It was Saturday. As always, it was a busy one, for “Six days shall you labor and all your work” was taken seriously back then. Outside, Father and Mr. Patrick next door were busy chopping firewood. Inside their own houses, Mother and Mrs. Patrick were engaged in spring cleaning.

Somehow the boys had slipped away to the back lot with their kites. Now, even at the risk of having brother caught to beat carpets, they had sent him to the kitchen for more string(线). It seemed there was  no limit to the heights to which kites would fly today.

My mother looked at the sitting room, its furniture disordered for a thorough sweeping. Again she

cast a look toward the window. “Come on, girls! Let’s take string to the boys and watch them fly the kites a minute.”

On the way we met Mrs. Patric, laughing guiltily as if she were doing something wrong, together with her girls. There never was such a day for flying kites! We played all our fresh string into the boys’ kites and they went up higher and higher. We could hardly distinguish the orange-colored spots of the kites. Now and then we slowly pulled one kite back, watching it dancing up and down in the wind, and finally bringing it down to earth, just for the joy of sending it up again.

Even our fathers dropped their tools and joined us. Our mothers took their turn, laughing like schoolgirls. I think we were all beside ourselves. Parents forgot their duty and their dignity; children forgot their everyday fights and little jealousies. “Perhaps it’s like this in the kingdom of heaven,” I thought confusedly.

It was growing dark before we all walked sleepily back to the housed. I suppose we had some sort of supper. I suppose there must have been surface tidying-up, for the house on Sunday looked clean and orderly enough. The strange thing was, we didn’t mention that day afterward. I felt a little embarrassed. Surely none of the others had been as excited as I. I locked the memory up in that deepest part of me where we keep “the things that cannot be and yet they are.”

The years went on, then one day I was hurrying about my kitchen in a city apartment, trying to get some work out of the way while my three-year-old insistently cried her desire to “go park, see duck.” “I can’t go!” I said. “I have this and this to do, and when I’m through I’ll be too tired to walk that far.”

My mother, who was visiting us, looked up from the peas she was shelling. “It’s a wonderful day,” she offered, “really warm, yet there’s a fine breeze. Do you remember that day we flew kites?”

I stopped in my dash between stove and sink. The locked door flew open and with it a rush of memories. “Come on,” I told my little girl. “You’re right, it’s too good a day to miss.”

Another decade passed. We were in the aftermath(余波) of a great war. All evening we had been asking our returned soldier, the youngest Patrick Boy, about his experiences as a prisoner of war. He had talked freely, but now for a long time he had been silent. What was he thinking of --- what dark and horrible things?

“Say!” A smile sipped out from his lips. “Do you remember --- no, of course you wouldn’t. It probably didn’t make the impression on you as it did on me.”

I hardly dared speak. “Remember what?”

“I used to think of that day a lot in POW camp (战俘营), when things weren’t too good. Do you remember the day we flew the kites?”

1.Mrs. Patrick was laughing guiltily because she thought________.

A．she was too old to fly kites

B．her husband would make fun of her

C．she should have been doing her housework

D．her girls weren’t supposed to the boy’s games

2. By “we were all beside ourselves writer means that they all ________.

A．felt confused                           B．went wild with joy

C．looked on                             D．forgot their fights

3. What did the author think after the kite-flying?

A．The boys must have had more fun than the girls.

B．They should have finished their work before playing.

C．Her parents should spend more time with them.

D．All the others must have forgotten that day.

4.Why did the writer finally agree to take her little girl for an outing?

A．She suddenly remembered her duty as a mother.

B．She was reminded of the day they flew kites.

C．She had finished her work in the kitchen.

D．She thought it was a great day to play outside.

5. The youngest Patrick boy is mentioned to show that ______.

A．the writer was not alone in treasuring her fond memories

B．his experience in POW camp threw a shadow over his life

C．childhood friendship means so much to the writer

D．people like him really changed a lot after the war

We can make mistakes at any age．Some mistakes we make are about money．But most mistakes are about people．“Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it, as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?” “And Paul, why didn’t you pick up that he was friendly just because I had a car?” When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad．But when we look back, it’s too late．

Why do we go wrong about our friends-or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning．And if we don’t really listen we miss the feeling behind the words．Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog, ”and that’s being friendly．But “lucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy in those words．Maybe he doesn’t see it himself．But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little, what he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck．

“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for” is another noise that says one thing and means another．It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole．But is he? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important．It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night．

How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking．Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture? The look in his eyes? Stop and think．The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake．

1．This passage is mainly about ______．

A．how to interpret what people say

B．what to do when you listen to others talking

C．why we go wrong with people and how to avoid these mistakes

D．why we go wrong with people sometimes

2．According to the author, the reason why we go wrong about our friends is that ______．

A．we fail to listen carefully when they talk

B．people tend to be annoyed when we check what they say

C．people usually state one thing but mean another

D．we tend to doubt what our friends say

3．The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to______．

A．being friendly                                           B．a bit of envy

C．lucky dog               D．your luck

4．When we listen to a person talking, the most important thing for us to do is ______．

A．notice the way the person is talking

B．take a good look at the person talking

C．mind his tone, his posture and the look in his eyes

D．know what he really means from his tone and posture 

It was pouring outside. We all stood there  21 , some patiently, others annoyed   22  nature messed （弄糟）their hurried day. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens   23  away the dirt and dust of the world.  

