Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers. Some years later, they 16 after having dinner together. They discussed the 17 they gave their elderly mother who lived far away in another city. The first said, “I had a 18 house built for Mama.” The second said, “I had my Mercedes-Benz dealer（经销商）send a 19 to her.” The third said, “I built a beautiful 20 for Mama.” The fourth said, “You know 21 Mama loved reading poems and you know she can’t read anymore because she can’t 22 very well. I met a 23 who had a parrot（鹦鹉）that can recite many poems. It took him 12 years to 24 it to speak and he earns his living by renting it out. I had to pay him $100,000 a year for twenty years, 25 it is worth it.” On hearing that, the other brothers were 26 by his good thought.
After the holidays their mother 27 her thank-you notes, which read:
“Milton, the house you built is so huge. I only live in one room, but I have to 28 the whole house. It’s a tiring job. Thanks anyway.”
“Marvin, I am too old to 29 . I stay home and have my foods delivered, so I’ll 30 use the car. The 31 was good, although not practical. Thanks.”
“Michael, you gave me an expensive building for 50 people to 32 plays or watch movies in it, but all my friends are dead. I’ve almost 33 my hearing and I’m nearly blind. I won’t use it. Thank you all the same.”
“Dearest Melvin, you were the 34 son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken tasted so 35 . I liked it very much. Thank you.”
A．fought B．talked C．studied D．slept
A．gifts B．chances C．wishes D．challenges
A．warm B．big C．safe D．lonely
A．book B．bike C．car D．bag
A．station B．museum C．library D．theater
A．what B．how C．why D．when
A．listen B．feel C．see D．walk
A．nurse B．writer C．businessman D．lawyer
A．protect B．beat C．raise D．teach
A．but B．so C．unless D．although
A．treated B．impressed C．threatened D．hurt
A．sent out B．put up C．took out D．picked up
A．sell B．borrow C．clean D．visit
A．learn B．work C．exercise D．travel
A．never B．often C．regularly D．sometimes
A．future B．hobby C．idea D．program
A．create B．enjoy C．bring D．record
A．lost B．admired C．remained D．discovered
A．same B．last C．next D．only
A．strange B．unpleasant C．bitter D．delicious
A nurse took the tired, anxious soldier to the bedside.
“Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to the words several times before the patient’s eyes .
Heavily sedated(镇静) because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly(模糊地) saw the young solider standing beside him. He reached out his hand. The soldier held his around the old man’s, a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a so that the soldier could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young soldier sat there, holding the old man’s hand. , the nurse suggested that the soldier move away and for a while.
He . Whenever the nurse came into the room, the soldier was forgetful of her and of the night of the hospital－the laughter of the workers, the cries of the other
Now and then she heard him say a few words. But the dying man said , only held to his son all through the night.
The next morning, the old man died. The soldier went to the . While she did what she had to do, he waited.
, she returned. She started to offer words of pity, the soldier stopped her.
“Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was , “He was your father,” she answered.
“No,” the soldier replied. “I saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a , but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I ”
A．repeat B．ask C．explain D．introduce
A．shook B．opened C．closed D．dropped
A．arms B．fingers C．eyes D．shoulders
A．demanding B．preserving C．expressing D．describing
A．chair B．bill C．bed D．notice
A．Happily B．Occasionally C．Simply D．Carefully
A．play B．walk C．rest D．practice
A．agreed B．doubted C．promised D．refused
A．feelings B．greetings C．noises D．businesses
A．workers B．customers C．doctors D．patients
A．gentle B．cool C．exciting D．humorous
A．everything B．nothing C．something D．anything
A．son B．hospital C．policeman D．nurse
A．Finally B．Suddenly C．Quickly D．Anxiously
A．so B．and C．but D．unless
A．moved B．surprised C．inspired D．worried
A．ever B．once C．often D．never
A．mistake B．change C．trouble D．difference
A．hoped B．realized C．imagined D．dreamed
A．watched B．arrived C．permitted D．stayed
As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine(常规)basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this at work in people of all ages. For example, on Christmas morning, children are about playing with their new toys. But their soon wears off and by January those same toys can be found put away in the basement. The world is full of stamp albums and unfinished models, each standing as a monument to someone’s interest. When parents bring home a pet, their child bathes it and brushes its fur. Within a time, however, the burden of caring for the animal is handed over to the parents. Adolescents enter high school with great excitement but are soon looking forward to . The same is true of the young adults going to college. And then, how many , who now complain about the long drives to work, drove for hours at a time when they first their driver’s license ? Before people retire, they usually to do a lot of things, which they never had time to do while working. But soon after retirement, the golfing, the fishing, the reading and all of the other pastimes (消遣) become as boring as the jobs they . And, like the children in January, they go searching for “new ” .
