Education from My Father

My memories of my father are slim because he was so sick in the last years of his life. But there are   32   that I am often reminded of and which may have had some bearing on my love of   33  .

When I was small I was somewhat   34   of lightning and thunder. My father explained it. The explanation was in   35   that a child could understand but was basically correct. I gained a better   36   later, but I didn’t have to unlearn anything.

What he said was that there was electricity in the clouds   37   it traveled to the ground like a spark. When it traveled   38   the air it made the air so hot that it   39  . Then there was nothing where the air had been and the air all around rushed in to   40   the space. He clapped his hands together very loud,   41   to be the air rushing in, and said that makes the thunder. When I hear thunder, I can still hear that   42  .

He explained why if it was cloudy in the winter the night was warmer than if it was   43  . It was one of those nights when the sky was full of stars: no moon, no town lights. But there were more stars than you could   44   and they had color too. He said that if there were no clouds, we had no blankets and were   45   to the universe. Our warmth was going to   46   the whole universe. When there were clouds, they were like blankets and we were not exposed to the universe. I   47   feel on the edge of space on a very clear night.

I am sure there were many other lessons that I   48   but no longer remember. What I did 49  , in general, was that there were explanations and that the more I understood them, the more    comfortable the world was to live in. I was not taught that there were   50   but that there was understanding if you looked for it. This may be why I have always been   51   in science.

1.A. others            B. few             C. some          D. all

2.A. science           B. nature          C. weather       D. universe

3.A. sure              B. fond            C. tired         D. afraid

4.A. depth             B. words           C. gestures      D. data

5.A. understanding B. knowledge           C. command       D. confidence

6.A. but               B. and             C. for           D. or

7.A. above             B. to              C. along         D. through

8.A. shone             B. burned          C. expanded      D. broke

9.A. fill              B. make            C. avoid         D. break

10.A. trying           B. proving         C. hoping        D. pretending 

11.A. clap             B. remark          C. voice         D. crash

12.A. cold             B. bright          C. clear         D. foggy

13.A. explore          B. foresee         C. imagine       D. identify

14.A. committed        B. exposed         C. related       D. led

15.A. heat             B. protect         C. extend        D. light

16.A. ever             B. also            C. even          D. still

17.A. selected         B. arranged        C. absorbed      D. delivered

18.A. consider         B. promise         C. explain       D. learn

19.A. memories         B. blankets        C. mysteries     D. thunders

20.A. engaged          B. interested      C. successful    D. skillful

 

Recently, one of my best friends, whom I’ve shared just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the weekend with me．Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we’ve both always looked forward to the few times a year when we can see each other．

Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with．She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he experimented with drugs and was into other self-destructive behavior．I was blown away! She told me how she had been lying to her parents about where she was going and even stealing out to see this guy because they didn’t want her around him．No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she deserved better, she didn’t believe me．Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared．

I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble．I felt like I was getting nowhere．I just couldn’t believe that she really thought it was acceptable to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend．

By the time she left, I was really worried about her and exhausted by the experience．It had been so frustrating, I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to continue our friendship，but I didn’t．I put the power of friendship to the final test．We’d been friends for far too long．I had to hope that she valued me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself．I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer anything．

A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our conversation, and then she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend．I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face．It was one of the truly rewarding moments in my life．Never had I been so proud of a friend．

1.In the writer’s opinion, her friend ________．

A．was a girl with no self-respect

B．could find a better boyfriend

C．was brave enough to stick to her own choice

D．didn’t value the writer’s suggestion

2.What did the writer worry about?

A．She would lose the friendship with her．

B．Her friend’s parents would be worried about their daughter．

C．Her friend would get into great trouble with the boy．

D．Her friend’s boyfriend would be in great trouble．

3.We may leam from Paragraph 3 that the writer ________．

A．didn’t want to go anywhere else

B．hated her friend’s hanging with her boyfriend

C．couldn’t believe that her friend’s choice was acceptable

D．doubted that she could in any way help her friend

4.What can be concluded from the passage?

