On the last day of his life, my dog Otto spent that morning of spring napping in the garden. This was always one of his favorite things to do, even before the days when he was too old and too weak to get out of a car by himself.
I probably would have started crying over Otto right then, if my two other little dogs hadn't suddenly raced past. Larry, who was a puppy, got knocked into Otto, then licked Otto's ear, and that got Otto excited, and Otto barked and tried to stand up again, but it was hard for him.
Soon it was time for me to drive to see Steve, our vet.
When Steve gave Otto the first shot, it made him woozy (眩晕的). Otto wandered over to where Steve and I were sitting and settled down between us. He has always liked to touch everyone in his pack, if possible, while he sleeps.
After Steve gave him the last shot and Otto stopped breathing, he didn't look like Otto anymore. He looked like an old gray-brown piece of beat-up carpet, and I suddenly realized what bad shape he'd been in for a long, long time. I wondered if he'd been in much more pain than I knew. Wondering made me feel even worse.
The week after Otto died was not good. Every morning when I walked Larry and Sticky in the neighborhood, somebody would come up and say they had heard about Otto and they were sorry. They were all Otto's friends and some of them cried. Others, like Debbie who lives on my street, reminded me about how, even at the end. Otto would stand between her twins' stroller (婴儿车) and the street when the garbage truck went by. "Like it was his job to protect them," she marveled.
Otto has left us, but his memory lives on.
1.How did the author feel when Otto was napping in the garden?
A. She felt like crying. B. She thought life was beautiful. C. She found spring was wonderful. D. She was relieved.
2.According to the passage, how did the dog die?
A. He had an accident on the street. B. He died naturally. C. He was made to die by a vet. D. He starved.
3.What can we know about Otto?
A. He was already too old to bark. B. He liked people to keep him company. C. He died a very painful death. D. He was protected by the neighbours.
4.We can see from the passage that Sticky is a ______.
A. cat B. dog C. child D. neighbour
Mr. Brozina is a single father and an elementary school librarian who reads aloud for a living. When his daughter, Kristen, hit fourth grade, he proposed The Streak: to see if they could read together for 100 straight bedtimes without missing once.
When The Streak reached 100, they celebrated with a pancake breakfast, and Kristen whispered, "I think we should try for 1,000 nights."
Mr. Brozina was delighted, but what he was thinking was, a thousand nights?! "I thought, we'll never do it," he recalled. "And then we got to 1,000, and we said, 'How can we stop?' "
For 3,218 nights (and some mornings, if Mr. Brozina was coming home too late to read). The Streak went on. It progressed from picture books to middle-school classics to Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, Dickens and Shakespeare, continuing on, until Kristen's first day of college.
In those nine-plus years, they survived many close calls. When Kristen was still in elementary school, her father went to Washington. "The phone rang at 10:45 at the hotel and it was Kristen," Mr. Brozina recalled. "She said, 'Dad, we forgot The Streak!' Fortunately, I always traveled with several books and we read right then and there."
This spring, Kristen graduated from Rowan' University. She has performed as you'd expect for a product of The Streak, an English major with a 3.94 average. She also won two national writing contests, was an editor of the humor arid literary publications and won the annual English department award.
1.According to the passage, Mr. Brozina and his daughter read together for .
A. 100 bedtimes B. 1000 nights C. over nine years D. nearly 3000 nights and some mornings
2.In the passage, the underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.
A. the period of time for reading together B. me children's book C. the special night C. the school work
3.How has Kristen benefited from reading with her father?
A. She has grown closer to her father. B. She has become a school librarian herself. C. She has performed well at university. D. She has won many reading awards.
4.This passage is about a father who _____.
A. is very strict in his work B. enjoys reading when travelling C. makes his daughter love reading D. has a hard time bringing up his daughter
阅读下面短文，从短文所给各题的四个选项（A, B, C, D）中选能填入相应空白处的最佳选项。
In 1991, 1 spent five months in Niger. There were many things I found difficult about this place—the climate and beggars were my biggest complaints. One day, a friend and I 1for neighbouring Burkina Faso to work in a health clinic. Arriving by taxi at our 2in Burkina, we began to 3. I had a large backpack and a smaller daypack. With my daypack between my legs, I reached for my larger piece of 4. Out of the darkness, a motorbike with two men 5slowly Without warning, one of the men grabbed my daypack 6the motorbike swept close by. Within seconds, the two were out of sight, 7up by the night. The bag had everything 8to me, my passport, money and an airline ticket. I was in deep trouble. All I wanted was to leave this hell.
Then, walking through Burkina's streets the following week, I was 9rudely by an old woman who stretched her hand in my face. "Cadeau (gift)! Cadeau!" she 10in French.
I'd had enough. I was sick and 11of the country. I told her 12in French, "I have no 'cadeau'. I have no money A thief stole all my money a week ago and now I can't 13your country. I cannot give you anything."
The beggar woman listened 14and thought about my words. "Then I will give you a cadeau," she announced and 15into the folds of her dress. Kindly, she placed an old, dark brown coin in my 16. I looked at it in 17. It was an extremely small amount of money—but for this woman, the coin 18a meal. At that moment, I saw the beauty of the 19of Burkina Faso, and appreciated the kindness of me 20.
1.A. went B. headed C. served D. worked
2.A. destination B. spot C. goal D. station
3.A. rest B. dine C. load D. unload
4.A. equipment B. furniture C. luggage D. medicine
5.A. rode B. drove C. approached D. left
6.A. because B. as C. until D. after
7.A. taken B. brought C. turned D. swallowed
8.A. memorable B. important C. beautiful D. wonderful
9.A. cheated B. charged C. stopped D. questioned
10.A. cried B. whispered C. threatened D. demanded
11.A. fond B. proud C. aware D. tired
12.A. pleasantly B. firmly C. actively D. bravely
13.A. get rid of B. take advantage of C. get out of D. take notice of
14.A. attentively B. anxiously C. curiously D. coldly
15.A. reached B. pulled C. looked D. came
16.A. pocket B. bag C. dress D. palm
17.A. fright B. disappointment C. shock D. satisfaction
18.A. bought B. meant C. ordered D. prepared
19.A. country B. society C. nature D. people
20.A. foreign B. poor C .rich D. female
It has been reported that the country's health-care reform is still _____ debate.
A. in B. on C. under D. within
By no means _____ of our students to drop out of school.
A. will we allow B. we will allow C. we allow D. must we allow
— Can I help you?
— Do you have any of Michael Jackson's CDs ? I would like to buy _____.
A. it B. one C. that D. those
