Children find meanings in their old family tales.

When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about bow his grandfather, a banker,　 1　 all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times　 2　 his strong-minded grandfather was nearly　 3　 , he loaded his family into the car and　 4　 them to see family members in Canada with a　 5　 ,“there are more important thins in life than money. ”

The 6　 took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to a　 7　 house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was 8　　 that his children ,a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset. To his surprise, they weren’t　 9　　 , their reaction echoed （共鸣） their great-grandfather’s. What they 10　 was how warm the people were in the house and how 11　　 of their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding family stories have surprising power to help children　 12　 hard times. Storytelling expects say the phenomenon reflects a growing 13　　 in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in a storytelling events and festivals.

A university　 14　 of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to Ks15　 parents’ stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The 16　 is telling the stories in a way children can 17　　 . We’re not talking here about the kind of story that　 18　 , “When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow. ” Instead, we should choose a story suited to the child’s 19　 , and make eye contact （接触） to create “a personal experience”,. We don’t have to tell children

20 they should take from the story and what the moral is . ”

1. A. missed　 　 B. lost　 C. forgot 　 D. ignored

2. A. when　 B. while C. how　 D. why

3. A. friendless　 B. worthless C. penniless D. homeless

4. A fetched　 　 B. allowed　 C. expected D. took

5. A. hope　 B. promise　 C. suggestion 　 D. belief

6. A. tale　 B. agreement　 　 C. arrangement 　 D. report

7. A. large　 B. small　 　 C. new　 D. grand

8. A. surprised B. annoyed C. disappointed D. worried

9. A. Therefore B. Besides C. Instead D. Otherwise

10. A. talked about　 　 B. cared about C. wrote about D. heard about

11. A. much B. many C. little　 D. few

12. A. beyond　 B. over　 C. behind 　 D. through

13. A. argument B. skill　 　 C. interest D. anxiety

14. A. study　 　 B. design　 C. committee　 D. staff

15. A. provide　 B. retell　 C. support D. refuse

16. A. trouble　 B. gift C. fact　 D. trick

17. A. perform　 B. write C. hear D. question

18. A. means　 　 B. ends C. begins 　 D. proves

19. A. needs B. activities 　 C. judgments　 　 D. habits

20. A. that　 B. what　 C. which　 　 D. whom

 

It was eleven o'clock that night when Mr. Pontellier returned from his night out. He was in an excellent humor, in high spirits, and very talkative. His entrance awoke his wife, who was in bed and fast asleep when he came in. He talked to her while he undressed, telling her anecdotes and bits of news and gossip that he had gathered during the day. She was overcome with sleep, and answered him with little half utterances.

　　He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, showed so little interest in things which concerned him and valued so little his conversation.

　　Mr. Pontellier had forgotten the candies and peanuts that he had promised the boys. Still, he loved them very much and went into the room where they slept to take a look at them and make sure that they were resting comfortably. The result of his investigation was far from satisfactory. He turned and shifted the youngsters about in bed. One of them began to kick and talk about a basket full of crabs.

　　Mr. Pontellier returned to his wife with the information that Raoul had a high fever and needed looking after. Then he lit his cigar and went and sat near the open door to smoke it.

　　Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well, she said, and nothing had made him sick. Mr. Pontellier was too well familiar with fever symptoms to be mistaken. He assured her the child was burning with fever at that moment in the next room.

　　He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his business. He could not be in two places at once; making a living for his family on the street, and staying home to see that no harm done to them. He talked in a dull, repeated and insistent way.

　　Mrs. Pontellier sprang out of bed and went into the next room. She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow. She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her. When his cigar was smoked out, he went to bed, and in half a minute was fast asleep.

　　Mrs. Pontellier was by that time thoroughly awake. She began to cry a little, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her nightdress. She went out on the porch, where she sat down and began to rock herself in the chair.

　　It was then past midnight. The cottages were all dark. There was no sound except the hooting of an old owl and the everlasting voice of the sea, which broke like a mournful lullaby (催眠曲) upon the night.

　　The tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier's eyes that the damp sleeve of her nightdress no longer served to dry them. She went on crying there, not caring any longer to dry her face, her eyes, her arms.

　　She could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as had just happened were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much against the abundance (充足) of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be self-understood.

　　An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with vague pain. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul's summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did not sit there inwardly scolding her husband, expressing sadness about Fate, which had directed her footsteps to the path which they had taken. She was just having a good cry all to herself.

　　The mosquitoes succeeded in driving away a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer.

　　The following morning Mr. Pontellier was up in good time to take the carriage which was to convey him to the ship. He was returning to the city to his business, and they would not see him again at the Island till the coming Saturday. He had regained his calmness, which seemed to have been somewhat weakened the night before. He was eager to be gone, as he looked forward to a lively week in the financial center.

1.Mr.Pontellier comes back home from his night out in a/an ______state of mind.

