Adults(成年人)usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school．But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget．Every time I drift off course, I think of this story．
It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us．This is how the story went：
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway．He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg(乞讨)．He would do this every single day of his life．He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years．
His house was dirty, and a stench(恶臭)came out of the house and it smelled terrible．The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place．The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house．There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years．
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire(百万富翁)．They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him．When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire．
But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door．The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg．
Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant(有意义的)for his life．We learn nothing from this story other than(除了)staying focused on(专心于)the things we enjoy doing．
(1)
The underlined part in the first paragraph may mean ________．
[ ]
A．
I get tired of learning my subjects
B．
I fail to listen to lessons attentively
C．
I go in the wrong direction of life
D．
I wouldn't like to go to school
(2)
The neighbor called the police because ________．
[ ]
A．
the old man kept begging money from them every day
B．
there was something dangerous in the old man's house
C．
the old man wouldn't buy tickets for the train
D．
they couldn't bear the smell from the old man's house
(3)
When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he ________．
Several years ago, my family gathered on Cape Cod for a weekend．My parents were there, my sister and her daughter too, two cousins and, of course, my wife, my son and me．We ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is written on a blackboard held by a friendly waiter and had a wonderful time．With dinner concluded, the waiter set the check down in the middle of the table．That's when it happened．My father did not reach for the check．
In fact, my father did nothing．Conversation continued．Finally it dawned on me．Me!I was supposed to pick up the check．After all these years, after hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents, after a lifetime of thinking of my father as the one with the dollars, it had all changed．I reached for the check and pulled out my American Express card．My view of myself was suddenly changed．With a stroke of the pen, I was suddenly an adult．
Some people mark off their life in years, others in events．I am one of the latter, and I think of some events as rites of passage．I did not become a young man at a particular year like 13, but when a kid strolled into the store where I worked and called me“mister”, I turned around to see whom he was calling．He repeated it several times－“mister, mister”－looking straight at me．The realization hit like a punch：Me!He was talking to me．I was suddenly a mister．
(1)
My father did not reach for the check because ________．
[ ]
A．
it was in the middle of the table
B．
I was no longer a child
C．
he had no money with him
D．
he did not notice the check
(2)
The underlined part“it dawned on me”in the second paragraph means ________．
[ ]
A．
I understood
B．
it was my turn
C．
it surprised me
D．
I felt sorry
(3)
From the passage, we can infer that ________ paid for restaurant meals before．
[ ]
A．
I
B．
my mother
C．
my parents
D．
my father
(4)
The kid called me“mister”because ________．
[ ]
A．
I was respectable
B．
I was an adult male
C．
I worked in the store
D．
he knew me
(5)
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
Several years ago, my parents, my wife, my son and I ate at one of those restaurants where the menu is written on a blackboard．After a wonderful dinner, the waiter set the check in the middle of the table．That’s when it happened：my father did not reach for the check．
Conversation continued．Finally I realized that I should pick up the check!After hundreds of restaurant meals with my parents, after a lifetime of thinking of my father as the one with dollars, it had all changed．I reached for the check, and my view of myself suddenly changed．I was an adult．I was no longer a kid．
Some people mark off(区分)their lives in years, I measure mine in small events．I didn’t become a young man at a particular age, like 16, but rather when a kid who wandered in the streets called me “mister．” These events in my life are called “milestones”(里程碑)
There have been other milestones．The cops(policemen)of my youth always seemed big, even huge, and of course they were older than I was．Then one day they were suddenly realized that all the football players in the game I was watching were younger than I was．They were just big kids．With that milestone gone was the dream that someday, maybe I, too, could be a football player．Without ever having reached the hill, I was over it．
I never thought that I would fall asleep in front of the TV set as my father did．Now it’s what I do best．I never thought that I would go to the beach and not swim, yet I spent all of August at the shore and never once went into the ocean．I never thought that I would appreciate opera, but now the combination of voice and orchestra attract me．I never thought that I would prefer to stay home in the evenings, but now I find myself passing up parties．I used to think that people who watched birds were strange, but this summer I fond myself watching them, and maybe I’ll get a book on the subject．I feel a strong desire for a religious belief that I never thought I’d want, feel close to my ancestors(祖先)long gone, and echo my father in arguments with my son．I still lose…
One day I bought a house．One day－what a day!–I became a father, and not too long after that I picked up the check for my own father．I thought then it was a milestone for me．One day, when I was a little older, I realized it was one for him, too, another milestone．
(1)
The tone established in the passage is one of ________．
[ ]
A．
sad regret
B．
amusement
C．
happiness
D．
deep feeling
(2)
The author mentions the event in the restaurant because ________．
[ ]
A．
that was one of his milestone
B．
he paid the bill but he didn’t want to
C．
he became a father with dollars
D．
that was the last restaurant meal with his parents
(3)
“Then they were suddenly neither．” Suggests that ________．
[ ]
A．
suddenly they became older than I was
B．
suddenly I knew that they was neither bigger nor older than I was
C．
suddenly I realized that I made mistake
D．
suddenly I found myself no longer a kid
(4)
Which of the following best expresses the author’s thinking?
[ ]
A．
One day is worth two tomorrow
B．
To save time is to length life
C．
When an opportunity is lost, it never comes back to you
D．
Time and tide wait for no man
阅读理解：
It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle．As Christmas drew near, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade, or so we thought．We bought the latest rages．Baby-Sitter’s Club dolls, and a doll house．Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that she “really wanted a bike more than anything else．”
It was just too late, what will all the details of preparing Christmas dinner and buying last-minute gifts, to take the time to select the “right bike” for our little girl．So here we were－Christmas Eve around 9∶00 p. m., with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, nested snug in their beds．Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child．“What if the bicycle out of clay(a kind of earth)and write a note that she could trade the clay model in for a real bike?” her dad asked．“This is an expensive item and she is ‘such a big girl,’ and it would be much better for her to pick it out．”So he spent the next four hours painstakingly working with clay to make a tiny bike．
On Christmas morning, we were excited for Almie to open the little heart-shaped package with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note．Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud．“Does this mean that I trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?”Beaming, I said,“Yes．”Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied,“I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me．I’d rather keep this than get a real bike．”At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth to buy every bicycle on the planet!
(1)
Which is the right time order of the following events?
a．The girl asked for a new bike
b．The girl opened the little heart-shaped package
c．The parents bought the girl a modern and popular doll．
d．The father made the girl a bike with clay．
e．The girl would rather keep the clay bike than get a real one．
[ ]
A．
b, c, e ,d
B．
a, c, d, b, e
C．
a, c, b, d, e
D．
a, b, d, c, e
(2)
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
The parents wanted the girl to have the clay bike forever．
B．
Tears were in the girl’s eyes because she didn’t like the present at all．
C．
The girl never lost her desire for a bike．
D．
The parents paid little attention to the daughter’s desire for a bike．
(3)
Why did Dad make the clay bicycle?
[ ]
A．
Because he wanted to buy a real one, but he had no money．
B．
Because he didn’t want to disappoint his daughter．
C．
Because he thought his daughter would like it．
D．
Because he wanted to give his daughter a surprise．
(4)
What can be inferred from the last sentence of the text?
[ ]
A．
The parents were happy and encouraged．
B．
The parents felt comfortable and relaxed．
C．
The parents were moved and felt proud of the girl．
D．
The parents felt disappointed and sorry for the girl．
字词句段篇系列答案