I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin.

In my family, it was always important to place blame when anything had happened.

“Who did this?” my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen.

“This is your entire fault, Katherine,” my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke.

From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told to each other. We set a place for blame at the dinner table.

But the Whites didn’t worry about who had done what. They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died.

In July, the Whites sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new drivers license, Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met.

The big sisters shared the driving of Sarah’s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas, they let Amy take over. Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn’t see the sign no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.

Jane was killed immediately.

I was slightly injured. The most difficult thing that I had ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child.

When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy’s leg was broken. They hugged us all and cried tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girl’s tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches(拐杖).

To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, “We are so glad that you are alive.”

I was astonished. No blame. No accusations.

Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign.

Mrs. White said, “Jane is gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will bring her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister’s death?”

They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She’s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.

How did the author’s parents differ from the Whites?

   A. The author’s parents were less caring.    B. The author’s parents were less loving.

   C. The author’s parents were less friendly   D. The author’s parents were less understanding

How did the accident happen?

   A. Amy didn’t stop at a crossroad and a truck hit their car.

   B. Amy didn’t know what to do when she saw the stop sign.

   C. Amy didn’t slow down so their car ran into a truck.

   D. Amy didn’t get off the highway at a crossroad.

The accident took place in _____.

   A. Florida     B. California       C. South Carolina       D. New York

The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane’s death because _____.

   A. they didn’t want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life

   B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn’t want to add to her pain

   C. They didn’t want to blame their children in front of others

   D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best

From the passage we can learn that _____.

   A. Amy has never recovered from the shock   B. Amy changed her job after the accident

   C. Amy lost her memory after the accident    D. Amy has lived quite a normal life

I am a team leader in an insurance company.   We are going through a lot of changes right now which is __1__ much stress for all of us. A few weeks ago I was having a day so __2__ that I even doubted if I had the ability to do this challenging work, and was about ready to change to a less stressful job __3__. Something happened that day to change my way of __4__ and I am so appreciative of this young lady. I want to let her know that the small act __5__.

On the top of my cubicle(工作隔间)I have a small collection of lighthouses(灯塔)to let people know where I am sitting __6__ my team members have to find me for emergencies.

That day I came into the office and was about to get the day __7__ when Crystal came over. I asked if she needed anything. She said，“I __8__ you something.  I looked at her   ”with a __9__ look  and said，“Well，thank you, but why __10__ you buy me anything？”I had never spoke to this young lady __11__. She said，“Every day I stand up and look across the __12__ and see your light houses. Then I feel I am not alone and I encourage myself that there are always __13__ things in life. I saw this on the way to work and thought __14__ would like it. I wish it would have the same __15__ as your lighthouses do. ”In her hand she had a small globe with a lighthouse and a ship on it. I gave her a hug and __16__ her.   I don't think she knows how much that small act of __17__ changed my day：I remained __18__ the rest of the day.

For anyone that reads this，I hope you remember，no matter what the __19__ is，you could change someone's day, __20__ even his views on life.