A. excited                   B. confused                                   C. depressed            D. disappointed

2. The writer would most likely describe Mr. Pontellier’s conduct during the evening as ______.

A. impatient and generous                                                  B. enthusiastic and responsible

C. concerned and gentle                        D. inconsiderate and self-centered

3.In paragraphs 8 to 13, Mrs. Pontellier’s reactions to her husband’s behavior suggest that ______.

A. she accepts unquestioningly her role of taking care of the children

B. this is one of the times she has acknowledged her unhappiness with her husband

C. her relationship with her husband is not what has made her depressed

D. she is angry about something that happened before her husband left

 

1 

Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so. “Health is the greatest wealth(财富),” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.　　     

Speaking about health, I can’t help telling you a funny story.　　

An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.　   

He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day.　　

A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.　　

“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”

1.The writer thinks that 　　　　.

A.        health is more important than wealth

B. work is as important as studies

C. medicine is more important than pleasure

D. nothing is more important than money

2.. The doctor usually tells his patient what to do 　　　　.

A. without examining the patient

B. after he has examined the patient

C. if the patient doesn’t take medicine

D. unless the patient feels pain

3. The underlined part means “　　　　”.

A. he will be well again            B. he wasn’t a healthy man

C. he was feeling worse than before   D. he was feeling better than ever

4. From the last sentence of the passage, we learn the man 　　　　 before the doctor told him not to smoke more than one cigarette a day.

A. didn’t smoke                  B. has smoked so much

C. was a heavy smoker             D. began to learn to smoke

 

　　He lived his whole life as a poor man He suffered from a mental illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later. But after his death, he achieved the world fame.

　　* And the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, home to the biggest collection of his masterpieces, is marking the anniversary with exhibitions throughout the year.

　　“He is a big fame like Einstein and Beethoven. He is such a great figure. We are always amazed by how popular he is and his popularity seems to be growing.” said Andreas Bluehm, the museum's head of exhibitions.

　　Van Gogh was the son of a pastor. He left school when he was just 15. By the age of 27, he had already tried many jobs including an art gallery salesman and a French teacher. Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.

　　“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes. I use colour more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly,” he wrote in a letter to his brother, Theo, in 1888.

　　Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life. But now his works are sold for millions of dollars. His “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” was sold for US 89.5 million in 1990. It is the highest price ever paid for a painting.

1．The second paragraph mainly tells us that ________.

[　　]

A．the Van Gogh Museum is located in Amsterdam

B．the Van Gogh Museum has the biggest collection of Van Gogh'smasterpieces

C．exhibitions will be held in honor of Van Gogh

D．the Van Gogh Museum will hold exhibitions the whole year through for Van Gogh

2．The underlined word “figure” in the third paragraph means “________”.

[　　]

3．The writer cited a part of a letter written by Van Gogh to show Van Gogh's ________.

[　　]

4．Choose the right order of the given events.

a．He worked as a French teacher.

b．He achieved the world fame.

c．He left school. d. He cut off his left ear.

e．He shot himself. f. He began studies in art.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　He lived his whole life as a poor man. His art and talent were recognized by almost no one. He suffered from a mental illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later.

　　But after his death, he got world fame.

　　Today, Dutch artist Vincent Yan Gogh is regarded as one of the leading artists of all time. Postcards and posters of his paintings and drawings continue to sell like hot cakes.

　　Yan Gogh was the son of a pastor. He left school when he was just 15By the age of 27, ht had already tried many jobs including an art gallery salesman and a French teacher. Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.

　　His masterpieces including portraits, sunflowers and landscapes were produced in just 10 years.

　　Yan Gogh was well-known for his ability to put his own emotions into his paintings and show his feelings about a scene. His style is marked by short, broad brushstrokes(笔画).

　　“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use colour more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly,” he wrote in a letter to his brother, Theo, in 1888.

　　Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life. He relied heavily on support from Theo, an art dealer who lived in Paris.

　　But now his works are sold for millions of dollars. His Portrait of Dr. Cachet sold for US $ 89.5 million in 1990It is the highest price ever paid for a painting.

　　“I thins his paintings are powerful and the brilliant colors in them are attractive to people,” said Molly Anderson, a Van Gogh fan.

1．The underlined words “hot cakes” here mean ________.

[　　]

A．cakes that are cooking

B．cakes that taste hot

C．things that are popular

D．things that cost less

2．Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Gogh killed himself in 1890

B．Gogh's painting styles are unique(独特)

C．Gogh's art was well received at his times

D．Theo, an art dealer got on well with Gogh

3．The passage suggests that ________.

[　　]

A．the author thinks highly of Gogh's painting

B．Molly Anderson knew little about Gogh's work

C．Gogh was not pleased with his work so that only sold one painting in his life

D．Gogh's interest in drawing formed at school

4．Why did the writer cite(引用) a part of a letter written by Van Gogh?

[　　]

A．To show Van Gogh's skill.

B．To show his style.

C．To show that he was an emotional person.

D．To show he was an unusual man.

5．The best title for the passage is ________.

[　　]

A．Gogh-A great artist

B．Artist's life is not easy

C．Owning Gogh's works means wealth

D．Artist's dream comes true after death