My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up（哽咽）and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other and of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.

　　Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent –– teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1.Which of the following has the similar meaning as the underlined word “withdrawn” in the  first paragraph?

2.There was silence on the other end of the line because _ _________.

3.Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

4.From the passage we can learn that _____________.

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up（哽咽）and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other and of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
 Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent –– teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1. 1.

   Which of the following has the similar meaning as the underlined word “withdrawn” in the  first paragraph?

   1. A.
      preferred to stay alone at home
   2. B.
      refused to go to school
   3. C.
      refused to talk to others
   4. D.
      began to dislike his mother
2. 2.

   There was silence on the other end of the line because _________.

   1. A.
      the caller was too moved to say anything to the mother
   2. B.
      the caller waited for the mother to finish speaking
   3. C.
      the caller didn’t want the mother to continue her talk
   4. D.
      the caller was unable to help the mother
3. 3.

   Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

   1. A.
      The headmaster.
   2. B.
      The school adviser.
   3. C.
      Karl himself.
   4. D.
      The passage doesn’t tell us.
4. 4.

   From the passage we can learn that _____________.

   1. A.
      children in single – parent families always have mental problems
   2. B.
      mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life
   3. C.
      parents should give their children as much help as possible
   4. D.
      school education still works well without support from parents

Mrs Elise was my teacher in the fourth grade. One day at lunch time, I was getting ready to eat my tuna fish (金枪鱼) sandwich and suddenly Mrs Elise asked me if she could buy my sandwich from me. She explained that I could use the money to buy a hot hunch from the cafeteria (食堂).
I was excited. I never bought my lunch at the cafeteria. It was too expensive for my family, and I always carried my lunch and took the bag back home to use it again the next day. So you could understand my happiness when I had the chance to buy a hot lunch.
When we finished lunch that day, Mrs Elise took me aside and said she wanted to explain why she had bought my sandwich. I really didn’t care why, but it gave me a few minutes of her special attention, so I was quiet as she explained. She told me that she was a Catholic(天主教徒) and Catholics didn’t eat red meat on Fridays, they ate fish on Fridays.
Oh, I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my mother that from then on I wanted a tuna fish sandwich on Fridays. After my mother understood why, she gladly made tuna fish sandwiches for me on Fridays. She even made it with brown bread because she knew Mrs Elise liked brown bread. From then on, every Friday I could get in line with other kids for a hot lunch. I didn’t care how many of the kids complained about cafeteria food. It tasted divine to me!
I realize now that Mrs Elise could have made herself tuna fish sandwiches on Fridays. But she bought mine because she saw a little girl who was excited at the simple act of having a hot lunch.
I will never forget Mrs Elise for her pity for me and generosity (慷慨) and what I should do is to follow her example.
【小题1】 From this passage we know_______.