Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater. Now, away from that ocean, in the hospital bed, his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious. Friends went from saying, “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week ” In his father’s absence, Eddie helped out at the pier(码头), working evenings after his taxi job.

         When Eddie was a teenager, if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier, his father would shout, “What ? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later, when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school, Eddie almost laughed, and his father again said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And before Eddie went to war, when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer, his father said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?”

         And now, regardless of all that, here he was, at the pier, doing his father’s labor.

         Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. It is not until much later, as the heart weakens, that children understand their stories, and all their accomplishments sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

         Finally, one night, at his mother’s urging, Eddie visited the hospital. He entered the room slowly. His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try.

         “Don’t sweat it, kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through. He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”

         When the news came that his father had died, Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger, the kind that circles in its cage.

         In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state. She spoke to her husband as if he were still there. She yelled at him to turn down the radio. She cooked enough food for two. One night, when Eddie offered to help with the dishes, she said. “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said, softly, “Dad’s gone.”

         “Gone where?”

1. In Paragraph 4, the writer indicates that       .

A．Children like moving away from them parents

B．Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents

C．Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support

D．Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them   

2. The underlined sentence probably means “       ”.

A．Don’t give it up           B．Don’t worry about it

C．Don’t let him down             D．Don’t touch it

3. Which of the following shows the right order of the story?

a．Eddie’s father died.

b．Eddie worked as a taxi driver.

c．Eddie married Marguerite.

d．Eddie was bored with his father’s job.

A．bacd  B．dcab  C．bcda  D．dcba

4. From the last part of the passage, we learn that       .

         A．Eddie’s mother liked to listen to the radio

         B．Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes

         C．Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment

         D．Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss

 

       Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater. Now, away from that ocean, in the hospital bed, his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious. Friends went from saying, “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week ” In his father’s absence, Eddie helped out at the pier(码头), working evenings after his taxi job.

       When Eddie was a teenager, if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier, his father would shout, “What ? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later, when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school, Eddie almost laughed, and his father again said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And before Eddie went to war, when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer, his father said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?”

       And now, regardless of all that, here he was, at the pier, doing his father’s labor.

       Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. It is not until much later, as the heart weakens, that children understand their stories, and all their accomplishments sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

       Finally, one night, at his mother’s urging, Eddie visited the hospital. He entered the room slowly. His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try.

       “Don’t sweat it, kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through. He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”

       When the news came that his father had died, Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger, the kind that circles in its cage.

       In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state. She spoke to her husband as if he were still there. She yelled at him to turn down the radio. She cooked enough food for two. One night, when Eddie offered to help with the dishes, she said. “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said, softly, “Dad’s gone.”

       “Gone where?”

1. In Paragraph 4, the writer indicates that       .

A．Children like moving away from them parents

B．Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents

C．Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support

D．Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them   

2. The underlined sentence probably means “       ”.

A．Don’t give it up             B．Don’t worry about it

C．Don’t let him down        D．Don’t touch it

3. Which of the following shows the right order of the story?

a．Eddie’s father died.

b．Eddie worked as a taxi driver.

c．Eddie married Marguerite.

d．Eddie was bored with his father’s job.

A．bacd  B．dcab  C．bcda  D．dcba

4. From the last part of the passage, we learn that       .

       A．Eddie’s mother liked to listen to the radio

       B．Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes

       C．Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment

       D．Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss

My son．The phrase felt difficult and strange the first time I said it，and I had to practice it a thousand times．I started saying the words to myself the day when the ultrasound（超声波）told me we were having a baby．

Finally，my son was born．

The nurse came out of the delivery room，holding a tiny，howling human being wrapped in a white sheet，his small hands and delicate fingers shaking nervously．“Baby Sanchez?” she asked，looking at the room full of expectant fathers．

I stood up，holding my breath．She showed me my baby．“My son，” I whispered．The little guy screamed，“waaaaaaaaaah”．

But in my heart I heard him cry out，“Daaaaaaad!” I don't care if everyone in the room will swear they didn't hear my baby say that．I called him，“My son，” and he called me “Dad，” and that's that．

People ask me，“What did I feel at that moment?” I can't even begin to answer．I'm a writer yet I try hard to find the right words．Joyful isn't powerful enough．Bliss（狂喜）is not sweet enough．Peaceful isn't calm enough．Happy isn't tense enough．

After my son was taken away to the nursery，I sat down and shut my eyes．But tears escaped them away．Then out of the blue，my 80-year-old father entered，and we embraced．

“Dad，” I whispered．

“My Son，” my heart heard him saying．

Suddenly the past 33 years folded into the present and I was now the baby bundled in white，with my father standing over me．

“My son，” I imagined him saying．

“Daaaaaaaaaad!” I cried my little lungs out．

At that point，I knew I was going to be a great father．The old man in front of me seemed to agree．He smiled mid we walked out of the room in search of the tiny human being that would change our lives for ever．

1．Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A．His son called him “Dad” when the writer called him “My son”．

B．All the people didn't hear the baby say except the writer．

C．Sanchez is the writer's family name．

D．The baby was taken away because the nurse found there was a mistake．

2．The author couldn't tell how he felt at the moment because _________．

A．he was a writer                                              B．he was too excited

C．he was top nervous                                           D．it's a feeling too complex to express

3．We can learn the following from the passage EXCEPT that _________．

A．the author got his first baby

B．he probably had a lung disease

C．the author didn't really hear “Daaaaad” from his baby

D．the baby would change the author's life

4．Why was the writer sure he was going to be a great father?

