I shook hands with my father in the truck, and for a long time he looked straight ahead and didn't say a word. But I knew he was going to say a little to me. "I can't tell anything," he finally said. "I never went to college, and none of your brothers went to college. I can't say don't do this and do that, because everything is different and I don't know what is going to come up. I can't help much with money either, but I think things will work out. "

     He gave me a new check-book (支票簿) . "If things get pushing, write a small check. But when you write one, send me a letter and let me know how much. There are some things we can always sell." In four years all the checks I wrote were less than a thousand dollars. My part-time jobs such as reading to the blind student and sitting with the teachers' kids filled in the financial gaps.

     "You know what you want to be, and they'll tell you what to take," my father went on. "When you get a job，be sure it’s honest(诚实的)，and work hard．”I knew that soon I would be alone in the big town．and l would be missing the cool winds and a life where your thinking was done for you．

    Then my dad reached down beside his seat and brought the old，broken Bible that he had read so often．the one he used when he wanted to look something up in a friendly quarrel with one of the neighbors．I knew he would miss it．I knew，though，that I must take it．

    He didn’t say read this every morning．He just said，“This can help you if you will let it．”

    Did it help? I got through college without being a burden(负担)on the family．I have been able to make money since．

1．What is the writer’s main purpose(目的)in writing this passage?

      A．To tell the readers his life story．

      B．To tell people what kind of person his father was．

      C．To let people know how poor he was．

      D．To tell the readers what present he got from his father．

2．Why did the father not ask his son not to do this and do that?

      A．Because he felt quite confident of him．

      B．Because he was born from a poor family．

      C．Because he was a man of few words．

      D．Because tie didn’t want to be much too strict with him．

3．What would someone learn from this passage?

A．How to live by oneself．   

B．How to stand on one’s own feet．

C．What a good father should do．

D．What the self-important is like．

4．What may be the proper Chinese for the underlined part in the passage?

      A．闲暇时光．    B．学费．    C．经济不足．    D．精神空虚．

5．What kind of book did the Bible seem to be to the writer’s father?

      A．It was a book which told you how you should get on well with others．

      B．There were many good examples for you to copy in it.

      C．It was a book that told you how to get a good job and a good future.

      D．It was a good book that could help you when you were in trouble．

阅读短文，完成表格中的内容。

Are you aged between 14 and 19 years old? Do you care about your local environment? Would you like to help make your area cleaner, safer and more friendly? If your answers are “yes”, here are a few easy things you could do to start with.

Meeting the neighbors

Knock on your neighbors’ door and find out what they would like to improve in your area．Set a date for a meeting and then make some plans together.

Neighborhood watch

If you go away on holiday and leave your house, it’s very nice to know that a neighbor is keeping an eye on it. It is a good way to make your living safer. You could set up a neighborhood watch easily and quickly.

Lending a hand

There are often old people living in the neighborhood．Often it’s thankful to do their shopping once a week, look after their garden or walk their dog for them.

Recycling

Some areas already provide places for people to recycle bottles, plastic and paper. Find out if this is done in your neighborhood．If it’s not, do something about it.

So, go on. Just tell us what kind of plan you want to take part in. Then we’ll send you more information. Take helpful action and help make your neighborhood a better place to live in.