Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?

We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.

Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”

Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

1. Now in an American family, people can find that ____.

1. children never live with their parents

B. not all working people live with their parents

C. aged people are supported by their grandchildren

D. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

2. The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.

1. the old don’t like to live in a big family　　

B. the young can’t get enough money to support the old

D. the old are too weak to live with the young

3. The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.

　 A. old people in America lead a hard life　　 B. old people in America enjoy banana bread

　 C. she had no time to take care of her children D. old people are easy to get along with

4. Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.

　 A. they had never seen a baby before　　 　　B. the baby was clever and beautiful

　 C. the baby brought them the image of life　　 D. the baby’s mother would take care of them

_____ full preparations, we decided to put off the meeting till next week.
 A. We did not make B. Having not made    C. We had not made    D. Not having made

―Do you think the thief entered through the side door?（ ）

―No, if he had, he _______ the living room window.

A. would break　　　 B. would have broken　 C. wouldn’t break　 D. wouldn’t have broken

Just after putting the baby onto bed, Mrs White suddenly caught sight of the pet cat and didn’t know how long it ________ on the table ________ for the family dinner.

　 A．had been laying, lying　　　 B．had been lying, laid

　 C．had been laid, laid　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．had lain, laying

The information will be helpful to　　　 will take over the job.

A.those　　　　　　 B.who　　　　　　 C.whoever　　　　 D.anyone

His being good at learning from observations and experiences____greatly to his success in his career.

A.addicted　　　 B.related　　 C.contributed　　　　 D.owed

I think you should complain—　　　 , of course, you are happy with the way things are.

A.if　 　　　　　　B.unless　 　　　　　　 C.as　 　　　　　D.because

Sheep can provide us _________ wool, ________ is known to us all.

A. for; that　　

B. for; which　

C. with; which　

D. with; that

Food and ________ are very important to us all.

A. clothes　 　　　　B. cloth 　　　　　　 C. clothing　 　　 D. dress

Many children,　　　 parents are away working in big cities, should be taken good care of.

　 A．their　　　 B．whose　　　 C．of whom　　 D．with whose