My mother-in-law, Dorothy, is showing me the red notebook that’s almost as precious to her as my husband’s baby pictures. Inside the notebook is a list of the books she has read since 2007. For some people waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible thing. But for my mother-in-law, that time is a gift. At 87, she is getting the education she never had by working her way through great literature. She has now read close to 100 books, including every single novel by Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Henry James and Thomas Mann.

My mother-in-law discusses her passion with the enthusiasm of a young girl, although she can also be a very tough critic, writing “VG’ for “ very good” in the margins next to her favorites. So far, only a handful of books have received the top prize.

Born in Ridgefield, Conn, Dorothy was the youngest daughter of an Italian gardener. She taught herself English by reading The New York Times. Eager to come to Manhattan, she became a nurse, married a dentist and spent the next several decades keeping the house and raising a family. In her later years, she put her nursing skills to good use by taking care of my father-in-law, who had lung cancer. There were many trips to the emergency room in the middle of the night and then a long hospital stay. She stayed awake to watch over him for 15 hours a day. Always a light sleeper, she developed sleeplessness as a result of the stress.

It worsened after he died. Deeply sad and lonely for the first time in her life, she began waking up around 2am. Julian and Sylvia, the elderly couple next door suggest she read literature. And so Julian, a great lover of literature, became her “professor”, providing books from his large library. Suddenly the terrifying hole turned onto a world of amazing characters.

1.Why is Dorothy considered a tough critic?

   A. Because no books are inspiring enough in her eyes.                        

B. Because only a few books are thought highly of by her.

   C. Because she only reads books by famous writers.                         

D. Because she finds fault with every book she reads.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

   A. the books Dorothy has read were bought by her husband.                   

B. the couple next door are college professors.

   C. the author loves literature too.                                         

D. Dorothy was a great wife.

3.The underlined part “the terrifying hole” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

   A. the frightening death                                                   

B. Dorothy’s lack of education

   C. waking up in the middle of the night                                    

D. a hole in a book that Dorothy read

4. What helped Dorothy get over the sadness and loneliness of losing her husband?

   A. Living with her son.                                                 

B. Reading literature.

   C. Seeing her son’s baby pictures.                                         

 D. Talking with neighbors.

A gray sweater hung limply on Tommy’s empty desk, a reminder of the depressed boy who had just followed his classmates from our third-grade room. Soon Tommy’s parents, who had recently separated, would arrive for a conference on his failing schoolwork and disruptive behavior. Neither parent knew that I had invited the other.
Tommy, an only child, had always been happy, cooperative and an excellent student. How could I convince his father and mother that his recent failing grades represented a broken-hearted child's reaction to his loved parent’s separation and divorce?
Tommy's mother entered and took one of the chairs I had placed near my desk. Soon the father arrived. Good! At least they were concerned enough to be on time. A look of surprise and anger passed between them, and then they pointedly ignored each other.
As I gave a detailed account of Tommy's behavior and schoolwork, I prayed for the right words to bring these two together, to help them see what they were doing to their son. But somehow the words wouldn't come. Perhaps if they saw one of his spotted, carelessly done papers.
I found a crumpled（压皱的）tear-stained sheet stuffed in the back of his desk, an English paper. Writing covered both sides—not the assignment, but a single sentence scribbled（潦草地写） over and over.
Silently I smoothed it out and gave it to Tommy's mother. She read it and then without a word handed it to her husband. He frowned. Then his face softened. He studied the scribbled words for a long time.
At last he folded the paper carefully, placed it in his pocket, and reached for his wife's outstretched hand. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled up at him. My own eyes were brimming(湿润的), but neither seemed to notice. He helped her with her coat and they left together.
In his own way God had given me the words to reunite that family. He had guided me to the sheet of yellow copy paper covered with the anguished outpouring（流露） of a small boy's troubled heart.
The words, "Dear Mother ... Dear Daddy ... I love you ... I love you ... I love you."
1. Which of the following word has the closest meaning to the word “disruptive”（Line3,Para.1）  mean?
A. terrible         B. careless         C. cheerful             D. good
2. What caused Tommy’s failing behavior and schoolwork fundamentally?
A. His parents’ ignorance of his education.
B. His parents’ separation and divorce.
C. His parents’ lacking love to him.
D. His parents’ firm administration to him.
3. What helped Tommy’s parents see their influence on their son?
A．A single sentence on a sheet of paper in his desk.   
B．Tear stains on Tommy’s papers.
C．Tommy’s disruptive behavior.       
D．A gray sweater.
4. You can infer from the passage that_________.
A. The teacher found suitable words to persuade Tommy’s parents reunite.
B. Tommy’s love to his parents saved their marriage and the whole family.
C. Tommy’s parents scheduled their time to come to school together.
D. A broken family might cause a child’s bad behavior and his shortage of love for others.

My mother-in-law, Dorothy, is showing me the red notebook that’s almost as precious to her as my husband’s baby pictures. Inside the notebook is a list of the books she has read since 2007. For some people waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible thing. But for my mother-in-law, that time is a gift. At 87, she is getting the education she never had by working her way through great literature. She has now read close to 100 books, including every single novel by Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Henry James and Thomas Mann.

My mother-in-law discusses her passion with the enthusiasm of a young girl, although she can also be a very tough critic, writing “VG’ for “ very good” in the margins next to her favorites. So far, only a handful of books have received the top prize.

