Angels

My friend Heather mentioned that she had never seen an Angel. Then I remembered the  36   I had with my sister Sandra earlier this week.

This will be Sandra’s first Christmas without her husband. This summer he died in her arms. On Thursday, she was in the store 　37　 for an ideal card for her two sons and daughter. Time passed by quickly as she 　38   the many choices. She wanted a card that sent something special to each of them, 　39  she knew they would have a(n) 　40  place in their heart this holiday season.

Finally! She found the one that expressed the 　41  feeling. The words expressed the feelings that she wished to share. However, a sharp pain pierced(穿透) her heart when she realized that the card was 　42  “mom and dad.” She stood there, 　43  it close for a long time, unable to move from the 　44  . Tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Is there something I can do for you?” a 　45  voice asked. She 　46  to face a stranger, a woman, who was looking at her with 　47  and concern. “Uh…oh...OH!” Sandra responded, “I can’t give this card to my children because…because my husband died and this is the 　48  card.”

Hearing this, the stranger’s face softened with sympathy(同情) and love. She reached out and 　49  my sister into her arms, giving her unspoken permission to cry in the protection of her embrace(拥抱). She 　50  held my sister until her calmness 　51  . “Thank you for listening to me cry on,” was what my sister said when all was better. “You are welcome, and I am so sorry for your 　52  ,” the stranger answered and said goodbye to her.

During her telling of this event I was feeling 　53  that I hadn’t been there. My sister needed me and a stranger had to do my 　54  .  “You know,” she went on, “a friend suggested that it was like meeting with an Angel.” My 　55  disappeared in an instant. My sister required an Angel, and I think that is exactly what she got.

Angels

My friend Heather mentioned that she had never seen an Angel. Then I remembered the 36  I had with my sister Sandra earlier this week.

This will be Sandra’s first Christmas without her husband. This summer he died in her arms. On Thursday, she was in the store 　37　 for an ideal card for her two sons and daughter. Time passed by quickly as she 　38  the many choices. She wanted a card that sent something special to each of them, 　39  she knew they would have a(n) 　40  place in their heart this holiday season.

Finally! She found the one that expressed the 　41 feeling. The words expressed the feelings that she wished to share. However, a sharp pain pierced(穿透) her heart when she realized that the card was 　42 “mom and dad.” She stood there, 　43  it close for a long time, unable to move from the 　44  . Tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Is there something I can do for you?” a 　45  voice asked. She 　46  to face a stranger, a woman, who was looking at her with 　47  and concern. “Uh…oh...OH!” Sandra responded, “I can’t give this card to my children because…because my husband died and this is the 　48  card.”

Hearing this, the stranger’s face softened with sympathy(同情) and love. She reached out and　49  my sister into her arms, giving her unspoken permission to cry in the protection of her embrace(拥抱). She 　50  held my sister until her calmness　51  . “Thank you for listening to me cry on,” was what my sister said when all was better. “You are welcome, and I am so sorry for your 　52 ,” the stranger answered and said goodbye to her.

During her telling of this event I was feeling 　53  that I hadn’t been there. My sister needed me and a stranger had to do my 　54  .  “You know,” she went on, “a friend suggested that it was like meeting with an Angel.” My 　55  disappeared in an instant. My sister required an Angel, and I think that is exactly what she got.

At a scientific meeting, Professor Rontgen called this ray “the unknown”, the X-ray. Doctors quickly saw how this could be used, and soon there were X-ray machines in all the big hospitals. The most obvious use for this discovery was to enable doctors to see exactly how a bone was broken. Other uses came later. It was found that these rays could be used to destroy cancer cells, just as they destroyed the healthy cells of the doctors who first used the machines. Methods were found later which ulcers (溃疡) in the stomach could be located, and the lungs could be X-rayed to show if there was any tuberculosis (肺结核) present.

