It was a beautiful day at the beach—blue sky, gentle wind, calm sea．I knew these things because a man sitting five feet from me was shouting them into his mobile phone, like a play-by-play announcer （实况解说员）.
“IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY,” he shouted．“THE SKY IS BLUE, AND THERE’S A GENTLE WIND, AND THE WATER IS CALM, AND…”
Behind me, a woman, her mobile phone pressed to her ear was walking back and forth.
“She DIDN’T,” she was saying．“No．She DIDN’T．She DID? Really? Are you SERIOUS? She did NOT．She DID? No she…”
And so on．This woman had two children, who were playing in the sea．I found myself watching them, because the woman surely was not．A huge squid could have caught and snatched the children, and this woman would not have noticed．Or, if she had noticed, she’d have said, “Listen．I have to go, because a huge squid just……No! She didn’t ! She DID? No! She……”
And next to me, the play-by-play man would have said: “…AND A HUGE SQUID JUST ATE TWO CHILDREN, AND I’M GETTING A LITTLE SUNBURNED, AND …”
It used to be that the major trouble at the beach was the fellow who brought a boom box （便携式录音机） and turned it up so loud that the bass notes caused seagulls to explode．But at least you knew where these fellows were; you never know which beachgoers have mobile phones．You’ll settle next to what appears to be a sleeping sunbather, or even （you hope） a corpse , and you’ll lie happily on your towel, and you’ll get all the way to the second sentence of your 467-page book before you fall asleep to the hypnotic surge of the surf （催人入梦的潮声）, and …
BREEP! BREEP! The corpse sits up, feels urgently for its mobile phone, and shouts “Hello! I’m at the beach! Yes! It’s nice! Very peaceful! What? She did? No, she didn’t! She DID? No, she…”
Loud mobile-phoners never seem to get urgent calls．Just once, I’d like to hear one of them say, “Hello? Yes, this is Dr．Johnson．Oh, Dr．Smith．You’ve opened the abdominal cavity （腹腔）? Good! Now the appendix should be right under the … What? No, that’s the liver．Don’t take THAT out, ha ha! Oh, you did? My God! OK, now listen carefully…”
【小题1】From the passage we can know that the writer of the passage _____.

I have a painfully vivid memory of my first homecoming from college, in December 1983. After three whole months away, I was back home with my brand new opinions, attitudes and tastes. How could they watch such terrible television programs? I, the English Literature major with Shakespeare and Milton and James Joyce, could hardly bear to sleep under the roof of a house whose few bookshelves held thrillers and bound editions of the Reader’s Digest. I’m sure my family was glad to see the back of me when, at the end of the holiday, I packed up my books and headed back up to university in the north of England.
But the next year must have been even more painful to my parents: I didn’t show up at all. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with young people spending a little time away from their families and with their friends.  It’s part of growing up, something you need to do if you are to become properly independent. However, if you’re not going to be home for the festival, you should at least have the decency to telephone and say you’re not coming.
In English we have an expression, “wet behind the ears.” A person who is wet behind the ears is so immature, that they don’t know how to dry the back of their head after a bath. Just before the following year’s holiday I fell ill, quite seriously so. I’m sure my own behavior contributed to my getting sick: staying out too late, not eating properly—perhaps you know someone like the person I was then. I lay in bed with a fever, feeling very sorry for myself.
I’m sure you can guess who came to my rescue. My long-suffering parents got in their car and sped up the motorway to rescue their son from the consequences of his own irresponsibility.
I hope I’m a better son now; if not, it’s getting a little late in the day if I want to change. I’ve worked in China for nearly 10 years and so I don’t get to see them as often as I like, but my parents are online all the time so we talk many times each week. And this Spring Festival I will be flying back to England for a visit. 
I’m really looking forward to it.
【小题1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

I have a painfully vivid memory of my first homecoming from college, in December 1983. After three whole months away, I was back home with my brand new opinions, attitudes and tastes. How could they watch such terrible television programs? I, the English Literature major with Shakespeare and Milton and James Joyce, could hardly bear to sleep under the roof of a house whose few bookshelves held thrillers and bound editions of the Reader’s Digest. I’m sure my family was glad to see the back of me when, at the end of the holiday, I packed up my books and headed back up to university in the north of England.

   But the next year must have been even more painful to my parents: I didn’t show up at all. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with young people spending a little time away from their families and with their friends.  It’s part of growing up, something you need to do if you are to become properly independent. However, if you’re not going to be home for the festival, you should at least have the decency to telephone and say you’re not coming.

