I believe in leaving work at five o’clock. In a nation with such a strict work ethic(道德规范) , this is considered strange. Working only 40 hours a week? I just don’t know many people who punch out (打卡下班) at five o’clock anymore.

My father tried to teach me the importance of hard work, long hours and devotion to a career. But then there are the things he taught me unintentionally, like when he arrived home from work for the last time and crawled up the stairs.

My father, a self-employed sales trainer, was that sick, that tired. His body was wracked with liver cancer, and he suffered the effects of a diabetic ulcer（糖尿病）. Despite all this, he insisted on traveling a long way to give a lecture. He probably earned a lot of money that day, but he paid the price. He returned to the hospital soon afterwards and was dead within three months, aged just 58.

It’s been 10 years since I saw my father come home that night and since then, I’ve thought a lot about work. I’ve decided something: I will never crawl up the stairs exhausted. As much as I love my job as a newspaper reporter, I will never work myself into the ground, physically or emotionally. Not taking my work home didn’t come easily to me at first. After all, I am my father’s daughter. In college, I was the girl who sat on the library steps each morning, waiting for the doors to open. I even dreamt about schoolwork.

My dad once told me he was unable to just gaze at a sunset; he had to be doing something as he looked at it—writing, reading, playing chess. You could say he was a success: He was a published author, an accomplished musician, fluent in many languages. That’s an impressive list, but the thing is I want to gaze at sunsets. I don’t want to meet a deadline during them or be writing a column at the same time, or glance at them over the top of a book.

This raises the question: If I leave work at five o’ clock to watch the sunset, what are the consequences? Do I risk not reaching the top of my profession? Maybe, because honestly, knocking off after eight hours probably won’t earn me the best promotion. But hey, leaving work at five o’ clock means I eat dinner with my family. I get to hop on my bike and cycle through the streets of my hometown when there is no traffic.

And I get to take in a lot of sunsets. That’s got to be worth something.

1.Which of the following about the author’s father is true?

A. He set a good example to his daughter.

B. He tried to force his values on his daughter.

C. He gained much pleasure from his work.

D. He achieved great success at the expense of his health.

2.What does the author mean by saying “Not taking my work home did not come easily at first” in Paragraph 4?

A. There was so much work to do.    

B. All her colleagues took work home.

C. She was educated to be a workaholic.

D. She wanted a promotion in her work.

3.What’s the author’s attitude toward promotion?

A. She doesn’t care about it at all.

B. She is eager to get promoted

C. She thinks it’s for the ambitious people

D. Getting promoted at all costs is not worthwhile

4. This text is developed________.

A. by giving examples                         B. by making comparisons

C. by describing process                       D. by order of time

5. What does the writer intend to tell us?

A. To praise his father’s diligence

B. To ask us to take time off work to enjoy life

C. To complain about the strict work ethic

D. To stress the importance of hard work

"Just sign here, sir," the deliveryman said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.
The package consisted of a long, narrow box 21 wrapped in brown paper. 22 the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside — a very old one with a beautifully carved wooden handle. 23 he had not seen it in more than 20 years, he recognized it 24 .
Oscar was 16 when he first saw the 25 umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, h noticed an umbrella on an empty seat, impressed by its 26 , Oscar felt a strong desire to find its 27 .
Oscar 28 the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat 29 Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O'Brien.
Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O'Brien's 30 on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. "May I   31  you?" she asked.
"I'd like to return it if it's yours," Oscar said, 32 the umbrella as if presenting a 33 that had long been wished for.
"Why, yes! It's mine," replied Mrs. O'Brien with a 34 smile and shining eyes. "It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your __35_ ?"
"No, ma'am," he said, "My grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward. "
"Well, that's 36 what my father used to say. What is your name, young man?"
Years later Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O'Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how 37 it was. Why had it arrived here today?
As if 38 , a note fell from the paper. It reads: Mrs. O'Brien wanted to 39 this umbrella as a present for a kind, 40. gesture long ago.

