The end of my sophomore year was approaching．Mom called me at the dorm one evening during the last week of May．My summer break would be spent with grandma and grandpa, helping out around their farm．The arrangement made good sense to all the family．I wasn’t fully convinced of that myself but guessed it was just one summer．Next year would be my little brother’s turn．

I arrived late that afternoon．Grandma had fixed more food than the three of us could possibly eat．She loved me entirely too much．The next morning, Grandpa fixed breakfast for the two of us． He told me Grandma had tired herself out yesterday and was going to rest in bed a little longer．I made a mental note to myself to not ask her to do things for me while I was there．I was there to help, not be a burden．

       Weeks passed．I gradually settled into a routine of daily work with Grandpa．In the evenings I usually read or talked with Grandma．She never grew tired of hearing about college or anything I was involved in．She told me stories about her childhood, family and the early years after she and Grandpa had married．

       The last Saturday in June, Grandpa suggested going fishing．We hadn’t expected what we saw when we got to the pond that morning: One of the swans was dead．Grandpa had given the pair of swans to Grandma on their 50th anniversary．“Why don’t we see about buying another one,” I suggested, hoping the situation could somehow be righted．Grandpa thought for a few moments before answering．

       He finally said, “no．．．it’s not that easy, Bruce．You see, swans mate for life．” He raised his finger to point, holding the fishing pole in his other hand．“There’s nothing we can do for the one that’s left．He has to work it out for himself．”

A few days later, we drove by the pond while doing our morning check on the cows．We found the other swan lying near the same spot we had found the first one．It, too, was dead．

       The month of July started with me and Grandpa putting up a new stretch of fence．Then July 12 came．That was the day Grandma passed away．Grandma had died suddenly that morning of a stroke．By the afternoon, my parents were there．The old house was soon crowded with relatives and Grandpa’s friends．

       The funeral was held the next day．Grandpa had insisted on having it as soon as possible．On the second day after the funeral, Grandpa announced at the breakfast table, “This is a working farm． We have a lot of things to do．The rest of you should get back to your own lives．” Most of the family had already left, but this was Grandpa’s way of telling the rest it was time for them to go home．My parents were the last to leave after lunch．

       Grandpa was not a man who could outwardly express his grief around others, and we all worried about him．The rest of the summer flowed by．We stayed busy working．I thought there was something different about Grandpa but couldn’t quite put my finger on it．

       September was nearing, and part of me did not want to leave．I thought of skipping the fall semester and staying around a few more months．When I mentioned it, grandpa quickly told me that my place was back at college．

The day finally came for me to pack my car and leave. I shock his hand and chanced a hug. As Idrove down the driveway, I saw him in the rearview mirror．He waved to me and then walked to the pasture gate to start the morning livestock check．

       Mom called me at school on a stormy October day to tell me Grandpa had died．A neighbor had stopped by that morning for coffee and found him in the kitchen．He died of a stroke, the same as Grandma．At that moment, I understood what he’d clumsily tried to explain to me about the swan on that morning we fished together by the pond．

55．We can learn from Paragraph 1 that            ．

       A．Bruce regarded working on the farm as a rare chance

       B．Bruce longed to enjoy himself freely on the farm

       C．the brothers took turns to attend their grandparents

       D．Bruce was not happy with his parents’ arrangement

56．What did the writer think at the sight of the first dead swan?

       A．Another swan should be bought in place of the dead one．

       B．The other was bound to die since swans mate for life．

       C．Grandma would be in deep sorrow over its death．

       D．The living can do nothing for the dead．

57．Grandpa quickly dismissed the family after the funeral because            ．

       A．he wanted to carry on with his farm work

       B．he tended to deal with grief in life by himself

       C．he didn’t want his normal life disturbed

       D．he took for granted the matter of life and death

58．By “I couldn’t put my fingers on it”, the writer means that            ．

       A．I could do nothing to help him out of grief

       B．I was so busy that I couldn’t give a hand to Grandpa

       C．I couldn’t tell exactly what was different about my Grandpa

       D．I stayed busy working and couldn’t keep Grandpa’s company

59．Which of the following best describes Grandpa’s character?

       A．Outgoing, clumsy and considerate．             B．Loyal, considerate and independent．

       C．Talkative, clumsy and independent．            D．Romantic, outgoing and loyal．

60．Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

       A．Mate For Life         B．Unforgettable Summer Break

       C．Death of Swans      D．Everlasting Love Story

When he thought of the past, my grandfather would sometimes show us photographs of himself at school．They were brown and faded, and it was hard to believe that the blurred figure of the little boy in the short trousers and socks could ever have been Grandfather．Besides, he wore a cap—and the boys in the photographs wore caps pulled so far forward that half of their faces were obscured．When Grandfather asked us to pick him out from the group, we would surely point to the wrong boy．

On one such occasion my younger sister, aged six, burst into tears when Grandfather proudly guided her finger to the right boy．"How could that boy be you?" she cried．"He should have a beard．” We were, of course, all convinced that grandfathers should have beards , preferably white and bushy, like our own grandfather's．

"I was a good scholar ,”Grandfather would say, wagging his beard over the photographs．" I should have been top of the c1ass if I hadn't had to get up at six every morning to milk the cows and chop the wood, and again when I came home from school．”

"But Saturdays? What did you do on Saturdays?"