A．Friendship starting from childhood is not reliable．

B．Friendship is a cure for any injury in life．

C．Friendship should be everlasting once begun．

D．Friendship can have magical power in life．

 

Ray Travers sat back at the large desk, and looked around his plush（豪华的）office．He was tired．
Ray's eyes stopped at a painting on the wall．It was a gift given by an old friend, Bull, as a farewell gift when he left his hometown．He recalled the life spent in that small town; pleasant times．The many hours he spent talking lo his good friend, and the tales he was told about hunting in the Africa of old．
Memories flowed back more than ten years; he remembered how he enjoyed hearing about the wonderful hunting, and how he wished he could have shared those times．
Ray opened his desk drawer and brought out a wooden box．He opened the lid and exposed a work of art, a hand-made hunting knife．This was a gift from Bull, given to Ray more than 20 years ago．It was one of the first knives Bull had made, and Ray had called it "Zambezi”, the river where Bull had been so many times．
He closed the box and sat upright at his desk; he was driving himself hard, and deserved a break．Things were going well with the business, everything running smoothly．He could afford a week off!
He went back home．A week in the hometown would be like going back in history．"Man, it's going to be good," Ray said aloud, as he turned onto the highway and watched the city lights fast disappearing, as he looked in the rearview mirror．
It was well into the night when Ray pulled into an all-night gas station He walked around the gas station and the memories started …  He was finally back on the road, the powerful car going its way through the night, headlights piercing （穿透） the darkness．Memories danced through the man' s mind．Memories of good times , when he knew what it was to relax , to talk, and to really visit．
Slowly entering town he looked around．Ray sat in his car, looking at the old building, smiling． Inside it was almost as though it was the same people as 15 years ago．
【小题1】We learn from the passage that Bull is                    ．

A．Ray's colleague	B．a man in Ray' s hometown
C．Ray's relative in Africa	D．an African woodcarving artist

【小题2】What does the author mainly want to tell us in Paragraphs 2 －5?

A．Bull loved Africa and knew much about it．

B．Bull was good at making works of art．

C．Ray missed his hometown and relatives．

D．Ray missed the time he spent with Bull in his hometown．

【小题3】What do we know from the passage?

A．Ray visited Africa together with Bull many times．

B．Ray and Bull often went hunting together．

C．Zambezi is the name of a river in Hay a hometown．

D．Ray planned to stay in his hometown for about a week．

【小题4】What does the under lined part in Paragraph 7 mean?

A．Ray knew how to relax after keeping busy for along time．

B．Ray didn't want to leave his hometown because of so many memories．

C．Ray's hometown changed a lot and was worth a visit．

D．The visit to his hometown reminded Ray of the days together with Bull．

【小题5】What may the author talk about in the paragraph that follows the passage?

A．The hard time Ray experienced in his career．

B．Why Ray left his hometown alone．

C．The situation in Ray's hometown．

D．How Ray became a successful businessman．

Let me take you back a couple of years. Come with me as we relearn a lesson, one that has stuck with me, in my present memory, and   36   me yet. We walked into Elida Road Hardware, an old-fashioned hardware    37___ . No automatic door, not a computer in the building. It was one that I went to fairly often. As we entered the door, two sounds    38   us. The sleigh bells of last year made that sweet, peaceful tinkle as we opened the door. The other sound was the electronic beeper that reminded Andy of our   39    .

 “Good afternoon, Ryan,”     40     the cheerful greeting. Andy was a very   41    sort of owner. He was of medium build and height, and the smile on his face welcomed us.

We walked across the old wood floor. Andy asked us what he could help us with. I told him we were      42    a spring(弹簧). He very patiently replied, “l have lots of springs. You’re going to need to be more specific.”

“Just a spring for an old-fashioned screen door.”

