Papa, as a son of a dirt-poor farmer, left school early and went to work in a factory, for education was for the rich then. So, the world became his school. With great interest, he read everything he could lay his hands on, listened to the town elders and learned about the world beyond his tiny hometown.“There’s so much to learn,” he’d say. “Though we’re born stupid, only the stupid remain that way.” He was determined that none of his children would be denied (拒绝) an education.
Thus, Papa insisted that we learn at least one new thing each day. Though, as children, we thought this was crazy, it would never have occurred to us to deny Papa a request. And dinner time seemed perfect for sharing what we had learned. We would talk about the news of the day; no matter how insignificant, it was never taken lightly. Papa would listen carefully and was ready with some comment, always to the point.
Then came the moment—the time to share the day’s new learning.
Papa, at the head of the table, would push back his chair and pour a glass of red wine, ready to listen.
“Felice,” he’d say, “tell me what you learned today.”
“I learned that the population of Nepal is ....”
Silence.
Papa was thinking about what was said, as if the salvation of the world would depend upon it. “The population of Nepal. Hmm. Well….” he’d say. “Get the map; let’s see where Nepal is.” And the whole family went on a search for Nepal.
This same experience was repeated until each family member had a turn. Dinner ended only after we had a clear understanding of at least half a dozen such facts.
As children, we thought very little about these educational wonders. Our family, however, was growing together, sharing experiences and participating in one another’s education. And by looking at us, listening to us, respecting our input, affirming our value, giving us a sense of dignity, Papa was unquestionably our most influential teacher.
Later during my training as a future teacher, I studied with some of the most famous educators. They were imparting what Papa had known all along—the value of continual learning. His technique has served me well all my life. Not a single day has been wasted, though I can never tell when knowing the population of Nepal might prove useful.
1.What do we know from the first paragraph?
A. The author’s father was born in a worker’s family.
B. Those born stupid could not change their life.
C. The town elders wanted to learn about the world.
D. The poor could hardly afford school education.
2.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “________”.
A. one new thing B. a request
C. the news D. some comment
3.It can be learned from the passage that the author________.
A. enjoyed talking about news
B. knew very well about Nepal
C. felt regret about those wasted days
D. appreciated his father’s educational technique
4.What is the greatest value of “dinner time” to the author?
A. Continual learning. B. Showing talents.
C. Family get-together. D. Winning Papa’s approval.
5.The author’s father can be best described as ________.
A. an educator expert at training future teachers
B. a parent insistent on his children’s education
C. a participant willing to share his knowledge
D. a teacher strict about everything his students did
My color television has given me nothing but a headache. I was able to buy it a little over a year ago because I had my relatives give me money for my birthday instead of a lot of clothes that wouldn’t fit. I let a salesclerk fool me into buying a discontinued model. I realized this a day later, when I saw newspaper advertisements for the set at seventy-five dollars less than I had paid. The set worked so beautifully when I first got it home that I would keep it on until stations signed off for the night. Fortunately, I didn’t got any channels showing all-night movies or I would never have gotten to bed.
Then I started developing a problem with the set that involved static (静电) noise. For some reason, when certain shows switched into a commercial, a loud noise would sound for a few seconds. Gradually, this noise began to appear during a show, and to get rid of it. I had to change to another channel and then change it back. Sometimes this technique would not work, and I had to pick up the set and shake it to remove the sound. I actually began to build up my arm muscles (肌肉) shaking my set.
When neither of these methods removed the static noise, I would sit helplessly and wait for the noise to go away. At last I ended up hitting the set with my fist, and it stopped working altogether. My trip to the repair shop cost me $62, and the set is working well now, but I keep expecting more trouble.
1.Why did the author say he was fooled into buying the TV set?
A.He got an older model than he had expected.
B.He couldn’t return it when it was broken.
C.He could have bought it at a lower price.
D.He failed to find any movie shows on it.
2.Which of the following can best replace the phrase “signed off” in Paragraph 1?
A.ended all their programs B.provided fewer channels
C.changed to commercials D.showed all-night movies
3.How did the author finally get his TV set working again?
A.By shaking and hitting it. B.By turning it on and off.
C.By switching channels. D.By having it repaired.
4.How does the author sound when telling the story?
A.Curious B.Anxious
C.Cautious D.Humorous
B
When her five daughters were young, Helene An always told them that there was strength in unity (团结). To show this, she held up one chopstick, representing oneperson. Then she easily broke it into two pieces. Next, she tied several chopsticks together, representing a family. She showed the girls it was hard to break the tied chopsticks. This lesson about family unity stayed with the daughters as they grew up.
