David’s Haircut
When David steps out of the front door he is blinded for a moment by the white, strong sunlight and reaches for his dad’s hand automatically. It’s the first really warm day of the year, an unexpected heat that bridges the gap between spring and summer. Father and son are on their way to the barbershop, something they have always done together.
Always, the routine is the same. “It’s about time we got that mop of yours cut,” David’s dad will say, pointing at him with two fingers, a cigarette caught between them. “Perhaps I should do it. Where are those scissors, Janet?” Sometimes his dad runs after him round the living room, pretending to cut off his ears. When he was young, David used to get too excited and start crying, scared that maybe he really would lose his ears, but he has long since grown out of that.
Mr Samuels’ barbershop is in a long room above the chip shop, reached by a steep and worn flight of stairs. David follows his father. He loves the barbershop — it’s like nowhere else he goes. It smells of cigarettes and men and hair oil. Sometimes the smell of chips will climb the stairs along with a customer and when the door opens the waiting men lift their noses together. Black and white photographs of men with various out-of-fashion hairstyles hang above a picture rail at the end of the room, where two barber’s chairs are fixed to the floor. They are heavy, old-fashioned chairs with foot pumps that screams as Mr Samuels adjusts the height of the seat. In front of the chairs are deep sinks with a showerhead and long metal pipe attached to the taps, not that anyone seems to use them. Behind the sinks are mirrors and on either side of these, shelves overflowing with all types of plastic combs, shaving mugs, scissors, cut throat razors, hair brushes and, 10 bright red bottles of Brylcreem(男士发油), piled neatly in a pyramid. At the back of the room sit the customers, silent for most of the time, except when Mr Samuels breaks off from cutting and smoke his cigarette, sending a stream of grey-blue smoke like the tail of kite twisting into the air.
When it is David’s turn for a cut, Mr Samuels places a wooden board covered with a piece of red leather across the arms of the chair, so that the barber doesn’t have to bend to cut the boy’s hair. David scrambles up onto the bench.
“Hey, young man, you’re shooting up, you won’t need this soon, you’ll be able to sit in the chair,” the barber says.
“Wow,” says David, turning round to look at his dad, forgetting that he can see him through the mirror. “Dad, Mr Samuels said I could be sitting in the chair soon, not just on the board!”
“So I hear,” his father replies, not looking up from the paper. “I expect Mr Samuels will start charging me more for your hair then.”
“At least double the price,” said Mr Samuels, winking at David.
Finally David’s dad looks up from his newspaper and glances into the mirror, seeing his son looking back at him. He smiles.
“Wasn’t so long ago when I had to lift you onto that board because you couldn’t climb up there yourself,” he says.
“They don’t stay young for long do they, kids”, Mr Samuels declares. All the men in the shop nod in agreement. David nods too.
In the mirror he sees a little head sticking out of a long nylon cape. Occasionally he steals glances at the barber as he works. He smells a mixture of smelly sweat and aftershave as the barber moves around him, combing and cutting, combing and cutting.
David feels like he is in another world, noiseless except for the sound of the barber’s shoes rubbing on the plastic carpet and the click of his scissors. In the reflection from the window he could see through the window, a few small clouds moved slowly through the frame, moving to the sound of the scissors’ click.
Sleepily, his eyes dropping to the front of the cape where his hair falls softly as snow and he imagines sitting in the chair just like the men and older boys, the special bench left leaning against the wall in the corner. He thinks about the picture book of Bible stories his aunt gave him for Christmas, the one of Samson having his hair cut by Delilah. David wonders if his strength will go like Samson’s.
When Mr Samuels has finished, David hops down from the seat, rubbing the itchy hair from his face. Looking down he sees his own thick, blonde hair mixed among the browns, greys and blacks of the men who have sat in the chair before him. For a moment he wants to reach down and gather up the broken blonde hair, to separate them from the others, but he does not have time.
They reach the pavement outside the shop. “I tell you what, boy, let’s get some fish and chips to take home, save your mum from cooking tea,” says David’s dad and turns up the street.
The youngster is excited and catches his dad’s hand. The thick-skinned fingers close gently around his and David is surprised to find, warming in his father’s palm, a handful of his own hair

1. 1.

   How old is David most probably age according to the context?

   1. A.
      2
   2. B.
      4
   3. C.
      10
   4. D.
      17
2. 2.

   Why does the author describe the barbershop detailedly in David’s eyes in Paragraph 3?

