As the train approached the seaside town where I was going to spend my holidays, I went into the corridor to __36__ my legs. I stayed there a short while, breathing in the fresh sea air and __37__ a few words with one of the passengers, whom I had met earlier on the __38__.

When I turned to go back to __39__, I happened to glance into the compartment (车厢) next to mine. Sitting there was a man who many years before had been my neighbor. He was a great __40__, I remembered; it used to take hours to __41__ him once he began a conversation. I was not at all __42__ when he went to live in another part of London. We had not met since then, __43__ did I wish to meet him now, when __44__ was about to begin.

Luckily at that moment he was __45__ busy talking to the man opposite him to catch sight of me. I slipped back into my compartment, took down my two suitcases and carried them to the far end of the corridor so as to be ready to __46__ the train as soon as it stopped． The moment the train came to a halt (停止), I called a porter, who in no time at all had carried my luggage out of the station and __47__ me a taxi. As I drove towards my small hotel on the outskirts of the town, I breathed a deep sigh of relief at my__48__. There was little chance that I should __49__ my boring ex-neighbor again.

When I reached the hotel, I went __50__ to my room and rested there until it was time for dinner. Then I went down to the dining room and __51__ a drink. I had barely raised the glass to my lips __52__ an all too familiar voice greeted me. I had not escaped from the tiresome neighbor __53__! He grasped me warmly by the hand and insisted that we __54__ a table in the dinning-room. “This is a pleasant __55__,” he said． “I never expected to see you again after all these years.”

The Best Holiday

 I was unbelievably proud of my nine-year-old daughter. Emily   41   to buy a mountain bike. She’d been saving her pocket money all year,   42   doing small jobs to earn extra money.

 By Thanksgiving, she had collected only $49. I said, “You   43   have your pick from my bicycle   44  .” “Thanks, Daddy. But your bikes are so old.” She was right. All my girls’ bikes were 1950’s models, not the kind a kid today would   45   choose.

As Christmas   46   near, Emily and I went bike shopping. As we left one store, she   __47   a Salvation Army volunteer standing next to a big pot. “Can we give something, Daddy?” she asked. “Sorry, I’m out of   48  .”

  Throughout December, Emily continued to   49   hard. Then one day, she made a   __50   announcement. “You know all the money I’ve been saving?” she said hesitantly. “I’m going to give it to the poor people.” So one cold morning before Christmas, Emily handed her total savings of $ 58 to a volunteer who was really very   51  .

  52   by Emily’s selflessness, I decided to contribute   53   of my old bicycles to a car dealer who was collecting used bikes for poor children.    54   I selected a shiny model from my collection, however, it seemed as if a second bike took on a glow (发光). Should I   contribute two? No, one would be enough. But I couldn’t   55   the feeling that I should give a second bike. When I later   56   the bikes, the car dealer said, “You’re making two kids very __57  , sir. Here are your tickets. For each bicycle contributed, we’re   58   away one chance to win a girls’ mountain bike.”

Why wasn’t I surprised when that second ticket proved to be the   59  ? I like to think it was God’s way of   60   a little girl for a sacrifice beyond her years－while giving her dad a lesson in the process.

The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.

Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she walked slowly to the elevator, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she said with the happiness of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…just wait.”

    “That doesn’t matter,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how I arranged my mind. I have already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account. You take what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”

Mrs. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108.

We can infer from the passage that the author________.

A. is one of Mrs. Jones’ children

B. is a relative of Mrs. Jones

C. works in the nursing home

D. is the owner of the nursing home

The room in which the old lady will live________.

A. is very comfortable                       B. is fairly big

C. isn’t well equipped              D. is equipped with new furniture

Mrs. Jones was very happy when told about her room because she________.

A. couldn’t see what her room was like

B. thought the nursing home was her home

C. would have to live in the nursing home

D. had already made up her mind to be happy

Which of the following words can best describe Mrs. Jones?

A. Proud.          B. Pleasant.          C. Determined       D. Honest

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, “Hi, girl! My name is Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I give you a hug?”

I laughed and enthusiastically（热情地）responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

   “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel!”

 “No seriously,” I said. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

 “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

 “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor everyday. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die!” she said.

 “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn 20 years older. If I am 87 years old, and stay in bed for a year, and never do anything, I will turn 88. Anybody can grow older. But every minute counts for young men,” she added.

 “The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Song of Rose”. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics（歌词）and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

4. Rose made herself known to the author in a ______ manner.

A. serious              B. cold           C. humorous          D. crazy

5. From the information provided in the passage, we know ______.

A. Rose finished the college degree within a year

B. Rose did realize her dream of meeting a rich husband and getting married through college education

C. Rose enjoyed her campus life very much

D. Rose grew so old that she stopped playing

6. Rose delivered the speech ______.

A. at the graduation                          B. which she prepared carefully

C. ended with “The Song of Rose”             D. to challenge all the other speakers

7. According to her speech, ______.

A. whenever you have a dream, you succeed 

B. all people don’t grow up while growing older

C. Rose usually regretted having done something

D. a nine-year-old is as old as a 87-year-old if he doesn’t do anything

       The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

  She said, “Hi, girl! My name is Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I give you a hug?”

  I laughed and enthusiastically（热情地）responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

  “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel!”

  “No seriously,” I said. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

  “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

  Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

  At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

  “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor everyday. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die!” she said.

  “There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn 20 years older. If I am 87 years old, and stay in bed for a year, and never do anything, I will turn 88. Anybody can grow older. But every minute counts for young men,” she added.

  “The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

  She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Song of Rose”. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics（歌词）and live them out in our daily lives.

  At the year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

17. Rose made herself known to the author in a ______ manner.

      A. serious              B. cold           C. humorous          D. crazy

18. From the information provided in the passage, we know ______.

A. Rose finished the college degree within a year

B. Rose did realize her dream of meeting a rich husband and getting married through college education

C. Rose enjoyed her campus life very much

D. Rose grew so old that she stopped playing

19. Rose delivered the speech ______.

  A. at the graduation                    B. which she prepared carefully

  C. ended with “The Song of Rose”        D. to challenge all the other speakers

20. According to her speech, ______.

  A. whenever you have a dream, you succeed

B. all people don’t grow up while growing older

  C. Rose usually regretted having done something

D. a nine-year-old is as old as a 87-year-old if he doesn’t do anything