Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清风),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(门廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(猫头鹰)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.
【小题1】On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.

1. He went to do the experiment ________________________seeing the film yesterday.

2. His mother __________________________his success in the mid-term exam.

3. He always __________________more ______________others but less of himself.

4. Last year his dad ___________________a falling tree while riding, leaving him as an orphan.

Thank God! The hard work is _______________________.

______ lie in the sun for too long, ______ you will get sunburnt.

1. A.
   Not; and
2. B.
   Don’t; otherwise
3. C.
   Shouldn’t; for
4. D.
   Let’s not; and

Lie in bed, by an open window, and listen…
“No air conditioning? How can you sleep?” a friend asks, horrified. I tell her my family has decided to shut the air conditioner off and reduce our electric bill. On this first night of our cost-cutting plan, it’s only 85 degrees. We’re going to suffer, but the three kids complain anyway.
They have grown up in 72-degree comfort, protected from the world outside.
“It’s too hot to sleep,” my 13-year-old daughter complains. “I’m about to die from this heat,” her brother complains down the hall. “Just try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I’m too tired to turn for long. My face is sweaty, but I lie quietly listening to the cricket choirs outside that remind me of childhood.
The neighbor’s dog howls. Probably a passing squirrel. It’s been years since I took the time to really listen to the night.
I think about grandma, who lived to 92 and still helped with my mom’s gardening until just a few weeks before she died. And then, I’m back there at her house in the summer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of grandma’s bed and turn my face toward the open window. I turn the pillow, hunting for the cooler side.
Grandma saw me turn over and over. “If you just watch for the breeze(清风),” she said, “you’ll cool off and fall asleep.” I stare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to move. Lying still, waiting, I suddenly notice the life outside the window. The bug chorus. Neighbors, porch(门廊)-sitting late, speak in unclear words that calm me.
“Mom, did you hear that?” my seven-year-old son cries, “I think it was an owl(猫头鹰)family.”
“Probably,” I tell him, “just keep listening…”
Without the working air conditioner, the house is peaceful, and the natural night noises seem close enough to touch. I hope I’m awake tonight when the first breeze comes in.

1. 1.

   On the first night of the writer’s cost-cutting plan, her children ______.

   1. A.
      live a comfortable life as usual
   2. B.
      begin to be unhappy
   3. C.
      are protected from the world outside
   4. D.
      are about to die from the heat
2. 2.

   The author talks about her grandmother and her childhood to show that ______.

   1. A.
      people used to live a hard life
   2. B.
      people at that time were hardworking
   3. C.
      it’s OK for people to live a simple life
   4. D.
      she has learned a great deal from her grandma
3. 3.

   In the writer’s eyes, her children are ______.

   1. A.
      free from parents’ protection
   2. B.
      full of dissatisfaction with life
   3. C.
      dependable because of parents’ love
   4. D.
      lacking in real test of hardships in life
4. 4.

   Which of the following titles best suits the passage?

   1. A.
      Waiting for the Breeze.
   2. B.
      An Interesting Experience.
   3. C.
      Life at Present and Life in the Past.
   4. D.
      Different Times, Different Children