Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land. The place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk.
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit them every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle（喧闹）of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note. From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
| A．left the small farm with Lord |
| B．passed away four years ago |
| C．left for Lord to live her own way |
| D．preferred to be with Lord |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．shouted | B．comforted |
| C．recalled | D．sighed |
The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons except that ________.
| A．she could only sing one song in the small farm |
| B．it was too cold and quiet |
| C．there was nothing more that could make her excited |
| D．the place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______
| A．Cherish(珍惜) life | B．My happy childhood |
| C．Our small farmhouse | D．Mom’s music |
Can feeling of nostalgia(怀旧) be good for you? Or is it unhealthy to have a strong love for the past?
For years, medical experts have studied nostalgia and the reasons for it. Many experts warn that too much nostalgia is harmful. They say living in the past shows that a person is unhappy with his present life. These feelings keep the person from living his life to its fullest.
However, experts say it is normal to love the past sometimes. In fact, a little nostalgia can enrich a person’s life.
Dr. Louise Kaplan has written several books about nostalgia. She says these feelings often begin when a young person is between 13 and 19 years old.
“This is the time when you must face the loss of your childhood, “Kaplan says. “You see your new life is easily destroyed. But you think romantically about a golden past. You remember your childhood as a time when life is perfect.”
These feelings continue as the person gets older, Kaplan adds. She says many grown persons have a hard time keeping up with changes in the modem world, so they think back to their younger years. At that time the world seemed simple and more harmless.
Kaplan says these feelings do not always actually exist. The good old days did not always exist. The good old days weren’t always good. However, she says nostalgia can be helpful, if used properly.
“Feelings of nostalgia can cause you to remember a time when you had high hopes and dreams, “Kaplan says. “It might give you the strong wish to catch those dreams today in your past life.”She adds that nostalgia can prevent you from “cutting yourself off from your aim”.
| A．might cause you to try to realize the golden dream in the present life |
| B．fill one with hopes for the future |
| C．bring about a love for the past and a hope for the future |
| D．can cause you to think of your past which was full of hopes and dreams |
| A．time is hard, so they cannot keep up with changes |
| B．many grown persons have little time keeping up with changes in the modern world |
| C．they can hardly keep up with changes in today’s world |
| D．they lived in the past, of which they are always proud |
| A．Only women have feelings of nostalgia |
| B．Too much nostalgia is harmful |
| C．Nostalgia shows that a person is not satisfied with his present life |
| D．A little nostalgia can make a person’s life more colorful |
| A．Nostalgia, Good or Bad |
| B．Thoughts on Nostalgia |
| C．The Reasons for Nostalgia |
| D．Why Do They Think Back to the Past |
How hard we have all prayed(祈祷) to grow up quickly, and looked forward to the happy days of being a grown-up and enjoying the many interests that a youth should have.
At last, you have grown up. At least you are no longer a child. They call you “young lady”. You then enjoy the pleasure of being a young lady. You are proud of being a grown-up teenager. People welcome you-this young lady-heartily. You are glad that your prayer has been answered.
But there is always something that troubles you a lot. You say; “Papa and Mama, give me some money please. My pocket money is all gone already.”
“No”, they say, “your age is a dangerous age. If you have too much money to spend, it won’t do you any good.” Then you have to stay at home because you dare not go out with an empty pocket.
Another time you tell your grandma, “Grandma, see, I am a grown-up now.”
“Good, now, you can sit here and knit (编织) this for me while I go and have a rest.” To show that you are no more a child, you have to sit there the whole afternoon doing the work, which only a grown-up can do. After an hour, you find it hard to do, and give the knitting basket back to your grandma. Your grandma criticizes your work. You hear what she says, “Such a big girl can’t do such easy work.” You wish then you were a child again.
But the fact is, you are growing up, and you can’t help it. That’s the way it goes!
| A．a growing-up boy’s | B．an old woman’s |
| C．a teenage girl’s | D．a grown-up’s |
| A．She is no longer a kid. |
| B．People begin to call her teenager. |
| C．She can join women in all kinds of activities. |
| D．People treat her as a young lady. |
| A．they still regard her as a child |
| B．they don’t believe she is already a teenager |
| C．it’s dangerous for a girl to spend money |
| D．they love her more than before |
| A．she has to lie in bed, doing nothing |
| B．she wishes she were not growing up |
| C．she knows she has already worked the whole afternoon |
| D．she finds it isn’t her turn to do knitting |
Travelling can be a way to gain life experiences，especially during Spring Break—a week long school vacation in the United States.But what if you’re a student and don’t have enough money for a trip? Don’t worry.Here are some useful suggestions.
