Question

My first full-time job after high school was selling vacation packages via the telephone for a well-known company. One day, I was put through to a man who sounded a bit out of breath. I started with my normal pitch (音高), expecting to hear the normal reply —"I don’t want any."

Instead, he spoke in a faint, weak voice and told me how he wished to take a vacation I was offering, but he couldn’t because he was dying of illness. He explained how he was lacking in oxygen then, and it took almost all his energy to answer the call. He asked if I smoked, which I did, and begged me to stop. He told me smoking was what was killing him. He told me to spend every day with my loved ones, and tell them how much I love them. At this point, I couldn’t control myself. We ended the call, but I held on my phone to prevent another call coming in so I could collect myself.

I wrote down his name and address, and sent him a card appreciating his advice and praying for him and his family. Shortly after, I received a letter from Frank, along with a picture of him and his wife. We continued to write back and forth over the next few months, and became very fond of each other. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and in many ways, I felt as if he was.

About a year later I received a letter from his wife. When I started to read, tears came to my eyes. She told me how Frank’s battle with the disease had finally come to an end, and he passed away shortly before the Christmas. She wanted to thank me for the letters to Frank, and explained how Frank touched many lives over the years. At his funeral, to show just that, they read the 1st letter I had written to Frank to show how he affected a 19-year-old he’d never met.

1.The underlined part "collect myself" in the second paragraph probably means "______".

A. gather together B. comfort myself

C. relax myself D. calm down

2.We can learn from the text that the author ________.

A. took down Frank’s name and address to visit him in person

B. was warmly welcomed by her customers when she called them

C. didn’t stop smoking even though Frank asked him to

D. kept in touch with Frank through letters until he died

3.At Frank’s funeral the author’s 1st letter to Frank was read in order to ____.

A. encourage people to fight against disease and live bravely

B. indicate that Frank touched many people’s hearts

C. show the good relationship between Frank and the author

D. praise Frank and give thanks to the author

Answer 1