When I walked into the house after school, the first thing I noticed was a box with items I recognized from my dad’s office.

“What are you doing at home?” I asked casually.

“Andrew, I was    31    today,” he answered quietly.

I was sure he was joking. “No, you weren’t. Why are you    32    at home?”

Then I noticed his    33    and realized he was telling me the truth. My father has always been a hard worker and prided himself on his career.    34    our family has been his joy, and I guess I have    35    his work for granted.

My father’s unemployment    36   many changes in our lives. For starters, he was at home all the time, which meant my bed had to be    37  , my room cleaned up, and my     38    done right after school. I would come home every day to find him at the computer     39    jobs. I began to notice how    40    he seemed, and how losing his job affected his self-esteem, though he tried to be    41   . For the first time, I    42   my dad as vulnerable (易受伤的). He asked my brother and me to    43    less. I gave up my pocket money,    44    it wasn’t much. I felt I was doing the right. I also found a part-time job.

After several difficult months of searching, my dad    45    to go in a totally different direction. He    46    that he never wanted to be laid off again, so he was going to start his own business. Day by day, I watched him    47    it, and I admired how much time and     48    he expended. I    49   knew he was a hard worker, but watching him in action really affected me.

Although this was one of the    50    experiences for our family, it taught me a lot about dealing with adversity (逆境), and will be my foundations for success.

1.

A.taken off

B.put off

C.laid off

D.called off

2.

A.eventually

B.really

C.frequently

D.especially

3.

A.happiness

B.kindness

C.loneliness

D.seriousness

4.

A.Supporting

B.Abusing

C.Offering

D.Shooting

5.

A.regarded

B.taken

C.viewed

D.looked

6.

A.came out

B.brought about

C.gave off

D.let out

7.

A.made

B.sold

C.banned

D.applied

8.

A.job

B.homework

C.fun

D.time

9.

A.falling into

B.putting up

C.keeping on

D.searching for

10.

A.down

B.flexible

C.concrete

D.honest

11.

A.disappointed

B.optimistic

C.anxious

D.appropriate

12.

A.considered

B.remembered

C.rejected

D.predicted

13.

A.earn

B.enjoy

C.spend

D.find

14.

A.even so

B.if only

C.even though

D.as if

15.

A.hoped

B.decided

C.dreamed

D.expected

16.

A.advised

B.informed

C.explained

D.insisted

17.

A.form

B.open

C.set

D.build

18.

A.strength

B.power

C.force

D.energy

19.

A.never

B.seldom

C.always

D.hardly

20.

A.worst

B.best

C.most

D.least

 

One cold January evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, America, I went with my father on an oil burner service call. My father was in his forties at that time and I was about twelve years old. He was always working hard trying to support us seven kids. I enjoyed hanging out with him whenever I could — he taught me so much.

We arrived at the call and after walking over snow and ice, we knocked on the customer’s door. A senior citizen opened the door and let us into her very cold home. She was wearing an old, worn-out brown coat that went down to her knees. On her head, covering her gray hair, was an old and worn hat. The home wasn’t furnished very well and was quite dark, except for a single light bulb over the dining room table. Below the light was an older man counting change from several old coffee cans. He looked up at us as we passed by to get to the kitchen where my dad would fix the oil burner. He didn’t say anything. He just looked up at us. He couldn’t speak English, nor could his wife. She only pointed to the kitchen and smiled at us.

After a short while, my father had the heater up and running, and it began to heat their cold home. The lady asked my dad in poor English how much she owed him for fixing the heater. My dad looked around the house and said that he had to go out to the truck and write the bill.

Once in the truck he marked the bill “no answer at home, no charge”, so they wouldn’t be charged for his work. He looked over at me and said, “He was counting his change to pay me. They need their money more than I do.”

As usual, my father taught me something important that time, which was to be kind to the poor.

1.According to Paragraph 1, we know that the writer’s father                        .

A.often taught the writer how to work

B.worked several jobs at the same time

C.had a very big family to support

D.brought up his children alone

2.The description in Paragraph 2 shows that the old couple                        .

A.had no job

B.led a very poor life

C.didn’t know how to save money

D.were not very friendly to strangers

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A.The old couple had no children in America.

B.The old man didn’t plan to pay money.

C.The old woman felt very embarrassed all the time.

D.The old couple were not native Americans.