　　  1. How did Professor Rontgen discover the X-ray?

　　　　   A. He discovered it as the result of his careful-planned experiments.

　　　　   B. He discovered it by accident while he was doing an experiment.

　　　　   C. He discovered it because of his wife's good suggestion and help.

　　　　   D. He discovered it with the help of other physicists.

　　  2. According to Para. 1, what caused the strange dancing lights on Professor Rontgen's table in the laboratory?

　　　　   A. The electric bulb and the cardboard. 

　　　　   B. The current and the table.

　　　　  C. The unknown rays and the paper itself.

　　　　   D. The penetrating rays and the metal stilts.

  　　3. Professor Rontgen found that the X-ray could——.

　　　　  A. penetrate everything but metal

　　　　  B. pass through both flesh and bone

　　　　  C. penetrate only black cardboard

　　　　  D. cause the metal to shine

　　  4. Which of the following uses of X-ray are mentioned in the passage?

　　　　  1) to observe broken bones　　 2) to cut off useless damaged arms of legs

　　　　  3) to kill cancer cells　　   4) to locate ulcers in the stomach

　　　　  5) to find tuberculosis in the lungs

  6) to protect flesh and healthy cells

　　　　  A. 1) 3) 4) 5)　　 B. 1) 3) 4) 6)　　 C. 1) 2) 3) 5)　　  D. 2) 3) 5) 6)

Scientists working on a problem do not know and sometimes can't even guess what the final result will be. Late on Friday, 8 November, 1895, Professor Rontgen, a German physicist, was doing an experiment in his laboratory when he noticed something extraordinary. He had covered an electric bulb with black cardboard, and when he switched on the current he saw little dancing lights on his table. Now .the bulb was completely covered; how then could any ray penetrate? On the table there were some pieces of paper which had been covered with metal salts. It was on this paper that the light was shining. Professor Rontgen took a piece of this paper and held it at a distance from the lamp. Between it and the lamp he placed a variety of objects, a book, a pack of cards, a piece of wood and a door key. The ray penetrated every one of them except the key. He called his wife into the laboratory and asked her to hold her hand between the lamp and a photographic plate. She was very surprised by this request, but she held up her hand for a quarter of an hour, and when the plate was developed there was a picture of the bones of her hand and of the ring on one finger. The mysterious ray could pass through the flesh and not through the bone or the ring.

At a scientific meeting, Professor Rontgen called this ray “the unknown”, the X-ray. Doctors quickly saw how this could be used, and soon there were X-ray machines in all the big hospitals. The most obvious use for this discovery was to enable doctors to see exactly how a bone was broken. Other uses came later. It was found that these rays could be used to destroy cancer cells, just as they destroyed the healthy cells of the doctors who first used the machines. Methods were found later which ulcers (溃疡) in the stomach could be located, and the lungs could be X-rayed to show if there was any tuberculosis (肺结核) present.

　　  1. How did Professor Rontgen discover the X-ray?

　　　　   A. He discovered it as the result of his careful-planned experiments.

　　　　   B. He discovered it by accident while he was doing an experiment.

　　　　   C. He discovered it because of his wife's good suggestion and help.

　　　　   D. He discovered it with the help of other physicists.

　　  2. According to Para. 1, what caused the strange dancing lights on Professor Rontgen's table in the laboratory?

　　　　   A. The electric bulb and the cardboard. 

　　　　   B. The current and the table.

　　　　  C. The unknown rays and the paper itself.

　　　　   D. The penetrating rays and the metal stilts.

  　　3. Professor Rontgen found that the X-ray could——.

　　　　  A. penetrate everything but metal

　　　　  B. pass through both flesh and bone

　　　　  C. penetrate only black cardboard

　　　　  D. cause the metal to shine

　　  4. Which of the following uses of X-ray are mentioned in the passage?

　　　　  1) to observe broken bones　　 2) to cut off useless damaged arms of legs

　　　　  3) to kill cancer cells　　   4) to locate ulcers in the stomach

　　　　  5) to find tuberculosis in the lungs

  6) to protect flesh and healthy cells

　　　　  A. 1) 3) 4) 5)　　 B. 1) 3) 4) 6)　　 C. 1) 2) 3) 5)　　  D. 2) 3) 5) 6)

Jerry was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. One day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “How do you do it?” Jerry replied, “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.”

       Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination（开启号码锁的号码组合）. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the local hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with small pieces of the bullets still in his body.

       I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins.” “Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Jerry replied, “As I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices—I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. The nurses were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read—He’s a dead man!”

       “What did you do ?” I asked. “Well, there was a big, strong nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic（过敏的）to anything.” .“Yes,” I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply,. I took a deep breath and yelled, “Bullets!”

       Over their laughter, I told them. “I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead!” Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

       Attitude, after all, is everything.

1．It can be inferred from the passage that            .

       A．you should never leave the back door open in a restaurant business.

       B．Jerry’s nervousness led to the shot accident.

       C．it’s not safe in the morning for the restaurant business.

       D．Jerry was badly wounded during the robbery.

2．The underlined part “If I were any better, I’d be twins.” probably means          .

       A．I’m as fine as before                            B．I’m as fine as my twin brother

       C．I’m not any better                                                               D．I’m even worse

3．What would Jerry probably do if he lost his car?

       A．He would always complain about the public safety.

       B．He would hate himself for being too careless.

       C．He would think it’s a good time for him to buy a new one.

       D．He would feel sad about the lost car for a long time.

4．The writer thinks Jerry a（an）         person.

       A．careless        B．brave       C．optimistic         D．generous