When I was fourteen, I earned money in the summer by cutting lawns（草坪）, and within a few weeks I had built up a body of customers. I got to know people by the flowers they planted that I had to remember not to cut down, by the things they lost in the grass or struck in the ground on purpose. I reached the point with most of them when I knew in advance what complaint was about to be spoken, which request was most important. And I learned something about the measure of my neighbors by their preferred method of payment: by the job, by the month—or not at all.
Mr. Ballou fell into the last category, and he always had a reason why. On one day, he had no change for a fifty, on another he was flat out of checks, on another, he was simply out when I knocked on his door. Still, except for the money apart, he was a nice enough guy, always waving or tipping his hat when he’d seen me from a distance. I figured him for a thin retirement check, maybe a work-related injury that kept him from doing his own yard work. Sure, I kept track of the total, but I didn’t worry about the amount too much. Grass was grass, and the little that Mr. Ballou’s property comprised didn’t take long to trim (修剪).
Then, one late afternoon in mid-July, the hottest time of the year, I was walking by his house and he opened the door, mentioned me to come inside. The hall was cool, shaded, and it took my eyes a minute to adjust to the dim light. 
“I owe you,” Mr Ballou said, “but…”
I thought I’d save him the trouble of thinking of a new excuse. “No problem. Don’t worry about it.”
“The bank made a mistake in my account,” he continued, ignoring my words. “It will be cleared up in a day or two. But in the meantime I thought perhaps you could choose one or two volumes for a down payment.
He gestured toward the walls and I saw that books were stacked (堆放) everywhere. It was like a library, except with no order to the arrangement.
“Take your time,” Mr. Ballou encouraged. “Read, borrow, keep, or find something you like. What do you read?”
“I don’t know.” And I didn’t. I generally read what was in front of me, what I could get from the paperback stack at the drugstore, what I found at the library, magazines, the back of cereal boxes, comics. The idea of consciously seeking out a special title was new to me, but, I realized, not without appeal--- so I started to look through the piles of books.
“You actually read all of these?”
“This isn’t much,” Mr. Ballou said. “This is nothing, just what I’ve kept, the ones worth looking at a second time.”
“Pick for me, then.”
He raised his eyebrows, cocked his head, and regarded me as though measuring me for a suit. After a moment, he nodded, searched through a stack, and handed me a dark red hardbound book, fairly thick.
“The Last of the Just,” I read. “By Andre Schwarz-Bart. What’s it about?”
“You tell me,” he said. “Next week.”
I started after supper, sitting outdoors on an uncomfortable kitchen chair. Within a few pages, the yard, the summer, disappeared, and I was plunged into the aching tragedy of the Holocaust, the extraordinary clash of good, represented by one decent man, and evil. Translated from French, the language was elegant, simple, impossible to resist. When the evening light finally failed I moved inside, read all through the night.
To this day, thirty years later, I vividly remember the experience. It was my first voluntary encounter with world literature, and I was amazed by the concentrated power a novel could contain. I lacked the vocabulary, however, to translate my feelings into words, so the next week. When Mr. Ballou asked, “Well?” I only replied, “It was good?”
“Keep it, then,” he said. “Shall I suggest another?”
I nodded, and was presented with the paperback edition of Margaret Mead’s Coming of Age in Samoa (a very important book on the study of the social and cultural development of peoples—anthropology (人类学) ).
To make two long stories short, Mr. Ballou never paid me a cent for cutting his grass that year or the next, but for fifteen years I taught anthropology at Dartmouth College. Summer reading was not the innocent entertainment I had assumed it to be, not a light-hearted, instantly forgettable escape in a hammock (吊床) (though I have since enjoyed many of those, too). A book, if it arrives before you at the right moment, in the proper season, at an internal in the daily business of things, will change the course of all that follows.
【小题1】Before his encounter with Mr. Ballou, the author used to read _____________.

A．anything and everything	B．only what was given to him
C．only serious novels	D．nothing in the summer

【小题2】The author found the first book Mr. Ballou gave him _____________.

A．light-hearted and enjoyable	B．dull but well written
C．impossible to put down	D．difficult to understand

【小题3】From what he said to the author we can guess that Mr. Ballou _______________.

A．read all books twice	B．did not do much reading
C．read more books than he kept	D．preferred to read hardbound books

【小题4】The following year the author _______________.

A．started studying anthropology at college

B．continued to cut Mr. Ballou’s lawn

C．spent most of his time lazing away in a hammock

D．had forgotten what he had read the summer before

【小题5】The author’s main point is that _____________.

A．summer jobs are really good for young people

B．you should insist on being paid before you do a job

C．a good book can change the direction of your life

D．books are human beings’ best friends

Barditch High School decided to an All-School Reunion. Over 450 people came to the event. There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park. Several former teachers were on hand to tell stories about the old days. Ms. Mabel Yates, the English teacher for fifty years, was wheeled to the Park.
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans(嘟囔声)when Ms.Yates was about to speak. Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined.
Then Ms. Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be here. I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies. I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students. Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the birth your children, in my imagination.”
Ms. Yates paused and started crying a bit. Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me. Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in you chosen path.”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work. You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart.”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping. Tee clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar(呼喊). Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown.
【小题1】What activity was organized for the school reunion?

A．Sightseeing in the park.

B．A picnic on the school playground.

C．Telling stories about past events.

D．Graduates’ reports in the old building.

【小题2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 2? 

A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms. Yates’ speech.

B．Many graduates disliked Ms. Yates’ ways of teaching.

C．Some people got tired from the reunion activities.

D．Most people had little interest in the reunion.

【小题3】We can learn from Ms. Yates’ speech that she _____________.

