She looked older to us though her age was about the same as our mother’s. She was not pretty. But she was kind and good. Then she gave us a good meal. After our mother became ill, we never ate such a good one. My brothers and I liked her before we finished the meal.

Our family moved to Australia not long ago. It was difficult for us to live a good life in the new place. Soon our mother became ill and she was in bed.

Every morning father went out to the forest, and worked all day hard as he could. Of course, we tried to help our parents. I cleaned the house and cooked our meals. My older brother learned to grow vegetables.

My two younger brothers were too young to work. Sometimes we went to school. When father came home on that day, he was surprised. Our mother was sleeping peacefully in the bed cleaned by Jane, and there were some beautiful flowers on the table. He said to Jane, “I have no money. I’m sorry I can’t pay you.” Jane said, “Don’t mind, I’m glad to help you. I don’t take money from people who are not happy.”

1. Why was mother ill?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 

A. Life was hard.

B. The weather was bad for a long time.

C. There were too many children in the family.

D. She was always ill.

2. From the passage, we can know that there are　　    children in the family. 

A. 2　　    B. 3　　   C. 4　　　　 D. 5

3. Where did they live?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   

A. In Australia.　　　　   B. In a city in Australia.

C. They just left Australia.  D. The writer didn’t tell us.

4. Why did Jane come to the family?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 

A. To make money because she was poor.   

B. To help them.

C. She knew their mother very well.

D. To cook meals for the children.

5. We can learn the following from the passage except　　    .　　   

A. Jane was much younger than the writer’s mother

B. the writer’s family was not rich

C. Jane came to the family with some beautiful flowers

D. Jane helped the family for nothing

--We’re all here 　　 Lily． Where’s she？

--She’s gone to the library．

　 A． beside　　　　 B． besides　　　　 C． except　　　　 D． of