I walked down the hall heading to see my 88-year-old grandma who had been in hospital. Each member of the family was taking turns sitting with her because of her dementia (痴呆). As I did I looked very carefully at some of the rooms on this wing of the hospital, and it seemed that almost every bed held an elderly person. Some appeared to be confused, and some just looked lonely. I couldn’t help but notice that there was no family there, no one to care them, and no one to reduce the ache of loneliness. My heart broke inside me.
They are aging, with withered (萎缩的) skin on their faces and hands, their eyes look tried, and yet no one notices them. Could it be that we are far too busy to slow down and give a moment of our time to anyone that may swerve (使突然转向) us off the course we are traveling on? Are we afraid of those who have come before us to pave the way, afraid that they carry some awful disease that if we get too close we might catch it?
Whatever the case may be, one day we will be those same people that we long to avoid. We pay thousands of dollars for staying young, and we may turn up the music to forget the thoughts of getting older. But, try as we might, time and age will catch up with us.
We seem to have come to detest (嫌恶) the elderly. While we once held them in high regard and honor, always enjoying their stories of history, we now see them as a pain, always in our way. Isn’t it time we wake up?
So, next time you see a withered hand extended in need, or peer into the eyes of a lonely aging face, don’t run or look away. Remember, it might just be you in that place one day.
1.What made the author deeply sad?
A. The poor food for the patients.
B. The sight he saw in the hospital.
C. The hopeless patients in the hospital.
D. The bad service of the hospital.
2.What’s people’s excuse for not visiting the old?
A. They are too busy.
B. They can’t afford it.
C. They live too far away.
D. They usually travel abroad.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Time will tell the truth.
B. People are afraid of being old.
C. A doctor is important to old people.
D. Respecting elderly people is a good tradition.
4.What does the author advise us to do in the last paragraph?
A. Respect the old.
B. Get along well with the old.
C. Help and pay attention to the old.
D. Spend more time with our parents.
After mom died, I began visiting my father every morning before I went to work. He was weak and moved slowly, but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on the kitchen table for me, along with an unsigned note, reading, ‘Drink your juice.” Such a gesture, I knew, was as far as my father had ever been able to do in expressing his love. In fact, I remember, as a kid I had questioned mom, “Why doesn’t father love me?” Mom frowned, “Who said he doesn’t love you?” “Well , he never tells me,” I complained. “He never tells me either.” She said, smiling. “But look how hard he works to take care of us, to buy us food and clothes, and to pay for this house. That’s how your father tells us he loves us.”
I nodded slowly. I understood in my head, but not in my heart. I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me. He owned and operated a small scrap metal (废旧金属) business, and after school I often hung around while he worked. He fed scrap steel into a device that chopped it as cleanly as a butcher chops a rack of ribs. The machine looked like a giant pair of scissors, with blades thicker than my father’s body. If he didn’t feed those terrifying blades just right, he risked serious injury. “Why don’t you hire someone to do that for you?” mom asked him one night as she bent over him and rubbed his aching shoulders with a strong smelling liniment. “Why don’t you hire a cook?” my father asked, giving her one of his rare smiles.
Many years later, during my first daily visit, after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me, I walked over, hugged him and said, “I love you, father.” From then on I did this every morning. My father never told me how he felt about my hugs, and there was never any expression on his face when I gave them.
1.The author’s father always prepared a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for him because .
A. that was the author’s favorite
B. he was sure the author would be thirsty
C. the author was always complaining
D. that was a gesture of love
2.The author’s fathe didn’t hire a helper because .
A. his job was too dangero
B. his job required high skills
C. he wanted to save money
D. he was not good at working with others
3.We can infer from the passage that .
A. the author’s father lacked a sense of humor
B. the author quite understood his father as time went on
C. the author’s father didn’t love him very much
D. the author’s father was too strict with him
4.What’s the passage about?
A. The proper attitude towards life.
B. The importance of education.
C. Silent fatherly love.
D. Ways to live happily.
During the seasons of fine weather, kids can play outside, happy and active. But when winter comes around, it is wet, windy and cold. Since they can’t go outside to play, kids get restless and miserable.
