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 knew that 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
Now, I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know you have a lot of _ in your lives right now that can make it hard to on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what it’s like. My father my family when I was two years old ,and I was by a single mom who had to work and who struggled to pay the hills and wasn't always to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I having a father in my life. There were times when I was and I felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm not of, and I got in more trouble than I should .And my life could have taken a turn for the worse.
But I was ，I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my .
Some of you might not have those . Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and there's not enough money to the daily expenses. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are you to do things that you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life are, of those is an excuse for ignoring your homework or having a bad in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your , or dropping out of school. There's no excuse for not trying.
A．changes B．challenges C．attractions D．activities
A．concentrate B．depend C．reflect D．comment
A．supported B．hated C．loved D．left
A．raised B．adopted C．taught D．comforted
A．on time B．in time C．at times D．behind time
A．able B．glad C．generous D．ready
A．enjoyed B．missed C．considered D．regretted
A．lonely B．guilty C．clumsy D．silly
A．afraid B．sure C．proud D．aware
A．simply B．truly C．actually D．easily
A．independent B．lucky C．brilliant D．honest
A．steps B．fortunes C．instructions D．dreams
A．moods B．feelings C．advantages D．difficulties
A．right B．support C．energy D．freedom
A．sure B．avoid C．cover D．have
A．permitting B．forcing C．inspiring D．reminding
A．whichever B．however C．wherever D．whatever
A．none B．any C．neither D．either
A．impression B．experience C．memory D．attitude
A．parent B．classmate C．friend D．teacher
After attending a conference, I returned to my hotel room late one evening．The overhead light out-side my door was burned out and I had finding the keyhole．When I to open the door, I around the wall for a light switch．I found a plate where a switch was installed… but no switch!
Not discouraged easily, I remembered a lamp by the bed when I deposited my luggage in the day．I found the bed in the and then the lamp, but when I switched it on, nothing ! I thought that perhaps if I opened the curtains I might be able to use whatever light comes in from the to find another lamp．So I my way slowly across the room to the curtains and …no drawstring! I finally stumbled（跌跌撞撞地） around I found a desk lamp which actually !
That evening I discovered in a whole new way just how dark the world be and how-necessary light is! But even more necessary than light is the light that shines from people—the light of and faith．Because, for many people, the world is a dark and place．For someone today just may be stumbling in discouragement or sadness or fear and in of some light．So let your light shine．Whatever light you may be a beacon of hope and encouragement．And if you feel that your light is a candle in a forest remember there isn’t enough darkness in all the world to the light of one small candle．
A．confidence B．respect C．admiration D．difficulty
A．managed B．failed C．wished D．meant
A．touched B．felt C．sensed D．looked
A．already B．never C．still D．once
A．equipping B．producing C．spotting D．removing
A．later B．earlier C．lower D．upper
A．light B．dark C．room D．corner
A．happened B．operated C．fired D．developed
A．machine B．street C．room D．car
A．wound B．forced C．made D．lost
A．after B．until C．while D．since
A．helped B．affected C．worked D．inspired
A．can B．shall C．will D．must
A．mental B．psychological C．electrical D．physical
A．existence B．love C．truth D．wisdom
A．lonely B．colourful C．friendly D．complex
A．short B．favor C．face D．need
A．make B．offer C．take D．contribute
A．not more than B．other than C．no more than D．rather than
A．put out B．give out C．get over D．set up
Last Christmas while staying with my parents, I across some old love letters that my parents wrote to each other. These letters were all piled up in a basket, dirty and with dust. Deciding to read and sort them, I asked them if I could take the letters back to my Illinois home. They .
As I carefully opened each letter, of them fragile with age, I discovered a new page unknown to me in this private chapter of my parents' lives.
My father used to in the army. So his letters were full of frontline of the things about the war. Each of my mother's letters was marked with her 1944 dark red lipstick kiss. I was to these letters like a magnet（磁铁）.
Just six weeks after our Christmas visit, Daddy became very and was hospitalized. This time, he was fighting a kind of war. As I sat by his bedside, we discussed the . He told me how much receiving those lipstick-kissed letters had to him when he had been so far from home.
It so happened that the next day would be February 14. From the letters I chose the card my father had sent Mother in 1944 and brought it to my father’s bedside.
At his bedside, I joked with him, saying , "Today is Valentine's Day, don’t you want to send Mother a present?" He became more when I handed him the old . He carefully opened it and took out the card, and when he it, his eyes were filled with tears.
My father, in a tight with emotion read the loving message he'd sent to my mother fifty-six years . And this time, he could read it to her in .
