The word “death” is a word many Chinese friends tell me I should not say aloud. They advise me to avoid the word because only speaking of it may bring ill fortune. I deeply believe, however, that to know how to live, we must also know how to die. The problem is how we talk about death.      
Like everyone in Taiwan this week, I have had “Tomb Sweeping Day”. I am proud to be part of a people whose culture sends millions of families to cemeteries on this special day to share memories and endless love.
Today, eight days after the death of Pope John Paul II, millions of people of all backgrounds still grieve(悲痛) his passing away. He was a deeply human person who knew how to laugh and show emotions, a writer with a gift for words a leader who appealed to us by the sheer light of his love for life.
On the same day and only hours before the Holy Father left us, a friend of mine named Veronica McBride died of cancer in a small Wisconsin city. My friend Veronica was 52 years old. She was an attractive, humorous young woman who, as the saying goes, “never married”. She published several humor books with her mother, Mary McBride. She enjoyed traveling, and for years sent Christmas card photos of herself standing beside monuments or odd animals. She fought cancer for five years. She joked about her treatment keeping her pretty because it kept her thin, and told me she didn’t mind losing her hair because of chemo therapy. “I get to wear nice wigs!”
The last time I saw Veronica was when I visited her family on a sunny day in August in 2003. When she burst into the front door later and saw me in the living room, she ignored me completely in her hurry to hug her newest baby nephew, leaving me shaking my head in laughter at her.
As we look to the significance of the Holy Father and his life, surely we must also keep our eyes open to see the wonder and goodness in ordinary people who show us how to live and how to die.
【小题1】The purpose of the article is ___________.

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　I can't count how many times people have complained, while shaking their heads in obvious disappointment, “just don't know what is with teenagers today.”

　　The other day I was in my car on my way to the farmers market when I passed two teens standing by the side of the road with a car wash sign. My car was filthy and my heart was full, so I pulled over. There was a group directing the cars and another group spraying them down. As sponges (海绵) were wiped over every square inch of my dirty car, I sat enjoying the little water battles. I was amazed at how forteen to fifteen teenagers had devoted their Saturday to washing cars.

　　After I handed them a twenty-dollar bill I asked what they were raising money for. They explained to me that a friend of theirs, C. T. Schmitz, had recently died of cancer. He was only fifteen years old. He had gone to school with a lot of the teenagers who were there that day and each of them had memories of a boy sweeter than any they had known. His friend Kevin had decided to put this car wash together because he wanted to honor his friend and also bring together his classmates with his boy scout troop (童子军). He told me that they wanted to plant a tree in front of their school and if they raised enough money they would put a plaque(匾) there also. Both would be in memory of their friend C. T.

　　They handed me a bag of homemade cookies with my receipt (收条) saying “Thanks for helping us plant a tree of C.T.”

　　Yeah! I don't know what is with teenagers today!

1．The boys were raising money because they intended to ________.

[　　]

A．buy a plaque for their school

B．help those who suffered from cancer

C．plant a tree in memory of their friend

D．put a plaque near his friend's home

2．From the passage, we can infer that

C．T. Schmitz was ________.

[　　]

A．kind-hearted but lonely

B．brave and popular with his classmates

C．shy and sensitive

D．a boy you can get a good impression of

3．What does the underlined word “filthy” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

[　　]

4．What would be the best title of the article?

[　　]

A．Teenagers today.

B．A special day.

C．My view on teenagers.

D．An exciting experience.

One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.
Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.
They say that everything in this universe is balanced(平衡的) and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to(录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.
Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.
【小题1】When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came flooding to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain.

Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am a person who is not often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up I could hardly wait for my computer to work, the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent an email.

They say that everything in this universe is balanced(平衡的) and indeed it is. Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted to(录取) Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on.

Everything in life is balanced; the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, the sunshine is always there and just waiting for the opportunity to shine through.

1.When the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.

A．gave him some money                   B．wrote an email to him

C．went to visit him                        D．went for a journey with him

2.What good news did the author’s friend receive?

A．He received the author’s email.

B．He was told that life would go on.

C．He would go to Cambridge University.

D．His life would go back to normal again

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．The author wrote four emails to her friend.

B．The mother of the author’s friend died from cancer.

C．The author’s friend is a teacher in Cambridge University.

D．The author felt relaxed after sending the email.

4.From the text, we can learn that the author is ______.

A．sincere and warm-hearted

B．proud and confident

C．serious and friendly

D．funny and responsible

5.The author aims to tell us that ______.

A．life is not fair to everybody

B．time waits for no man

C．everyone has good and bad times in life

D．where there is a will, there is a way