英语20分钟专题突破：阅读理解2

A

When I was a child, our dining room had two kinds of chairs―two large ones with arm rests and four small ones without. The larger ones stood at the ends of the table, the smaller ones on the sides. Mom and Dad sat in the big chairs, except when one of us was away; then Mom would sit in one of the smaller chairs. Dad always sat at the end, at the “head” of the table. Sitting where he did, Dad was framed by the window through which the yard could be seen with its trees and grass. His chair was not just a place for him at the table; it was a place in which he was situated against the yard and trees. It was the holy (神圣的) and protected place that was his, and ours through him.

After Dad retired, he and Mom moved out into a small flat. When they came to visit me at their old house, Dad still sat at the end of the table though the table was no longer his but mine. Only with my marriage to Barbara, did I hear a voice questioning the arrangement. She requested, gently but firmly, that I sit at the head of the table in our home. I realized then that I was head of the family, but I also felt unwilling to introduce such a change. How would I feel sitting in that “head” place in my Dad’s presence? And how would he handle it? I was to find out on the occasion of our youngest child’s first birthday.

Mom and Dad arrived for lunch, and went into the dining room. Dad moved toward his usual seat in front of the window. Before he could get around the side of the table, I took a deep breath and said, “Dad, this is going to be your place, next to Mom, on the side.” He stopped, looked at me and then sat down. I felt sad, and angry at Barbara for pushing me to do this. It would have been easy to say, “My mistake, Dad. Sit where you always sit.” But I didn’t.

When he and Mom were seated, Barbara and I took our places. I don’t know how Dad felt. I do know that, though removed from his usual place, he continued to share his best self with us, telling stories of his childhood and youth to the delight of his grandchildren. As I served the food, our lives experienced a change, which we continue to live with.

It wasn’t easy, but I sense that there is also something good in the change which has occurred. I am beginning to learn that “honoring one’s father” is more than the question of which place to occupy at the dining table. It also means listening, wherever we sit and whatever positions we own, to the stories Dad longs to tell. We may then, during these magical moments, even be able to forget about whose chair is whose.

1. Where did the writer’s mother sit when one of the children was away?

A. She didn’t change her chair.            B. She moved her own chair next Dad’s.

C. She moved to an empty chair on the side.    D. She sat opposite to Dad.

2. How did the writer feel when he told his father to sit on the side?

A. He didn’t feel bad because his father was going to sit there anyway.

B. He felt happy at having carried out the difficult task.

C. He was thoroughly satisfied with the new seating arrangement.

D. He regretted what he had done and wanted to blame his wife.

3. What happened during the meal after the family had all taken their new seats?

A. The writer’s children removed their grandfather from his usual place.

B. The writer’s father didn’t appear to mind where he sat.

C. The writer’s father shared his favorite dishes with the grandchildren.

D. They became tense and nervous about their future as a family.

4. What did the writer learn about “honoring one’s father”?

A. Fathers always long to tell stories about their early years.

B. Providing the right chair is the only way to honor one’s father.

C. Respect for one’s father doesn’t depend only on where he sits.

D. The family should dine together at the same table as often as possible.

B

We continue our Foreign Student Series on higher education in the United States. Now we move on to college life once you are admitted to a school. The first thing you need to value is a place to live. Housing policies differ from school to school. Students might have to live in a dormitory, at least for the first year there.

Dorms come in all sizes. Some have suites. Six or more students may line in one suite. Other dorms have many rooms along a common hallway, usually with two students in each room . Many students say dormitories provide the best chance to get to know other students. Also, dorms generally cost less than apartments or other housing not owned by the school.

Most colleges and universities offer singe-sex dorms, but usually males and females live in the same building. They might live on the same floors and share the same common bathrooms. They may live in the same room only if they are married.

Edward Spencer is the associate vice president for student affairs at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He says it is important to understand the rules of the building in which you will live. He advises students to ask questions before they decide about their housing. For example, if a student requires a special diet, will the school provide it ?How much privacy can a student expect ? Will the school provide a single room if a student requests one ? And what about any other special needs that a student might have?

Virginia Tech, for example, had a ban against candles in dorms . But it changed that policy to let students light up candles for religious purposes. The university also has several dorms open all year so foreign students have a place to stay during vacation time.

5 .Why do some students in the U.S. choose to live in dorms, according to the passage ?

A. Dorms allow students in the U.S. choose to live in dorms

B. Dorms are safer for students to live in most cases.

C. Dorms offer the chance to meet other people and are cheap as well.

D. In most schools students are required to live in the dorms.

6. The second paragraph is mainly about ______.

A. what suites in American schools are like        

B. what dorms in American schools are like

C. what dorms are owned by schools         

D. when people get to know each other

7. We can infer from what Edward Spencer says that ______.

A. colleges usually don’t provide a special diet 

B. housing rules differ from one building to another

C. a ban against candles in dorms is necessary 

D. the U.S. college always satisfies students’ requests

8 .What is the passage mainly about ?

A. Places to live in U.S. colleges      

B. housing polices in the U.S.

C. Advantages of dormitories      

D. Rules of single-sex dorms

1-5 CDBCC   6-8 BBA