TheTouchstoneWhenthegreatlibra-优题课

The young boy saw me, or rather, he saw the car and quickly ran up to me, eager to sell his bunches (串) of bananas and bags of peanuts. Though he appeared to be about twelve, he seemed to have already known the bitterness of life. "Banana 300 naira. Peanuts 200 naira"He said in a low voice. I bargained him down to 200 total for the fruit and nuts. When he agreed, I handed him a 500 naira bill He didn't have change, so I told him not to worry. He said thanks and smiled a row of perfect teeth.
When, two weeks later, I saw the boy again, I was more aware of my position in a society where it's not that uncommon to see a little boy who should be in school standing on the comer selling fruit in the burning sun. My parents had raised me to be aware of the advantage we had been afforded and the responsibility it brought to us.
I pulled over and rolled down my window. He had a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts ready. I waved them away. “What's up?” I asked him. “I...I don't have money to buy books for school.” I reached into my pocket and handed him two fresh 500 naira bills."Will this help?” I asked. He looked around nervously before taking the money. One thousand naira was a lot of money to someone whose family probably made about 5,000 naira or less each year. "Thank you, sir," he said. “Thank you very much.”
When driving home, I wondered if my little friend actually used the money for school-books. What if he's a cheat (骗子)? And then I wondered why I did it .Did I do it to make myself feel better? Was I using him? Later, I realized that I didn't know his name or the least bit about him, nor did I think to ask.
Over the next six months, I was busy working in a news agency in northern Nigeria. Sometime after I returned, I went out for a drive When I was about to pull over, the boy suddenly appeared by my window with a big smile ready on his face.
"Oh, gosh! Long time."
"Are you in school now?” I asked.
He nodded.
"That's good," I said. A silence fell as we looked at each other, and then I realized what he wanted. "Here," I held out a 500 naira bill. “Take this.” He shook his head and stepped back as if hurt. "What's wrong?” I asked. "It's a gift."
He shook his head again and brought his hand from behind his back. His face shone with sweat (汗水). He dropped a bunch of bananas and a bag of peanuts in the front seat before he said, "I've been waiting to give these to you."
64. What was the author's first impression of the boy?
A. He seemed to be poor and greedy. B. He seemed to have suffered a lot
C. He seemed younger than his age. D. He seemed good at bargaining
65. The second time the author met the boy, the boy________.
A. told him his purpose of selling fruit and nutsB. wanted to express his thanks
C. asked him for money for his schoolbooks D. tried to take advantage of him
66. Why did the author give his money to the boy?
A. Because he had enough money to do that.
B. Because he had learnt to help others since childhood.
C. Because he held a higher position in the society.
D. Because he had been asked by the news agency to do so.
67. Which of the following best describes the boy?
A. Brave and polite. B. Kind and smart C. Honest and thankful. D. Shy and nervous.

Getting paid to talk about the World Cup is a great job. I’m not a football commentator(评论员),though-just an English teacher in Japan.
I came to Japan two years ago, and didn't think I would stay, but Japan has that effect on you. People often end up living here longer than they planned. I think it’s best to teach in a biggest city where there are other foreigners to mix with, rather than a small town where English teachers often complain of feeling like a goldfish in a bowl. Many people choose to live in Tokyo, of course, which is good for the nightlife factor. But I’d say that for general quality of living, cities of neither too large nor too small, like Sapporo where I live, are better choices.
I teach English privately, which means I’m my own boss. If you want to devote yourself to private teaching, it’s well worth doing a TEFL course first, because your lessons will be much better for it. The problem with private teaching is finding students; it took me a year to build up a full schedule(日程表)of private lessons, so I started out teaching in schools part-time.
Most of my foreign friends here work full-time for big English conversation schools. The salary is fine to live on. But whether you can save money depends on how much going out and traveling you do here.
The schools are reluctant to take time off –even teachers with tickets for the England-Argentina game had trouble getting the day off.
56.From the passage we know in Japan the write likes to live in_______.
A.Tokyo B.a small town C.a city of middle site D.a big city
57.According to the writer, one had better________first to do private teaching better.
A.take a TEFL course B.decide his or her own lessons
C.find students D.build up a full schedule
58.The underlined sentence in the second paragraph implies that_______.
A.there are many foreigners in Japan B.Japan is good for nightlife
C.they can teach English privately in Japan
D.Japan has something more attractive than expected
59.The underlined word“reluctant”in the passage may probably mean_____.
A.kind B.unwilling C.free D.careless