   1. A.
      Because David is not familiar with this place and tries to remember it
   2. B.
      Because David develops great friendfish with the shop owner
   3. C.
      Because the barbershop is a place that attracts him greatly
   4. D.
      Because the barbershop is very traditional and David can see one nowhere else
3. 3.

   Saying “I expect Mr Samuels will start charging me more for your hair then”, David’s dad is ________

   1. A.
      showing his proudness of his son’s growth
   2. B.
      complaining about the price of the haircut
   3. C.
      expressing his thanks to the shopowner’s kindness
   4. D.
      counting his expense on his son’s haircut
4. 4.

   The underlined sentence sugests that David ________

   1. A.
      looks down upon those old, grey-haired men
   2. B.
      feels extremely excited about becoming a bigger boy
   3. C.
      thinks blond hair is much more precious than other color
   4. D.
      is quite curious about his broken blonde hair
5. 5.

   Which detail from the story best shows the deep love that father gives son?

   1. A.
      Dad runs after his son round the living room
   2. B.
      Dad buys his son some fish and chips
   3. C.
      Dad sees his son through the mirror
   4. D.
      Dad holds some of his son’s hair in his palm
6. 6.

   What is the author’s tone of writing this passage?

   1. A.
      serious
   2. B.
      light-hearted
   3. C.
      critical
   4. D.
      persuasive

　　One day Burton took his children to the zoo. He told them to be ready at two o'clock, but they weren't all ready. Little Tommy could not find his shoes. He could find his brown shoes, but he couldn't find his black shoes, and he wanted to wear his black shoes to the zoo. At a quarter past two his brothers and sisters asked him to wear his brown shoes, so be put them on; and at last they were all ready to leave. Their mother waved goodbye and told them to enjoy their trip to the zoo. Then she sat down to read a book in the empty quiet house.

　　When they got to the zoo, Burton told the children to stay with him; he didn't want them to get lost in the zoo. Little Tommy asked his father to buy some food for the bears, but his father answered, “Look at that notice, Tommy. It tells us not to feed the animals.”

　　“Why does it tell us not to feed the animals?” asked Tommy.

　　“Because they get a lot of food already,” said Burton, “and people often try to give them the wrong food; that's bad for the animals.”

　　At three o'clock the dolphin（海豚）show began. All the Burtons wanted to see it, so Mr Burton bought seven tickets and took the children down to the dolphinarium（海豚馆）. The dolphins did a lot of tricks：they jumped up into the air and flew through hoops（大铁圈）over the water; they caught rubber rings with their noses; and they played “basketball” with red and yellow balls. The trainer blew his whistle when he wanted the dolphins to do something, and when they did it he gave them some fish.

　　“How can the dolphins do all these tricks? ”asked little Tommy.

　　“Because they are very intelligent（聪明的）,”said his elder brother. “They can understand when their trainer tells them to do something; and they like to do tricks（耍把戏）because their trainer always gives them some fish when they do them .”

　　“That's good,” said Tommy. “I like to do tricks, too. Why doesn't Father give me some candies（糖果）when I do them?”

(1) Burton ____ the house at two o'clock.

[　　]

A．wants to leave

B．wanted to leave

C．doesn't want to leave

D．didn't want to leave

(2) Tommy was looking for _____.

[　　]

(3) Burton told his children ______.

[　　]

A．to get lost in the zoo

B．to feed the bears

C．to enjoy their trip to the zoo

D．not to leave him

(4) _____ the animals the wrong food.

[　　]

A．People often try to give

B．People always want to give

C．Nobody tries to give

D．Nobody wants to give

　　One day Burton took his children to the zoo. He told them to be ready at two o'clock, but they weren't all ready. Little Tommy could not find his shoes. He could find his brown shoes, but he couldn't find his black shoes, and he wanted to wear his black shoes to the zoo. At a quarter past two his brothers and sisters asked him to wear his brown shoes, so be put them on; and at last they were all ready to leave. Their mother waved goodbye and told them to enjoy their trip to the zoo. Then she sat down to read a book in the empty quiet house.

　　When they got to the zoo, Burton told the children to stay with him; he didn't want them to get lost in the zoo. Little Tommy asked his father to buy some food for the bears, but his father answered, “Look at that notice, Tommy. It tells us not to feed the animals.”

　　“Why does it tell us not to feed the animals?” asked Tommy.

　　“Because they get a lot of food already,” said Burton, “and people often try to give them the wrong food; that's bad for the animals.”

　　At three o'clock the dolphin（海豚）show began. All the Burtons wanted to see it, so Mr Burton bought seven tickets and took the children down to the dolphinarium（海豚馆）. The dolphins did a lot of tricks：they jumped up into the air and flew through hoops（大铁圈）over the water; they caught rubber rings with their noses; and they played “basketball” with red and yellow balls. The trainer blew his whistle when he wanted the dolphins to do something, and when they did it he gave them some fish.

