A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
1.Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?
A. Sad B. Sorry C. Regretful D. Pitiful
2.What does the underlined word “rectify” mean in Para. 3?
A. put…right B. recite…by heart C. realize D. recognize
3.What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?
A. Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old.
B. Be good to your parents when you still have the chance.
C. You will regret in your life if you don’t show your kindness to your parents.
D. It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents.
Bardithch High School decided to have an All-School Reunion. Over 450 people came to the event. There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park. Several former teachers were on hand to tell stories about the old days. Ms. Mabel Yates, the English teacher for over fifty years, was wheeled to the Park.
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans (嘟囔声) when Ms. Yates was about to speak. Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined.
Then Ms. Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I’m to be here. I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies. I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students. Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the births of your children, in my imagination. ”
Ms. Yates paused and started crying a bit. Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me. Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in your chosen path.”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work. You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart.”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping. The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar (呼喊). Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown.
1.What activity was organized for the school reunion?
A. Sightseeing in the park
B. A picnic on the school playground
C. Telling stories about past events
D. Graduates’ reports in the old building
2.What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?
A. Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms. Yates’ speech
B. Many graduates disliked Ms. Yates’ ways of teaching
C. Some people got tired from the reunion activities
D. Most people had little interest in the reunion
3.We can learn from Ms. Yates’ speech that she _________.
A. kept track of her students’ progress
B. gave her students advice on their careers
C. attended her students’ college graduations
D. went to her students’ wedding ceremonies
4.Which of the following can best describe Ms. Yates?
A. Reliable and devoted
B. Tough and generous
C. Proud but patient
D. Strict but caring
Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressiveness permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural backgrounds in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.
1.What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?
A. Love B. Politeness C. Joy D. Thankfulness
2.The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that a smile can ________.
A. show friendliness to strangers
B. be used to hide true feelings
C. be used in the wrong places
D. show personal habits
3.What should we do before attempting to “read” people?
A. Learn about their relations with others
B. Understand their cultural backgrounds
C. Find out about their past experience
D. Figure out what they will do next
4.What would be the best title for the test?
A. Cultural Differences
B. Smiles and Relationships
C. Facial Expressiveness
D. Habits and Emotions
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A young man was getting ready to graduate from college, for many months he had 36 a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and 37 his father could well 38 it, he told him that was all he wanted.
On the morning of his graduation day his father called him into his own study and told him how 39 he was to have such a fine son. He handed his son a beautiful gift box. 40 but slightly disappointed, the young man 41 the box and found a lovely book. 42 , he raised his voice at his father and said, “ 43 all your money you give me a book?” And rushed out of the house 44 the book in the study.
He did not contact（联系）his father for a whole year 45 one day he saw in the street an old man who looked like his father. He 46 he had to go back home and see his father.
When he arrived at his father's house, he was told that his father had been in hospital for a week. The moment he was about to 47 the hospital, he saw on the desk the 48 new book, just as he had left it one 49 ago. He opened it and began to 50 the pages. Suddenly, a car key 51 from an envelope taped behind the book. It had a lag (标签) with dealer’s name, the 52 dealer who had the sports car he had 53 . On the tag was the 54 of his graduation. and the 55 PAID IN FULL.
1.A. expected. B. enjoyed. C. admired. D. owned
2.A. finding B. proving C. deciding D. knowing
3.A. afford B. offer C. keep D. like
4.A. encouraged B. comfortable C. proud D. moved
5.A. Nervous B. Serious C. Careful D. Curious
6.A. packed. B. opened. C. picked up D. put aside
7.A. Angrily B. Eagerly C. Calmly D. Anxiously
8.A. At B. From C. With D. To
9.A. toasting B. putting C. forgetting D. leaving
10.A. until B. as C. before D. unless
11.A. learned B. realized. C. recognized. D. admitted
12.A. get to B. search for C. turn to D. leave for
13.A. much B. still C. hardly D. quite
14.A. year B. month C. week D. day
15.A. clean B. read. C. turn D. count
16.A. lost B. came C. appeared. D. dropped
17.A. old. B. same C. special D. new
18.A. remembered. B. desired. C. found. D. met
19.A. picture B. place C. date D. met
20.A. words B. information C. date D. card
She claimed _____ that she would never break her words.
A. meaningfully B. firmly C. faithfully D. obviously
－Can you pick me up after work? My car ______.
－With pleasure.
A. is going to be repaired B. has repaired
C. is being repaired D. is repaired
