Jim was a 15-year-old boy living with his little sister, Joy. Their parents had passed away long ago. Jim took care of Joy by himself.

One day, Jim woke up at 3 in the morning as usual. When Joy was sleeping alone, Jim left their little house to deliver newspapers. As he did so, he found something unusual. One man was sitting in front of Jim’s house. Jim was so surprised that he stopped to look at him closely. It was an icy morning and he looked very old.

The poor old man didn’t have anything to cover himself with. Jim went into his house to get the old man a blanket(毯子). However, there were no extra blankets, so Jim thought hard and took his father’s coat. It was the only thing of his father’s that he had left. Jim wrote a short note. “Sir, I found you sleeping in front of my house. This is my father’s coat. I hope it fits you well.” He put the note in a pocket of the coat, and covered the old man with the coat. Then he went to work. When he came back three hours later, both the man and the coat were gone. Jim thought that it was the best thing he could have done with his father’s coat.

That afternoon, Jim hurried home after school because Joy was at home alone. However, Joy and the old man were standing in front of the house, and Joy shouted to Jim, “Brother！He’s our grandfather!”

The grandfather smiled and said, “Jim, I have been looking for you all around the country for eight years. I’m not rich. But I can take care of you two. Thank you for giving me the coat and letting me know what a good person my grandson is. This coat was the very one that I gave my own son, a long time ago.”

1.Jim looked after his little sister by himself because ________.

A. they were too poor B. their grandfather left them

C. he was old enough D. their parents had died

2. Jim got up early in the morning to ________.

A. take care of his sisterB. deliver newspapers

C. sit in front of the house D. find something unusual

3. What did Jim do when he saw an old man was sitting in front of his house?

A. He took a blanket and gave it to him.

B. He took his father’s coat to cover him.

C. He stopped and talked to him.

D. He wrote a letter to the police.

4. When Jim came back home that afternoon, Joy told him that ________.

A. the old man was their grandpa

B. the old man and the coat were gone

C. their grandpa was looking for them

D. she couldn’t find their father’s coat

5. Which of the following is NOT true about the old man?

A. He was happy to find his grandchildren.

B. He thought Jim was a good boy.

C. He was poor and could not take care of them.

D. The coat helped the old man find his grandchildren.

6. The best title of the passage is “________”.

A. Jim and JoyB. A newspaper boy

C. An icy morningD. Father’s coat

1 

The family man?

Father was a hardworking man who tried his best to support his wife and three

children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself

so that he could one day find a better-paid job, except for Sundays. Father hardly ate

a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted

to provide his family with the best things that money could buy.

Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed with a good mark! Soon after , he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor (主管), which paid quite well.

However, the family still did not get to see Father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to get the position of manager. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.

Father’s hard word paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid

so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room flat was not longer big enough, and it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a condominium(公寓). Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father decided to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him again.

As expected, father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium near the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening in their new home, father told his family that he had decided not to take any more courses or pursue(追求) any more promotions. From then on he was going to spend more time with his family.

Father did not wake up the next day.

1.Father worked seven days a week, didn’t he ?

2.Why did father work and study hard?

3.What was father’s first well-paid job?

4.What did the family complain about father?

5.Where did father manager to buy a beautiful condominium for his family?

6.Do you want to have the “father”in your family? Why or not?

The train started moving. It was packed with people of all ages. Most of them were working men and women and young college boys and girls. Near the window sat an old man with his son, who looked about thirty years old.
As the train moved, the son was filled with joy because he was very excited at the scenery outside. He said in a high voice, “See Dad, the green trees and the scenery are very beautiful!” It made the other people feel very strange. Everyone started talking in a low voice about the old man’s son. Suddenly, it started raining. Raindrops fell on the travelers through the open window. Seeing the rain, the old man’s son said happily, “See Dad, how beautiful the rain is!” Hearing these words, a young lady became angry with the man, as the raindrops were dropping on her new clothes. She couldn’t help shouting at the noisy son and his father.
“Can’t you see it is raining? You! Old man! If your son is not feeling well, get him to a mental hospital quickly and please don’t disturb us any more!” The old man’s face turned slightly red and then in a low voice, he replied, “We are on the way back from hospital. He was blind at birth. Only last week he can see again. The rain and the nature are new to him. Please forgive him.” All the other people became quiet.
【小题1】How old was the old man’s son?

Have you ever been sad because you failed in something? If so, please remember, for often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Here is a story to tell you why.
One day a little boy decided to dig a hole behind his house after watching a science program. As he was working, a couple of boys stopped by to watch.  "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "I want to dig a deep hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly.  The older boys began to laugh, telling him that it was impossible to do it. Then they left.
The little boy kept on digging and digging. Suddenly, a few small colorful stones caught his eyes. He collected them and put them into a glass jar patiently.  Humming a song, he went on digging. The jar was full soon. Then he talked to himself calmly and proudly, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I have found in the process of digging !"
The boy's goal was too difficult, but it did cause him to go on, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be achieved.  Not every job will end up with a success.  Not every dream will come true.  But when you can't achieve your goal, maybe you can say, "yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things that have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really has a meaning.
【小题1】What did the boy do after watching a program?

The train started moving. It was packed with people of all ages. Most of them were working men and women and young college boys and girls. Near the window sat an old man with his son, who looked about thirty years old.

As the train moved, the son was filled with joy because he was very excited at the scenery outside. He said in a high voice, “See Dad, the green trees and the scenery are very beautiful!” It made the other people feel very strange. Everyone started talking in a low voice about the old man’s son. Suddenly, it started raining. Raindrops fell on the travelers through the open window. Seeing the rain, the old man’s son said happily, “See Dad, how beautiful the rain is!” Hearing these words, a young lady became angry with the man, as the raindrops were dropping on her new clothes. She couldn’t help shouting at the noisy son and his father.

“Can’t you see it is raining? You! Old man! If your son is not feeling well, get him to a mental hospital quickly and please don’t disturb us any more!” The old man’s face turned slightly red and then in a low voice, he replied, “We are on the way back from hospital. He was blind at birth. Only last week he can see again. The rain and the nature are new to him. Please forgive him.” All the other people became quiet.

1.How old was the old man’s son?

2.What did people think of the son’s behavior（行为）? They thought he was _________.

3.What was wrong with the son when he was born?

4.What do you think of the young lady?

5.According to the passage, what does the writer want to tell us?