Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a.m. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark exvept for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated. ”
“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “ Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“ Oh, I’m in no hurry.” She said, “I’m on my way to a hospice (临终医院)。 I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter(计价器)
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At down, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me.
“How much do I owe you?” She asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark, “You gave an old woman a little moment joy.”
1.The old woman chose to ride through the city in order to .
A. Show she was familiar with the city
B. reach the destination on time
C. let the driver earn more money
D. see some places for the last time.
2.The taxi driver did not charge the old woman because he
A. wanted to do her a favor
B. shut off the meter by mistake
C. had received her payment in advance
D. was in a hurry to take other passenhers
3.What can we learn from the story?
A. Giving is always a pleasure
B. People should respect each other
C. An act of kindness can bring people great joy.
D. People should learn to appreciate others’ concern.
读下面短文,从短文后面各题的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出适合填入对应空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Every summer a great many students travel to other countries looking for work and adventure. Most of the 26 are in seasonal work, mainly connected with wourism and 27
The pay is usually poor, but most people work abroad for the 28 of travel. You can pick grapes on farms in France, entertain kids on American summer camps, and, of course, there are 29 jobs in hotels and restaurants.
But it is not easy now to find work. “ 30 you speak the language of the country well, there will be very few openings,” says Althea Ellis, an adviser in 31 for students.
“If you work with a family in Italy, you’ll have to speak Italian. When you wash dishes in a restaurant in Pairs, the owner will expect you to speak 32 . British students only have a language 33 for jobs in the USA and Australia.”
34 enjoys the experience. Sarah James was employed to help forty American children in Europe. The two teachers with the children had never been 35 .One child lost his passport; another became seriously ill and was 36 home; the whole group was thrown out of one hotel because of the 37 they made, and what’s worse, Sarah herself was robbed on her only 38 evening of the entire trip. “ I did visit a lot of new places,” she says,“ but it wasn’t worth it. The pay was 39 and it really was a 24-hour-a-day job. The kids never slept!”
“The troubles is, students expect to have a(n) 40 time of it.” Althea Ellis points out. “After all, they see it as a 41 .In practice, 42 ,you have to work hard. At the same time, all vacation work is casual (临时的) work. You’ll have a job when the hotel, the restaurant, or the campsite is busy. In the other words, you’ll work if it’s convenient for the company that 43 you. But you have 44 employment rights. As soon as the holiday season 45 ,they’ll get rid of you.”
1. |
A. works |
B. challenges |
C. changes |
D. hardships |
2. |
A. service |
B. industry |
C. business |
D. science |
3. |
A. pains |
B. comfort |
C. difficulty |
D. excitement |
4. |
A. always |
B. hardly |
C. never |
D. seldsom |
5. |
A. If |
B. Unless |
C. Because |
D. Although |
6. |
A. health care |
B. vacation work |
C. language studies |
D. tourist safely |
7. |
A. Italian |
B. English |
C. French |
D. Spanish |
8. |
A. chance |
B. ability |
C. possibility |
D. advantage |
9. |
A. No one |
B. None |
C. Not everyone |
D. Everybody |
10. |
A. abroad |
B. employed |
C. sad |
D. respected |
11. |
A. driven |
B. ridden |
C. left |
D. flown |
12. |
A. friends |
B. decisions |
C. noise |
D. destruction |
13. |
A. busy |
B. free |
C. tiring |
D. pleasant |
14. |
A. nice |
B. reasonable |
C. fair |
D. poor |
15. |
A. hard |
B. easy |
C. difficult |
D. ordinary |
16. |
A. holiday |
B. job |
C. festival |
D. study |
17. |
A. besides |
B. therefore |
C. however |
D. meanwhile |
18. |
A. fires |
B. employs |
C. recommends |
D. appreciants |
19. |
A. few |
B. little |
C. all |
D. much |
20. |
A. starts |
B. lasts |
C. approaches |
D. finishes |
The students had the lights for almost three hours.
A. to burn B. burning C. burnt D. to be burning
“Do you have any clothes today, Master?” asked the servant politely.
A. to wash B. to be washed C. washing D. being washed
it is to have a cold drink on such a hot day!
A. What a fun B. How fun C. What fun D. How a fun
Some birds fly in winter and some stay in the north.
A. south B. the south C. in the south D. to south