In my living room, there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to “Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s, when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who “bloomed” in her remote area.

Dorothy taught in a school In Harlan County, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountain area. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road winding around the mountain. In the eight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.

From the moment of my arrival at the little school, all gloom (忧郁) disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy’s classroom. I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects. Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for “dinner” (lunch). In case you don’t know, poke greens are a weed-type plant that grows wild, especially on poor ground.

Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooled down. When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification, Dorothy was ready. She came to the assessment and passed in all areas. Afterward, she invited me to the one-and-only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory, as if she had received her Ph. D. degree. After the meal, she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand. She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝), but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things. (360 words)

1.“Early Childhood Development” in Paragraph 1 refers to __________.

A．a program directed by Dorothy

B．a course given by the author

C．an activity held by the students

D．an organization sponsored by Union college

2. In the journey, the author was most disappointed at seeing __________.

A．the long track                          B．the poor houses

C．the same train                          D．the winding road

3.Upon arriving at the classroom, the author was cheered up by __________.

A．a warm welcome                        B．the sight of poke greens

C．Dorothy’s latest projects                 D．a big dinner made for her

4.What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?

A. She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.

B. She got a pen as a gift from the author.

C. She passed the required assessment.

D. She received her Ph. D. degree.

5.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．Whatever you do, you must do it carefully.

B．Whoever you are, you deserve equal treatment.

C．However poor you are, you have the right to education,

D．Wherever you are, you can accomplish your achievement.

In my living room，there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to“Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy.I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s，when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville，Kentucky.The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program.Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who“bloomed”in her remote area.

Dorothy taught in a school in Harlan County，Kentucky，Appalachian Mountain area.To get to her school from the town of Harlan，I followed a road winding around the mountain.In the eight?mile journey，I crossed the same railroad track five times，giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times.Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains，I found it depressing.The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.

From the moment of my arrival at the little school，all gloom (忧郁) disappeared.Upon arriving at Dorothy’s classroom.I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen.The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects.Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for“dinner”(lunch)．In case you don’t know，poke greens are a weed?type plant that grows wild，especially on poor ground.

Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students.Her enthusiasm never cooled down.When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification，Dorothy was ready.She came to the assessment and passed in all areas.Afterward，she invited me to the one?and?only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory，as if she had received her Ph.D.degree.After the meal，she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand.She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝)，but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things.

1.“Early Childhood Development”in Paragraph 1 refers to________.

A．a program directed by Dorothy

B．a course given by the author

C．an activity held by the students

D．an organization sponsored by Union college

2.In the journey，the author was most disappointed at seeing________.

A．the long track

B．the poor houses

C．the same train

D．the winding road

3.Upon arriving at the classroom，the author was cheered up by________.

A．a warm welcome

B．the sight of poke greens

C．Dorothy’s latest projects

D．a big dinner made for her

4.What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?

A．She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.

B．She got a pen as a gift from the author.

C．She passed the required assessment.

D．She received her Ph.D.degree.

5.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．Whatever you do，you must do it carefully.

B．Whoever you are，you deserve equal treatment.

C．However poor you are，you have the right to education.

D．Wherever you are，you can accomplish your achievement.

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

　 With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was supper time, I walked back home.

　 “How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

　 “None.”

　 “Where did you go?”

　 “The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

　 “What did you do?”

　 “Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

　 “You just stood there?”

　 “Didn’t sell a single one.”

　 “My God, Russell!”

　 Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

　 Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

　 One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

　 “If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

　 My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1．Why did the boy start his job young?

　 A．He wanted to be famous in the future

B．The job was quite easy for him.

　 C．His mother had high hopes for him.　

D．The competition for the job was fierce.

2．From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

　 A．excited　　 B．interested C．ashamed 　　 D．disappointed

3．What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

　 A．She forced him to continue.　　 B．She punished him.

　 C．She gave him some money.　 　 D．She changed her plan.

4．The phrase “this battle”in the last paragraph refers to　　　 .

　 A．the war between the boy’s parents

　 B．the arguing between the boy and his mother

　 C．the quarrel between the boy and his customers

　 D．the fight between the boy and his father

5．What is the text mainly about?

　 A．The early life of a journalist.　 　　　　

B．The early success of a journalist.

　 C．The happy childhood of the writer.　　　　

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

One evening I heard a loud crash in our quiet neighborhood．  26 that evening, my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks．It was a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her  27  , so I sent her to the store in my truck．At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my 28 ．I enjoyed having it, but I said: "Guy, my heart is not set on that truck．I like it but it is 29  metal and won' t last forever．" After hearing the loud noise, the whole  30  ran outside．My son shouted: "Dad, Dad, Holly crashed your truck．"

My heart sank and my mind was  31 with conflicting thoughts. Was anyone hurt? Who else was involved? As I ran to the door, I heard a voice in my   32 saying: "Here is a chance to show Holly what you really  33 ．She' 11 never forget it．"

The accident had occurred in my own driveway．Holly had crashed my truck into our other car. Holly was not  34 physically but when I reached her, she was crying and saying: " Oh, Dad, I’m sorry．I know how much you love this truck．" I held her in my arms as she cried．

Later that week a friend  35 by and asked what had happened to my truck．I told her the whole  36 ．Her eyes moistened(润湿) and she said: "That happened to me when I was a girl．I  37 my dad' s car and ran into a log that had fallen  38 the road．I ruined the car．When I got home my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me．

Over 40 years later, she still felt the  39 of the night．It was a deep wound on her  40  .

I remember how  41  Holly was on the night she crashed our truck, and how I  42 her．One day, when Holly thinks  43 in the future, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times more than anything else．

I repaired the car, but the dent(凹陷)in my truck is   44 there today．Every day it reminds me of what really  45 in my life．

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight.It was my mother’s idea.She wanted me to“make something”of myself,and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue.The crowds were there.There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union.For several hours I made myself highly visible,making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.When it was suppertime,I walked back home.
“How many did you sell,my boy?”my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God,Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in,“Well,I’ve decided to take the Post.”I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币).It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman.I would have to ring doorbells,address adults with self-confidence(自信),and persuade them by saying that no one,no matter how poor,could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day,I told my mother I’d changed my mind.I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,”she replied,“you’ll become a good-for-nothing.”She insisted that,as soon as school was over,I should start ringing doorbells,selling magazines.Whenever I said no,she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember.My mother,dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life,determined that I would not grow up like him and his people.But never did she expect that,forty years later,such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
【小题1】Why did the boy start his job young?