their problems

D． the mentoring sessions are held every day except Friday

5.What would be the best tide for the passage?

A． Alex Goldberg, Founder of Young Inspirations

B． Young People Find a World of Opportunity

C． Kieran, Banbury School Pupil to Paris

D． Debates Help Youth with Their Grades