　　“How can the dolphins do all these tricks? ”asked little Tommy.

　　“Because they are very intelligent（聪明的）,”said his elder brother. “They can understand when their trainer tells them to do something; and they like to do tricks（耍把戏）because their trainer always gives them some fish when they do them .”

　　“That's good,” said Tommy. “I like to do tricks, too. Why doesn't Father give me some candies（糖果）when I do them?”

(1) Burton ____ the house at two o'clock.

[　　]

A．wants to leave

B．wanted to leave

C．doesn't want to leave

D．didn't want to leave

(2) Tommy was looking for _____.

[　　]

(3) Burton told his children ______.

[　　]

A．to get lost in the zoo

B．to feed the bears

C．to enjoy their trip to the zoo

D．not to leave him

(4) _____ the animals the wrong food.

[　　]

A．People often try to give

B．People always want to give

C．Nobody tries to give

D．Nobody wants to give

【2011·江苏南通市第二次模拟】

    Bobby Qualls was shopping when he received a text message: Fire on Beechmont, one-story house, child trapped inside. “I was picking out gifts for the family our engine house adopted for Christmas,” remembers Qualls, who has been fighting fires in Memphis for 24 years. “I had this sinking feeling as I got in my car and headed over.”

    The last time Qualls had been on Beechmont Street was to install smoke detectors (感应器) at the Bateman-Tubbs home. He’d been on a secret task to see if they needed extra help during the holidays. There he discovered that the four Bateman-Tubbs children were sleeping on bare mattresses (床垫), and he found two of the boys playing outside in 30-degree weather with no shoes or coats.

    Qualls learned that Leonard Tubbs was doing his best to make ends meet laying floors while Kimberly Bateman stayed home with the kids.

    “When Bobby told me his team wanted to be Secret Santas and buy my kids toys, at first I thought we didn’t need any help,” Bateman recalls. “It really touched me. I told him what the kids really needed was warm clothes.”

    That’s exactly what Qualls was shopping for on December 9, 2010: winter jackets for Christopher, seven; JoJo, four; Madison, one; and two-month-old Charles. While driving over to Beechmont Street, he dialed Bateman’s cell phone. She answered on the first ring, screaming, “The house is on fire—JoJo’s trapped inside!”

    By the time Qualls reached the house, the family had gotten out, but their home was severely damaged. His coworkers had found JoJo hiding under a pile of clothes in a back bedroom. He had stopped breathing and had been given CPR and rushed to the hospital. Qualls learned that JoJo was now on life support and might not make it through the night. He rushed to the hospital with Lt. Mark Eskew, who placed a stuffed teddy bear in a firefighter’s suit on JoJo’s bed.

    “I just kept praying my little boy would open his eyes,” Bateman recalls. “There was nothing else I could do. They were pumping black and thick liquid out of his lungs and stomach for days.”

    After a few days, though, JoJo regained consciousness, and the tubes were taken out of his throat. While he began to slowly recover, the local newspaper and TV stations got hold of the story, and the Secret Santa Plan of Qualls and his fellow firefighters snowballed. Before long, the fire station was overflowing with boxes of toys, food, towels, and clothes. People called, wanting to donate furniture and appliances (电器) too. By December 23, Bateman and Tubbs had moved their kids into a new rental home. By Christmas Eve, JoJo was ready to leave the hospital, and the firefighters were ready to deliver the family their very own Christmas miracle.

    “These guys aren’t just firefighters,” says Bateman, “they’re our guardian angels. If they hadn’t installed a smoke detector that first day they came to our house, we wouldn’t have known when the fire started. Then they went the extra ten miles to give us a Christmas.”

67. What did Qualls do after he received a text message?

A. He drove to the burning house.   B. He hurried to the fire station.

C. He went to pick out gifts.    D. He went shopping in Beechmont.

68. Who saved JoJo out of the burning house?

A. Bobby Qualls. B. Leonard Tubbs.   C. Kimberly Bateman.  D. Firefighters.

69. We can infer from the reading that _______.

A. JoJo is a naughty child     B. smoke detectors are very useful

C. Tubbs’ home is filled with gifts   D. the fire was caused by the bare mattress

70. The purpose of this story is to _______.

A. encourage people to install smoke detectors

B. advise people to take good care of their children

C. ask people to give gifts to the firemen

D. praise the firemen for their good deeds