A．principle B．habit C．weakness D．power
A．surprised B．moved C．excited D．satisfied
A．confidence B．interest C．anxiety D．sorrow
A．well-organized B．colorfully-printed C．newly- collected D．half-filled
A．missing B．passing C．developing D．falling
A．silently B．impatiently C．gladly D．worriedly
A．interesting B．short C．long D．boring
A．graduation B．independence C．responsibility D．success
A．children B．students C．adults D．retirees
A．carefully B．eagerly C．nervously D．bravely
A．required B．obtained C．noticed D．discovered
A．need B．learn C．start D．plan
A．great B．strong C．difficult D．correct
A．lost B．chose C．left D．quit
A．pets B．toys C．friends D．colleagues
Father’s secret
My father grew up in a fatherless home. At that time, the family struggled hard to _ _. The childhood experiences caused my father to be extremely mean.
When we children became knewthat other children got spending money from their parents, we made the______of ask our father from some.His face turned cold, “If you’re old enough to ask you’re old enough to_____” he shouted. And we went about the neighborhood seeking odd jobs.
There was a period of time when _ _of us had a car, so we had to ride the bus home. _ _the bus stopped more than two miles from home, Dad never met us. If someone _ _, he ‘d say in his loudest voice, “That’s what your _ _are for!” When I went to senior high school, I had to _ _a long way each time I came home. The walk didn’t _____me as much as the fear of walking alone. I also felt that my father didn’t care about my _ _. That feeling was _ _one spring evening.
It had been a quite difficult week at school. Tests and long hours in labs had left me _ _. As other students were __at their stops, I looked out of the window __. Finally ,the bus pulled into my stop, and I _ _off, beginning the long journey home.
On that evening, I saw something gray moving along the hedge(树篱) towards my house. Upon a closer watch, I __ it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew, each time I ‘d come home, he had _ _behind the hedge, watching, until I arrived safely. He did __ after all.
After that, that spot of gray became my focus. I could hardly wait to watch for its ______movement on my way home. Upon reaching home I would find my father sitting in his chair. “So, it’s you !” he’d say, pretending to be _____.
I replied, “Yes, Dad, it’s me. I’m home.”
A．travel B．survive C．succeed D．escape
A．excuse B．point C．mistake D．discovery
A．waste B．borrow C．save D．earn
A．each B．none C．one D．all
A．Though B．Since C．When D．Until
A．complained B．forgot C．arrived D．failed
A．buses B．legs C．brains D．friends
A．walk B．run C．ride D．drive
A．tire B．help C．trouble D．excite
A．opinion B．grade C．safety D．interest
A．felt B．discussed C．shown D．removed
A．curious B．exhausted C．worried D．delighted
A．met B．singing C．talking D．kept
A．sadly B．coldly C．seriously D．carefully
A．paid B．stepped C．called D．dropped
A．considered B．imagined C．remembered D．realized
A．fallen B．left C．stood D．lain
A．care B．try C．watch D．know
A．secret B．quick C．easy D．small
A．confident B．surprised C．happy D．angry
That afternoon I was sitting at my favorite table in a restaurant, waiting for the food I had ordered to arrive. Suddenly I ______ that a man sitting at a table near the window kept glancing in my direction, ______ he knew me. The man had a newspaper ______ in front of him, which he was ______ to read, but I could ______ that he was keeping an eye on me. When the waiter brought my ______the man was clearly puzzled (困惑) by the ______ way in which the waiter and I ______each other. He seemed even more puzzled as ______went on and it became ______that all the waiters in the restaurant knew me. Finally he got up and went into the ______. When he came out, he paid his bill and ______without another glance in my direction.
