When Milk Arrived on the Doorstep
     When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our
doorstep.His name was Mr Basille.He wore a white cap and drove a white truck.As a 5yearold boy, I
couldn't take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt.He noticed this one day during a delivery and
gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
     Of course, he delivered more than milk.There was cheese, eggs and so on.If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note"Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery"and place it in the box
along with the empty bottles.And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.
     All of this was about more than convenience.There existed a close relationship between families and
their milkmen.Mr Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn't freeze.And I remember Mr Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
     There is sadly no home milk delivery today.Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete.Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have
been practical to have a delivery service.
     Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories.I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊)．Every so often my son's friends will ask what it is.So I start
telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1. Mr Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer________.
A. to show his magical power
B. to pay for the delivery
C. to satisfy his curiosity
D. to please his mother
2. What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy's house?
A. He wanted to have tea there.
B. He was a respectable person.
C. He was treated as a family member.
D. He was fully trusted by the family.
3. Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?
A. Nobody wants to be a milkman now.
B. It has been driven out of the market.
C. Its service is getting poor.
D. It is forbidden by law.
4. Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?
A. He missed the good old days.
B. He wanted to tell interesting stories.
C. He needed it for his milk bottles.
D. He planted flowers in it.

     "Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton (骨骼) in
the closet (衣橱)?"Jessica asked."A skeleton in the closet?" her mother paused thoughtfully.
"Well, it's something that you would rather not have anyone else know about.For example,
if in the past, someone in Dad's family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be'a
skeleton in his family's closet'.He really wouldn't want any neighbor to know about it."
     "Why pick on my family?" Jessica's father said with anger."Your family history isn't so
good, you know.Wasn't your greatgreatgrandfather a prisoner who was transported to
Australia for his crimes?""Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian
unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.""Gosh, sorry I asked.I think I understand now."
Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
     After dinner, the house was very quiet.Jessica's parents were still quite angry with
each other.Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her
husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read.When she finished, she
gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica's closet.Just as
she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the
dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor.Jessica's mother sank into a
faint (晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead.She
looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
     "What happened? Where am I?" she asked."You just destroyed the school's skeleton,
Mum." explained Jessica."I brought it home to help me with my health project.I meant
to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a
problem between you and Dad." Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to
laugh madly."They're both crazy." she thought.

1．According to Jessica's mother, "a skeleton in the closet" means________.

A．a family honour
B．a family secret
C．a family story
D．a family treasure

2．What can we learn about some Australians' ancestors from Paragraph 2?

A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.
B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.
C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.
D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

3．Jessica's mother fell down into a faint because she was____.

A．knocked
B．frightened
C．injured
D．surprised

4．Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home?

A．She was curious about it.
B．She planned to keep it for fun.
C．She needed it for her school task.
D．She intended to scare her parents.

     Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York-he
in computers, she in special education."Teaching means everything to us." Tim would say.In
April 1998, he learned he would need a heart operation.It was the kind of news that leads to
some serious thinking about life's purpose.
     Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program
started by Dolly Parton's foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children
from birth to age five in the singer's hometown of Sevier, Tennessee."I thought, maybe Linda
and I could do something like this when we retire." Tim recalls.He placed the brochure on
his desk as a reminder.
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on
imaginationlibrary.com.The program had been opened up to partners who could take
advantage of book and postage discounts.
     The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters.Rather than sign up
online, they went to Dollywood for a looksee."We didn't want to give the children rubbish."
says Linda.The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists, and Dollywood
board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer
books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series.
     Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work.Since 2004,
they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their area.Megan Williams,
a mother of four, is more than appreciative:"This program introduces us to books I've
never heard of."
     The Richters spend about $400 a month sending books to 200 children."Some people
sit there and wait to die." says Tim."Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left."

1．What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?

A．His health problem.
B．His love for teaching.
C．The influence of his wife.
D．The news from the Web.

2．What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?

A．Give out brochures.
B．Do something similar.
C．Write books for children.
D．Retire from being a teacher.

3．According to the text, Dolly Parton is ________.

A．a wellknown surgeon
B．a mother of a fouryearold
C．a singer born in Tennessee
D．a computer programmer

4．Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?

A．To avoid signing up online.
B．To meet Dollywood board members.
C．To make sure the books were the newest.
D．To see if the books were of good quality.

     In early autumn I applied for admission to college.I wanted to go nowhere but to Cornell University,
but my mother fought strongly against it.When she saw me studying a photograph of my father on the
sports ground of Cornell, she tore it up.
     "You can't say it's not a great university, just because Papa went there."
     "That's not it at all.And it is a top university.” She was still holding the pieces in her hand.“But we
can't afford to send you to college."
     "I wouldn't dream of asking you for money.Do you want me to get a job to help support you and
Papa? Things aren't that bad, are they？"
     "No," she said."I don't expect you to help support us."
     Father borrowed money from his rich cousins to start a small jewellery shop.His chief customers
were his old college friends.To get new customers, my mother had to help.She picked up a long
forgotten membership in the local league of women, so that she could get to know more people.Whether
those people would turn into customers was another question.I knew that my parents had to wait for quite a long time before their small investment (投资) could show returns.What's more, they had not wanted
enough to be rich and successful; otherwise they could not possibly have managed their lives so badly.
     I was torn between the desire to help them and change their lives, and the determination not to repeat
their mistakes.I had a strong belief in my power to get what I wanted.After months of hard study I won
a full college scholarship (奖学金)．My father could hardly contain his pride in me, and my mother
eventually gave in before my success.

1. The author was not allowed to go to Cornell University mainly because _____.
A. his father graduated from the university
B. his mother did not think it a great university
C. his parents needed him to help support the family
D. his parents did not have enough money for him
2. The father started his small shop with the money from _____.
A. a local league  
B. his university
C. his relatives  
D. his college friends
3. Why did the mother renew her membership in the league?
A. To help with her husband's business.
B. To raise money for her son.
C. To meet her longforgotten friends.
D. To better manage her life.
4. According to the text, what was the author determined to do in that autumn?
A. To get a wellpaid job for himself.
B. To improve relations with his mother.
C. To go to his dream university.
D. To carry on with his father's business.