语法填空。阅读下面短文，按照句子结构和上下文的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号词语的正确形式填空。（每题1.5分，共15分）

When I was18, one morning, my father told me to drive  16  into a town, about 18 miles away. I had just learned to drive, so I  17  (agree) with pleasure. First we came to the town. Then I took the car to a nearby garage to have it  18  (repair) and promised to pick Dad up at 4 p.m. Because I had a few hours to spend, I decided to go to the cinema.  19   ,  I became so interested in the films  20  I forgot the time. When the last film finished, it was 6 o’clock. I drove back quickly to meet Dad and made an excuse for my being late.                     

“I’m disappointed that you lied to me, Jack. I’m angry, not with  21  but with myself. I have failed because I’ve brought up a son who can not even tell the  22  (true) to his own father. I’m going to walk home now and think seriously about  23  I have gone wrong all these years.”

Dad began walking alone the road. I begged all the way, telling him  24  sorry I was. I drove behind him for 18 miles, at a speed of 5 miles  25  hour. It was the most unforgettable lesson I have never lied to him ever since.

My father was Chief engineer of a merchant ship, which was sunk in Word War II. The book Night of the U-boats told the story.

Memories

    In September, 1940, my mother, sister and I went to Swansea, where my father’s ship was getting ready to sail. We brought him a family photograph to be kept with him at all times and keep him sale.

    Then I remember my mother lying lace down, sobbing. She had heard from a friend that the ship had been sunk by a torpedo(鱼雷).

    I can remember the arrival of the telegram(电报),Which in those days always brought had new. My grandmother opened it. It read, “Safe, Love Ted.”

    My most vivid memory Is being woken and brought down to sit o my father’s knee, his arm in a bandage.

    He was judged unfit to return to sea and took a shore job in Glasgow for the rest of the war. For as long as I can remember, he had a weak heart. Mother said it was caused by the torpedoes. He said it was because of the cigarettes. Whichever, he died suddenly in his early 50s.

    Ten years later I read Night of the U-bouts and was able to complete the story.

    Torpedo

    One torpedo struck the ship. Father was in the engine room, where the third engineer was killed. He shut down the engines to slow the ship making it easier for it to be abandoned.

    By the time he got on deck (甲板) he was alone. Every lifeboat was gone except one which had stuck fast. When he tried to cut it free it swung against the ship, injuring his hand and arm. He had no choice but to jump—still with the photograph in his pocket.

    Three days later, he and other survivors were safe in Glasgow. All 23 with him signed the back of the photograph.

    In my room is the book and the photograph. Often, glass in hand, I have wondered how I would have dealt with an explosion, a sinking ship, a jump into a vast ocean rind a wait for rescue? Lest（以免）we forget, I have some more whisky and toast the heroes of the war.

1.

 We can infer that the mother and children went to Swansea ________.

A. to meet a friend

B. to see the father off

C. to take a family photo

D. to enjoy the sailing of the ship

2.

 What did the author learn about the father from the telegram?

A. he was still alive.

B. His knee was broken.

C. His ship had been sunk.

D. He had arrived in Glasgow.

3.

The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 6 refers to the father’s ________.

A. weak heart

B. taking a shore job

C. failure to return to sea

D. injury caused by a torpedo

4.

 What can we know about the author’s father after his ship was attacked?

A. He lost his arm

B. He repaired the engines.

C. He managed to take a lifeboat.

D. He was the last to leave the ship.

5.

What is the passage mainly about?

A. A group of forgotten heroes

B. A book describing a terrifying battle.

C. A ship engineer’s wartime experience.

D. A merchant’s memories of a sea rescue.

I cheated on a unit test in math class this morning during second period with Mr. Burke. Afterward, I was too sick to eat lunch just thinking about it.

I came straight home from school, went to my room, and lay on the floor trying to decide whether it would be better to run away from home now or after supper. Mostly I wished I was dead. It wasn't even an accident that I cheated.