Fun activities for kids are pretty much necessary at that time of year, and they need to be kept entertained. One way to do this is to have an indoor treasure hunt, where children can look for clues and then get to the treasure. Treasure doesn’t even need to be much, because just the activity is fun enough.
Art activities are always fun, and if you start off with some paper in different colors they can draws shapes on the back, cut them out and stick them on the white paper to make all sorts of things. Cardboard boxes, stuck together and then painted, can be made into buildings or robots. You can keep all boxes in a bag in the loft. Then you have something you can draw on when the weather is bad and the children need to play indoors.
Dressing up is another fun indoor activity. Why not read a book to them and then ask them to act it for you? That can keep them busy and develop their imagination. When you encourage children to use their imagination, you are giving them confidence in themselves, in their own creative abilities; by suggesting they put on a play you are encouraging them to work together and develop teamwork skills.
The best way to help your kids have fun when it is rainy outside is to let them come up with some ideas. When you feel that they are old enough, let them write their ideas on a piece of paper and you can pick an idea that you find practical. That way, every day can be fun!
1.Kids are most likely to be unhappy in winter because .
A. it is very cold and windy
B. they lead a miserable life
C. they like spring very much
D. they can’t enjoy themselves outside
2.The indoor treasure hunt is an activity in which kids .
A. would like to get much treasure
B. are eager to find something
C. are forced to stay indoors
D. try to help each other.
3.Dressing up can help kids to develop their .
A. confidence, creation and teamwork skills
B. creation, interest and determination
C. teamwork skills, hobby and creation
D. imagination, hobby and bravery
As a young girl, I remember a very special doctor named Dr William R. Vincent. When I was eight years old, I was with a serious heart and I needed heart surgery(手术). My mom did not have the to have it done, and the surgery I would not live to be thirteen years old. After several organizations Dr Vincent was to get financial help for me through United Way, a Crippled Children’s Organization.
Dr Vincent was very and caring. I remember when I was in hospital for a(n) before surgery, I was crying hysterically(歇斯底里地). So the medical workers Dr Vincent to calm me down, and he was able to me when no one else could. , the time came for me to have heart surgery; there was a fifty-percent that I would not make it through the surgery. At that time I was only the second or third person to have it. I was really , and again Dr Vincent reassured me he would see that would be all right.
, the surgery was extremely painful but very successful. Dr Vincent came to see me and me a toy animal. I was so surprised to get this from Dr Vincent; I gave him a hug. I had a wonderful doctor who time helping a scared little girl who felt all . This was twenty-eight years ago. So wherever you are, Dr Vincent, I want to thank you for not only my life, but also helping me live a(n) life.
1.A.problem B. question C. matter D. puzzle
2.A.condition B. situation C. money D. time
3.A.beyond B. without C. through D. beside
4.A.joining B. seeing C. reaching D. contacting
5.A.able B. ready C. willing D. happy
6.A. careful B. clever C. honest D. gentle
7.A.check B. exam C. test D. watch
8.A.depended on B. searched for C. woke up D. called in
9.A.prevent B. comfort C. protect D. move
10.A.Later B. Now C. Instead D. However
11.A.hope B. choice C. chance D. effect
12.A.satisfied B. frightened C. pleased D. moved
13.A.nothing B. something C.none D. everything
14.A. Fortunately B. Specially C. Fairly D. Hardly
15.A.lent B. carried C. brought D. held
16.A.regret B. award C. support D. gift
17.A.made B. spent C. lost D. wasted
18.A.alone B. strange C. comfortable D. sick
19.A.giving B. saving C. sending D. passing
20.A.exciting B. ordinary C. normal D. rich
—My brother can only speak a few words of French.
— ? He once worked in Paris for nearly a year, right?
A. For what B. How come C. Why not D. So what
The society was set up to endangered animals from dying out.
A. deserve B. preserve C. observe D. reserve