“That’s it. A screen door spring, right down there. ” We   43   where he was pointing, and sure enough, there they were. And knew his store, and his products. That was why I came here instead of Meijer. The service couldn’t be beaten. The price; Yes. But service and   44    ;No.

I picked up one and followed him to the    45   .

He figured up the price, doing the math in his head, “ $1.88,with tax comes to $1. 99. ”

 “ Put it on my dad’s account. ”

He nodded and smiled, “ Good dad’s account. ” He smiled. “I don’t know what you boys would do    46    dad’s account! ”

He handed me the ticket and as I    47    it, I asked, “You really trust my signature?”

His reply surprised,_   48    delighted me. “ When I can’t trust Jerry Hoover’s boys, I can trust nobody! ”

We left, and the brain immediately started to forget things, in order of importance. But what Andy said that day rang in my ears. And it rings in my ears today. That’s a tall order to live up to. It’s a high standard of    49    .My father made a fame for that name, and I get to enjoy the benefits. But on account of this, I must maintain that fame. And that’s     50     business.

1.A.inspires             B.excites         C.shocks           D.amazes

2.A.restaurant           B.store           C. park            D.factory

3.A.hugged            B.greeted          C.heard            D.sensed

4.A.presence           B. dependence      C. importance      D. absence

5.A.shouted            B.said             C.went            D.came

6. A. special            B. ridiculous        C. friendly         D. appropriate

7.A. looking up         B. looking for       C. looking into      D. looking after

8.A. turned to          B. got to            C. stuck to         D. referred to

9.A. description         B. determination     C. satisfaction      D. imagination

10..A.corner              B.counter          C.bank            D.door

11.A.without             B.within           C.by              D.for

12.A.saw                B.wrote            C.signed          D.touched

13.A.yet              B.still              C.even           D.also

14.A. honesty         B. fortune           C. consideration   D. devotion

15.A. serious          B. optimistic         C. silent         D. successful

 

A good friend of mine was complaining about her son the other day．“Did you notice,” she started, “how he didn’t wait for me to get my salad before he dove into his?”
True enough, the boy attacked his plate faster than a cat in the wild．Without manners, we’re no more than animals．Actually, that’s not true．I’ve been watching and feeding a group of wild cats, and they show unusual politeness toward each other．Even when food is scarce, they take turns, leaving at least a small part for the next in line．
My mother educated her three children to have good manners all the time．We were made to feel very uncomfortable as if we were sitting on pins and needles until we got used to saying please, thank you, pardon me, and I’m sorry．And I have to say, while it was a painful learning experience, it was one of the most valuable．
I can’t tell you how often I sat with my friends, eating at their dinner tables, and their parents thought highly of my good manners．While it was a little embarrassing, I knew even then that my mother’s teachings were paying off．
Many years later, when I was attending seminars across the country, my manners were quite useful．
While I regret that I haven’t been a perfect example, I’m still working on it．I suppose, in this regard, my mother lives on through me．I didn’t have her beautiful singing voice or her green eyes, but she did make sure I received one of her finest characteristics．
【小题1】What did the writer’s friend most probably complain about?

A．Her son’s eating too quickly．

B．Her son’s not having a healthy diet．

C．Her son’s not having good table manners．

D．Teenagers’ not having good manners．

【小题2】The underlined word “scarce” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”．

A．too much	B．not delicious
C．not enough	D．quite hot

【小题3】We learn that the writer’s mother __________．

A．was strict about her children’s manners

B．never punished her children

C．had beautiful blue eyes

D．was not good at singing

【小题4】What does the writer think of her experience of learning good manners?

A．Easy and relaxing	B．Painful and valuable
C．Easy but useless	D．Too horrible

【小题5】We can infer from the passage that the writer _________．

A．is surely liked by everyone around her

B．is not satisfied with most people’s manners around her

C．thinks she has been a perfect example to the young

D．thanks her mother for teaching her the good manners a lot