After my husband died, my world crashed around me. My six children were ten, nine, eight, six, three and 18 months, and I was overwhelmed(不知所措的) with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and simply keeping my head above water.
I was lucky to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly(坦诚地) I was uneasy. Every unusual noise or any late-night phone call filled me with fear. I felt really alone.
One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd(牧羊犬) on our doorstep. It was obvious he wanted to make the house his home. The children took an instant liking to “German” and asked me to let him in. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement(地下室) until the next day. That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks.
The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results. Saturday night he was still with us. 
On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case(以免) his owner came by, we drove off without him. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He stayed again Sunday night.  
Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn’t come back. We thought we’d never see him again. On Friday evening, German was back again. We took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. It went like this for almost 10 months. We looked forward to his coming. Each Monday morning he left home.
Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little braver, but every weekend I enjoyed being with him . Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard from German again. I think of him often. He came when I needed him the most and stayed until I was strong enough to go on alone. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned(被放弃的) and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone.
【小题1】What does the underlined part “keeping my head above water” in the first paragraph mean?

My English teacher is very funny . He has really long hair and wears earring in one ear . He likes to wear purple shirts and orange pants . He also uses all kinds of slang(俚语) words from 1970s. When he likes something , he’ll say it’s really “ groovy（酷的）”. I think he played the guitar in a rock band when he was young .

The other day , he walked into  class and noticed (注意) that there was a new student . He asked him , “Hey ,man ,what’s happening ?” The student was very confused(困惑的) ，but we all laughed because we knew that the teacher was just saying hello . “You’re new ,aren’t you ?” The teacher asked . The student was surprised , and said to himself , “Is this the teacher ? He looks strange(奇怪 ).” Then he explained(解释) to all us , “Sorry .Maybe I’m in the wrong classroom .”

1.Why is the English teacher strange ?

2.What does the teacher like to wear ?

3.What did he do in the past according to the writer ?

4.How did the teacher treat (对待) the new student ?

5.Why was the new student confused ?

A . He never saw such a strange teacher .

B . He  was afraid of the teacher .

C. He didn’t like the classroom .    

D. B and C.

John is 14 years old. He is a student of Grade Eight. He was a very active and happy boy two years ago. But everything changed after he started to play computer games. He never plays basketball or football with his friends any more. And when he sits in the classroom, he can’t listen to the teachers. He sleeps in class. And he spends less and less time in studying. So he gets bad marks in tests. But he is very different after school is over. He stays in the net bar until it is closed. Ah, he loses himself in（沉迷于）computer games. His parents can do nothing to stop him. Every morning in the school, when we see that he is so tired after a night’s “busy working”, we really feel sad. He is too tired!
【小题1】John was ______two years ago.

The chairperson is very modest.He never_________.