I grew up in a small town. My father raised chickens and ran a construction company. I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility (责任) of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable. He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace, I washed dishes and cooked from 4: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a woman executive (懂事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I released my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known singer.

Why was the writer once known as the singing cook?

A. Because he was a cook at a country-music club.

B. Because he sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. Because he often sang while cooking.

D. Because he liked singing better than cooking.

Who first recognized his talents and helped make his career successful?

A. Wamer Brothers.                    B. His manager.    

C. His father.                              D. A businesswoman.

What made the writer proud of himself?

A. His ability to live independently.

B. His sense of responsibility in whatever he did.

C. His courage in the face of rejections.

D. His hard work in his early days.

I grew up in a small town. My father raised chickens and ran a construction company. I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility (责任) of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable. He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace, I washed dishes and cooked from 4: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a woman executive (懂事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I released my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known singer.

Why was the writer once known as the singing cook?

A. Because he was a cook at a country-music club.

B. Because he sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. Because he often sang while cooking.

D. Because he liked singing better than cooking.

Who first recognized his talents and helped make his career successful?

A. Wamer Brothers.                    B. His manager.    

C. His father.                              D. A businesswoman.

What made the writer proud of himself?

A. His ability to live independently.

B. His sense of responsibility in whatever he did.

C. His courage in the face of rejections.

D. His hard work in his early days.

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new baby. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach.
In time, the labor pains come. But complications arise during delivery. Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With alarm in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee. The days go by. The little girl gets worse. The pediatric (儿科的) specialist tells the parents, “There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.”
Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby, but now they plan a funeral. Michael keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says. But kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.
Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn’t see his sister now, he may never see her alive.
She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts, "Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed. Never disturb patients here.” The mother rises up strongly and said," He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"
Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sings:" You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray......" Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate begins to calm down and becomes steady.
“Keep on singing, Michael." encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away."
The next day, the very next day, the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it "the miracle of a brother's song". The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of Gods love!
Never give up on the people you love.
【小题1】What may the underlined words "the infant" refer to?

A．The baby

B．Karen

C．Mary

D．Michael

【小题2】What do we know about the little sister after she was born?

A．She was driven to St. Mary's shop.

B．A doctor came to see her in her house.

C．She was very thin and couldn't speak.

D．She was in great danger.

【小题3】Why did Karen firmly let little Michael see his sister in ICU?

A．Because he could make his sister alive.

B．Because his sister would be sent to a far hospital.

C．Because his sister was going to die soon.

D．Because his father wanted to take him away.

【小题4】What do we know about the head nurse?

A．The head nurse was careful.	B．The head nurse was rude.
C．The head nurse was responsible.	D．The head nurse had no sympathy.

【小题5】What is the general idea of the text?

A．A boy' s singing saved his sister' s life.

B．The little girl is well enough to go home.

C．Michael's little sister is born with a serious disease.

D．No children are allowed to enter the intensive care unit.

Like any good mother，when Karen found out that another baby was on the way，she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son，Michael，prepare for a new baby．They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl，and day after day，night after night，Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's stomach．
Finally，Michael's little sister is born．But she is in serious condition．With alarm in the night，the ambulance rushes the infant to the neonatal(初生的)intensive care unit at St． Mary's Hospital，Knoxville，Tennessee．The days go by．The little girl gets worse．The pediatric(儿科的)specialist tells the parents，“There is very little hope．Be prepared for the worst.”
Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot．They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby，but now they plan a funeral．Michael，keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister，“I want to sing to her，”he says．
Karen makes up her mind．She will take Michael whether they like it or not．If he doesn't see his sister now，he may never see her alive．
She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU．He looks like a walking laundry basket，but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts，“Get that kid out of here now! No children are allowed．Never disturb patients here．”The mother rises up strongly and said，“He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!”
Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside．He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live．And he begins to sing．In the pure hearted voice of a 3-year-old，Michael sings：“You are my sunshine，my only sunshine，you make me happy when skies are gray．．．”Instantly the baby girl responds．The pulse rate becomes calm and steady．
The next day，the very next day，the little girl is well enough to go home! Woman's Day magazine called it“the miracle of a brother's song．”The medical staff just called it a miracle．Karen called it a miracle of God's love!
Never give up on the people you love．
【小题1】What may the underlined words“the infant”refer to?

A．The baby．

B．Karen．

C．Mary．

D．Michael．

【小题2】What do we know about the little sister after she was born?

A．She was driven to St．Mary's shop．

B．A doctor came to see her in her house．

C．She was very thin and couldn't speak．

D．She was in great danger．

【小题3】Why did Karen firmly let little Michael see his sister in ICU?

A．Because he could make his sister alive．

B．Because his sister would be sent to a far hospital．

C．Because his sister was going to die soon.

D．Because his father wanted to take him away．

【小题4】What do we know about the head nurse?

A．The head nurse was careful．	B．The bead nurse was rude．
C．The head nurse was responsible．	D．The head nurse had no sympathy．

【小题5】What is the general idea of the text?

A．A boy's singing saved his sister's life．

B．The little girl is well enough to go home．

C．Michael's little sister is born with a serious disease．

D．No children are allowed to enter the intensive care unit．

I fell in love with music from a young age and often sat down making a few songs of my own．What would life be like, I wondered, without a beautiful song? In 1992, I made two love songs to my darling wife and watched tears run down her face as I sang．"Sam," she said earnestly, "Your songs should be heard by more people."
She got my ballads and started bothering various media people about me, her singing barber husband．Two radio stations took an interest and played the songs．After the programme was aired, I became known in our community as the Singing Barber．
The biggest surprise, however, was still to come．I received a call from a music promoter who offered me a long-term recording contract．He explained that he would be investing a lot of money to market my songs．I needed to be wholly focused on selling my records all over Australia．
But I hesitated．
My friends all told me to go for it．And Mary also thought I should do．"Go, Sam．I'll manage with the family．．．it'll be OK．"
I watched my daughter and son playing in the backyard．Soon they would both be in high school．．．and where would I be? I was so used to my family turning to me for love and support．If I were to start a singing career, I would not only miss them terribly, I'd also certainly miss out on watching them grow up．Signing this contract would put a huge gap between my family and me．．．and I couldn't bear it．My family was my life．So I refused the music promoter's offer．I'm still making music, I'm rich in love and I have no regrets．
【小题1】When the author was offered the contract, most of his friends _____．

A．envied him

B．laughed at him

C．encouraged him

D．didn't believe him

【小题2】Why did the author give up the contract?

A．Because his wife was strongly against it．

B．Because the pay was not attractive enough．

C．Because he wanted to care about his two kids．

D．Because he didn't want his family life damaged．

【小题3】According to the passage, we can infer the author _____．

A．used to be a country singer

B．preferred his present life

C．went on the road to fame

D．regretted giving up his contract

【小题4】What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．One should know himself．

B．Interest is the best teacher．

C．Family should come first．

D．Every dog has its day．