My father was Chief Engineer of a merchant ship, which was sunk in World War Ⅱ. The book Night of the Uboats told the story.
Memories
In September ，1940，my mother ,sister and I went to Swansea ,where my father ‘s ship was getting ready to sail ,we brought him a family photography to be kept with him at all times and keep him safe .
Then I remember my mother lying face down ,sobbing .she had heard from a friend that the ship had been sunk by a torpedo (鱼雷).
I can remember the arrived of the telegram（电报），which in those days always brought bad news .my grandmother opened it ,it read ,safe .love ted.”
My most vivid memory is being woken and brought down to sit on my father’s knee, his arm in a bandage .
He was judged unfit to return to sea and took a shore job in Glasgow for the rest of the war, for as long as I can remember ,he had a weak heart ,mother said it was caused by the torpedoes .he said it was because of the cigarette ,whichever ,he died suddenly in his early 50s.
Ten years later I read night of the U-boat and able to complete the story .
A toast
In my room is the book and the photograph .often , glass in hand, I have wondered how I would have dealt with an explosion ,a sinking ship ,a jump into a vast ocean and a wait for rescue ?lest (以免 )we forget ,I have some more whisky and toast the heroes of the war.
1.We can infer that the mother and children went to Swansea ________.
A. to meet a friend B. to see the father off
C. to take a family photo D. to enjoy the sailing of the ship
2.What did the author learn about the father from the telegram?
A. he was still alive. B. His knee was broken.
C. His ship had been sunk. D. He had arrived in Glasgow.
3.The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 6 refers to the father’s ________.
A. weak heart B. taking a shore job
C. failure to return to sea D. injury caused by a torpedo
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. A group of forgotten heroes
B. A book describing a terrifying battle.
C. A ship engineer’s wartime experience.
D. A merchant’s memories of a sea rescue.
When milk arrived on the doorstep
When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note-“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”-and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to out house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch （门廊）. Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1.Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer ________.
A. to show his magical power B. to pay for the delivery
C. to satisfy his curiosity D. to please his mother
2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?
A. He wanted to have tea there.
B. He was a respectable person.
C. He was treated as a family member.
D. He was fully trusted by the family.
3.Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?
A. Nobody wants to be a milkman now.
B. It has been driven out of the market.
C. Its service is getting poor.
D. It is forbidden by law.
4.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?
A. He missed the good old days.
B. He wanted to tell interesting stories.
C. He missed it for his milk bottles.
D. He planted flowers in it.
When first entered, Vanak Restaurant does not look like much of a restaurant, but once the pleasant smells of kabob （烤肉串）hit the senses, you are incapable of calling it anything less.
Owned by a local couple, this Persian restaurant has an inviting, homelike atmosphere that many restaurants lack.
The space is small with only a few dining tables and nearly no decoration, but the environment is truly chaiming.
Lying in a hardly noticeable street corner, the restaurant still attracts all customer especially those experienced in the delights of Middle Easrern cooking.
A common sight is that of old Persian men sitting in the corner talking loudly about world topics, wathcing news events on TV, drinking a black tea known as Persian chai, an reading local Persian nespapers all the while trying to finish off their plates piled wit food.
The variety of food at the restaurant is limited, but the amount of each dish is fairly large. Most of the meals can serve two people and are under $10, so not only is it affordably but practical as well.
The food, especially appeals to health-conscious eaters because each dish is very healthy,made with limited fat and oil and served straight off the grill（烤肉架）.
The main dish that the restaurant is popular for is its kabobs, which are different style of grilled meat.
One delicious and extremely healthy dish is the Jooieh Kabob, which is made of grille chicken pieces served with either rice or bread. Another great kabob is the Chelo Kabob, kabob consisting of grilled beef.
Although the restaurant is small, the atmosphere and the food is delicious. It is a plan that should not be overlooked.
1.When first entering the restaurant ,one can find that it
A. is splendidly decorated.
B. has pleasant smells of kabobs.
C. is crowded with dining table.
D. looks like a common restaurant.
2.What activity is also mentioned apart from dining in the restaurant?
A. Watching news events on TV.
B. Drinking a kind of black coffee.
C. Reading local English newspaper.
D. Discussing world topics in low voices.
3.The food of the restaurant _____________.
A. is served in small amounts. B. is rather expensive.
C. is rich in variety. D. is very healthy
4.What is the dish Joojeh Kabob mainly made of ？
A. Rice B. Chicken C. Bread D. Beef
In our discussion with people on how education can help them succeed in life, a woman remembered the first meeting of an introductory____course about 20 years ago.
The professor ____the lecture hall, placed upon his desk a large jar filled with dried beans（豆）, and invited the students to _ _how many beans the jar contained. After ____shouts of wildly wrong guesses the professor smiled a thin, dry smile, announced the ____ answer, and went on saying,” You have just ___an important lesson about science. That is Never____ your own senses.”
Twenty years later, the ___could guess what the professor had in mind. He ____himself, perhaps, as inviting his students to start an exciting____into an unknown world
Invisible（无形的）to the ,which can be discovered only through scientific .But the seventeen-year-old girl could not accept or even the invitation. She was just to understand the world. And she that her firsthand experience could be the .The professor, however, said that it was .he was taking away her only for knowing and was providing her with no substitute. “I remember feeling small and ,”the women says, “and I did the only thing I could do. I the course that afternoon, and I haven’t gone near science since.”
1.A .art B. history C. science D. math
2.A. searched for B. looked at C. got through D. marched into
3.A. count B. guess C. report D. watch
4.A. warning B. giving C. turning away D. listening to
5.A. ready B. possible C. correct D. difficult
6.A. learned B. prepared C. taught D. taken
7.A. lose B. trust C. sharpen D. show
8.A. lecturer B. scientist C. speaker D. woman
9.A. described B. respected C. saw D. served
10.A. voyage B. movement C. change D. rush
11.A. professor B. eye C. knowledge D. light
12.A. model B. senses C. spirit D. methods
13.A. hear B. make C. present D. refuse
14.A. suggesting B. beginning C. pretending D. waiting
15.A. believed B. doubted C. proved D. explained
16.A. growth B. strength C. faith D. truth
17.A .firm B. interesting C. wrong D. acceptable
18.A. task B. tool C. success D. connection
19.A. cruel B. proud C. frightened D. brave
20.A. dropped B. started C. passed D .missed
It took him a long time to ______ the skills needed to become a professional artist.
A. acquire B. inquire C. Require D. request
We should take care of the blind. It is immoral to _______ them.
A. make room for B. make fun of C. make up for D. make use of
