Until quite recently, I knew only three things about my father: I knew his name, David S. Johnson, Jr. I knew he was an only child, and I’d been told he was killed on April 12, 1945, somewhere in Germany.

I used to come to visit my Granny. “Daddy David and his two friends were out in the fields, making sure the way was safe for the others to follow,” she told me. “All of a sudden there was an explosion. All three of them were killed.” Granny was looking down, stroking (抚摸)one thin hand with the other. Then there were no words but silence.

    I began my search and collection for information about my father as my 50th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his death drew near. I was told that the explosion had blown him to bits and I had great difficulty collecting anything I could find about him bit by bit. Bits of information about his began falling into my hands, my mind and my heart. Longing to know my father kept me connected to him. It was time to transform my longing into knowledge.

    Once upon a time he was alive, and my mother and father were deeply in love. They were married, and they had a child, my brother David. Then my father left for the war.

I was born in January 1945. On February 15 my father wrote me a letter of welcome. The letter is kept in my baby book, “Dear Susan, you have a very good family. Your dad is sort of a less able person. Your mother is the most wonderful person I’ve ever known. I’ve always marveled at my great good fortune to have her and been loved by her. If you follow her words and examples, you may expect to meet life in the best possible way, and your path will always be the right one. Your father, Dave.”

    Black on white paper, the words are from my father. From them I grow into a person of loyalty and love. How I long for stories that will bring him to life!

1.The writer got to know her father’s story of death from ______.

A. her father’s friends              B. someone in Germany

  C. her grandmother                    D. a little child

2.The author met difficulty finding information about her father because ______.

A. it was too late for her to start the search

  B. the explosion left little about her father

  C. she only found pieces of hands and legs

  D. she didn’t have enough knowledge to do it

3.Which of the following statements is true?

  A. Her parents had only one child     B. Her father died before her birth

  C. Her father was a disabled man      D. The writer never saw her father

4.We know from the last paragraph that the author ______.

A. still hates her father for having left               B. is curious about her father’s death

  C. shows much respect for her father  D. is sure that her father may survive

John and Bobby joined a wholesale company together just after graduation from college the same year. Both worked very hard. After several years, however, the boss promoted Bobby to the position of manager but John remained an ordinary employee. John could not take it any more, tendered his resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not know how to delegate and did not value hard-working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him.

The boss knew that John worked very hard for the years. He thought a moment and said, “Thank you for your criticism, but I have a request. I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave. Perhaps you will change your decision and take back your resignation.”

John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find out anyone selling watermelon in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found out a man selling watermelon. The boss asked how much per kg. John shook his head and went back to the market to ask and returned to inform the boss $1.2 per kg.

Boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to go and find anyone selling watermelon in the market. Bobby went, returned and said, “Boss, only one person selling watermelon. $1.2 per kg, $10 for 10kg, he has inventory (清单) of 340 melons. On the table 58 melons, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.”

John was very impressed and realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided not to resign but to learn from Bobby.

Chances exist in the daily details. For the same matter, a more successful person sees more and farther so that he can find out an opportunity and catch it to realize his aim. If a person sees one year ahead, while another sees only tomorrow. Then the difference between a year and a day is 365 times!

Why did John decide to hand in his resignation to the boss?

Because he couldn’t stand being an ordinary employee.

Because Bobby would take John’s former position.

Because the boss was not flattered by his hard work.

Because Bobby instead of him was promoted.

What did the boss ask John to do?

A. To go to market and find out whether there is someone selling watermelons.

B. To make a complete marketing research on the various prices of watermelons.

C. To search for much information about the effective ways to sell watermelons.

D. To make a comparison on the prices of different types of watermelons.

What sort of following information about watermelons was NOT brought by Bobby?

A. The price.                       B. The quality.

C. The quantity.                    D. The weight.

From the difference of John and Bobby, we may infer that a more successful person is more _____.

alert, sensitive and passionate

observant, thoughtful and exploratory

considerate, modest and satisfied

confident, noble and tolerant