Yesterday Mr. Burke announced there'd be a unit test and anyone who didn't pass would have to come to school on Saturday, most particularly me, since I didn't pass the last unit test. I did plan to study just to prove to him that I'm plenty smart—which I am mostly—except in math.

Anyway, I got my desk ready to study on . Just when I was ready to work, Nicho came into my room with our new rabbit and it jumped on my desk and knocked the flashcards all over the floor. What a mess! Nicho and I finally took the rabbit outside but then Philip came to my room and also Marty from next door and before long it was dinner.

After dinner my father said I could watch a special on television if I'd done all my homework. Of course I said I had. That was the beginning. I felt terrible telling my father a lie about the homework.

It was nine o'clock when I got up to my room and that was too late to study for the unit test so I lay in my bed with the light off and decided what I would do the next day when I was in Mr. Burke's math class not knowing the 8- and 9-times tables. So, you see, the cheating was planned after all.

The next day, I'd go into class as usual, acting like things were going just great. I'd sit down next to Stanley Plummer—he is so smart in math it makes you sick—and from time to time, I'd glance over at his paper to copy the answers.

Lying on the floor of my room, I begin to think that probably I've been bad all along. It just took this math test to clinch it. I'll probably never tell the truth again. I tell my mother I'm sick when she calls me to come down for dinner. She doesn't believe me, but puts me to bed anyhow. I lie there in the early winter darkness wondering what terrible thing I'll be doing next when my father comes in and sits down on my bed.

"What's the matter?" he asks. "I've got a stomachache," I say. Luckily, it's too dark to see his face. "Is that all?" "Yeah." "Mommy says you've been in your room since school." "I was sick there too," I say. "She thinks something happened today and you're upset." That's the thing that really drives me crazy about my mother. She knows things sitting inside my head the same as if I was turned inside out.

"Well," my father says. I can tell he doesn't believe me. "My stomach is feeling sort of upset." I hedge. "Okay," he says and he pats my leg and gets up.

Just as he shuts the door to my room I call out to him in a voice I don't even recognize as my own. "How come?" he calls back not surprised or anything. So I tell him I cheated on this math test. To tell the truth, I'm pretty much surprised at myself. I didn't plan to tell him anything.

He doesn't say anything at first and that just about kills me. I'd be fine if he'd spank me or something. And then he says I'll have to call Mr. Burke. It's not what I had in mind. "Now?" I ask surprised. "Now," he says. He turns on the light and pulls off my covers. "I'm not going to," I say.

But I do it. I call Mr. Burke, and I tell him exactly what happened, even that I decided to cheat the night before the test. He says I'll come on Saturday to take another test, which is okay with me, and I thank him a whole lot for being understanding and all.

"Today I thought I was turning into a criminal," I tell my father when he turns out my light. Sometimes my father kisses me good night and sometimes he doesn't. I never know. But tonight he does.

1.After the author cheated on the math test, he felt ____________.

A．frightened because he might be caught

B．excited that he had succeeded

C．pleased that nobody knew it

D．unhappy because he had done something wrong

2.By “It wasn't even an accident that I cheated”, the author means that ________.

A．he had planned not to study before the test

B．he decided to cheat when he knew there was going to be a test

C．he decided to cheat after he had wasted the whole evening

D．he had planned to cheat with Plummer before the test

3.The author’ mother often drives him crazy because _____-.

A．She really knows what he is thinking

B．she was very strict with him

C．she doesn’t believe him

D．she asks him to come down for dinner

4.After he was informed of what he had done, the father _______.

A．scolded the author severely

B．didn’t say anything and left

C．called Mr. Burke immediately

D．let the author make a call to Mr. Burke

5.The author’s father kissed the author good night because ________-.

A．he had done something unusual

B．he promised to study math harder

C．he was willing to take a make-up test

D．he realized his mistake and had the courage to admit it