   In English we have an expression, “wet behind the ears.” A person who is wet behind the ears is so immature, that they don’t know how to dry the back of their head after a bath. Just before the following year’s holiday I fell ill, quite seriously so. I’m sure my own behavior contributed to my getting sick: staying out too late, not eating properly—perhaps you know someone like the person I was then. I lay in bed with a fever, feeling very sorry for myself.

   I’m sure you can guess who came to my rescue. My long-suffering parents got in their car and sped up the motorway to rescue their son from the consequences of his own irresponsibility.

   I hope I’m a better son now; if not, it’s getting a little late in the day if I want to change. I’ve worked in China for nearly 10 years and so I don’t get to see them as often as I like, but my parents are online all the time so we talk many times each week. And this Spring Festival I will be flying back to England for a visit. 

   I’m really looking forward to it.

1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. The author liked reading thrillers and the Reading Digest.

B. The author couldn’t fall asleep in a house with few books.

C. The author thought his parents were happy to see him back.

D. The author didn’t seem to share the same tastes with his parents.

2.What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A. The next year the author’s parents were very happy to see him.

B. The author went to see his parents during the second year in college.

C. If you aren’t going to spent an important day with your family, inform them in advance.

D. To leave away from family is not a proper way if you want to gain some independency.

3. If you are a person who is wet behind the ears, you are       .

A. old and experienced                  B. young and inexperienced 

C. young and experienced                    D. mature and experienced

4.We can infer from the last two paragraphs that       .

A. the author thinks he has become a good son

B. the author will be with his family the next Spring Festival

C. the author will not change himself to a better one because it is too late

D. the author keeps in touch with his parents through the Internet regularly

5.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Pleasant memories about Christmas

B. Horrible things happened in the past

C. Interesting memories about Christmas

D. Share with you some of my Ghosts of Christmas Past

I have a painfully vivid memory of my first homecoming from college, in December 1983. After three whole months away, I was back home with my brand new opinions, attitudes and tastes. How could they watch such terrible television programs? I, the English Literature major with Shakespeare and Milton and James Joyce, could hardly bear to sleep under the roof of a house whose few bookshelves held thrillers and bound editions of the Reader’s Digest. I’m sure my family was glad to see the back of me when, at the end of the holiday, I packed up my books and headed back up to university in the north of England.
But the next year must have been even more painful to my parents: I didn’t show up at all. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with young people spending a little time away from their families and with their friends.  It’s part of growing up, something you need to do if you are to become properly independent. However, if you’re not going to be home for the festival, you should at least have the decency to telephone and say you’re not coming.
In English we have an expression, “wet behind the ears.” A person who is wet behind the ears is so immature, that they don’t know how to dry the back of their head after a bath. Just before the following year’s holiday I fell ill, quite seriously so. I’m sure my own behavior contributed to my getting sick: staying out too late, not eating properly—perhaps you know someone like the person I was then. I lay in bed with a fever, feeling very sorry for myself.
I’m sure you can guess who came to my rescue. My long-suffering parents got in their car and sped up the motorway to rescue their son from the consequences of his own irresponsibility.
I hope I’m a better son now; if not, it’s getting a little late in the day if I want to change. I’ve worked in China for nearly 10 years and so I don’t get to see them as often as I like, but my parents are online all the time so we talk many times each week. And this Spring Festival I will be flying back to England for a visit. 
I’m really looking forward to it.

1. 1.

   What can we learn from the first paragraph?

   1. A.
      The author liked reading thrillers and the Reading Digest.
   2. B.
      The author couldn’t fall asleep in a house with few books.
   3. C.
      The author thought his parents were happy to see him back.
   4. D.
      The author didn’t seem to share the same tastes with his parents.
2. 2.

   What can we learn from the second paragraph?

   1. A.
      The next year the author’s parents were very happy to see him.
   2. B.
      The author went to see his parents during the second year in college.
   3. C.
      If you aren’t going to spent an important day with your family, inform them in advance.
   4. D.
      To leave away from family is not a proper way if you want to gain some independency.
3. 3.

   If you are a person who is wet behind the ears, you are       .

   1. A.
      old and experienced
   2. B.
      young and inexperienced
   3. C.
      young and experienced
   4. D.
      mature and experienced
4. 4.

   We can infer from the last two paragraphs that       .

   1. A.
      the author thinks he has become a good son
   2. B.
      the author will be with his family the next Spring Festival
   3. C.
      the author will not change himself to a better one because it is too late
   4. D.
      the author keeps in touch with his parents through the Internet regularly
5. 5.

   What would be the best title for the text?

   1. A.
      Pleasant memories about Christmas
   2. B.
      Horrible things happened in the past
   3. C.
      Interesting memories about Christmas
   4. D.
      Share with you some of my Ghosts of Christmas Past