Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to the patients at the clinic.
One evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. He’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old son. “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning.” He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face... I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments...” For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I told him we would find him a bed. When I had finished the dishes, I talked with him. He told me he fished for a living to support his five children, and his wife, who was hopelessly crippled（残疾的）from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint. Next morning, just before he left, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I come back and stay the next time?” He added, “Your children made me feel at home. ”
On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and the largest oysters（牡蛎）I had ever seen. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a. m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us and there was never a time that he did not bring us vegetables from his garden. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned how to accept the bad without complaint when facing the misfortune

1. 1.

   Why did the author agree to let the man spend the night in his house at last?

   1. A.
      Because the man said others refused to accommodate him
   2. B.
      Because the man said he would not cause much inconvenience
   3. C.
      Because the man said he had come from the eastern shore
   4. D.
      Because the man said he had been hunting for a room since noon
2. 2.

   How long would it take the man to travel from his home to Baltimore by bus?

   1. A.
      About 1 hour．
   2. B.
      About 2 hours．
   3. C.
      About 3 hours．
   4. D.
      About 4 hours．
3. 3.

   From the text we can know that_____________．

   1. A.
      the author’s children were kind and friendly to the man
   2. B.
      the man was fed up with his hard-work and his family
   3. C.
      John Hopkins Hospital provided rooms-for the patients to live in
   4. D.
      the author and his family were thought highly of by his neighbors
4. 4.

   The author’s family were grateful to know the man because__________．

   1. A.
      he often brought them fish and vegetables from his garden
   2. B.
      he paid them money for his staying
   3. C.
      he taught them how to accept the bad without complaint
   4. D.
      he stayed only overnight with the writer’s family

WASHINGTON-After years working in financial and real estate management, 61-year-old

Bill Copeland retired to his version of the American dream—not full-time rest but a less-taxing job．

He’s hardly alone. Close to two-thirds of Americans who have not yet retired say that when the time comes they will work for pay after retiring. The reason given most often has nothing to do with money—they simply want to stay busy．

For Copeland, after years of 60-and 80-hour work weeks , that means “only” 40 hours a week at a job selling power tools and advising people on how to use them．

“I’m doing something I want to do , that I know about and I can help people,” said Copeland , who works in Falls Church , Virginia , at a Home Depot , a company that makes a special effort to attract older workers.

The political debate on the future of Social Security has fixed fresh attention on retirement and how older Americans make ends meet. As they live longer , healthier lives , work is a choice for an increasing number of old Americans．

In a recent Associated Press—Ipsos poll, 63 percent of those who have not retired said the thought they would work for pay after they retired ．The reason given most often was “to stay busy,” followed by “to make ends meet” and “to have enough money for extras．”

People find various ways to stay in the work force —working past retirement age , cutting back to part-time , or retiring and then taking a new job —often with less stress, fewer hours and less money．For many people , retirement is not an event but a process．

Dennis Bardy, a 47—year-old teacher , shares the same view with many who plan to keep working．

“It would be nice to have a little bit of extra money ,” he said , adding , “I also want to stay active．Too many times , you see people who retire just seeming to fade away．

1．According to the passage, Bill         ．

       A．works in a company serving older workers ．

       B．has many children and grandchildren to live together with him

       C．has found another job after retirement

       D．now works part time in financial and real estate management

2．We can learn from the passage that         ．

       A．more and more Americans prefer to retire step by step

       B．over half of the Americans plan to keep working just for pay after retirement

       C．nearly two-thirds of Americans are working 60 to 80 hours per week

       D．American people find various ways to stay where they are working after retirement

3．The underlined phrase “fade away” in the last paragraph probably means         ．

       A．lose their jobs                                     B．disappear completely

       C．become less active                              D．move away to live in other places

4．What would be the best title for this passage ?

       A．Older Americans In Trouble                 B．Bill Copeland’s Life After Retirement

       C．Living Conditions Of Older Americans   D．Americans Choosing Work After Retirement

Directly across the street was our house from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,” I thought as I stared at the shriveled (皱缩的) body. But the shocking thing was his face-twisted from swelling，red and raw.

Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning.”

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face…, I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments …"
  I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. “No thank you，I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly disabled from a back injury.
  He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence began with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.
    At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch.

He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.” I told him he was welcome to come back again.
  In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.
  Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little gifts, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning.

"Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away. You can lose roomers by accommodating such people!"

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illnesses would have been easier to bear.

I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

58. The first time I met the man, _____.

A. he had an eight-year-old son        B. he was looking for a place to stay overnight
C. he frightened my kid               D. he was in need of something to eat

59. The next-door neighbor refused the man because _____.

A. he had no spare room               B. the man didn't bring him gifts

C. he might lose roomers               D. the man was bad-tempered

60. Which of the following is NOT true about the man?

A. He developed skin cancer.         B. He didn't complain about his sufferings.
C. He fished to support a large family.  D. God helped him to get over his disease.

61. What attitude did the man have toward life?

A. Confident.       B. Grateful.        C. Regretful.     D. Passive.

62. What message is conveyed in the passage?

A. Give others a hand               B. Accept good and bad with gratitude
C. Be the architect of life                        D Never judge a book by its cover.