When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him.
"I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr.," he says of his father.
So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. "I'm jumping up and down, saying, 'Mom, can I go? Can I go?'"
The experience changed Dekalb's life, he tells his dad on a visit to Story Corps. "My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off." the younger Dekalb says. "This is the life that I want to live someday."
Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together—father supervising（监督）son.
"You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow," his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced."
I received a phone call that night. And they said, 'Well, your son was at this fire.' I said, 'OK, which way is this conversation going to go? ' Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.
"And they said, 'But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.'
And the word went around, 'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad."
Dekalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son."
1.The underlined phrase tag along in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. put out fire
B. watch basketball
C. follow his father
D. ask his mother’s permission
2.Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of _________.
A. 27 B. 21 C. 8 D. 35
3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too.
B. Dekalb Walcott Jr. is proud to be a second-generation firefighter.
C. Dekalb Walcott Jr. wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III.
D. Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter.
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son
B. Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy
C. Dekalb Walcott III: A Second-generation Firefighter
D. Dekalb Walcott Jr.: A Chicago Fire Chief
The journey of water on the earth can be a mirror of our own paths through life. Like a river that flows within the boundaries of its banks, we are born with certain characteristics that _ __ our identity. We move through life, _ __ many twists, turns, and barriers along the way just as a river does.
Water shows us how to move through the world with grace, bravery, determination, and __ __. Water is brave and does not waste time sticking to its past, but flows onward without looking back. When there is a hole to be filled, water does not run away from it in fear of the dark; _ _, water modestly and bravely fills the empty space. Similarly, we can face the dark moments of our life rather than run away from them.
_ _, a river will empty into the sea. Water does not hold back from joining up with a larger body, nor does it fear a loss of _ __ or control. It gracefully and modestly falls into the vastness by contributing its energy without hesitation. Each time we move __ _ our personal characters to become part of something bigger, we can try our best to _ _ the lead of the river.
1.A. preserveB. assumeC. decideD. cast
2.A. competing B. meeting withC. living withD. playing with
3.A. modestyB. happinessC. honestyD. reputation
4.A. thereforeB. besidesC. otherwiseD. instead
5.A. EventualB. AbsolutelyC. RegularlyD. Actually
6.A. lifeB. confidenceC. libertyD. root
7.A. onB. intoC. acrossD. beyond
8.A. takeB. followC. loseD. hold
My grandma is good at gardening. She could make anything bloom(开花). _ __ me. In my eyes, she was inspiring and __ __. For most of her life, she lived on a farm, where she brought up four children, and buried my grandpa.
I visited her on weekends. After the gardening work, I was __ __ to climb the mountain, singing songs and gathering flowers. Sometimes the plants scratched me. She would say, "Beauty has a ___. I hope it was worth it."
"Yes, ma' ma," I'd say. "_ __ was."
I loved gathering flowers on my own. But what I loved best was gathering them with her. Even then, as a child, I knew what I wanted most from my grandma was not her flowers, but her __ __. She's been gone for years, but sometimes, when I __ __down to pick a flower or pull a weed, I see her __ __, not mine.
I thought I'd grow up to be a gardener too. I told myself, someday my children had children, I'd be a gardening grandma. Then the grandbabies started showing up, and I discovered 1'd much rather run after them __ __ go digging. Actually I'm no gardener. I'm a __ __, not a planter. I differ from my grandma in lots of ways, but this: I will always carry __ __ me a heart she made from her own.
I needn’t plant a garden. My children are my flowers. They delight and complete me with a beauty that is worth any price. All I need to do is __ __ them with time, water them with love, and hope that someday, when they hold their first grandchild, they might see my hand.
1.A. NotB. EvenC. OnlyD. Often
2.A. famousB. humorousC. caringD. amusing
3.A. determinedB. anxiousC. curiousD. free
4.A. standardB. rangeC. priceD. quality
5.A. ItB. IC. SheD. That
6.A. possessionB. promiseC. beautyD. time
7.A. climbB. reachC. lookD. sit
8.A. smileB. spiritC. soulD. hand
9.A. thanB. untilC. unlessD. since
10.A. workerB. teacherC. pickerD. farmer
11.A.toB. withinC. beyondD. for
12.A. attendB. missC. promoteD. influence
Don't sigh over the small achievement. _____, and I'm sure if you keep at it, you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel!
A. Lookers-on see most of the game
B. Constant dripping wears away the stone
C. The world is your oyster
D. Lost time is never found again
The doctor tried to laugh my brother ____ his fears about the coming operation.
A. from B. against C. off D. into
—I like this dress better than that one.
— ____, but it costs almost twice____.
A. So do I; as much
B. Neither do I; as many
C. So I am; so much
D. Neither am I; so many
