The Pillow

At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer (拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.

We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house—something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.

On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were astonished when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”

The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.

When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.

That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.

As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”

“A pillow,” he replied.

“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.

“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to my eyes as my father handed Eric the pillow.

“Oh…that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.

Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”

We know exactly what he means.

The writer’s first volunteer project was ______.

A. working on a poor trailer                             B. helping a poor family

C. donating beds and bedding                           D. dealing with a housing problem

On hearing Josh’s answer, the writer was shocked because ______. 

   A. the family lived in a trailer                         B. he expected to get some toys

   C. he didn’t know what a bed was                   D. the boys had no bed to sleep in

From the passage, we can learn that Eric had never seen ______ before.

A. a trailer            B. a truck                    C. a pillow                   D. a house

By saying “Do you have a pillow?”, the writer’s father means that ______.  

A. what they want to get may be unnecessary 

B. they should not waste money on small things

C. they should do more volunteer work for the poor

D. what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow

Coming home from school that dark winter day so long ago, I was filled with excitement of having the weekend off. But I was   41  into stillness by what I saw. Mother, seated at the far end of the sofa, was   42  with the second-hand green typewriter on the table. She told me that she couldn’t   43  fast and then she was out of work. My shock and embarrassment at finding Mother in tears was a perfect proof of how   44  I understood the pressure on her. Sitting beside her on the sofa, I began very slowly to understand. “I guess we all have to   45  something,” Mother said quietly. I could   46  her pain and the tension of   47  the strong feeling that were interrupted by my   48 . Suddenly, something inside me lit up. I reached out and put my arms around her. She broke then. She put her face   49  my shoulder and sobbed. I held her  50    and didn’t try to talk. I knew I was doing what I should, what I could and that was   51  . At that moment, feeling Mother’s   52  with feelings, I understood for the first time her being easy to   53 . She was still my mother,   54   she was something   55  : a person like me, capable of fear,   56  and failure. I could feel her pain as she must have felt mine on a thousand occasions when I sought  57  in her arms.
A week later Mother took a job selling dry goods at half the salary the radio station __58 .
“It’s a job I can do, though.” She said simply. But the evening practice on the green typewriter continued. I had a very   59  feeling now when I passed her door at night and heard her   60   away across the paper. I knew there was something more going on in there than a woman learning to type.

  The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer (拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house—something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were astonished when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to my eyes as my father handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh…that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means. [来源:学科网ZXXK]
【小题1】The writer’s first volunteer project was ______.

A．what they want to get may be unnecessary

B．they should not waste money on small things

C．they should do more volunteer work for the poor

D．what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow

Coming home from school, I was filled with excitement. But I was       into stillness by what I saw. Mother, seated at the end of the sofa,        , with the second-hand green typewriter on the table. She told me she couldn’t type fast and she was out of work. My shock at finding mother in tears was a perfect       of how      I understood the pressures on her. Sitting beside her on the sofa, I began very      to understand. I could       her pain and the tension (压力) of      the strong feeling that were interrupted by my arrival. Suddenly,  something inside me      . I reached out and put my arms around her. She broke then. She put her face       my shoulder and sobbed. I held her       and didn’t try to talk. I knew I was doing what I should, and that was enough. At that moment,       mother’s back with feelings, I understood for the first time her being so easy to      .  She was still my mother,      she was  something      : a person like me, capable of fear and       and failure. I could feel her pain as she must have felt mine on a thousand occasions when I sought      in her arms.

A week later mother took a job at half the salary the radio station       . “It’s a job I can do, though.” She said      . But the evening practice on the old green typewriter continued. I had a very       feeling now when I heard her tapping away across the paper at night. I knew there was something more going on in there than a woman learning to       .

1.A. lazy    B. shocked         C. ashamed        D. tired

2.A. smiling        B. thinking         C. crying   D. whispering

3.A. proof B. feeling  C. excuse  D. explanation

4.A. little   B. much            C. eagerly D. worriedly

5.A. suddenlyB. slowly       C. proudly          D. quickly

6.A. watch         B. recognize      C. look       D. sense

7.A. putting awayB. stopping from     C. sitting up       D. holding back 

8.A. turned        B. lit          C. increased      D. rose

9.A. through  B. against    C. up          D. to

10.A. carefullyB. politely          C. tightly   D. thoughtfully

11.A. feeling     B. reaching        C. watching        D. sensing

12.A. break       B. content          C. understand   D. fall

13.A. still          B. therefore      C. yet         D. however

14.A. much        B. huge     C. little      D. more

15.A. cut   B. hurt       C. defeat   D. wound

16.A. memory   B. support          C. comfort         D. kindness

17.A. offered    B. paid for          C. contributed  D. supplied

18.A. sadly   B. simply      C. excitedly       D. worriedly

19.A. hard   B. pleasant   C. serious D. different

20.A. work         B. write  C.  type   D. sell

The Healing

Jim and his wife, Connie, were shocked by the loss of their four-month-old son—Joshua, whose life was taken by SIDS—sudden infant death syndrome.

      Thirty hours ago, Jim drove to the baby-sitter’s home to      Joshua. It was a     trip, like the one he made five days every week. He arrived, and little Joshua could not be        from his nap. The next few hours were a time of life and death: the racing ambulance, swift-moving doctors and nurse. But 12 hours later, at Children’s Hospital,      the doctors had exhausted（用尽） all     , little Joshua was gone. Yes, they wanted       of Joshua’s usable organs to be donated. That was not a      decision for Jim and Connie, a loving and       couple.

      The next morning dawned and many things had to be arranged. Telephone calls and funeral plans.       one point Jim realized he needed a     .When Jim settled into the chair      the barber’s, he began to        the past hours, trying to       some sense of it all.      had Joshua, their first-born, the child they had waited so long for, been taken so soon….He had     begun his life. The question kept coming, and the pain in Jim’s heart just       him.

      While talking with the barber, Jim mentioned the organ donations, looking at his watch, “They are transplanting one of his heart valves（瓣膜）right now.”

   The       stopped and stood motionless. Finally she spoke, but it was only a whisper. “You’re not going to believe this. But about an hour ago the customer sitting in this chair wanted me to hurry       she could get to Children’s Hospital. She       here so full of joy. Her prayers had been answered. Today her baby granddaughter is receiving a     needed transplant—a heart valve.”

   Jim’s healing began.

1.A. pick out               B. pick up           C. set out                             D. set up

2.A. routine                B. annual                     C. average                            D. difficult

3.A. called                            B. disturbed               C. awakened                        D. survived

4.A. though                 B. since                       C. because                           D. as

5.A. medicine             B. strength                  C. attempts                          D. spirits

6.A. part                      B. few                    C. some                       D. wise

7.A. giving                       B. tiring                         C. boring                    D. thinking

8.A. Of                    B. In                C. On                        D. At

9.A. haircut                     B. break                        C. donation                          D. decision

10.A. with                   B. at                   C. by                     D. near

11.A. decide on                  B. reflect on               C. keep on                           D. focus on

12.A. get                B. take                           C. hold                                  D. make

13.A. How                              B. Why           C. Whether                          D. If

14.A. barely                      B. nearly                   C. seldom                    D. almost

15.A. covered         B. drew            C. enveloped                       D. choked

16.A. hairdresser            B. customer           C. father               D. parent

17.A. since                  B. as                 C. so                          D. and

18.A. arrived           B. left              C. stayed               D. sat

19.A. desperately      B. deadly       C. clearly                D. obviously