A．Because his son is so gifted．

B．Because he had much experience in bringing up children．

C．Because his father promised to help him．

D．Because his father had already set him a good example．

It is love that makes the world go round．And it is also love that has such power to overcome all difficulties．So we say: “Love will find a way.” As smile is a facial expression showing pleasure，affection，and friendliness，it is the commonest way to show our good will perfectly without saying anything．A Chinese saying runs: “never hit a person who is smiling at you.” It is a time-proven fact that the smile is a language all its own— a universal language—understood by the people of every nation in the world．We may not speak the same tongue as our foreign neighbors，but we smile in the same tongue．We need no interpreter for thus expressing love， happiness，or good will.

One day while shopping in a small town in southern California，it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality contradicted mine．He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase．I bought nothing，and marched angrily out of the store．My anger toward that grew with each step．Outside，standing at the corner， was a dark-complexion young man in his early twenties．His expressive brown eyes met and held mine， and in the next instant a beautiful，dazzling smile covered his face．I gave in immediately．The magnetic power of that shining smile drove away all bitterness within me，and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding．“Beautiful day，isn’t it?” I remarked， in passing．The， suddenly something inside me sent me turning back．“I really owe you a debt of gratitude，” I said softly．His smile deepened，but he made no attempt to answer．A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby．The woman stepped forward and eyed me inquiringly．“Carlos，he no speak English，” she volunteered．“You want I should tell him something?” In that moment I felt transformed．Carlos’ smile had made a big person of me．My friendliness and good will to ward all mankind stood ten feet tall．“Yes，” my reply was enthusiastic and sincere， “tell him I said ‘Thank you!’” “Thank you?” The woman seemed slightly puzzled．I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave．“Just tell him that，” I insisted．“He’ll understand．I am sure!” Oh， what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again，I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning.

From that day on， I became smile – conscious， and I practice the diligently， anywhere and everywhere，with everybody．When I got excited in traffic，taking the right – of – way （公路用地）from the other car with my stupid mistake，I’d smile and shrug my shoulders apologetically．This action on my part would always draw a good – natured smile in return．If the other fellow was at fault – and if I could remember my resolution in time! – he’d get a broad smile of understanding．This took a bit of doing at first．I’ll admit it wasn’t always easy， but it was fun．The results were sometimes amazing．Many times，a broad， friendly smile would completely turn aside ill – feeling and tension．I’m wondering now how many tragic add dents could be avoided on our overcrowded highways，if every driver remembered to smile!

1．The author got angry while shopping one day because         .

       A．of the clerk’s unfriendliness and lack of concern

       B．of her misfortune

       C．she failed to purchase what she intended

       D．a dark – complexion young man laughed at her

2．From the conversation between the author and the Mexican woman， we can infer that the woman         .

       A．was well – educated but unwilling to help others

       B．was able to speak English

       C．knew some English and was ready to help others

       D．was familiar with the young man

3．In the author’s opinion，if all people remembered to smile when driving，         .

       A．many traffic accidents could be avoided

       B．they would receive a good natural smile in return

       C．they could get a broad smile of understanding

       D．they wouldn’t feel any tension

4．The best title for this passage could be          .

       A．The Art of Smiling                               B．The Universal Language

       C．The Power of Love                              D．The Magic Power of Friendship

Parents and kids today dress alike, listen to the same music, and are friends. Is this a good thing? Sometimes, when Mr. Ballmer and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, listen to rock music together and talk about interests both enjoy, such as pop culture, he remembers his more distant relationship with his parents when he was a teenager.
“I would never have said to my mom, ‘Hey, the new Weezer album is really great. How do you like it?’” says Ballmer. “There was just a complete gap in taste.”
Music was not the only gulf. From clothing and hairstyles to activities and expectations, earlier generations of parents and children often appeared to move in separate orbits.
Today, the generation gap has not disappeared, but it is getting narrow in many families. Conversations on subjects such as sex and drugs would not have taken place a generation ago. Now they are comfortable and common. And parent—child activities, from shopping to sports, involve a feeling of trust and friendship that can continue int0 adulthood.
No wonder greeting cards today carry the message, “To my mother, my best friend.”
But family experts warn that the new equality can also result in less respect for parents. “There’s still a lot of strictness and authority on the part of parents out there, but there is a change happening,” says Kerrie, a psychology professor at Lebanon Valley College. “In the middle of that change, there is a lot of confusion among parents.”
Family researchers offer a variety of reasons for these evolving roles and attitudes. They see the 1960s as a turning point. Great cultural changes led to more open communication and a more democratic process that encourages everyone to have a say.
“My parents were on the ‘before’ side of that change, but today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the  ‘after’ side,” explains Mr. Ballmer. “It’s not something easily accomplished by parents these days, because life is more difficult to understand or deal with, but sharing interests does make it more fun to be a parent now.”
【小题1】The underlined word gulf in Para.3 most probably means _________.

A．interest

B．distance

C．difference

D．separation

【小题2】Which of the following shows that the generation gap is disappearing?

A．Parents help their children develop interests in more activities.

B．Parents put more trust in their children’s abilities.

C．Parents and children talk more about sex and drugs.

D．Parents share more interests with their children.

【小题3】The change in today’s parent-child relationship is _________.

A．more confusion among parents	B．new equality between parents and children
C．1ess respect for parents from children
D．more strictness and authority on the part of parents

【小题4】By saying “today’s parents, the 40-year-olds, were on the ‘after’ side.” the author means that today’s parents _________.

A．follow the trend of the change	B．can set a limit to the change
C．fail to take the change seriously	D．have little difficulty adjusting to the change

【小题5】The purpose of the passage is to _________.

A．describe the difficulties today’s parents have met with

B．discuss the development of the parent—child relationship

C．suggest the ways to handle the parent—child relationship

D．compare today’s parent—child relationship with that in the past