Perhaps　the　only　test　score　that　I　remember　is　the　55　when　I　was　in　high　school.

    The　test　was　the　final　for　a　course.　I　remember　waiting　anxiously　as　my　teacher　Mr.　Right　passed　out　our　papers　one　by　one.　It　was　a　rather　difficult　test.　I　heard　my　classmates　groaning,　and　I　could　tel　by　the　groans　that　the　scores　weren’t　looking　good.

    Mr.　Right　put　my　paper　on　my　desk.　There　in　big　red　numbers,　circled　to　draw　attention,　was　my　score,　55!

    I　lowered　my　head,　and　covered　the　score　up　quickly.　A　55　is　not　something　that　you　wanted　your　classmates　to　see.“The　scores　were　not　very　good,　none　of　you　passed,”Mr.　Right　said.　“The　highest　score　in　the　class　was　a　55.”

    A　55.　That’s　me!

    Suddenly　my　sad　look　didn’t　look　so　bad.　I　had　the　highest　score.　I　felt　a　lot　better.

    I　walked　home　alone　that　day　with　the　low　but　high　score.　My　father　knew　that　I　had　a　big　test　that　day　and　asked　me　as　soon　as　I　got　home,　“How　did　you　do　in　your　test？”“I　made　a　55,”I　said.

    A　frown（皱眉）now　stood　on　my　father’s　face.　I　knew　I　had　to　explain　immediately.　“But　Dad,　I　had　the　highest　score　in　the　calss,”I　proudly　stated.　I　thought　that　explanation　would　make　a　difference.“You　failed!”my　father　replied.“But　it’s　the　highest!” I　insisted.“I　don’t　care　what　scores　others　had,　but　you　failed.　What　matters　is　what　you　do!”my　father　firmly　said.

    For　years,　my　father　was　always　that　way.　It　didn’t　matter　what　others　did,　it　only　mattered　what　I　did　and　that　I　did　it　excelently.

    We　often　don’t　understand　the　wisdom（智慧）of　good　parents　until　we　ourselves　stand　in　the　parents’shoes.　My　father’s　words　have　carried　me　throughout　life.

   1.　The　word　groaning　is　the　closest　in　meaning　to　_____.

    A.　singing　　　　B.　laughingC.　complaining　　　　D.　quarreling

    2.　In　class,　to　hide　my　score　from　my　classmates,　I　_____.

    A.　lowered　my　head　　　　B.　covered　my　score　up

    C.　walked　home　alone　D.　explained　immediately

    3.　A　frown　stood　on　my　father’s　face　because　he　thought　_____.

    A.　I　did　a　bad　job　in　the　test

    B.　I　gave　a　good　excuse

    C.　I　became　the　worst　student

    D.　I　stood　in　his　shoes

   4.　We　can　infer　from　the　passage　that　_____.

    A.　the　father　was　strict　with　his　child.

    B.　the　writer　was　always　poor　in　tests.

    C.　Mr.　Right　was　worried　about　the　writer

    D.　the　writer　was　always　happy　with　his　scores

   5.　Which　is　the　best　title　of　the　passage？

    A.　The　Final　Test　　　　B.　That’s　Me!

    C.　My　strict　Teacher　　　　D.　Scores,　Important？

 

Homesick is a compound (复合的) word made up of “home” and “sick”. You know

  1  each word means on its own, of course. But think about what the words mean when they are   2  together. “Homesick” means “Thinking of home, unhappy away from home.” In other words, it means “sick for home”.

　　Now think for a minute   3  the word SEASICK. If you change the word “home” in the definition (定义) to the word “sea”, would the definition  4  “seasick” ? Does seasick mean “thinking of sea, unhappy away from sea”? It means something quite  5 . Seasick means “made sick by the only place where you are on the sea.” It means “sick because of the sea.” When you are homesick, the only place you want to be is at home. When you are seasick, the   6  place you want to be is at sea.

　　Have you ever   7  a person being heartsick? Heartsick does not mean that something is wrong with a person’s heart. People are heartsick when they are   8 down deep inside as if (好像) their hearts are broken.

　  And so, when you are carsick, you are “made sick by the movement of a car on the road.” You are sick because of the car, not sick for it.

You can see, then, that   9  compound words are what they seem at first glance (一瞥). Think about the compound words, such as handshake and   10 . Perhaps you may write definitions for them. It must be helpful to know something like this in your English study.

1.                A．what           B．that            C．which    D．who

 

2.                A．read           B．used           C．thought   D．understood

 

3.                A．for            B．from           C．about    D．like

 

4.                A．fit             B．read           C．get D．have

 

5.                A．different        B．same           C．right D．wrong

 

6.                A．first            B．only           C．safe D．last

 

7.                A．heard of        B．heard from      C．thought over   D．thought about

 

8.                A．hit            B．hurt           C．loved D．moved

 

9.                A．not others      B．not every       C．not all    D．not other

 

10.               A．careful         B．southern       C．illness D．handwriting