Four days after Dad’s 67th birthday, he had a heart attack. Luckily, he survived. But something inside him had died. His enthusiasm for life was gone. He refused to follow doctor’s orders, and his sour attitude made everyone upset when they visit him. Dad was left alone.
So I asked Dad to come to live with me on my small farm, hoping the fresh air would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated. Something had to be done.
One day I read an article which said when given dogs, depressed patients would be better off. So I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. As soon as I got there, a pointer’s eyes caught my attention. They watched me calmly.
A staff member said: “He got here two weeks ago and we’ve heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow.”
I turned to the man in horror. “You mean you’re going to kill him?”
“Ma’am,” he said gently. “We don’t have room for every unclaimed dog.”
The police’s calm brown eyes awaited my decision. “I’ll take him,” I said.
I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. I was helping it out of the car when Dad walked onto the front porch. “Look what I got you!” I said excitedly.
Dad wrinkled his face. “I don’t want it,” he muttered, turning back towards the house. Then, suddenly, the dog pulled free from my grasp. He sat down in front of my Dad.
Dad’s anger melted, and soon he was hugging the dog.
This was the beginning of a warm friendship. Dad named the dog Cheyenne. Together they spent long hours walking down dusty lanes and relaxing on the banks of streams.
Dad’s bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne went on to make many friends. Then, late one night two years later, I felt Cheyenne’s cold nose burrowing (搜寻) through my bed covers. He had never before come into my bedroom at night. I ran into my father’s room and found that he had passed away.
Two days later, my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad’s bed. As I buried him near their favorite stream, I silently thanked the dog for restoring Dad’s peace of mind.After the author’s father survived the heart attack, he ______.
A.ignored everyone who visited him |
B.became unpleasant toward other people |
C.was left alone to get full rest |
D.no longer wanted to live |
Why did the author take the pointer home?
A.It was a type that is known for its friendliness. |
B.Its eyes made her think it was the best dog available. |
C.It was good at getting people’s attention and entertaining them. |
D.It caught her attention right away and she didn’t want it to be killed. |
From the last two paragraphs we can conclude that _______.
A.the author’s father and Cheyenne formed a real connection |
B.friendship and care is much more efficient than the medicine |
C.more attention should be given to old people |
D.dogs are so loyal that they usually die for their friends |
Which section of a newspaper is the source of the passage?
A.Friends | B.Entertainment |
C.Education | D.Health |
In my long years of teaching, I often ask my students to read the texts until they can recite them, and I tell them that recitation are an important part of their homework. However, some of my students are tired of doing so, thinking that it is both hard and useless. They argue that it takes a long time to recite a text from memory and text itself never appears in a test paper.
In my opinion, it naturally takes time to recite a text, but it is worth doing so. When you are able to recite a text, you are sure to be familiar with the words and expressions. When you need them in reading or writing or doing exercises, they will come to your mind quickly, and so you will give quick response to all kinds of language situation. How can we say that it is useless?
Besides, many students complain that they soon forget what they were once able to recite. This is true, but you don’t need to worry. While you are reading and forgetting the texts, your language level is being raised. Sure you don’t remember your Chinese texts that you once read in the primary school, but now you are able to read novels and newspaper. So, recitation of the texts will help you improve your language ability.The writer often asks his students to recite the texts, _______.
A.But they don’t like to do so. |
B.And they are eager to do so |
C.But they wrote a letter to the Department of Education reporting the thing. |
D.But they do more exercises instead of reciting the texts. |
What do the students think about the teacher’s advice?
A.The English teacher tries his best to help them with English. |
B.The English teacher is very kind to them. |
C.The English teacher asks them to do something useless. |
D.The English teacher should let them study on their own. |
According to the text, which of the following is correct?
The teacher thinks the students are too naughty to learn English well.
B. The students think they spend a lot of time in reciting the texts and get nothing.
C. The students say that they often forget the words.
D. The students take no interest in English.Why does the writer suggest that the students recite the text?
A.Reciting the texts can improve the ability of applying English. |
B.Reciting the texts is the best way of learning English. |
C.The students should remember all the texts that the teacher has taught them. |
D.Reciting the texts can greatly improve the classroom teaching. |
A proverb says :“Time is money.”But in my opinion, time is even more valuable than money. Why? Because when money is spent ,we can earn it back .However when time is gone ,it will never return .This is the reason why we must value time.
