—Shall I order a taxi for Sarah to go to...

______ us prepare for the exam, the teacher suggested reading through our notes.

A.To help B.Helped C.Helping D.Being helped

—Next time you visit Bob, remember to give him a call in advance.

—______. I will.

A.My pleasure B.No wonder C.Good point D.Never mind

—You are a great swimmer.

—Thanks. It’s because I ______ a lot these days.

A.have been practising B.was practising

C.would practise D.had practised

Jim says we ______ stay in his house as long as we leave it clean and tidy .

A.must B.can C.need D.should

    For a single woman, yards are a strange thing. You don’t know whether to buy a lawn mower(割草机)or hire someone to mow it. I did the latter, over many years.

There was one exception. In my early 30s，I lived in a cottage near my father, who had a tractor. He lived around the corner on an old country lane, now fully developed. But at the time, it was with sweet relief, having just returned from city life, that I drove his borrowed tractor down the lane in the late afternoon, mowed my land, and then drove it back in the evening light, gazing(注视)up at the stars as they came out.

Soon the routine became impossible with traffic in the developing area. I needed someone to do my yard work.

Vardman was a devoted young boy. He sang at the top of his lungs as he mowed. His work was a joy. But Vardman grew up. After his graduation from high school, which I attended, and his leaving for college, I was without.

So here I was with two African men who brought not only knowledge but a deep love of working the land. There was a peace about the work they did. The perfection was noticeable everywhere, with every border in place, the unnecessary brush cleared out. The rhythm in their work, the rhythm of their work—it was poetry to watch.

Later I moved to North Carolina. I found myself in another small house with a beautiful but wasted yard. A strange mountain man gave me a wonderful price and began what has become an exercise in grace, gratitude and being simple.

Over the few years I have lived here, he has slowly, patiently, lovingly turned a long-neglected place into a quiet beauty. Quiet, modest, sincere, he uses only natural products on the lawn and flower beds. After the growing season ends, he collects his final paycheck and disappears into the mountains. A quiet man is teaching me patience and how it brings beauty back.

1.What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A.The development of traffic in the city.

B.The tiredness of mowing down the lanes.

C.The poor living areas in the countryside.

D.The joy of returning home after mowing.

2.How did the writer find Vardman?

A.He devoted himself to the job.

B.He was glad to be a mower forever.

C.He wasted the working time by singing.

D.He earned money for his college education.

3.Why did the writer mention the poetry in the fifth paragraph?

A.To prove the good job of African mowers,

B.To show her love for African poems,

C.To praise the mowers through writing poems.

D.To describe the images of mowers in poems.

4.What did the quiet man teach the writer?

A.Gratitude is a reward for kindness.

B.Money is endless for people to earn.

C.Simple life is worth more paycheck.

D.Beauty comes from working patiently.