I called the owner of the restaurant and asked what the man had ______. “Well,” he said, “that man was a detective (侦探). He ______ you here because he thought you were the man he ______. ” “What? ” I said, showing my ______. The owner continued, “He came into the kitchen and showed me a photo of the wanted man. I ______ say he looked very much like you! Of course, since we know you, we told him that he had made a ______. ” “Well, it’s really ______I came to a restaurant where I’m known, ” I said. “______, I might have been in trouble.”
A．noticed B．understood C．knew D．recognized
A．since B．as if C．though D．even if
A．flat B．open C．cut D．fixed
A．hoping B．thinking C．pretending D．continuing
A．see B．find C．guess D．learn
A．menu B．bill C．paper D．food
A．direct B．strange C．familiar D．funny
A．chatted with B．looked at C．laughed at D．talked about
A．the waiter B．time C．I D．the dinner
A．true B．hopeful C．clear D．possible
A．restaurant B．washroom C．kitchen D．office
A．left B．acted C．sat down D．calmed down
A．wanted B．tried C．ordered D．wished
A．met B．caught C．followed D．discovered
A．was to beat B．was dealing with C．was to meet D．was looking for
A．surprise B．care C．worry D．regret
A．must B．can C．need D．may
A．discovery B．mistake C．decision D．fortune
A．a pity B．natural C．a chance D．lucky
A．Thus B．However C．Otherwise D．Therefore
I went to India for a 2-week vacation to visit my relatives. We stopped on a red light, and as always, there were a lot of activities outside the cars near the . People walked in, between the cars newspaper, water and a number of kids looked for a bit of charity from the car owners. It’s a familiar in most poor developing countries.
While we were for the red light to turn green, I noticed a man outside a couple of in front of ours trying to sell bottles of water. It’s unusual at first. He was a man in his 40s with relatively clothes. But he walked around in a strange way. He kind of his way around the spaces. He was blind.
Carrying a couple of water bottles on one hand, he got to the outside of our car. Out of , my mum decided to buy one water bottle. As she gave the man the money, the light turned green. The car behind sounded loudly and , trying to get ahead of traffic. Seeing this, my mum kindly told the man to the change. However, with his sense of touch, he quickly went through his shirt pocket and threw the money at my mum’s . It was the exact change. The cars behind us were really getting out of control, we decided to go on our way.
I broke down and even when I got home. Here’s a blind man, born in , trying to sell water bottles on the streets to make ends meet. He our sympathy. Life hasn’t been to him, yet he’s giving it his best shot. I think that is what is all about facing life bravely.
A．signs B．crossroads C．stations D．theatres
A．giving B．buying C．selling D．throwing
A．scene B．play C．activity D．street
A．watching B．asking C．waiting D．changing
A．blocks B．crossings C．turns D．cars
A．everything B．something C．anything D．nothing
A．expensive B．fashionable C．ragged D．fastened
A．pushed B．drove C．cleared D．felt
A．eventually B．quickly C．frequently D．happily
A．curiosity B．sympathy C．thirsty D．politeness
A．impatiently B．casually C．naturally D．carefully
A．keep B．return C．borrow D．count
A．poor B．superior C．limited D．enlarged
A．hand B．arm C．face D．lap
A．still B．yet C．so D．but
A．smiled B．shouted C．complained D．cried
A．pain B．poverty C．sadness D．loneliness
A．refused B．enjoyed C．doubted D．cheated
A．rich B．unfair C．kind D．bad
A．kindness B．courage C．experience D．challenge