1. A. preventing　B. reducing　C. causing　　D. suffering

2. A. funny      B. nice      C. bad       D. dull

3. A. everywhere  B. elsewhere  C. anywhere  D. nowhere

4. A. working     B. behaving  C. speaking  D. thinking

5. A. broke my heart   B. touched my heart

C. lost my heart     D. tore my heart

6. A. in case      B. so that  C. as if   D. even though

7. A. ended      B. started  C. changed   D. avoided

8. A. borrowed  B. lent  C. sold  D. bought

9. A. delighted  B. puzzled  C. thankful  D. worried

10. A. might  B. dare  C. could  D. would

11. A. before  B. then  C. since  D. after

12. A. dorm  B. office  C. ship  D. tower

13. A. bright       B. challenging

C. bad         D. stressful

14. A. colleagues  B. leaders  C. you  D. I

15. A. opinion  B. cause  C. expectation  D. effect

16. A. praised  B. thanked  C. scolded  D. refused

17. A. justice  B. courage  C. kindness  D. tolerance

18. A. careful      B. encouraged

C. tired         D. alone

19. A. present  B. work  C. gesture  D. intention

20. A. so       B. for  C. or      D. nor

I am a team leader in an insurance company. We are going through a lot of changes right now, which is   36  much stress for all of us.
A few weeks ago I was having a day so   37  that I even doubted if I had the ability to do this challenging work, and was about ready to change to a less stressful job   38  . Something happened that day to change my way of   39  and I am so appreciative of this young lady. I want to let her know that the small act   40  .
On the top of my cubicle (工作隔间) I have a small collection of lighthouses (灯塔) to let people know where I am sitting   41  my team members have to find me for emergencies.
That day I came into the office and was about to get the day   42  when Crystal came over. I asked if she needed anything. And she said, “I   43  you something.” I looked at her with a   44  look and said, “Well, thank you, but why   45  you buy me anything?” I had never spoke to this young lady   46 . She said, “Every day I stand up and look across the     47  and see your lighthouses. Then I feel I am not alone and I encourage myself that there are always   48  things in life. I saw this on the way to work and thought   49  would like it. I wish it would have the same   50  as your lighthouses do.” In her hand she had a small globe with a lighthouse and a ship on it. I gave her a hug and   51  her. I don’t think she knows how much that small act of   52  changed my day: I remained   53  the rest of the day.
For anyone that reads this, I hope you remember, no matter what the   54  is, you could change someone’s day,   55  even his views on life.

I remember a day when I was a little kid. I was making a sandwich in the kitchen when I noticed the date on one of the wine bottles.
“ Dad, dad!” I cried. “This wine is too old to drink.”
“ Son, hold on,” he said.
“ No, you can’t drink this tonight! This bottle of wine was made 10 years ago.”
“ Wait, let me tell you…”
“ Would you like me to throw it away from you?” I asked.
“ Son, wait a second,” he said. “Son, some wines get better over time. The longer you wait to drink it, the better it will be. Although this may seem strange, it is true.”
When I was young, I didn’t have any understanding of what this meant, but now, this would have been very helpful to remember as I went through my teenage years.
In our society, we forget this simple rule: The longer you want for certain things, the better they will be. But we want the best job as quickly as possible; we want to graduate from college in as few years as possible; we even speed through our homework just to chat with friends. When we do this, we lose something of great importance.
We all want to get to the next step so quickly that perhaps we don’t get ready enough to get there. This has a negative effect on our society. When trying to go to the right college, we will do anything to get in and when we rush through our class-work, we may not study enough for the test, and end up failing. We need to be ready for whatever comes, ready for the unexpected. Wine gets better over time, so do the things in our paths of life.
【小题1】Why did the author tell his father not to drink the bottle of wine?

I remember a day when I was a little kid. I was making a sandwich in the kitchen when I noticed the date on one of the wine bottles.
“ Dad, dad!” I cried. “This wine is too old to drink.”
“ Son, hold on,” he said.
“ No, you can’t drink this tonight! This bottle of wine was made 10 years ago.”
“ Wait, let me tell you…”
“ Would you like me to throw it away fro you?” I asked.
“ Son, wait a second,” he said. “Son, some wines get better over time. The longer you wait to drink it, the better it will be. Although this may seem strange, it is true.”
When I was young, I didn’t have any understanding of what this meant, but now, this would have been very helpful to remember as I went through my teenage years.
In our society, we forget this simple rule: The longer you want for certain things, the better they will be. But we want the best job as quickly as possible; we want to graduate from college in as few years as possible; we even speed through our homework just to chat with friends. When we do this, we lose something of great importance.
We all want to get to the next step so quickly that perhaps we don’t get ready enough to get there. This has a negative effect on our society. When trying to go to the right college, we will do anything to get in and when we rush through our class-work, we may not study enough for the test, and end up failing. We need to be ready for whatever comes, ready for the unexpected. Wine gets better over time, so do the things in our paths of life.
【小题1】Why did the author tell his father not to drink the bottle of wine?