“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation(回声)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．

We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．

The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄凉的)．I wandered aimlessly．

A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．

But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．

In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蛮横的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”

All the lights were off except father’s．

Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．

This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love is second to none．

Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．

a．I opened the door and entered the house．

b．Sadly I ran out into the street．

c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．

d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．

e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

A．b, e, d, c, a        B．b, e, c, d, a        C．b, e, a, c, d        D．b, e, c, a, d

What made the writer think of his childhood?

A．The sight of the desolate street lights．   

B．The sight of the empty street．

C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms．

D．The sight of light in his own house．

Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?

A．Perhaps the father is getting older and older．

B．Perhaps the son has already grown up．

C．Perhaps they never agree with each other．

What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

A．The father is actually kind to his son．

B．The father treats his son in an unfair way．

C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．

D．The father is always finding fault with his son．

“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation(回声)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．

We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．

The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄凉的)．I wandered aimlessly．

A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．

But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．

In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蛮横的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”

All the lights were off except father’s．

Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．

This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love is second to none．

1. Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．

a．I opened the door and entered the house．

b．Sadly I ran out into the street．

c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．

d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．

e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

A．b, e, d, c, a    B．b, e, c, d, a        C．b, e, a, c, d        D．b, e, c, a, d

2.What made the writer think of his childhood?

A．The sight of the desolate street lights．

B．The sight of the empty street．

C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms．

D．The sight of light in his own house．

3. Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?

A．Perhaps the father is getting older and older．

B．Perhaps the son has already grown up．

C．Perhaps they never agree with each other．

4. What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

A．The father is actually kind to his son．

B．The father treats his son in an unfair way．

C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．

D．The father is always finding fault with his son．

“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation (回声)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．
We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．
The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄凉的)．I wandered aimlessly．
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．
But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．
I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．
In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蛮横的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”
All the lights were off except father’s．
Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．
This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．
The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love – is second to none．

1. 1.

   Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．
   a．I opened the door and entered the house．
   b．Sadly I ran out into the street．
   c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．
   d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．
   e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

   1. A.
      b, e, d, c, a
   2. B.
      b, e, c, d, a
   3. C.
      b, e, a, c, d
   4. D.
      b, e, c, a, d
2. 2.

   What made the writer think of his childhood?

   1. A.
      The sight of the desolate street lights．
   2. B.
      The sight of the empty street．
   3. C.
      The sight of a father with a child in his arms．
   4. D.
      The sight of light in his own house．
3. 3.

   Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?

   1. A.
      Perhaps the father is getting older and older．
   2. B.
      Perhaps the son has already grown up．
   3. C.
      Perhaps they never agree with each other．
   4. D.
      Perhaps the father has got used to doing that．
4. 4.

   What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

   1. A.
      The father is actually kind to his son．
   2. B.
      The father treats his son in an unfair way．
   3. C.
      The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．
   4. D.
      The father is always finding fault with his son．

After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a spe­cial student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.

During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(阻碍) and going for my dreams.

I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion（冠军）. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”

Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed

away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:

Dick,

My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.

I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I

will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.

Yours,

Matthew

1. How old was Matthew when they met?

2.The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that _______.

3.Matthew didn’t accept the author’s medal because _________.

4.From the passage we learn that _________.

I received pictures of my daughter floating (漂浮) on a lake in California. Right there under the sun during the hottest time of the day, she has only her swimsuit to cover her.
When I showed it to my students, it was as if I had shown them scenes from a horror (恐怖) movie.
“But she will get dark,” they said.
“That’s what she wants,” I told them. “We think darker skin (肤色) is beautiful.”
They looked at me in disbelief. It was as if I came from the moon.
For years, American girls spend their summer trying to get as tanned (晒黑) as possible. In China, on the other hand, girls use umbrellas all year round.
What in the world is going on?
The pale skin we think looks unattractive (不漂亮) is what Asian women want. Both groups want to meet their culture’s standard (标准) of beauty.
In the US, if you can afford to go on vacation in the summer, you head for a river, a lake or a beach, where you try to get as much sun as possible. If you are rich you take a winter vacation in some sunny spot. Your winter tan shows your wealth.
In China, once upon a time, the few wealthy were the ones who didn’t have to work out in the hot sun. So the whiter the skin, the richer the woman. The folk opera performers who play these ladies wore lots of white makeup (妆容). The tradition survives to this day.
So it comes naturally that none of my students wishes to follow the Western ways in this regard.
But now I am noticing that a new business – the tanning booth (美黑店) – started up in China. I admire those brave enough to define（给…下定义）their own idea of beauty, but I do wonder what their grandmothers would have to say to them about it!
【小题1】The students were shocked at the picture the writer showed them because ______.

A．Women with blond hair.	B．Women with a slim figure.
C．Women with tanned skin.	D．Women with pale skin.

A．is hard-working	B．doesn’t have to work
C．has a lot of money and spare time	D．is from a very poor family