Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators (旁观者) in the lives of their children and shrug, "It' s their life," and feel nothing?

When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my son' s head. I was asked, "When do you stop worrying?" A nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage." My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted (打断) the class, and was headed for a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, "Don't worry. They all go through this stage, and then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy them." My mother listened and said nothing.

When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring and the cars to come home, the front door to open.

My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my mother' s wan ( 淡淡的 ) smile and her occasional words, "You look pale. Are you all right? Call me the minute you get home."

Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of human frailties and the fears of the unknown? Is concern a curse? Or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of life?

One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where were you? I' ve been calling for three days, and no one answered. I was worried! ! !"

I smiled a wan smile.

1.What can we know about the author’s mother from the passage?

A. She seems to laugh at the author.        

B. She is not concerned about the author.

C. She has a thorough understanding of the author.     

D. She tries to give the author some encouragement.

2.What did the author do in her forties?

A. She was less concerned about her children.          

B. She couldn't stop worrying about her children.

C. She would like her children to see her often.        

D. She became more patient with her children.

3.Why did the author smile a wan smile at the end of the passage?

A. She wanted to learn from her mother.                

B. She stopped worrying about her children at last.

C. She succeeded in tricking her children.              

D. She got a kind of satisfaction from her child's concern.

4.The main purpose of the passage is to tell us that ______.

A. the concern between parents and children is natural

B. parents’ love for their children is selfless

C. parents show more concern for their children        

D. parents will worry about their children all their lives

My husband, Bob, died in January 2010. His death was unexpected as well. I __1__ condolences(哀悼) from people I hadn't heard from in years: letters, cards, flowers, calls, and visits. I took a bad knock with __2__. I was so struggling to __3__ the whys and hows of this terrible thing that had happened to my family, knowing in my heart that there really were no __4__. It's just all so sad.

One message __5__ me deeply. I received a letter from my best friend from sixth __6__ through high school. We had drifted somewhat since __7__ in 1959, as she stayed in our home town and I did not. __8__ it was the kind of friendship that could quickly resume even if we __9__ touch for five or ten years.

Her husband, Pete, had died perhaps 20 years ago at a young age, __10__ her with deep sorrow and heavy __11__： finding a job and raising three young children.She and Pete, __12__ Bob and I, had shared one of those rare, close，“love?of?your?life?you?can?never?forget”__13__.

In her letter she __14__ an anecdote about my mother who had passed away years ago. She wrote, “When Pete died, your dear mother __15__ me and said，‘Trudy, I don't know what to say...so I'll just say I love you.’”

She closed her letter to me repeating my mother's words of so long __16__， “Bonnie, I don't know what to say...so I'll just say I love you.”

I felt I __17__ almost hear my mother speaking to me now. What a __18__ message of sympathy! How dear of my friend to cherish it all those years and then __19__ it on to me. I love you. __20__ words. A gift. A legacy (遗赠物)．

1.A.received　　　　　 B．wrote　　　　　　 C．sent 　　　　　D．showed

2．A.disappointment B．relief　　　　　　 C．grief 　　 　D．regret

3．A.ask　　　　　　　 B．experience　　　　 C．explain　　　　 D．understand

4．A.answers　　　　　 B．skills　　　　　　　 C．explanation　　　 D．information

5．A.impressed　　　　 B．touched　　　　　 C．appreciated　　 D．affected

6．A.grade　　　　　　 B．class　　　　　　 C．sense　　　　　 D．week

7．A.marriage　　　　　 B．graduation　　　　 C．quarrel　　　　 D．settlement

8．A.Instead　　　　　 B．Therefore　　　　 C．But　　　　　　 D．However

9．A.kept　　　　　　　 B．lost　　　　　　　 C．got　　　　　　 D．engaged

10.A.moving　　　　　　 B．returning　　　　 C．staying　　　　 D．leaving

11.A.opportunities　　 B．responsibilities　 C．services　　　　 D．chances

12．A.including　　　 B．as well as　　　　 C．like　　　　　　 D．except for

13.A.contacts　　 B.backgrounds　　　　 C.interests　　　　　 D．relationships

14．A.shared　　　 B．combined　　 C．achieved　　　　　 D．remembered

15．A.met　　　 B．kissed　　　 C．hugged　　 D．shook

16．A.after　　 B．away　　　 C．apart　　　 D．ago

17．A.must　　　 B．should　　　 C．would　　 D．could

18．A.powerful　　　　　 B．serious　 C．bitter　　　　　　 D．sincere

19．A.deliver　　 　　　 B ．pass　　 C．return　　　　　 D．remind

20．A.Unnecessary　　　　 B．Perfect　 C．Curious　　　　　 D．Abstract

Mrs. Hammond was old and blind, but she was determined to do everything for herself. She even used to go for walks by herself once a day for  36 , and found her way by  37  things with her white stick. She learned where everything was, so she never lost her way.

     One day, some men came and cut down some of the familiar trees at the side of one of the paths which she  38  . When she reached that place that evening, she did not  39  the trees with her stick, so she was in  40  .

    She  41  for a while and listened, but did not  42  any other people, so she went for a kilometer or two, and then she heard  43  beneath her. “Am I  44 ? I suppose so,” she said, “I must be on a  45 , and there must be a river under me. I've been told that there's a river in this part of the country, but I don't know its exact  46 . How am I going to get  47  to my house from here?”

     All at once she heard a man's friendly  48  near her. “Excuse me, can I help you?” “How kind of you!” Mrs. Hammond answered. “Yes, please. Some of the trees which I follow have been  49  today, and if I hadn't been 50  enough to meet you, I don't know  51  I'd have done. Can you please  52  me to get home?”

 “Certainly,” the man answered. “Where do you live?”

  Mrs. Hammond told him, and the man took her to her house. She told the man how pleased she was that she had met him. But the man said. “I want to  53  you.”

    Mrs. Hammond asked, “Whatever for?”

 “Well,” the man said quietly, “I was balanced (悬在) on the edge of that bridge for ages in the  54 , because I was trying to make up my mind to  55  myself into the river and drown myself. But I'm not going to do it now.”