There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know how to be a good father. I couldn’t  16  him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “  17 ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a  18 . Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad — he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.
So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and  19  every penny I could and when I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to  20  it off to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, you only need to pay me five dollars.” I offered with a smile.
“I see,” was all he said.
One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a  21  to work. The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house,   22  it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a hot day. As my dad got out of my car, I   23  him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his  24  from the truck (车尾箱) of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were 25  lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher(水泥修整工).
Suddenly, it came up with me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete(混凝土) to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out,  26 hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him   27  about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he ask us to pay for it.
When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to   28  me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my __29__. Don’t work too hard. I love you.”
His eyes met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he   30  his throat(喉咙) and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”

“Never give up!” It is my law(法则) of my life. It has brought me   16  . I learned the law from my father’s   17  story.
My father was  18  in a poor village in the north of Jiangsu, in China. When he was a young boy, he went to school in the morning, then   19  in the fields till sunset. And then he did his homework   20  midnight. Life was hard, because they had no   21  !
At the age of 14, my father heard of the United States of America. It was the land of gold, the land where   22  people can become rich.
“   23   don’t I go to America?” he thought to himself, full of hope.
So , my father came to America. “ I had thought it was easy to   24  money in America,” he told me. “But when I arrived there, I realized it was not true. They did not like to hire（雇佣） me because I spoke   25  English. Later, I worked in a small restaurant, cleaning up tables,  26  dishes and sweeping the floor. Life was   27  for the first few years. I worked from 10a.m to 11p.m. I wanted to go to school to learn English, but it was impossible. I couldn’t  28   the schooling(学费).
My father   29  working hard, and reached his goal.
“Alan,” he often says to me, “If you want something, you have to work for it and never give up. Things do not come   30  in life.” That is what I learned from my father.

There are many different kinds of cars in the world. My aunt thinks this is because cars are like their drivers. She says, “Rich people have expensive cars, big people have large cars, and old people drive old cars.” But I don’t agree with her.
My neighbor, Mrs. Hill, is 82 years old. She drives only on Tuesday, and then she drives only to the bank. She never drives more than 30 kilometers an hour. Do you think Mrs. Hill has a very old and small car? No! Her car is new. It’s very large, and it can go 200 kilometers for each hour!
My friend Mike is an artist. He draws beautiful pictures with lots of colors. But his car is black! Mrs. Bates has a very old car. It often has engine trouble. Does she drive that kind of car because she is poor? No, she has four factories and two million dollars in bank. My aunt Mary has a very small car. Every Sunday, she drives to the country with her husband, her three children, her mother and their dog.
Now, you have read about my friends and their cars. Do you agree with my aunt? Maybe you have a car. Does it say something about you?
【小题1】What does the writer’s aunt think about cars and their drives?

There are many kinds of cars in the world. My grandfather thinks this is because cars are like their drivers. He says, “Rich people have expensive cars, big people have large cars, and old people drive old cars.” But I don’t agree with him.
My neighbor, Mrs Hill, is 82 years old. She drives only on Tuesday to the bank. She never drives more than 30 kilometers an hour. Do you think Mrs Hill has a very old and small car? No! Her car is new. It’s very large, and it can go 200 kilometers an hour!
My friend Mike is an artist. He paints beautiful pictures with lots of colors. But his car is black. Mrs Bates has a very, very old car. It often has some trouble. Does she drive that kind of car because she is poor? No, she has four restaurants and two million dollars in the bank. My uncle Joe has a very small car. Every Sunday, he drives to the country with his wife, his three children, his mother and his dog.
Now, you have read about my friends and their cars. Do you agree with my grandfather? Maybe you have a car. Does it say something about you?
【小题1】 The writer’s grandfather thinks _______________.
A. a person has the same kind of car as himself (herself)
B. different people have cars of the same kind
C. poor people have large cars
【小题2】 Mrs Bates has an old car ________________.
A. because she is poor
B. because she likes old cars
C. and the passage doesn’t tell us why
【小题3】 Though Uncle Joe has a very small car, _____________.
A. he has a dog
B. he has a large family
C. he has no children
【小题4】 The writer’s friend Mike paints _________________.
A. pictures in black
B. colorful pictures
C. pictures with only a few colors
【小题5】 The writer thinks _______________.
A. cars are often the same as their drivers in many ways
B. artists shouldn’t drive black cars
C. a car doesn’t say anything about its owner