When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland（虚幻世界）of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．” $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"

After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"

Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．

1.Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．

B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．

C．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．

D．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．

2.What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A．He refused the job offer．

B．He was willing to give them a hand．

C．He expected them to pay him more money．

D．He would write in his spare time．

3.What kind of person is Alex?

A．Determined．         B．Modest           C．Shy．            D．Brave．

4.Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A．Look before you leap．

B．Two heads are better, than one．

C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true．

D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush．

 

It was a Sunday morning, and I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”

   “No! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.

    My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and went. I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.

When I reached the hospital, my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911, thank God! If he had moved Daddy, there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib(肋骨) might have pierced(穿透) a lung....”

    My mother may have said more, but I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear anything except those terrible words: Leave me alone. My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more. How much had I hurt him when I hurled those words at him earlier in the day?

   It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.

   “Daddy... I am so sorry....”

   “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay.”

   “No,” I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”

   My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly. He looked at me and said, “Sweetheart, I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though.” He managed a weak smile.

    My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.

1.The author was in bad mood that morning because ______.

  A. his father had a terrible accident

  B. he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends

C. his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema

  D. his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends

2. Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?

  A. Because he didn’t go along with his father.

 B. Because he was rude to his father that morning.

  C. Because he failed to come earlier after the accident.

  D. Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital.

3.The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that___.

 A. he had a poor memory            B. he didn’t want to forgive his son

 C. he just wanted to comfort his son    D. he lost his memory after the accident

4.What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?

 A. Don’t treat your parents badly.      

 B. Don’t hurt others with rude words.

 C. Don’t move the injured in an accident.

D. Don’t be angry with friends at small things.

 

______the telephone number several times, but he couldn’t learn it by heart.

A Having been told    B. He had been told .   C. Although he had been told.   D. Having told

 

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．

After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland （虚幻世界） of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．

One day Alex got a call, "We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．" $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer ?full time．"Thanks, but no," Alex said firmly and swiftly, "I'm going to stick it out and write．"

After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself," There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low．"

Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．

Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence （坚毅） it takes to stay the course （持续到底） in the shadowland．

1.Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn't like the working conditions．

B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living．

C．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer．

D．Because he felt he had no potential in his job．

2.What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A．He refused the job offer．

B．He was willing to give them a hand．

C．He expected them to pay him more money．

D．He would write in his spare time．

3.What kind of person is Alex?

A．Determined．	B．Modest．
C．Shy．	D．Brave．

4.Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A．Look before you leap．

B．Two heads are better, than one．

C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true．

D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush．

 

Last weekend, I was walking across the village green(草坪) when I saw an elderly gentleman on the bench, just overlooking the duck pond. I thought he looked a bit forlorn(被遗弃的) so I went over and sat next to him.

         After a few   36    about how nice the weather was and how there were a lot of ducks in the pond today, he told me how he used to come with his wife and watch the children feed the ducks with their mums. They didn't have any   37    of their own..So they cherished being together even more.

         He explained he had been married for 54 years   38    his wife died and how much he missed    39     all the little things with her, like a beautiful sunset. He now lives in a care home. I remarked at how wonderful it must've been to have been married for so long and to have so many happy memories. He took out a large    40   and wiped his eyes and said he had one regret that in all that time he   41    told her how much he really loved her.

         He showed me a photograph of them when they were young. The photo was taken more than 50 years ago. He couldn't believe how the time had   42   . I tried to comfort him by explaining that his wife would be still    43    over him and he could talk to her   44    he wants and that she knows how much he loved her because she can see into his heart. 

         The old man tried to   45    for blurting out his life story but I hushed him and said how privileged I felt he could talk to me and how much it meant to me.

         The   46    I learned from this chance encounter is that we must tell the ones close to us how much we love and care for them and not take them for granted.

         Don't   47    your kind acts until tomorrow; do them today because time flies.

1.A. discussionB. comments   C. quarrels       D. communication

2.A. children   B. ducks       C. pond        D. home

3.A. before       B. when       C. after        D. unless

4.A. doing         B. carrying        C. sharing         D. buying

5.A. paper        B. rubber     C. brush       D. handkerchief

6.A. never         B. often        C. sometimes  D. constantly

7.A. passed on          B. passed awayC. passed by   D. passed off

8.A. watching  B. looking          C. seeing     D. observing

9.A. every timeB. any time      C. some time   D. the time

10.A. blame     B. cry            C. regret      D. apologize

11.A. thing       B. class        C. lesson      D. knowledge

12.A. put up     B. put down     C. put away      D. put off