D

I grew up in a small town. I was only ten years old when my dad gave me the responsibility of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable (马厩). He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace. I washed dishes and cooked from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged.

One night, a woman executive (董事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I had my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man.

68. Why was the writer once known as a singing cook?

A. He was a cook at a country music club.

B. He sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. He often sang while cooking.

D. He liked singing better than cooking.

69. Who first recognized the writer’s talents and helped make him successful?

A. His brother.      B. His manager.     C. His father.            D. A businesswoman.

70. It can be inferred from the passage that the ______.

A. writer’s success is partly due to his father     B. writer’s family was very poor

C. writer succeeded easily                   D. writer’s first record was a total failure

Until late in the 20th century most Americans spent time with people of different generations. Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.

That's because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sport activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior citizen homes. Why?

We live far away from the old for many reasons. Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of becoming old and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s got hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most.

Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family into a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter made banana bread for the neighbors and had her children send it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. "My children have never been lonely, "the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home (an organization where old people are cared for) when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded. People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give their grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it "My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end." Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents. "My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down," one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting.

Now in an American family, people can find that___________.

A．children never live with their parents                         

B．not all working people live with their parents

C．old people are supported by their grandchildren   

D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _______.

A．they had never seen a baby before 

B．the baby was clever and beautiful                   

C．the baby brought them the image of life

D．the baby's mother would take care of them            

Why are some children quieter, calmer and more trusting ?

A．Because they have relationships with their grandparents.            

B．Because their worried parents ask them to act like that.

C . Because they have nothing to worry about.                        

D．Because their teachers ask them to act like that.

Which of the following can show the fact that the old often save the young?

A．The old can become friends of the children and the children may not feel lonely.

B．The old get excited when they see a baby. _{高@考☆资&源*网}

C．The old can cure the young when they are sick.

D．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?

  We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.

Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”

Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

Now in an American family, people can find that ____.

A.  children never live with their parents

B. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents  

C.  aged people are supported by their grandchildren

D.   not all working people live with their parents

The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.

A.  the old don’t like to live in a big family    

B.  the young can’t get enough money to support the old

C.  different generations have different lifestyles

D.  the old are too weak to live with the young

The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.

   A. old people in America lead a hard life     

B. old people in America enjoy banana bread

   C. she had no time to take care of her children 

D. old people are easy to get along with

Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.

   A. the baby brought them the image of life      

   B. the baby was clever and beautiful

   C. they had never seen a baby before      

   D. the baby’s mother would take care of them

When I come across a good article in reading newspapers, I often want to cut and keep it. But just as I am about to do so, I find the article on the __1__ side is as much interesting. It may be a discussion of the way to __2__ in good health, or __3__ about how to behave and conduct oneself in society. If I cut the front article, the opposite one is likely to __4__ damage, leaving out half of it or keeping the text __5__ the title. Therefore, the scissors would __6__ before they start, __7__ halfway done when I find out the __8__ result.

Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time, both worth your __9__. You can only take up one of them, the other has to wait or be __10__ up.

But you know the future is unpredictable—the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left__11__. Thus you are __12__ in a difficult position and feel sad. How __13__ that nice chances and brilliant ideas should gather around all at once? It may happen that your life __14__ greatly on your preference of one choice to the other.

In fact that is what __15__ is like: we are often __16__ with the two opposite sides of a thing which are both desirable like a newspaper cutting. It often occurs that your attention is drawn to one thing only __17__ we get into another. The __18__ may be more important than the latter and give rise to divided mind. I __19__ remember a philosopher's remarks, “When one door shuts, another opens in life.” So a casual __20__ may not be a bad one.

1.A.front　　　　 B．same　　　　　　 C．either　　　　 D．opposite

2．A.get　　　　　 B．keep　　　　　　 C．lead　　　　　 D．bring

3．A.advice　　　 B．news　　　　　　 C．a theory　　　 D．a report

4．A.suffer　　　 B．reduce　　　　　 C．prevent　　　 D．cause

5．A.on　　　　　 B．for　　　　　　 C．without　　　 D．off

6．A.use　　　　　 B．handle　　　　　 C．prepare　　　 D．stay

7．A.or　　　　　 B．but　　　　　　 C．so　　　　　　 D．for

8．A.satisfying　 B．regretful　　　 C．surprising　　 D．impossible

9．A.courage　　　 B．strength　　　　 C．attention　　 D．patience

10．A.given　　　 B．held　　　　　　 C．made　　　　　 D．picked

11．A.near　　　　 B．alone　　　　　 C．about　　　　 D．behind

12．A.filled　　　 B．attracted　　　 C．caught　　　　 D．struck

13．A.dare　　　　 B．come　 　　　　 C．deal　　　　　 D．do

14．A.improves　　 B．changes　　　　 C．progresses　　 D．goes

15．A.study　　　 B．society　　　　 C．nature　　　　 D．life

16．A.faced　　　 B．supplied　　　　 C．connected　　 D．fixed

17．A.before　　　 B．after　　　　　 C．until　　　　 D．as

18．A.following　 B．next　　　　　　 C．above　　　　 D．former

19．A.still　　　　 B．also　　　　　　 C．once　　　　　 D．almost

20．A.treatment　　 B．action　　　　　 C．choice　　　　 D．remark

When I was a little girl, my father loved to play the game of “catch the ball” with me. I wasn’t good at it 21  he didn’t mind at all. He was always telling me to 22  my eyes on the ball; otherwise I would not be able to 23  it when he threw it to me.
As I got older, we didn’t play the game as 24  as before. If I had a   25  , I would go to my father and   26   his advice. He would try to make a joke and say, “Keep your eyes on the ball.” We would both laugh   27   that advice was not usually able to   28   the problem, but he would just try to make me   29  .
My father became   30   in 1995 when I was 23. There were not any more conversations, as he was   31   from a terrible disease. He couldn’t   32  ; he could only move his   33   without making a sound, which was sometimes   34   to understand. I seemed to be   35   good at reading his lips after a while, even better than the nurses that were   36   him.
During one of our last   37   I was telling him about a difficulty I was   38  . Once again, I could read his lips. “Keep your eyes on the ball,” he said. We both smiled. That was the last time I saw my father   39   he passed away.
Sometimes now, all those years later when I get into a   40   situation, I just tell myself, “Keep your eyes on the ball.”