Born in Ridgefield, Conn, Dorothy was the youngest daughter of an Italian gardener. She taught herself English by reading The New York Times. Eager to come to Manhattan, she became a nurse, married a dentist and spent the next several decades keeping the house and raising a family. In her later years, she put her nursing skills to good use by taking care of my father-in-law, who had lung cancer. There were many trips to the emergency room in the middle of the night and then a long hospital stay. She stayed awake to watch over him for 15 hours a day. Always a light sleeper, she developed sleeplessness as a result of the stress.

It worsened after he died. Deeply sad and lonely for the first time in her life, she began waking up around 2am. Julian and Sylvia, the elderly couple next door suggest she read literature. And so Julian, a great lover of literature, became her “professor”, providing books from his large library. Suddenly the terrifying hole turned onto a world of amazing characters.

Why is Dorothy considered a tough critic?

   A. Because no books are inspiring enough in her eyes.                        

B. Because only a few books are thought highly of by her.

   C. Because she only reads books by famous writers.                         

D. Because she finds fault with every book she reads.

It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

   A. the books Dorothy has read were bought by her husband.                   

B. the couple next door are college professors.

   C. the author loves literature too.                                         

D. Dorothy was a great wife.

The underlined part “the terrifying hole” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

   A. the frightening death                                                    

B. Dorothy’s lack of education

   C. waking up in the middle of the night                                    

D. a hole in a book that Dorothy read

What helped Dorothy get over the sadness and loneliness of losing her husband?

   A. Living with her son.                                                  

B. Reading literature.

   C. Seeing her son’s baby pictures.                                         

 D. Talking with neighbors.

A gray sweater hung limply on Tommy’s empty desk, a reminder of the depressed boy who had just followed his classmates from our third-grade room. Soon Tommy’s parents, who had recently separated, would arrive for a conference on his failing schoolwork and disruptive behavior. Neither parent knew that I had invited the other.

Tommy, an only child, had always been happy, cooperative and an excellent student. How could I convince his father and mother that his recent failing grades represented a broken-hearted child's reaction to his loved parent’s separation and divorce?

Tommy's mother entered and took one of the chairs I had placed near my desk. Soon the father arrived. Good! At least they were concerned enough to be on time. A look of surprise and anger passed between them, and then they pointedly ignored each other.

As I gave a detailed account of Tommy's behavior and schoolwork, I prayed for the right words to bring these two together, to help them see what they were doing to their son. But somehow the words wouldn't come. Perhaps if they saw one of his spotted, carelessly done papers.

I found a crumpled（压皱的）tear-stained sheet stuffed in the back of his desk, an English paper. Writing covered both sides—not the assignment, but a single sentence scribbled（潦草地写） over and over.

Silently I smoothed it out and gave it to Tommy's mother. She read it and then without a word handed it to her husband. He frowned. Then his face softened. He studied the scribbled words for a long time.

At last he folded the paper carefully, placed it in his pocket, and reached for his wife's outstretched hand. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled up at him. My own eyes were brimming(湿润的), but neither seemed to notice. He helped her with her coat and they left together.

In his own way God had given me the words to reunite that family. He had guided me to the sheet of yellow copy paper covered with the anguished outpouring（流露） of a small boy's troubled heart.

The words, "Dear Mother ... Dear Daddy ... I love you ... I love you ... I love you."

1. Which of the following word has the closest meaning to the word “disruptive”（Line3,Para.1）  mean?

         A. terrible             B. careless           C. cheerful                 D. good

2. What caused Tommy’s failing behavior and schoolwork fundamentally?

         A. His parents’ ignorance of his education.

         B. His parents’ separation and divorce.

         C. His parents’ lacking love to him.

         D. His parents’ firm administration to him.

3. What helped Tommy’s parents see their influence on their son?

         A．A single sentence on a sheet of paper in his desk.     

B．Tear stains on Tommy’s papers.

         C．Tommy’s disruptive behavior.         

D．A gray sweater.

4. You can infer from the passage that_________.

         A. The teacher found suitable words to persuade Tommy’s parents reunite.

         B. Tommy’s love to his parents saved their marriage and the whole family.

         C. Tommy’s parents scheduled their time to come to school together.

         D. A broken family might cause a child’s bad behavior and his shortage of love for others.

It was one of the happiest times of my life. I was 29 and had just received my bachelor’s degree, graduating with honors despite working two jobs and being a wife and mother. My parents and five-year-old son were in the audience when I walked onto the stage at Ashland University to get my diploma. I was so excited and proud to be starting a teaching career and contributing more to my family’s well-being.
But when I got home that evening, there was a note from my husband written on the back of an envelope. It basically said he had come to get his clothes and wouldn’t be back. We’d been having trouble, but the finality of that note still came as a shock. He had emptied our bank account. We were horribly in debt. I had quit my previous jobs in expectation of interviewing for a teaching position. Plus, I was eight months pregnant.
I had my son, and I was about to bring a new life into the world, so despite my deep sadness, I had to go on. The next morning, I woke up, put my feet on the floor, took a deep breath, fixed breakfast, and basically did everything I always did. I used my routine to keep me moving. After being in the military for six years, I guess you can say I relied on my training, like all good soldiers do in tough situations. One small step after one small step was the way I bounced back(恢复原状).
And in the seven years since, I’ve continued moving forward. I got a job as a kindergarten teacher, earned a master’s degree in education, and watched my babies grow to twelve and seven. I certainly would never have chosen to put them through this, but looking back, I’m glad it happened to me when it did. It helped me find my voice and myself a lot sooner. It helped me grow independent, confident, and strong—things I’m hopefully instilling(灌输) now in my children.
【小题1】After getting her bachelor’s degree, the author expected to ________.