"Saturdays, if it was fine, I’d be out all day in the fields with the men," replied Grandfather．"And if it was wet, I’d be helping my mother with odd jobs round the house．There wasn't much time for studying．"

We all tried hard to imagine what it would have been like to have been Grandfather getting up at crack of dawn and never, obviously, having a moment for himself．It seemed we had learnt something from what Grandfather had said about his childhood．

1．In the first paragraph of this passage, what the author really tells us is that______．

       A ．his grandfather used to wear short trousers, socks and a cap as well

       B．it was difficult to tell which of the boys in the photographs was Grandfather

       C．he didn't believe Grandfather wore a cap pulled forward when he was at school

       D．it was fun to watch boys in the photographs wearing caps pulled forward

2．The author's sister burst into tears because______________．       

       A．she did not get a chance to pick out Grandfather in the photographs

       B．she was told which was the right boy before she herself could pick him out

       C．other children did not agree with her that Grandfather should have had a beard

       D．she found Grandfather in the photographs did not have a beard

3．When Grandfather said, "I should have been top of the class…．", he meant____________．

       A if he had had more time for studying, he would have been the best in his class

       B．he should have spent more time studying rather than playing ball games

       C．his school days should not have been so hard and miserable

       D．he could have never been the best student even if he had studied still harder

4．In the last paragraph the author said, "We all tried hard to imagine…"because__________．

       A．the figures of the boys in the photographs were small and blurred

       B．the children had never experienced life like that of Grandfather

       C．the photographs Grandfather showed them were brown and faded

       D．Grandfather failed to tell them about his childhood in detail

Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in Lon-don. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.
【小题1】We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.

Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in London. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.

1. 1.

   We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.

   1. A.
      a conductor
   2. B.
      a worker
   3. C.
      a thief
   4. D.
      an umbrella maker
2. 2.

   The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to ______.

   1. A.
      his ticket
   2. B.
      his bag
   3. C.
      his drawing
   4. D.
      his umbrella
3. 3.

   Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?

   1. A.
      Because he was lost in thought.
   2. B.
      Because it was much like his own umbrella.
   3. C.
      Because he thought the woman would not notice it.
   4. D.
      Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown.
4. 4.

   When looking at Mr. Brown with four umbrellas, the woman felt ______.

   1. A.
      surprised
   2. B.
      angry
   3. C.
      fortunate
   4. D.
      sad

　　On one such occasion my younger sister, aged six, burst into tears when grandfather proudly guided her finger to the right boy. “How could that boy be you?” she cried, “He should have a beard.” We were, of course, all convinced that grandfathers should have beards, preferably white and bushy, like our own grandfather’s. In fact, we would have been quite ready to argue the point if challenged.

　　“I was a good scholar,” grandfather would say, wagging his beard over the photographs. “I should have been top of the class if I hadn’t had to get up at six every morning to milk the cows and chop the wood, and again when I came home from school.”

　　“But Saturdays? What did you do on Saturdays?”

　　“Saturdays, if it was fine, I’d be out all day in the fields with the men,” replied grandfather. “And if it was wet, I’d be helping my mother with odd jobs round the house. There wasn’t much time for studying. ”

　　We all tried hard to imagine what it would have been like to have been grandfather getting up at crack of dawn and never, obviously, having a moment for himself. It seemed we had learnt something from what grandfather had said about his childhood.

　　1．In the first paragraph of this passage, what the author really tells us is that ________.

　　A．his grandfather used to wear short trousers, socks and a cap as well

　　B．it was difficult to tell which of the boys in the photographs was grandfather

　　C．he didn’t believe grandfather wore a cap pulled forward when he was at school

　　D．it was fun to watch boys in the photographs wearing caps pulled forward

　　2．The author’s sister burst into tears because ________.

　　A．she did not get a chance to pick out grandfather in the photographs

　　B．she was told which was the right boy before she herself could pick him out

　　C．other children did not agree with her that grandfather should have had a beard

　　D．she found grandfather in the photograph did not have a beard

　　3．When grandfather said “I should have been top of the class ...” he meant ________.

　　A．if he had had more time for studying, he would have been the best in his class

　　B．he should have spent more time studying rather than playing ball games

　　C．his school days should not have been so hard and miserable

　　D．he could have never been the best student even if he had studied still harder

　　4．In the last paragraph the author said” We all tried hard to imagine ...”because ________.

　　A．the figures of the boys in the photographs were small and blurred

　　B．the children had never experienced life like that of grandfather

　　C．the photographs grandfather showed them were brown and faded

　　D．grandfather failed to tell them about his childhood in detail