Helene An and her family own a large restaurant business in California. However, when Helene and her husband Danny left their home in Vietnam in 1975, they didn't have much money. They moved their family to San Francisco. There they joined Danny's mother, Diana, who owned a small Italian sandwich shop. Soon afterwards, Helene and Diana changed the sandwich shop into a small Vietnamese restaurant. The five daughters helped in the restaurant when they were young. However, Helene did not want her daughters to always work in the family business because she thought it was too hard.
Eventually the girls all graduated from college and went away to work for themselves, but one by one, the daughters returned to work in the family business. They opened new restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though family members sometimes disagreed with each other, they worked together to make the business successful. Daughter Elisabeth explains, "Our mother taught us that to succeed we must have unity, and to have unity we must have peace. Without the strength of the family, there is no business."
Their expanding business became a large corporation in 1996, with three generations of Ans working together. Now the Ans' corporation makes more than $20 million each year. Although they began with a small restaurant, they had big dreams, and they worked together. Now they are a big success.
1.Helene tied several chopsticks together to show ______.
A.the strength of family unity
B.the difficulty of growing up
C.the advantage of chopsticks
D.the best way of giving a lesson
2.We can learn from Paragraph 2 that the Helene An family ______.
A.started a business in 1975
B.left Vietnam without much money
C.bought a restaurant in San Francisco
D.opened a sandwich shop in Los Angeles
3.What can we infer about the five daughters?
A.They did not finish their college education.
B.They could not bear to work in the family business.
C.They were influenced by what Helene taught them.
D.They were troubled by disagreement among family members.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.How to Run a Corporation
B.Strength Comes from Peace
C.How to Achieve a Big Dream
D.Family Unity Builds Success
At thirteen, I was diagnosed (诊断)with a kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs. Smith asked us to read a story and their write on it, all within 45minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, “Mrs. Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it.”
She glanced down at me through her glasses, “you are not different from your classmates, young man. ”
I tried, but I didn’t finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it homie.
In the quietness of my bedroom; the ‘story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn’t get much education. But Louis didn’t give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raise dots(点), which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn’t I the “blind”in my class; being made to learn like the “sighted” students? My thoughts spilled out(溢出)and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was not different from others; I just needed a quieter place: If Louis could find his “Way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?”
I didn’t expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs.Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to ‘me the next day-. with an “A”on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:. “See what you can do when you keep trying?”
1.The author didn’t finish the reading in class because .
A. He was new to the class
B. He was tried of literature
C. He had an attention disorder
D. He wanted to take the task home
2.What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?
A. He had good sight
B. He made a great invention.
C. He gave up reading
D. He learned a lot from school
3.What was Mrs. Smith’s attitude to the author at the end of the story?
A. Angry
B. Impatient
C. Sympathetic
D. Encouraging
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The disabled should be treated with respect.
B. A teacher can open up a new world to students.
C. One can find his way out of difficulties with efforts.
D. Everyone needs a hand when faced with challenges.
One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem — inability to read.
In the library, I found my way into the “Children’s Room.” I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle.
There on the book’s cover was a beagle which looked identical to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer.
Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together.
My mother’s call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them.
I never told my mother about my “miraculous” (奇迹般地) experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held.
1.The author’s mother told him to borrow a book in order to_____.
A. encourage him to do more walking B. let him spend a meaningful summer
C. help cure him of his reading problem D. make him learn more about weapons
2.The book caught the author’s eye because_____.
A. it contained pretty pictures of animals
B. it reminded him of his own dog
C. he found its title easy to understand
D. he liked children’s stories very much
3.Why could the author manage to read the book through?
A. He was forced by his mother to read it.
B. He identified with the story in the book.
C. The book told the story of his pet dog.
D. The happy ending of the story attracted him.
4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. The author has become a successful writer.
B. The author’s mother read the same book.
C. The author’s mother rewarded him with books.
D. The author has had happy summers ever since.
5.Which one could be the best title of the passage?
A. The Charm of a Book B. Mum’s Strict Order
C. Reunion with My Beagle D. My Passion for Reading
Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup!
1.Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?
A. To earn some money for the family. B. To collect manure for his crops.
C. To get rid of the terrible smell. D. To set a good example to us.
2.What can we infer about Dad’s stew?
A. It is popular among the neighbors. B. It contains honey and vegetables.
C. It looks very wonderful. D. It tastes quite delicious.
3.What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?
A. To attract. B. To upset. C. To air. D. To shut.
4.What can we learn about Dad form the text?
A. He is an experienced cook. B. He is a troublesome father.
C. He has a positive attitude to life. D. He suffers a lot from his disability.