4.The writer’s father didn’t charge for his work because                         .

A.he didn’t need that money

B.he felt pity for the old couple

C.he was not satisfied with his work

D.he wanted to set a good example to others

 

Hallmark arrived in my hometown of Calcutta, India when I was 16. On Valentine’s Day(情人节), I waited in line with many other teenagers just for a chance to get into the store. I remember wishing two things. One of them is that the good-looking boy whom I could see through the store window was picking out a gift for me. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day passed and I received nothing but a lecture from my father on how Western capitalism(资本主义) was ruining your culture.

The next Valentine’s Day, I still didn’t have a boyfriend, but I did receive a greeting card from a secret admirer. I can’t remember what it exactly said inside the card, but it hardly mattered. I know I’m not the only one who’s had the blues because of being single on Valentine’s Day.

It’s not just on Valentine’s Day that I’m reminded of these feelings. One night, my friend and I were at the subway station in New York City waiting for the local to arrive. The station was mostly full of college students, and later an older couple walked in. Just at that moment, a street musician started playing She’s Only a Woman to Me. The couple began dancing around the station and lost in their own world. On the train, I found myself recalling the time when I was with a date at the subway station, and there he picked me up in his arms like I was a ballerina(芭蕾舞女演员).

My view of romance has changed from when I was 16 in Calcutta to now, 23, and living in Manhattan. This year, I won’t focus all my romantic expectations on one particular day. I’ll spend Valentine’s Day with friends in New York City. But I won’t try to hide somewhere or turn off my cellphone. Instead, I’ll help my coupled-up friends pack for their weekend trips to Rome.

1.The underlined word “Hallmark” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to a              .

A.city

B.street

C.store

D.man

2.We can infer that in the opinion of the writer’s father                           .

A.his daughter should have received a gift

B.people in India shouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day

C.people in India should welcome Western culture

D.his daughter should know more about capitalism

3.According to Paragraph 2, if someone has the blues, he or she is probably           .

A.lucky

B.angry

C.excited

D.sad

4.What is implied in the passage?

A.The writer now has a boyfriend.

B.The writer now is afraid of Valentine’s Day.

C.The writer will go to Rome with her coupled-up friends.

D.The writer’s attitude towards Valentine’s Day has changed.

 

I was sleeping in my room when my bed started shaking and a loud noise was heard. I woke up and my mom was screaming my name. Next moment I was running along with my younger sister, mom and dad. Before I ran out of the door, I realized my elder sister hadn’t come out yet. So I screamed her name at the top of my voice. My mom said she had gone to her class. Then the four of us, along with many others, were running on the staircase. We lived on the seventh floor, so I thought we would not be able to make it and the building would fall before we managed to reach even the fourth floor. My dad’s head was injured by something falling down. I did try to put my hand over his head. When we reached the sixth floor, the building split into two. We had no way to get down.

The next thing I remember is silence. There were around 30 people on the staircase and none could react. Five minutes later, someone opened the door of the sixth-floor flat. We all went in. We were wondering how would get down. From the balcony of the sixth-floor flat, I saw people standing on the ground floor. All eyes were stuck on us. I could see my elder sister crying.

Our first hope of surviving came when a worker climbed a rope to where we were. That was the first time we thought maybe we could get down. Half an hour passed and we were still trapped. Finally RSS people arrived with ropes. They got people down one by one. My biggest worry was how my dad would get down. Finally after two and a half hours, we all got down.

That day we saw the power of nature. It has taken more than two years to build the flats and it took just one and a half minutes to destroy the structure.

1.What is this passage mainly about?

A.Ways to survive an earthquake.

B.Reasons why earthquakes happen.

C.The love of parents in an earthquake.

D.The writer’s experience in an earthquake.

2.When the building split into two, the writer and his family ____________.

A.were still sleeping

B.were trapped on the sixth floor

C.were looking for a family member

D.were running on the staircase of the seventh floor

3.The first time the writer thought they would probably survive was when            .

A.he was encouraged by people on the ground floor

B.someone opened the door of the sixth-floor flat

C.a worker climbed up on a rope

D.RSS people arrived with ropes

4.The earthquake made the writer realize that                       .

A.there is always hope for people

B.the power of nature is really great

C.natural disasters can happen any time

D.human beings are strong in natural disasters

 

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