As a boy，Tim was much influenced by books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to be helping to wrap up medicine bottles，but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.
During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon（外科医生）.“That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it .”In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus，while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was serving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside，working under an old doctor who was popular in the area，but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the younger man many opportunities to go on working as a life –saver.
【小题1】Tim decided to become a doctor at fifteen mainly because      

After a very busy afternoon, as I walked into my house, I heard the phone ringing. It was my friend Lydia, upset over an argument with her husband. My usual approach is to offer advice, but this time, extremely tired from chores, I simply pulled off my coat, sat down in a chair and listened to my friend's frustration and sadness. Without the disturbance of judgment or the desire to comfort her, I stayed totally quiet while she talked. Eventually Lydia's depression eased and we said our goodbyes. The next day she phoned to thank me. "I'm so grateful for the way you helped me through this," she said.

At first I was surprised. After all, I had done nothing except be there for her. But after I had my own venting(发泄的) experience with another friend later that evening, I realized that my focused silence had some value. In fact, most relationship experts agree that talk is cheap; it's listening that's rare and valuable. It allows you not only to hear what the other person is saying, but also to have a clear understanding of her thoughts and feelings. And for the speaker, that level of understanding translates into concern and respect.

Unfortunately, listening isn't as easy as it sounds. Thanks to schedules filled with family and work, multitasking has become the barrier(障碍) to listening. My tiredness may have been the only thing stopping me from folding laundry or checking my e-mail while Lydia talked that afternoon.

Another barrier to listening is our listening system: Most of us take in only about half of what's being said during a conversation, according to the International Listening Association. Research shows that we speak at 125 to 150 words per minute, yet think at 500 words a minute. Therefore, because we think much more quickly than we speak, it is easy for us to lose our concentration when listening to speakers.

While it can be hard to focus at times, it's a skill worth developing. With a little practice — employing some techniques— you can become a better listener.

1. In Paragraph 2, the author mainly talks about ____.

  A. the importance of listening         B. the importance of venting anger

  C. her own listening experience       D. her own venting experience

2.The author uses the result of the research in Paragraph 4 to mainly show that ____.

  A. we think much more quickly than we speak

  B. we can only understand about half of what we hear

  C. there is not much thinking time available while we are listening

  D. we lose our concentration easily while we are listening

3. What will be discussed following the passage?

  A. Why listening is valuable.        B. What we should do while listening

C. How to become a good listener    D. How to stop drifting off while listening.

As a boy，Tim was much influenced by books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to be helping to wrap up medicine bottles，but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.

During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon（外科医生）.“That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it .”In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus，while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was serving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside，working under an old doctor who was popular in the area，but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the younger man many opportunities to go on working as a life –saver.

1.Tim decided to become a doctor at fifteen mainly because      

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

3.From the passage we can infer that Tim        .

4.The passage is mainly about        .

As a boy，Tim was much influenced by books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to be helping to wrap up medicine bottles，but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.

During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon（外科医生）.“That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it .”In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus ，while he was able to tell them what to do， he could feel he was serving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside，working under an old doctor who was popular in the area， but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the younger man many opportunities to go on working as a life saver.

56. Tim decided to become a doctor at fifteen mainly because

A．his father wanted him to be so

B．his father was a surgeon himself

C．he had read many books about medicine

D．he had chances to meet many doctors through his father

57. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Tim got married to the old doctor’s daughter.

B．Tim continued working as a surgeon after the war.

C．Before the war，Tim worked as a doctor at a local clinic.

D．While working in California，Tim taught life-saving to the patients.

58. From the passage we can infer that Tim        .

A．was sent to Europe during the war

B．worked as a surgeon during the war

C．was satisfied with his career as a surgeon.

D．decided to give up medicine for faith

59. The passage is mainly about        .

A．Tim’s life story   B．Tim’s dreams       C．Tim’s marriage    D．Tim’ s patients

      As a boy，Tim was much influenced by books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic of a local doctor where he was supposed to be helping to wrap up medicine bottles，but was actually trying to listen to the conversations taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.

      During the war Tim served in the Navy as a surgeon（外科医生）.“That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it .”In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus ，while he was able to tell them what to do， he could feel he was serving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside，working under an old doctor who was popular in the area， but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the younger man many opportunities to go on working as a life –saver.

1．Tim decided to become a doctor at fifteen mainly because      

      A．his father wanted him to be so

      B．his father was a surgeon himself

      C．he had read many books about medicine

      D．he had chances to meet many doctors through his father

2．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

      A．Tim got married to the old doctor’s daughter.

      B．Tim continued working as a surgeon after the war.

      C．Before the war，Tim worked as a doctor at a local clinic．

      D．While working in California，Tim taught life-saving to the patients.

3．From the passage we can infer that Tim        .

      A．was sent to Europe during the war

      B．worked as a surgeon during the war

      C．was satisfied with his career as a surgeon.

      D．decided to give up medicine for faith

4．The passage is mainly about        .

       A．Tim’s life story       B．Tim’s dreams   C．Tim’s marriage D．Tim’ s patients