My father never wanted his children to know what he did for a living．Dad worked in PlantC．Lying beside lake Erie, it saw him in at sunrise and out at nightfall．Sometimes my mother would take my siblings(兄弟姐妹)and me to the public beach in our hometown of Ashtabula．she'd gather us round and point to the smokestacks, coughing clouds into the sky．
"Wave to daddy!" she' d shout．Four little hands would shoot into the air．I never knew what Dad did in Plant C, but during 34 years of hard work, he had surgery(手术)on his shoulder and hand．At 48, he had his first heart attack．He retired in 1993, right after the last kid graduated from college．But the damage was done．A few years later, the next heart, attack killed him．
I saw my dad in Plant C only once, when I took dinner to him．That night, I looked at my father, covered in sweat and 'coal, and for the first time I knew why he was so often angry for no reason．
Recently my father' s friend, Toby Workman, walked me there．I knew my father never wanted me to see it．At every station, he described the job and the danger．It was, like listening to a foreign language．I walked past many DANGER signs．Toby put his hand on my shoulder．"look," he said, "you need to understand something．Your dad was a maintenance mechanic．He-worked the most dangerous job．If something broke, he fixed it．"
A few days later, my daughter graduated from college．I gave her the hard hat Toby handed to me as I left, and this note：" Whenever you feel something difficult, put this on, look in the mirror, and remember your roots．"
(1)
How many siblings does the author most probably have?________．
[ ]
A．
Three siblings
B．
Two siblings
C．
One sibling
D．
Four siblings
(2)
Which of the, following is TRUE of the facts about the author' s father?________
[ ]
A．
He didn't suffer a heart attack until he retired．
B．
He worked in Plant C for 48 years in all．
C．
He was hardly angry in his daily life．
D．
He did physical work in Plant
(3)
When Toby Workman described the author' s father' s job, the author ________．
[ ]
A．
felt familiar with the job
B．
didn't quite understand
C．
wanted to learn a foreign language
D．
decided to do the same work
(4)
The author gave her daughter the hat to hope that her daughter could ________．
One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read：
For washing the car ＄5.00
For making my own bed this week ＄1.00
Going to the provision shop ＄0.50
Playing with little sister ＄0.25
Taking out the rubbish ＄1.00
Getting a good report card ＄5.00
And for sweeping the common corridor ＄2.00
Total ＄14.75
His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment．I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind．So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote：
For nine months I carried you, growing inside me No Charge
For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you No Charge
For the toys, food and clothes and wiping your nose No Charge
When you add it all up, the full cost of my love No Charge
Well, when he finished reading, he had big tears in his eyes．He looked at his mother and said,“Mummy, I love you．”Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the“bill”“All paid．”
(1)
What's the best title for this passage?
[ ]
A．
Part-time Job
B．
Mother's Love, No Charge
C．
Payment for House Work
D．
Greedy Mother
(2)
The write wrote the passage in order to ________．
[ ]
A．
show that children should be paid for their housework
B．
show that children should not be paid for their housework
C．
show a clever way of teaching children
D．
tell children how to spend their spare time
(3)
How do you think of the mother in the passage?
[ ]
A．
Clever
B．
Greedy
C．
Cold－hearted
D．
Selfish
(4)
From the last passage we know that ________
[ ]
A．
the boy got all the money he wanted
B．
the mother was unwilling to give the money to the boy
C．
the boy realized that it was not right to ask for money for the housework
D．
the mother was angry with what the boy said
阅读理解
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 1 ．”
Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 2 , but consider the sky and the sea． 3 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 4 ．”
Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 5 into the world．”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 6 , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 7 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8 to any of you．”
Red could stand it 9 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 10 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”
Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．
The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 11 ．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 12 ．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 13 , drawing close to one another for comfort．
In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 14 yourselves, each trying to dominate 15 ．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 16 ?Join hands with 17 and come to me．”
Doing as they were told, the colors 18 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 19 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 20 one another．
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