阅读练习

Karen Macinnes had spent nine months in the hospital. As she grew weaker, the 16 – year – old girl asked her parents, “ Am I going to die?”

Her mother told Karen the truth. After learning the bad news, all Karen wanted was to go home. Her parents decided to satisfy her wish --- no matter that medical fund(基金), which had helped pay for Karen‟s hospitalization, would not cover any of the full time medical care she would need at home. When she was carried through her front door, Karen smiled for the first time in months. A friend of the MacInnes family, Sheila Petersen, knew of this and offered to help. She volunteered(自愿) not only to find nurses, but also to raise money for Karen‟s care. Money was received from so many people that Sheila created(建立)a fund, “ Friend of Karen”.

After leaving the hospital, Karen lived for 11 months. “ And those months were happy ones for her,” says her mother, “ thanks to Sheila.”

Even after Karen died, people kept sending money. Sheila put it into the fund, tried to find someone else who needed help. By last month, Friends of Karen was helping 70 families.

“ I still have a relationship with each family,” says Sheila. “ We have four children who are near death now, and I want to be there for them.” Sheila admits (承认) the work is sometimes difficult, but says, “ she smile on a child‟s face makes it all worthwhile(值得的)。“ 1. The mother told Karen that she _______. A. was going to die B. was going home C. was growing weak D. was becoming better

2. Her parents agreed to take Karen home because ______. A. thus they would save money

B. medical funds wouldn‟t cover any of the full time medical care C. they couldn‟t pay for her hospitalization D. they hoped to make the satisfied

3. Sheila helped Karen‟s parents by _____. A. giving them money

B. raising money from others C. finding nurses for them

D. paying for Karen‟s hospitalization

4. Karen lived for _______ since she had got out of the hospital. A. eleven months B. nine months C. twenty months D. twelve months

B

Joseph Lemasolai wrote a book about his life. His people, the Maasai, are nomads(游牧民), meaning they do not stay in one place for long. They move their villages in search of good grass and fresh water for their cattle. “ The cow is the centerpiece of pretty much everything we do,” Joseph explains “ That‟s why we move. We could not be nomad without cattle. You can‟t move for

nothing ----- you can‟t just walk around.

When he was very young, Joseph spent much .of his time looking after his family‟s cattle, taking them to food and water and watching out for lions(狮子). He played on the grassland with his friends.

When Joseph was about six years old, he left his family to attend a boarding school(寄宿学校). There, Joseph faced difficulties much like other children do. He was laughed at because he was fat. He got into trouble daily with his teacher.

But Joseph also faced difficulty most children do not. “ Every time school closed for vocation, I had to find my way home,” Joseph says, “That was one of the the hardest things: “ the village might be 5 miles away, or it might be 50. sometimes I wouldn‟t know exactly where my family was, I had to search for them.”

Joseph later attended high school in a city. After graduation, he went to college. Finally, he became a social studies teacher, and now he is teaching seventh and eighth graders at a school. Every summer, Joseph travels back to the grassland to visit his mother, brothers, and friends. And he takes a group of students with him to see both the beauty and the difficulty of growing up in that part of the country. “ I like to show them the other side of the coin,” Joseph says.

1. The word “ centerpiece” in Paragraph 1 means “ __________” A. the most important part B. the things already done C. the reason of moving D. the animal in the middle

2. Before going to school, Joseph spent a lot of his time _________. A. watching lions on the grassland

B. getting food and water for his family C. taking care of his family‟s cattle

D. visiting his friends from place to place

3. When school closed for vocation, Joseph usually had great difficulty ________. A. finding out where his home and village were B. understanding what he was required to do C. getting in touch with his teachers D. walking 5 to 50 miles in a day

4. By taking some of his students home, Joseph wants them to ________. A. deal with difficult situations

B. realize what the people really need C. know about his love for his family D. learn about a different way of living

C

I rushed into an ugly little shop to have the heels(鞋后跟) of my shoes repaired. “ Please hurry,” I begged.