There is no doubt that the time we have is unusually limited. So even an hour is extremely precious. We should make full use of our time to do useful things .As students we must not relax our efforts to engage in our studies so as to serve our society and our nation in the future.
But it is pity that there are a lot of people who do not know the importance of time .They spend their valuable time smoking, drinking and so on. They do not realize that wasting time is equal to wasting a part of their valuable life.
In a word, we should get into a good habit of saving time. Do not put off what can be done today until tomorrow. Laziness will not only bring us failure but also lead us to the road of poverty.When we say “Time is money.”we mean ______
A.Time is equal to dollars, pounds… | B.Time is gold . |
C.Time is valuable . | D.We must spend time in buying goods |
People who spend time smoking, drinking ________.
A.do not know how to kill time as clearly as others |
B.doubt that they will become more dangerous to society |
C.realize how important their lives are |
D.waste their whole lives without realizing the importance of time |
If people get lazy, _______.
A.they will bring us failure. |
B.they are likely to fail |
C.they are usually busy smoking, drinking and so on |
D.they will lead us the road of success |
Being students, we must _______.
A.work hard at our subjects |
B.do whatever we want to do |
C.not always engage ourselves in our lessons |
D.have a rest now, than we can get relaxed from our busy studies |
Thomas Alva Edison (爱迪生)was awarded more patents(专利) on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout(关闭,中断). All electric power(电源) would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps his suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion(混乱). A blackout was out of the question.
On the day of Edison’s funeral (葬礼),many people silently dimmed(使暗淡) their lights. In this way they honoured the man who had done more than anyone else to the great force of electrity This says that Thomas Edison __________.
A.was the only important American inventor |
B.received the first American patent |
C.received more patents than any other American |
D.was the first American inventor |
People decided to honor Edison when ________.
A.he made the first electric light | B.electric power was 100 years |
C.the country realized electricity’s importance | D.he died in 1931 |
The suggested plan was to _________.
A.turn off the lights in factories | B.observe a few minutes of total silence |
C.dim all electric lights | D.shut off all electricity for a short time |
The plan was never carried out because________.
A.not everyone wanted to honor Edison |
B.it was too difficult |
C.electric power was too important to the country |
D.it honored only one of Edison’s inventions |
"Depend on(依靠) yourself" is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.
There have been many men in history. But many of them were very poor in childhood, and no uncles, aunts or friends to help them. Schools were few. They could not depend upon themselves for an education. They saw how it was and set to work with all their strength to know something. They worked their own way till they became well known.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, "I can not make worthy men of you, but I can help make men of yourself."
Some young men don't try their best to make themselves valuable to the human beings. They can never gain achievement(成就) unless they see their weak points and change their course. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of their parents and teachers, and depend on their own efforts. Which of the following titles fits this article best?
A.What Nature Says to Every Man. | B.How to Be Famous. |
C.Men Must Help Each Other. | D.Depend on Yourself. |
According to the famous teacher in England, a teacher can________.
A.make his pupils worthy men |
B.help his pupils find a way to be famous |
C.help his pupils make themselves useful men |
D.make his pupils men of strength and courage |
From this article we can learn the writer ________.
A.sings highly praise for parents and teachers |
B.is a man of strong character |
C.thinks highly of those who are struggling or success |
D.feels it the most important of all to accept the advice of others |
The clock struck(敲)eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”. I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not(不敢).
The clock struck twelve. “Oh, dear!” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We students are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep. The underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means ____________.
A.happy | B.disappointed |
C.unhappy | D.hopeful |
Reviewing his lessons that night didn’t help him because ____________.
A.it was too late at night |
B.he was very tired |
C.his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
D.he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose probably happened to the author the next day?
A.He went to a church to pray again. | B.He passed the exam all by luck. |
C.He failed in the exam. | D.He was punished by his teacher. |
The best title for the passage would be ____________.
A.The Night Before the Examination | B.Working Far into the Night |
C.A Slow Student | D.Going Over My Lessons |