Save：This probably is the most important preparation for travelling.Cut expenses to fatten_your_wallet so you will have more choices about where to go and how to get there.
Plan ahead：Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your trip.Tickets may cost more when bought on short notice.Giving yourself several months to get ready can mean security and savings.
Do your homework：No matter where you go，research the places you will visit.Decide what to see.Travel books will provide information on the cheapest hotels and restaurants.
Plan sensibly：Write down what you expect to spend for food and hotels.Stick to your plan or you may not have enough money to cover everything.
Travel in groups：Find someone who is interested in visiting the same place.By travelling with others you can share costs and experiences.
Work as you go：Need more money to support your trip? Look for work in the places you visit.
Go off the beaten path：Tourist cities may be expensive.You may want to rethink your trip and go to a lesser－known area.Smaller towns can have many interesting activities and sights.
Pack necessary things：The most important things to take are not always clothes.Remember medicine in case you get sick and snacks in case you cannot find a cheap restaurant.
Use the Internet：The Net can help to save money.Some useful websites include www.Travelocity.com，www.bargains－lowestfare.com and www.economictravel.com.
By planning sensibly，even students can enjoy the travel.Your travel experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.
| A．how to travel with enough money |
| B．how to plan your travel |
| C．how to make your travel interesting |
| D．how to get life experiences |
| A．make your wallet larger |
| B．put some fat in your wallet |
| C．put some choices in your wallet |
| D．save some money |
| A．you can gain valuable life experiences |
| B．you need more shoes than clothes |
| C．you shouldn’t look for work all the way |
| D．you should forget to do your homework |
| A．to give some advice on travelling |
| B．to encourage the students to have a trip |
| C．to introduce some websites about travelling |
| D．to teach the students how to save money during their trip |
My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn’t know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking.
Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn’t have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she’d delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.
We greeted her with friendly familiarity we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.
Over dinner; we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him desperately, she explained.
“I love him… and he loves me, even though he doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.”
The candles flared on our tables. Our fish had never tasted better. But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we shared names.
A.The Silent Woman on the Bus
B Friends of the Road
C. Going to Work by Bus
D. Different Kinds of Friendship
| A．poor | B．warm –hearted |
| C．cold | D．silent |
| A．keep | B．set up |
| C．discover | D．accept |
| A．they both disabled people |
| B．they both liked bus travel |
| C．they both brought interest to the passengers |
| D．they both had some difficulty in expressing |
We walked in so quietly that the nurse at the desk didn’t even lift her eyes from the book. Mum pointed at a big chair by the door and I knew she wanted me to sit down. Then, Mum took off her hat and coat and gave them to me to hold. She walked quietly to the small room by the lift and took out a wet mop（拖把）. She pushed the mop past the desk and as the nurse looked up, Mum nodded and said, “Very dirty floors.” “Yes, I’m glad they’ve finally decided to clean them,” the nurse answered. She looked at Mum strangely and said, “But aren’t you working late?”
Mum just pushed harder, each swipe (拖一下) of the mop taking her farther and farther down the hall. I watched until she was out of sight and the nurse had turned back to writing in the big book. After a long time Mum came back. Her eyes were shining.
She quickly put the mop back and took my hand. As we turned to go out of the door, Mum bowed politely to the nurse and said, “Thank you.”
Outside, Mum told me “Grandma is fine. No fever(发烧）.”
“You saw her, Mum?”
“Of course. I told her about the hospital rules, and she will not expect us until tomorrow. Dad will stop worrying as well. It’s a fine hospital. But such floors! A mop is not good. You need a brush.” When she took a mop from the small room what Mum really wanted to do was ______.
| A．to see a patient |
| B．to please the nurse |
| C．to clean the floor |
| D．to surprise the story-teller |
When the nurse talked to Mum she thought Mum was a ______.
| A．nurse | B．visitor |
| C．cleaner | D．patient |
After reading the story what can we infer about the hospital? ______
| A．It is a children’s hospital. |
| B．The nurses and doctors there don’t work hard. |
| C．The conditions there aren’t very good. |
| D．It has strict rules about visiting hours. |
Which of the following words best describes Mum? ______.
| A．Strange | B．Warm-hearted |
| C．Clever | D．Hardworking |