At a few minutes past five, Dave noted that the blanket of darkness was lifting. He was just able to make out the heavier masses that eventually appeared as the familiar trees that lined the road at the base of the hill. The upper reaches of the sky showed lighter shades of gray.
Dave got out of bed quietly and dressed quickly. He mixed a spoonful of instant chocolate into a glass of cold water, and his impatience forced him to finish the drink in gulps.
As he walked down toward the lake, Dave paused to reach for the fishing pole and gear box on the bench where he had left them the night before.
By the time he reached the small boat, a thick white mist (雾气) had spread over the surface of the water. He stepped into the boat, sat down, and rowed out of the weed beds that lined the edge of the shore.
The outer fringe (边缘) of the lake disappeared as the boat moved forward noiselessly. All he could see was the enveloping whiteness. He could not tell where the boat and the surrounding air met the surface of the lake.
Dave rowed steadily ahead, relying on a mental picture of the surroundings. Then the mist began to rise, slowly. It soon rested inches above the still surface of the lake. The heavy silence was now being broken by the fish breaking through the surface as they leaped out of the water for low-flying insects.
The magic time had arrived. Dave raised his pole. Dawn was broken. He was excited with expectancy.
39. Dave got up early in the morning to ______
A. enjoy the scene of the lake B. seek adventure at the lake
C. go fishing in the lake D. take a walk by the lake
40. According to the story, which of the following is TRUE?
A. Dave broke the quietness of the lake. B. Dave was familiar with the surroundings.
C. Dave took a picture of the lake with him. D. Dave forgot the fishing pole at the beginning.
41. The underlined word “It” in Paragraph 6 refers to ______
A. fish B. boat C. silence D. mist
42. What can we learn from the end of the story?
A. Dave was hopeful of catching a lot of fish. B. Dave wished the weather would be better.
C. Dave was happy that dawn was broken. D. Dave expected someone else would come.

I was 9 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1994, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday: “Kerrel, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”
AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 12, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.
We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work, I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I tried to figure out how I was going to manage.
I did not share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cruel. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside table even though he was too weak to feed himself.
I had known that he was going to die, but after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. she saved my life.
I was 15 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.
60. What does Kerrel tell us about her father?
A. He had stayed in the hospital since he fell ill.
B. He depended on the nurses in his final days.
C. He worked hard to pay for his medication.
D. He told no one about his disease.
61. What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
A. Kerrel couldn't understand her teacher.
B. Kerrel had special difficulty in hearing.
C. Kerrel was too troubled to focus on the lesson.
D. Kerrel was too tired to hear her teacher's words.
62. Why did Kerrel keep her father's disease a secret?
A. She was afraid of being looked down upon. B. She thought it was shameful to have AIDS.
C. She found no one willing to listen to her. D. She wanted to obey her mother.
63. Why did Kerrel write the passage?
A. To tell people about the sufferings of her father.
B. To show how little people knew about AIDS.
C. To draw people's attention to AIDS.
D. To remember her father.

When I learned that my 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble – a word game – against herself, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggested we give her a computer to play against. I wasn’t sure my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken 15 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so, we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of computers.
It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything. She has been the one teaching me all my life: to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.
It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing(文字处理). This proved to be a bigger challenge(挑战) to her, so I gave her some homework I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces.
“Are you this demanding with your kindergarten pupils?” she asked.
“No, of course not,” I said. “They already know how to use a computer.”
My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏反应). For as long as I can remember, any time I called, my mother would answer. Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years.
49. What does the author do?
A. She is a cook. B. She is a teacher.
C. She is a housewife. D. She is a computer engineer.
50. The author decided to give her mother a computer .
A. to let her have more chances to write letters
B. to support her in doing her homework
C. to help her through the bad times D. to make her life more enjoyable
51. The author asked her mother to write her a letter .
A. because her mother had stopped using the telephone
B. because she wanted to keep in touch with her mother
C. so that her mother could practice what she had learned
D. so that mother could be free from housework
52. After the computer was brought home, the author’s father .
A. lost interest in cooking B. took more phone calls
C. played more games D. began to use it

A．he wanted to read it	B．it was very interesting
C．there was a secret in the book	D．he wanted to find the touchstone