“Mom, let’s run through the rain,” a girl’s voice    24    me .

“No, honey. We’ll wait until it   25 down a bit,” Mom replied.

The young girl waited about another minute and   26 : “Mom, let’s run through the

rain .”

“We’ll get wet if we do,” Mom said.

“No , we won’t , Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said 

as she  27     her  Mom’s arm .

“This morning?  28  did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said ,” If God can get us through this , he can get us through  29  .”

The entire crowd turned   30  . Mom paused and thought for a moment about   31 

she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being  32 . But then we heard, 

“Honey, you are   33. Let’s run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe we just need washing,”

 Mom said. Then   34 they ran.

We all stood   35 , smiling and laughing as they ran past the cars. Yes, they got wet. But they were  36  by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the  37  to their cars. Circumstances （境况）or people can take away your material possessions, and they can even take away your  38 . But no one can ever take away your precious  39 . So, don’t forget to make time and take the  40  to make memories every day! I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.   

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart．She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence．Outside, it was pouring so heavily．
We all stood there just inside the door of the Wal-Mart．We waited, some patiently, others annoyed because nature messed up their hurried day．I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world．
Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance （昏昏欲睡） we were all caught in．"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said．
"No, honey．We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied．
This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain．"
" We'll get wet totally if we do," Mom said．
"No, we won't, Mom．That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tore at her Mom's arm．
"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"
"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"
The entire crowd stopped dead silent．I dare say you couldn't hear anything but the rain．We all stood silently. No one came or left in. the next few minutes,Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say．
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly．Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's lifetime when innocent trust can be developed so that it will bloom into faith．"Honey, you are absolutely right．Let's run through the rain．If get wet, well maybe we just need washing," Mom said．Then off they ran.
We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they rushed past the cars and they held their shopping bags over their heads just in case．They got soaked．But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars．And yes, I did．I ran．I got wet．I needed washing．
You may lose your material possessions, your money and even your health, but no one can ever take away your precious memories．So don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories．
【小题1】Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word "affirmation"?

Standing on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a police officer saw a car moving slowly at 18 MPH. He  _36_  to himself, “This driver is just as  _37   as a speeder!” So __38 _ he turned on his lights and pulled the driver over.   39   the car, he noticed that   40   were five old ladies — two in the front seat and __41__three in the back, their eyes wide and faces white as ghosts. The driver, obviously   42_ , said to him, “Officer, I don’t understand. I was  _43__ exactly the speed limit!  _44__ seems to be the problem?” “Ma’am,” the officer replied, “You weren’t  _45__, but you should know that driving  _46__  than the speed limit can also be a(n) __47   to other drivers.” “Slower than the speed limit? No, sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly…Eighteen miles per hour!” The old woman said a bit __48_ . The police officer, trying to  _49_  a laugh, explained to her that “18” was the route number, _ 50_  the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the old woman smiled and thanked the officer for  _51_  out her error. “But before I let you  _52_ , Ma’am, I have to ask if everyone in this car is all right? These women seem very  _53_  and they didn’t make a single sound the whole time.”The police officer asked. “Oh, they will be all right  _54   a minute, officer. We just  _55__  Route 128.”

1.A. turned             B. thought         C. came            D. agreed

2.A. dangerous          B. well            C. silly           D. soon

3.A. tightly            B. immediately     C. privately       D. deadly

4.A. Suspecting         B. Blaming         C. Starting        D. Approaching

5.A. those              B. they            C. there           D. these

6.A. other              B. more            C. else            D. another

7.A. confused           B. worried         C. delighted       D. excited

8.A. increasing         B. reaching        C. lowering        D. doing

9.A. How                B. What            C. When            D. Where

10.A. running           B. breaking        C. speeding        D. concentrating

11.A. slower            B. safer           C. faster          D. higher

12.A. guide             B. demand          C. aid             D. danger

13.A. nervously         B. proudly         C. roughly         D. constantly

14.A. control           B. give            C. make            D. show

15.A. or                B. but             C. not             D. and

16.A. pointing          B. speaking        C. taking          D. squeezing

17.A. drive             B. go              C. laugh           D. run

18.A. united            B. exhausted       C. worried         D. tolerated

19.A. in                B. after           C. for             D. with

20.A. sped up           B. left out        C. broke down      D. got off