I began working in journalism（新闻工作）when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle（五分镍币）. It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence（自信）, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

A．He wanted to be famous in the future.

B．The job was quite easy for him.

C．His mother had high hopes for him.

D．The competiton for the job was fierce.

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A．excited           B．interested         C．ashamed          D．disappointed(失望的)

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A．She forced him to continue.               B．She punished him.

C．She gave him some money.                D．She changed her plan.

4.What does the underlined phrase “this battle”（last paragraph） refer to?

A．The war between the boy’s parents.　

B．The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C．The quarrel between the boy and his customers.　

D．The fight between the boy and his father.

5.What is the text mainly about?

A．The early life of a journalist.

B．The early success of a journalist.

C．The happy childhood of the writer.

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

I made a promise to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving. No ifs, ands or buts.

The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical passage about husbands and their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

And it did. On arriving at the beach cottage, I kissed Evelyn meeting me at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.” “Oh, Tom, you noticed”, she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled. After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with the kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new promise to keep on remembering to choose love.?

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.

“What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom,” she said in a voice filled with distress, “I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…that checkup I had several weeks ago…our doctor…did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me…am I dying?”

It took a moment for it all to be understood. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just starting to live.”

From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage ______.

A. with his family     B. with Evelyn    C. alone      D. with his children

During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because ______.

A. he was determined to be a good husband

B. he had made a lot of money in his Wall Street firm

C. she looked lovely in her new clothes

D. the doctor said his wife was seriously ill

The author says, “There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment.” What does “one thing” refer to?

A. He praised her sweater, which puzzled her.

B. She insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated.

C. He knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her.

D. He was so good to her that she thought she must be dying.

I love it at night. It’s peaceful. And when it cools down I sometimes do some ironing. I don’t really care for it. I work full-time and am too busy for most housework. I remember the old woman who taught me to iron(熨烫). I was about 15 and somehow got a live-in job taking care of a woman who had been an able-bodied, healthy woman until the accident that caused her to be paralyzed.

The woman had an electric wheelchair. She could move her head and arms but not her hands or fingers. She had this clamp（夹子）attached to her arm and I’d have to open it and put a cup or a pencil in it and then she could move it. She would tell me how to do things. She would instruct me in great detail on the correct way to do things. Her home was perfect and beautiful. She would follow me around in her electric wheelchair to make sure I did everything exactly right. I’m sure she had been a perfect homemaker. She would have me fold everything, including socks and pillow cases. I would complain silently and wish terrible things on her. She taught me the right way to make the bed and tuck the corners. I know sometimes she’d get frustrated and impatient with me. I knew she wanted to grab it and do it herself. But she never yelled or scolded. Only she insisted I do it right. I didn’t like it much, but I did it.

Today I can iron pretty well. I know where to start on a shirt, the right way to do the collar and sleeves. Now that I think about it, I don’t think she is an old lady. I think she might have been about my age now. Anyway, when I iron, I think of her and silently thank her for all the things I learned.

1.From the passage we can infer that the writer of the passage now is ________.

A．a housewife                           B．a full-time worker

C．a clothes maker                         D．a college student

2.The writer used to take care of the lady because ______.

A．she wanted to earn some money while sleeping and eating there

B．she wanted to learn how to do housework

C．she was a relative of the disabled woman

D．she had to do something in return to the lady for her kindness

3.When the lady taught the writer how to do housework, the little girl was ______.

A．careful to learn                         B．eager to learn

C．forced to learn                         D．unwilling to learn

4.What’s the writer’s attitude towards the lady now?

A．Sympathetic.       B．Fearful.           C．Thankful.          D．Hateful.

I was on a bus one March evening. The driver didn’t  36  to start the bus soon because it was not yet   37 . A middle-aged woman got on. Tired and sad, she told her story   38 , not to anyone in particular. On her way to the station, half of her   39  was stolen. The other half was hidden under her blouse, so she   40  still had some left. A few minutes later, she stopped crying, but still looked   41  .

When all the seats were taken, the driver started the engine. The conductor began to collect fares(车费). When she came to an old man in worn-out clothes, he   42  that he had spent all his money when he had accidentally got on a wrong bus and now he was trying to go home. On hearing this, she ordered the old man to   43  the bus. The old man was almost in tears as he   44  her to let him take the bus home. The driver took the conductor’s side and repeated the conductor’s   45  .

The woman was watching the incident.  46  the driver and the conductor raised their voices at the old man, she interfered(干预).

“Stop   47  him! Can’t you see he’s only trying to get home?”

“He doesn’t have any money! ” the driver   48  .

“Well, that’s no   49  to throw him off the bus,” she insisted.

Then she reached inside her blouse, look out her   50  money, and handed it to the conductor. “Here’s his fare and mine. Just stop giving him a   51  time.”

All heads turned to the woman. “It’s only money,” she shrugged.

She rode the rest of the way home   52  a happy smile, with the money she’d lost earlier   53  .

On the road of life, the help of strangers can   54  our loads and lift our spirits. How much sweeter the   55  will be when we make it a little smoother for others!

I made a pledge(发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. 

   The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful of their wives. Then he went on to say, “Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love.” To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well, for two weeks that would change.

   And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said, “That new yellow sweater looks great on you.”

   “Oh, Tom, you noticed,” she said, surprised and pleased. Maybe a little puzzled.

After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, “Evelyn’s been alone here with kids all week and now she wants to be alone with me.” We walked on the beach while the children flew the kites.

So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that’s how the whole vacation passed. I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love.

There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. On the last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression. “What’s the matter?” I asked her.

“Tom, ” she said in a voice filled with sadness, “do you know something I don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…..that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago….. our doctor ….. did he tell you something about me? Tom, you’ve been so good to me….. am I dying ?”

It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.

“No, honey,” I said, wrapping her in my arms. “You’re not dying; I’m just start to live.”

1.The writer thought he was a _______ husband in the past.

A. lovely   B. loyal      C. strict               D. selfish

2. From the story we may infer that Tom drove to the beach cottage _______.

A. with his family     B. with Evelyn C. alone    D. with his children

3. The underlined words “one thing” in the text refer to the fact that _______.

A. he praised her sweater, which puzzled her

B. she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated

C. he knew something about her illness but didn’t tell her

D. he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying