My name is Ralph and I am 42 years old. I work in a factory that I enjoy very much. On May 27, 1999, I was working on an automatic machine. While working my hand was pulled into the machine and my middle finger on my right hand was ripped off. I had surgery to replace what was left of the finger and now I have a finger that is almost as long as my index finger.

Over the years I have been very blessed for a full and healthy life. Most of all, blessed for having my wife. We have grown together and grown in our faith. Life is going to go on with or without my finger. I was not going to let this take over my life and I pushed to go back to work and got light duty.

This was where my lesson began. When I returned to work, I started getting comments and some teasing from people asking me if it was worth losing my finger over a pack of cigarettes. Someone started a rumor that I had dropped a pack of cigarettes and reached down to pick them up and that is how I lost my finger. This is not true. This rumor hurt more than losing my finger in that machine. Everyone was called in to a meeting to resolve this matter and get the story straight. I had to share my lesson.

We can ruin a person’s life by just a few bad words. There is an old saying that I will never forget: “Words and water are easily poured, but impossible to recover.” So please remember to watch what you say.

1.According to the author, his index finger on his right hand is almost as long as ________.

A. his middle finger on his right hand

B. his middle finger on his left hand

C. his thumb on his right hand

D. his thumb on his left hand

2.From the second paragraph, we know that the author ________.

A. was not happy with a short finger

B. had a good relationship with his wife

C. didn’t want to work any more in the factory

D. wanted to find an important job

3.The rumour about the author is that he lost his finger ________.

A. when he was picking up a pack of cigarettes that had fallen into the machine

B. because he was not careful and smoked when running the machine

C. because he was too sleepy to operate the machine properly 

D. when he was reaching down to fix something wrong in the machine

4.Which of the following can match the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. Nothing is really beautiful but truth.

B. Bad words are meaningless.

C. Lies having short legs can do harm.

D. Words cut deeper than swords.

As Christmas is coming，there are presents to be bought，cards to be sent，and rooms to be cleaned．Parents are  36  with difficult jobs of hiding presents from curious young children·If the gifts are large，this is sometimes a real   37  On Christmas Eve，  young children find the excitement almost unbearable They are torn between the wish to go to bed early so that Father Christmas will bring their presents quickly and the wish to  38  up late SO that they will no’  39  the fun．The wish for gifts usually proves stronger．But though children go to bed early， they often lie   40  for a long time，hoping to get a short  41  at Father Christmas．

Last Christmas，my wife and I  42  hid a few large presents in the storeroom．I feared the   43  when my son，Jimmy，would  44  me where that new bike had come from，but  45  he did not see it．

    On Christmas Eve,  46   took the children hours to go to sleep．It must have been nearly    47  when my wife and 1 went quietly into their room and began    48  stockings(袜子) ．Then I pushed in the  49    I bought for Jimmy and left it beside the Christmas tree．We knew we would not get much sleep that night，for the children were  50  to get up early  At about five o’clock the next morning，  we were  51   by loud sounds coming from the children’s room--they were shouting excitedly!  52  I had time to get Out of bed，young Jimmy came riding into the room on his new bike，and his sister，Mary，followed close behind pushing her new baby carriage．  53  the youngest baby arrived He moved  54  the hands and knees into the room dragging a large balloon behind him Suddenly it burst．That woke us up  55  ．

The day had really begun with a bang(巨响)!

A． faced          B．met      C．filled            D．pleased

A．event                 B．affair                  C．problem       D．business

A．get                   B．stay                   C．stand          D．wake

A．bring                 B．break                  C．miss          D．1eave

A．awake                B．wake                  C．asleep         D．sleep

A．100k                 B．stare                  C．glare        D．watch

A．hopefully     B．busily                 C．gladly       D．successfully

A．day         B．moment               C．week          D．month

A．answer       B．tell                   C．ask           D．search

A．sadly       B．unluckily             C．possibly       D．fortunately

A．it          B．they                 C．I             D．we

A．morning    B．midnight              C．evening        D．daybreak

A．filling            B．sewing               C．mending       D．preparing

A．card              B．stocking               C．bike         D．tree

A．afraid       B sure                       C．surprised     D．excited

A．troubled          B．frightened        C．woken           D．shocked

A．Before    B．Because               C．Unless           D．Since

A．Even               B But                        C．So                D．Ever

A．with                B．on                       C．over              D．by

A．all            B．nearly                  C．happily          D．completely

Early one morning, I witnessed romance at one the least-expected places in the world—a room in a rest home. At the time, my father  36  a room with three other gentlemen.
Before my daddy lived in the rest home, an elderly  37  was sent there. Since there wasn’t a double room  38  , they were forced to separate the couple. The gentleman, Mr.West, was  39  in the bed beside Daddy. His wife, Mrs.West, shared a room with several other ladies down the hall.
When I went to see Daddy that morning, I  40  Mr.West. Three employees were working with him. He hadn’t eaten a bite of food  41  he was sent several days earlier. I could  42  by the expression on the nurses’ faces that they were worried about him. Mr.West  43  to open his mouth for any of them.
“Go and get Mrs.West, ” the nurse told her helper. “Maybe Mr.West will eat  44  her. ”
In a few minutes a kind-looking lady was  45  into the room. Her smile was contagious（传染的）and Mr.West smiled  46  . I felt as though I was intruding（侵入）on a  47  moment, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the couple. The love between them was obvious, as Mrs.West patted Mr.West’s hand.
With a soft voice, Mrs.West tried to 48  Mr.West to eat. To everyone’s surprise, Mr.West  49  his mouth and began to enjoy the  50  and his wife’s company. While the nurses fed him, he stared at his sweetheart with a smile on his face. Mrs.West began singing a song for him. The  51  on his once solemn（严肃的）face became even brighter.
Tears  52  my eyes. The nurse then  53  the curtain around the couple to give them some quality time alone. I discovered that  54  doesn’t only exist when we’re young and in love. Romance  55  a lifetime and grows stronger with age.

The cars were honking （鸣叫） on the road one morning as I was walking to the park．I walked on and soon found the cause — a little taxi that had got stuck in the middle of the road．There was sweat on the driver's face as he tried to start the engine again and again — nothing happened．"No petrol,"
I said to myself and then found myself getting angry．"Why doesn't the fool move his taxi to the side?" I thought, so did all the others who honked and shouted．
He got up tiredly, and the passenger in the taxi got out．He was a young man in a white shirt, who watched the driver try to push it to the side．"Stupid guy!" I said．"Can't he lend a helping hand? "
I watched as the poor driver pushed it to the side．Cars, buses and trucks went past cursing （咒骂） the poor man．The young man took another taxi and went off．
The taxi driver began mending his taxi．"Stupid passenger!" I said to him．"He didn't help you!" The taxi driver slowly got up．"Sir!" he asked, "Did you?" I looked at him guiltily, then looked away, and walked away fast, asking myself, "Did I help the poor man push his taxi?"
What had I been doing as the traffic jam took place? How had I helped deal with the problem? Did I help the poor man push his taxi? I’d done my bit, with my mouth．But never had I moved to solve the problem．I was shocked with guilt as I heard him asking, "Sir! Did you?"
【小题1】Why did a traffic jam happen on the road when the author was walking to the park?