A．came B．hit C．drew D．fell
A．hidden B．covered C．buried D．filled
A．refused B．smiled C．shocked D．agreed
A．all B．none C．both D．neither
A．recently B．usually C．previously D．occasionally
A．work B．study C．serve D．report
A．accounts B．documents C．introductions D．occupations
A．devoted B．addicted C．thrown D．drawn
A．sad B．dead C．dangerous D．ill
A．typical B．traditional C．different D．familiar
A．wars B．illnesses C．letters D．hospitals
A．meant B．intended C．planned D．said
A．divided B．sorted C．separated D．updated
A．sadly B．angrily C．softly D．loudly
A．curious B．enthusiastic C．fantastic D．positive
A．card B．envelope C．basket D．lipstick
A．found B．wrote C．recognized D．missed
A．sound B．noise C．whisper D．voice
A．later B．earlier C．ago D．ahead
A．person B．private C．danger D．peace
I finished my last work of the week and could hardly wait to get home, take off my nursing shoes, and relax.
As I _ _ my car, I saw one of my _ _ standing by the bus stop. I thought it would only take a couple of extra minutes to give her a ride home, and _ _, it was too cold to be standing outside on the coldest _ _ in January. I didn’t know where she lived, but I was _ _ I would be able to find my way back.
We _ _ about our work as I drove and _ _ we knew it, we arrived at her house. I started driving back. _ _ looked familiar, but at first that didn’t _ _ me. But soon I _ _ something wrong. I recognized nothing. But I told myself to stay _ _.
I was _ _ neighborhoods, streets and even streetlights. I no longer knew where I was now. How could I be so stupid! I looked down at my _ _. It was now 2:30 a.m. My gas was slowly running out. I _ _ the car and turned off the engine. In total defeat, I put my head down on the wheel, _ _. Then I raised my head and saw a(n) _ _ down the road in front of me. I turned my headlights on. A car! I drove a little _ _, got out of my car and knocked on the window of that car. An elderly man _ _ rolled his window down.
I said that I didn’t know how to get back into town. In silence, he started driving. I ran back to my car and drove behind him. Finally I _ _ a familiar street. As I turned to head home, the car disappeared. Then I _ _ my driveway (车道) when the warning light for my gas tank (汽油箱) turned on.
Though so many years have passed, I still thank the old man from my deepest heart.
A．discovered B．approached C．parked D．searched
A．patients B．classmates C．students D．workmates
A．yet B．still C．but D．besides
A．night B．morning C．afternoon D．noon
A．afraid B．happy C．confident D．sorry
A．worried B．cared C．talked D．explored
A．before B．if C．as D．though
A．Everything B．Nothing C．Anything D．Something
A．attract B．delight C．bother D．enjoy
A．escaped B．existed C．imagined D．realized
A．quiet B．calm C．silent D．brave
A．across B．over C．within D．beyond
A．wheel B．engine C．watch D．seat
A．drove B．deserted C．washed D．stopped
A．helpless B．excited C．satisfied D．delighted
A．shadow B．truck C．lady D．animal
A．faster B．nervously C．closer D．back
A．unlikely B．slowly C．carefully D．equally
A．came B．mistook C．recognized D．missed
A．pulled into B．drove away C．ran across D．fount out
It was Thanksgiving morning. In the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together inside the storm door on the top step.
"Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” ____looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin scandals (凉鞋),wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I'11 you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet shoes left on the floor．I __ them cocoa and toast with jam the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget. The silence in the front door __ __me. I looked in. The girl__ the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat ," Lady ．．． are you rich?"
"Am I rich? Mercy, !" I looked at my shabby slipcover(家具套)．The girl put her cup back in its saucer（茶碟） .
“Your cups match your saucers．”
Her voice was ___ __with a need that no amount of food could supply．They left after that, holding their against the wind．They hadn't said thank you．
They didn’t to. They had done more than that. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they __ __.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred(搅动)the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a __ over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these things matched, too．
I moved the chairs back from the fire and the living room．The muddy prints of small scandals were still on my floor. “ them be for a while,” I thought. Just I should begin to forget how I am.
A．when B．after C．while D．until
A．make B．provide C．do D．cook
A．signs B．signals C．marks D．symbols
A．showed B．served C．carried D．supplied
A．against B．from C．on D．in
A．beat B．struck C．got D．noticed
A．watched B．lifted C．held D．put
A．word B．method C．state D．voice
A．yes B．sure C．no D．always
A．suddenly B．carefully C．quickly D．anxiously
A．hungry B．satisfied C．pleased D．curious
A．books B．papers C．dishes D．drinks
A．dare B．plan C．want D．need
A．shone B．matched C．broke D．equaled
A．house B．ceiling C．roof D．curtain
A．washed B．rubbed C．wiped D．tidied
A．dry B．gone C．wet D．new
A．Made B．Let C．Got D．Kept
A．in case B．as if C．if only D．only if
A．nice B．free C．busy D．rich