The shoemaker looked at me over his glasses. “ Now, lady, we won‟t be long. I want to do a good job. You see, I have a tradition（传统）to live up to. My father was a shoemaker. he

always told me, „ Son, do the best job on every shoe that comes into the shop, and be proud of you fine work.‟ “

As he handed me the finished shoes, he said, “ These will last a long time.”

I left the shop with a warm and grateful(感激的) feeling. This was the beginning of our friendship. Since then I went into his shop every few days just to talk with him.

One day, I went in disappointed and angry because of a poor job some painters had done for me.

“ They had no pride in their work,” I said. “ They didn‟t want to work. They just wanted to collect their money for doing nothing. What can be done about it?”

“There‟s only one way. Every man or woman who hasn‟t a prideful tradition must start building one. No matter what sort of work a man does, if he gives it his best each day, he‟s starting a tradition for his children to live up to. And he is making lots of happiness for himself.”

I went to Europe for a few months. When I returned, I learned that the old shoemaker suddenly had got sick two weeks ago, right there in his shop. He had died a few days later. I went home with a heavy heart. I would miss him. He had left me something --- an important piece of wisdom(名言) I shall always remember: “ if you have a prideful tradition, you must carry it on; if you have not, then start building one now.”

1. the old shoemaker thought to do his best in his work each day was _________. A. to make lots of happiness for others B. to make plenty of happiness for himself C. to start a tradition for himself to live up to

D. to build a tradition for his children to be proud of

2. According to the old shoemaker‟s opinion, if one didn‟t do a good job, he

__________

A. didn‟t have a prideful tradition B. just wanted to do nothing C. wasn‟t proud of his work

D. just wanted to collect others‟ money

3. The lady formed a friendship with the old shoemaker because ___________ A. she had the heels of her shoes repaired by him B. he did a good job to the heels of her shoes

C. she went into his shop every few days to talk with him D. he taught her an important piece of wisdom

4. The old shoemaker died _____________.

A. only a few days before the lady returned from Europe B. a few days after the lady returned from Europe C. a few months after the lady went to Europe

D. two weeks before the lady returned from Europe

D

“ The price of books for our students is just getting higher and higher and, along with the rising cost of tuition(学费), it‟s killing these students,” said Peter Jason, a college professor. “ Remember, students are one of the poorest groups of people in America. Almost half of them have at least one part – time job. In fact, one of my students has three jobs. And she still manages to high scores and go to school full – time.”

Textbook prices are usually high. Adding to that problem, many college teachers change textbooks year after year, they either upgrade to a new edition(版本) or change to a different textbook. This further hurts students because if a teacher no longer uses a textbook, that book has no resale value.

Dr. Jason decided to make life a little easier and a lot cheaper for his students by writing his own book on public speaking. “ Many books have an increased price because of CD – ROMs, lots of color photographs and pictures. I talked to my students, and many of them, like me, prefer to keep things simple. So, a few years ago, I wrote my own textbook. I made sure that it was simple. Compared to most of other public speaking books, mine is half the number of pages, and one – third the price. That is﹩30 instead of﹩90. when I wrote a second edition last year, students only had to buy the 35 new pages. For only﹩7.00, they had almost a new book.”

1. What did Dr. Jason say about students at college? A. they are short of money B. they need simple books

C. they have no part – time jobs D. they are trying to get high scores

2. what does “ that problem” in Paragraph 2 refer to? A. the high price of textbooks B. the low resale value of books C. too many different new books D. No color pictures in textbooks

3. what did Dr. Jason decide to do to help the students? A. to choose cheaper textbooks B. to write a textbook himself C. to speak to his students D. to use old textbooks

4. how much does a public speaking book usually cost? A. about 7 dollars B. about 30 dollars C. about 37 dollars D. about 90 dollars