阅读理解

　　It was late afternoon. Farmer Lum was walking home from his fields. His feet sank deep in the thick dust. A dry, hot wind blew dust across the brown fields. The raining season was late this year. Everything needed rain. Even the water in the village well was getting low.

　　Every morning Farmer Lum stepped from his house and looked at the sky. But there were no clouds. And every night before he went to bed, he looked at the sky. Even a small cloud might bring rain by morning. But no rain fell.

　　Early one morning several days later Farmer Lum was woken up by a heavy rain. He got up quickly, went to the door, and stepped outside. He held out his hands to catch the cool drops of rain. He breathed deeply. How good the rain smelled!

　　After a few days of rain, the ground was soft enough to be ploughed. Every morning Farmer Lum got up early to drive his ox to the fields. Soon the seed-bed in the corner of the field was ready for planting. He took the grains of rice from the bag carefully because he did not want to lose a single one. Then he planted them in the soft, wet soil.

　　While Farmer Lum planted the rice, his wife planted vegetable seeds in the garden by the house.

　　After a few days Farmer Lum and his wife began to pull the young seedlings(幼苗) from the wet soil and took them to the field to plant. Several months later the rice was ready for harvesting. Again Farmer Lum and his wife went to the field. This time they cut the long yellow stalks(梗), then put them in the sun to dry. Later Farmer Lum dove the ox back and forth over the stalks to loosen(使松开) the grain from them. Then he and his wife tossed (抛) the stalks high in the air, and the grains of rice fell off the stalks onto the ground. Before they finished, they had gathered every grain of rice.

　　When evening came, Farmer Lum sat in front of his house. He smiled, because the rice crop was good. In fact, it was the best rice crop he had ever had. He would have enough to feed his family and there would be some left over to sell. Maybe he would be able to buy a colour TV set.

1．Every morning Farmer Lum stepped from his house and looked at the sky because ________.

[　　]

A．he had been looking forward to rain

B．he liked to count the stars in the sky

C．he liked the clouds in the sky

D．he liked to breathe the fresh air outside the door

2．One morning when Farmer Lum found it was raining heavily, ________.

[　　]

A．he felt afraid

B．he was surprised at it

C．he felt very happy

D．he felt very sad

3．Farmer Lum took the grains of rice from his beg carefully because ________.

[　　]

A．his beg was broken

B．he wanted to choose some good seeds

C．he was very old and he had to take the seeds out of his bag slowly

D．he did not want to lose a single one

4．After several months Farmer Lum and his wife began to ________.

[　　]

A．harvest rice

B．drive their ox to the field

C．plant vegetable seeds in the garden by the house

D．plan to buy something in town

It was one of the happiest times of my life. I was 29 and had just received my bachelor’s degree, graduating with honors despite working two jobs and being a wife and mother. My parents and five - year - old son were in the audience when I walked onto the stage at Ashland University to get my diploma. I was so excited and proud to be starting a teaching career and contributing more to my family’s well - being.

But when I got home that evening, there was a note from my husband written on the back of an envelope. It basically said he’d come to get his clothes and wouldn't be back. We’d been having trouble, but the finality of that note still came as a shock. He had emptied our bank account. We were horribly in debt. I had quit my previous jobs in expectation of interviewing for a teaching position. I was embarrassed, scared, and angry and felt I had failed.

But I had my son, and I was about to bring a new life into the world, so despite my deep sadness, I had to go on. The next morning, I woke up, put my feet on the floor, took a deep breath, fixed breakfast, and basically did everything I always did. I used my routine to keep me moving. One small step after one small step was the way I bounced back.

And in the seven years since, I've continued moving forward. I got a job as a kindergarten teacher, earned a master' s degree in education. I certainly would never have chosen to put them through this, but I'm glad it happened to me when looking back. It helped me find my voice and myself a lot sooner. It helped me grow independent, confident, and strong―things I' m hopefully developing gradually now in my child.

 

56．It was one of the author's happiest times because ____.

A．she became a good wife and got two jobs

B．she had just received her bachelor's degree

C．she had been a teacher at Ashland University

D．she was proud to be loved by her family

57．From the second paragraph we can learn the author ____.

A．had run out of her money and was in debt

B．had interviewed for a teaching position

C．had a bad relationship with her husband

D．had got a paper of ending her marriage

58．The author did everything as usual because ____.

A．she wanted to use her routine to move forward

B．she wanted to get a good job as a teacher

C．she felt she had failed and was very sad

D．she had to support her mother and child

59．What does the author think of the failure she faced?

A．It was possible to live without failing at something.

B．It made her become embarrassed, scared, and angry .

C．It made her give up hope and didn't bounce back.

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D．It had a positive and beneficial influence on her.

60．The passage mainly wants to teach us ____.

A．how to learn from failure                             B．how to become a good woman

C．how to earn a master' s degree                     D．how to bring up our children