A．kept track of her students’ progress

B．gave her students advice on their careers

C．attended her students’ college graduations

D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies

【小题4】What was Ms.Yates’ belief in teaching teenagers?

A．Teachers’ knowledge is the key to students’ achievements.

B．Pressure on students from teachers should be reduced.

C．Hard-pushed students are more likely to succeed.

D．Students’ respect is the best reward for teachers.

【小题5】Which of the following can best describe Ms. Yates?

A．Reliable and devoted.	B．Tough and generous.
C．Proud but patient.	D．Strict but caring.

Bardithch High School decided to have an All-School Reunion. Over 450 people came to the event. There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park. Several former teachers were on hand to tell stories about the old days. Ms. Mabel Yates, the English teacher for over fifty years, was wheeled to the Park.
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans (嘟囔声) when Ms. Yates was about to speak. Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined.
Then Ms. Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I’m to be here. I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies. I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students. Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the births of your children, in my imagination. ”
Ms. Yates paused and started crying a bit. Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me. Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in your chosen path.”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work. You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart.”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping. The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar (呼喊). Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown.
【小题1】What activity was organized for the school reunion?

A．Sightseeing in the park

B．A picnic on the school playground

C．Telling stories about past events

D．Graduates’ reports in the old building

【小题2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms. Yates’ speech

B．Many graduates disliked Ms. Yates’ ways of teaching

C．Some people got tired from the reunion activities

D．Most people had little interest in the reunion

【小题3】We can learn from Ms. Yates’ speech that she _________.

A．kept track of her students’ progress

B．gave her students advice on their careers

C．attended her students’ college graduations

D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies

【小题4】Which of the following can best describe Ms. Yates?

A．Reliable and devoted

B．Tough and generous

C．Proud but patient

D．Strict but caring

Bardithch High School decided to have an All-School Reunion. Over 450 people came to the event. There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park. Several former teachers were on hand to tell stories about the old days. Ms. Mabel Yates, the English teacher for over fifty years, was wheeled to the Park.

    Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans (嘟囔声) when Ms. Yates was about to speak. Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined.

    Then Ms. Yates started to speak:

“I can’t tell you how pleased I’m to be here. I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies. I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students. Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the births of your children, in my imagination. ”

Ms. Yates paused and started crying a bit. Then she continued:

“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me. Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in your chosen path.”

“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work. You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart.”

There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping. The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar (呼喊). Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown.

1.What activity was organized for the school reunion?

A. Sightseeing in the park

B. A picnic on the school playground             

C. Telling stories about past events    

D. Graduates’ reports in the old building

2.What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A. Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms. Yates’ speech

B. Many graduates disliked Ms. Yates’ ways of teaching

  C. Some people got tired from the reunion activities        

D. Most people had little interest in the reunion

3.We can learn from Ms. Yates’ speech that she _________.

A. kept track of her students’ progress

B. gave her students advice on their careers

C. attended her students’ college graduations

D. went to her students’ wedding ceremonies

4.Which of the following can best describe Ms. Yates?

  A. Reliable and devoted

B. Tough and generous

C. Proud but patient

D. Strict but caring

 

Barditch High School decided to hold an All-School Reunion．Over 450 people came to the event．There were tours of the old school building and a picnic at Confederate Park．Several former teachers were on hands to tell stories about the old days．Ms．Mabel Yates, the English teacher for fifty years, was wheeled to the Park．
Some eyes rolled and there were a few low groans(嘟囔声)when Ms．Yates was about to speak．Many started looking at their watches and coming up with excuses to be anywhere instead of preparing to listen to a lecture from an old woman who had few kind words for her students and made them work harder than all the other teachers combined．
Then Ms．Yates started to speak:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be here．I haven’t seen many of you since your graduation, but I have followed your careers and enjoyed your victories as well as crying for your tragedies．I have a large collection of newspaper photographs of my students．Although I haven’t appeared in person, I have attended your college graduations, weddings and even the birth of your children, in my imagination．”
Ms．Yates paused and started crying a bit．Then she continued:
“It was my belief that if I pushed you as hard as I could, some of you would succeed to please me and others would succeed to annoy me．Regardless of our motives, I can see that you have all been successful in you chosen path．”
“There is no greater comfort for an educator than to see the end result of his or her years of work．You have all been a great source of pleasure and pride for me and I want you to know I love you all from the bottom of my heart．”
There was a silence over the crowd for a few seconds and then someone started clapping．The clapping turned into cheering, then into a deafening roar(呼喊)．Lawyers, truck drivers, bankers and models were rubbing their eyes or crying openly with no shame all because of the words from a long forgotten English teacher from their hometown．
【小题1】What activity was organized for the school reunion?

A．Telling stories about past events．

B．A picnic on the school playground．

C．Sightseeing in the park．

D．Graduates’ reports in the old building．

【小题2】What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A．Some graduates were too busy to listen to Ms．Yates’ speech．

B．Some people got tired from the reunion activities．

C．Many graduates disliked Ms．Yates’ ways of teaching．

D．Most people had little interest in the reunion．

【小题3】We can learn from Ms．Yates’ speech that she _____________．

A．attended her students’ college graduations

B．gave her students advice on their careers

C．kept track of her students’ progress

D．went to her students’ wedding ceremonies

【小题4】What was Ms．Yates’ belief in teaching teenagers?

A．Hard-pushed students are more likely to succeed．

B．Pressure on students from teachers should be reduced．

C．Teachers’ knowledge is the key to students’achievements．

D．Students’ respect is the best reward for teachers．

【小题5】Which of the following can best describe Ms．Yates?__________．

A．Reliable and devoted．

B．Strict but caring．

C．Proud but patient．

D．Tough and generous．