Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception(接收).
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell how my playpen(婴儿圈栏)sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit the farm every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle(喧闹)of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this oldie station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves. “Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower...”.
1.The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that
________.
A. it was too cold and quiet
B. she could only sing one song on the small farm
C. there was nothing more that could make her excited
D. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat
2.From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
A. passed away four years ago
B. left the small farm with Lord
C. left for Lord to live her own way
D. preferred to be with Lord
3.The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
A. recalled B. comforted C. shouted D. sighed
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage _______.
A. The writer was able to sing before she could speak.
B. The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city.
C. The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower".
D. The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse.
5.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______
A. Cherish life B. My happy childhood
C. Our small farmhouse D. Mom’s music
It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me.
She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed, enthusiastically responding, “Of course!” And she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.
“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously.”
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”
We became instant friends. Over the course of the year, Rose made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she took great delight in the attention given to her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet (宴会) and I’ll never forget what she taught us.
As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note card on the floor. A little embarrassed she simply said, “I’m sorry. This whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.” As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began: “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing; There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You have got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. Anyone can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do.”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral(葬礼) to honor the wonderful woman.
1.While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about
________.
A. her age B. her dream C. her life D. her motivation
2.The underlined sentence “She was living it up” in the text most probably means
________.
A. she did as well as she was expected
B. she spent much money in her college life
C. she did things that she enjoyed
D. she deserved(应得) praise due to her study
3.In Rose’s opinion, one can learn to grow up by __________.
A. getting new ideas
B. regretting his mistakes
C. gaining new knowledge every day
D. finding chances to do productive things
4.What else did Rose most probably say at the football banquet?
A. “It seems my young days are over.”
B. “The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
C. “When we are old, we can’t do anything. So enjoy in time!”
D. “Have a good time and don’t do much in order to stay young.”
5.The story of Rose in the text shows that __________.
A. it is never too late to learn in your life.
B. it is good for old people to have friendship.
C. it is never too late to be all you can possibly be.
D. it is very important to have a healthy body when people are old.
Last week I went to a supermarket. After I 36 the bill and was passing through the door, the alarm suddenly started to ring. Suddenly, a young guard ran toward me and ordered me to 37 him. I felt so upset and 38 . He took me to a small room, but I was 39 frightened that I stopped at the door. Finding me 40to enter the room, he shouted that I had to go into the room.
He closed the door. I thought he was going to hurt me. Suddenly, a 41 voice said in my ear: “Take out the things you’ve stolen!” “I stole nothing.” I said. “Do as I tell you. If we find them, you’ll be in trouble.” “There is nothing.” I answered. “I didn’t take anything.” I said, taking everything out of my pockets and bag.
42 this point, a guard came in and asked a salesgirl to 43 me. 44 , they found nothing.
But they didn’t believe that I hadn’t stolen anything. So the young guard ordered me to pass through the door alarm again.
I was 45 when it rang again. I felt 46 and burst into tears. I didn’t know how to prove 47 I was innocent(清白的).
They made me go into the small room again.
“Take out the stolen things quickly, 48 we will dial 110.” They said.
“OK, call the police. I’ m not afraid.” I said 49.
Suddenly, they 50 their tone. After a while, a salesgirl asked me to raise my feet. I did 51 she had told me. There was a label (标签) on the bottom of my shoe. That was it! That was the 52 thing that had brought me such great trouble. But it 53my innocence.(清白)
After that, they 54 to me in the small room, But they should have apologized 55 , shouldn’t they? A lot of people were there when I was taken away. What did they think of me?
1.A.buy B.paid C.passed D.paid for
2.A.obey B.beg C.follow D.listen to
3.A.angry B.excited C.happy D.puzzled
4.A.very B.much C.such D.so
5.A.disagree B.unwilling C.voluntarily D.willingly
6.A.high B.low C.sound D.sharp
7.A.On B.In C.At D.From
8.A.look at B.watch C.examine D.keep
9.A.Needless to say B.So far C.On one hand D.As a result of
10.A.afraid B.frightened C.shocked D.sad
11.A.wronged B.upset C.scared D.unpleasant
12.A.what B.whether C.that D.how
13.A.and B.but C.or D.so
14.A.unhappily B.forcefully C.terribly D.widely
15.A.changed B.raised C.increased D.closed
16.A.like B.as C.according to D.as if
17.A.only B.last C.very D.just
18.A.tested B.showed C.proved D.gave
19.A.said B.apologized C.agreed D.promised
20.A.loudly B.together C.politely D.in public
Reading is ______ good habit. Stick to it, and you'll make ______ great progress.
A.a; / B.a; a C.the; a D./ ; a
Americans eat vegetables per person today ______as they did in 1910.
A. More than twice B. As twice as many
C.twice many than D. More than twice as many
My friend Martin was very sick with a strange fever; _______, he could neither eat nor sleep.
A. As a result B.after all C. Any way D.otherwise