A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became annoyed and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent （天真无邪的）word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
【小题1】Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ￡100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, "Who would like to have this ￡100 bill?" The students began to put up their hands at once.
Then he said, "I am going to give this bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He then made this bill into a ball. Then he said, "Who wants it?" Hands went into the air.
"Well," he said, "What if I do this?" and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, "Who still wants it?" Hands went back into the air.
"My friends," he said, "You've learned a valued lesson today. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it didn't go down in value. It was still worth ￡100.
Many times in our lives, we're dropped, crumpled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value. You are always valuable to those who love you. Your value doesn't come from what you drop or whom you know，but WHO YOU ARE .
You are special and valuable. Don't ever forget it!
【小题1】The story happened ______.

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.　　
His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became irritated and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.　　
After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.　　
Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.
Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.
Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.
【小题1】Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A job is more than just a job，especially to the older generation.“It’s not the money that matters，but the sense of self?worth，” 56?year?old Cheng Wonlan said.So，every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels，letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point.She’s a courier(快递人员)．

Five years ago，Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic.She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated(移居)．It was extremely difficult for her to find another job.“People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am，” she said.After two years of searching，the mother of two eventually found another nursing job.But then after two years，she quit.Why?

“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age.They often asked me，‘You are so old；what are you working for？’ I was very unhappy.” she said.So while the rest of her family left for work，she was left to lonely boredom at home.The urge to work drove her to suffering.Then，one of Ms Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations，such as convenience store assistants，junior clerks and so on.

“I was interested in courier work.I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy.So I thought why not give it a try.” she said.Upon graduation from the ERB，Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited.But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict：she was caught between honour and employment.It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job.So she took heart and went off to work as a courier.

Ms Cheng’s employer is delighted with her，“Ms Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.”Anthony Chong，who runs the company，said.Currently，Mr Chong has 60 couriers working for his company：five of them are over fifty，four of whom have been through the ERB plan.Mr Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable.“Age is not an important factor but attitude is.Many old people are more capable than the youngsters.They will not run from difficulties but the young ones will，” he said.“It is not easy to recruit (招募) young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges.”

1.Why was it difficult for Ms Cheng to find another nursing job?

A．Nursing clinics were hard to find.

B．People thought that old people couldn’t be trusted.

C．People thought she was too old to take on a new job.

D．People didn’t think she had enough working experience.

2.Ms Cheng left her second nursing job because ________.

A．she was bored

B．it was too difficult

C．she was too old to do the job

D．the other staff made her feel uncomfortable

3.Employee’s Retraining Board is a plan for ________.

A．finding jobs for older people

B．teaching new skills to older people

C．training older people to be couriers

D．giving older people something to do in their spare time

4.When Ms Cheng was offered the courier job she ________.

A．took it straight away

B．thought it over and then accepted it

C．thought about it and then refused it

D．refused it straight away but then changed her mind

A few days ago I got a call from my old college friend whom I haven’t seen for a very long time. The topic, which was about all the good old times that we had changed to a touching story when he started talking about his father.

His father’s declining health made him stay at the hospital. Because of his illness, his father suffered from insomnia (失眠) and often talked to himself. My friend, who had not been able to sleep for a few days as he had to keep watching his father’s condition, became annoyed and told his father to keep silent and try to get some sleep. His father said that he really wanted to sleep well because he was very tired and told my friend to leave him alone in the hospital if he did not want to keep him company.

After his father finished talking, he fell unconscious (失去知觉). My friend was very sorry for speaking the ill words towards his father. My friend, whom I knew as a tough person, cried as a baby on the other end of the telephone. He said that from that moment on, he prayed every day, asking God to let his father wake up from his coma. He promised himself that whatever words came out from his father’s mouth after he regained his consciousness, he would gladly take them. His only hope for God was to give him a chance to rectify his past mistake.

Often, we complain when we have to accompany or watch over our parents for years, months, days, hours or even minutes. But do we realize that our parents keep us company and watch over us for as long as we (or they) live? From the day we were born to our adulthood, and even when deaths come to us, they are always at our side.

Imagine how sad our parents will be when they hear a seemingly innocent （天真无邪的）word of “no” come out from our mouths. We can make promises to ourselves that from now on there will be no more complaints that come out from our mouths when we have to watch over or accompany our parents. No more complaints come out from our mouths when we feel that our parents have treated us like little children. There are so many unlucky ones who have neither fathers nor mothers. They long to have the things that we most complain about, but never have them.

Actually, it takes only a second to think and light the lamp that will bring us to a place where peace is dwelling.

1.Which of the following word can be used to describe the writer’s friend?

A．Sad              B．Sorry             C．Regretful          D．Pitiful

2.What does the underlined word “rectify” mean in Para. 3?

A．put…right                             B．recite…by heart

C．realize                                D．recognize

3.What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

A．Your parents will keep talking to themselves when they are old.

B．Be good to your parents when you still have the chance.

C．You will regret in your life if you don’t show your kindness to your parents.

D．It is not easy to take good care of sick old parents.