Twenty years ago I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 AM. When I­­­­­­­­­­­­   21  -，I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor    22 
I walked to the door and knocked “Just a minute” answered a weak elderly      23
After a long pause the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood    24    me by her side was a small suitcase. I took the suitcase to the car and then  25to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked   26 toward the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing” I told her. “I just try to   27  my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.” “Oh you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi she gave me an address and then asked“Could you drive   28 downtown”
“It’s not the shortest way” I answered quickly.
“Oh I’m   29 ” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice临终医院. I don’t have any   30  left. The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and   31  the meter计价器.
For the next two hours we drove through the city. She   32  me the building where she had once worked the neighborhood where she had lived and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone  33  as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a   34 building and would sit staring into the darkness saying nothing.
At  35  she suddenly said” I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the   36 she had given me. “How much do I   37 you” she asked. “Nothing.” I said. “You have to make a living” she answered. “Oh there are other   38 ” I answered. Almost without thinking I   39  and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. Our hug ended with her remark“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy.”
I walked into the  40 morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying（陪伴）the older ones. Later, I discovered that I was completely wrong.

I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.

It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson, ” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.

Finally, in desperation（绝望）, I called his girlfriend’s house. His girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”

He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, patient. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.

The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts — a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.

1.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because________.

A．she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter

B．she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend

C．the older children have always loved the younger ones

D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night

2.Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that _________.

A．her son had brought his girlfriend home

B．her son had left home with his girlfriend

C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son

D．she should have taken the children along with her

3.“It was only part of the truth.” implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also _________.

A．had their pictures taken                  B．received some gifts

C．had a birthday party                     D．showed off their best clothes

4. Which is the best title of this passage?

A．An Evening Out                         B．Modern Teenagers

C．Mother and Children                     D．A Precious Birthday Gift

I was in lodgings (寄宿处) now, on my own, but the other lodgers had constant visitors up and down the stairs past my door. None of this disturbed me except one girl who sang softly to herself an old Russian folk song as she ran up to the room above. It was a sound of sweetness, musical, soft, unselfconscious and happy. I began to listen out for it, jumped up from my table, and threw open the door to catch a glimpse(一瞥) of her as she passed, but I was always too late. I asked the people upstairs who she was, and described the beautiful sounds she made. They became rather reserved(拘谨) and exchanged glances and hurriedly admitted it might be Sally. I thought she was someone special, not to be discussed in the ordinary way, and became a little curious to meet her. But the last thing I wanted at that stage was to get caught up with anybody. I’d just come to the end of a rather painful friendship, and now I had work to do.

One day, I came face to face with a girl on the landing. It was certainly her; whoever made that noise would look as she did. We stood and stared at each other too long for comfort. I broke the moment and, excusing myself, moved past her because it was too like the movies. I thought for some time of that long, silent stare, and laughed. She was tall and looked proud, with a slight , round-shouldered look that made me breathless and I didn’t know why.

1.At his lodgings, the author __________.

2.Whenever the author heard the sound of the girl’s voice__________.

3.People who were asked about the girl__________.

4.From this passage we can see that the author was____________.

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children and the younger children would do a wonderful job of accompanying（陪伴）the older ones. Later, I discovered that I was completely wrong.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson, ” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation（绝望）, I called his girlfriend’s house. His girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, patient. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts — a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.
【小题1】The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because________.

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister．On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend．I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children．Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with．

I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out．I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing．

It was, I should point out, after 10 p．m．,when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone．“I’ll give him a lesson,” I said． I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with．

Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house． After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here．”

He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, rational（理智的）self． After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers．“Where are the children?” I said．He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake．This was too good to be believed． Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth．

The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts．Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions．They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend．

1.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because         ．   

2.When the author called home that evening, she found that           ．

3.What might the children do that evening?

4.What does the author intend to tell us by the story?