It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, carrier, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of the dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories fleshed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. it’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it, ” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral.” Jack said.

Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture … Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside,

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bernett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes. Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

Inside he found these words carved: “Jack. Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

“Oh. My God! This is the thing he valued most …”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

66. Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

   A. College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Belser.

   B. Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

   C. Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

   D. His present busy life washed away his children memories.

67. Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that _________.

   A. Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

   B. Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

   C. Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

   D. Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

68. Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

   A. Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

   B. Because he had no children or relatives.

   C. Because he thought he had to keep his word.

   D. Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

69. Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

   A. He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

   B. He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

   C. He had missed his son and his family for days.

   D. He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

70. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

   A. The Good Old Times                    B. What He Valued Most

   C. An Old Gold Watch                      D. The Lost Childhood Days

Once an Englishman named Jack Brown went to Russia for a holiday. He stayed there for several months and then came home again. Some of his friends visited him a few days after he got back. “I had a very dangerous trip while I was in Russia.” Jack said to them. “I wanted to see a friend of mine in the country and the bad weather made me very late. So I was still travelling through a forest in sleigh<雪橇>when the sun went down. It was a long way from my friend’s house when about 20 wolves began to follow my sleigh. It was very dark in the forest. There was thick snow on the ground. It was cold, and there were no houses for miles and miles. First I heard the wolves, and the noise was terrible! The horses heard them, too. They were frightened and began running faster. Then I saw long, grey forms among the trees, and soon the wolves were near us. They were running very fast, and they didn’t seem to get tired like the horses.” “What did you do?” one of his friends asked. “When the wolves got very near,” Jack answered, “I put up my gun and shot the first wolf. The sleigh was moving about, but I hit the animal and killed it. Then all the other wolves stopped and ate it, so our sleigh got away from them for a few minutes.” “Then they finished their meal, and I heard them coming again. The moon was shining brightly on the snow, and after a few minutes I saw them among the trees once more. They came nearer again, and then I shot another of them, and the others stopped once more to eat it.” “The same thing happened again and again, and my horses became more and more tired and ran slower and slower until, after about two hours, only one wolf was still alive and following us.”

“Wasn’t it too fat to run?” one of his friends asked.

Jack told his friends what happened to him when he was______________.

A. in England one winter evening             B. in Russia one winter evening

C. in America one winter morning            D. in Russia one winter morning.

In the sentence “They finished their meal.” “meal” here means ___________.

A. the food Jack had brought with him         B. the meal prepared by Jack’s friends. 

C. the wolf which had been killed by Jack      D. the dead animals on the way

According to what Jack said, the last wolf ______________.

A. had eaten up all the other wolves

B. ran much faster than the other wolves

C. was the strongest of all    

D. was very fat and didn’t run fast.

From what Jack’s friend said we know that _____________________.

A. all the wolves had been shot by Jack.

B. the last wolf was too fat to run

C. Jack was telling the truth

D. the friends did not believe what Jack had said.

I’d been proud that I’d never lost my cellphone until my husband Jack got a call one evening.

We went to visit a friend in hospital last year. When Jack’s  36  rang, it was my mother calling from my  37 . She asked if I had  38  my mobile. I checked my purse. It was  39 !

I used Jack’s phone to call my number. Then a boy, whom I’ll call Rhys,  40  it. “I found your phone!” he said, excitedly. “I have been trying to find you, but  41  it was getting late, I decided to leave.” He gave me the address of a  42  near his home.

Later that evening, I went to  43  him there. I didn’t dare to go  44 , worrying this was some cheater. So Jack came along. After  45  10km, we got to the coffee shop which Rhys  46 .

My  47  were gone. Rhys was just a young boy. “How did you  48  my mum?” I asked. He  49  that when he found my mobile by the roadside, he started calling people in my list of contacts. But all they  50  was my mobile phone number—which didn’t    51  . He’d called many names, starting with the letter A. Finally he got Adam, one of my friends, who  52  my house.

I was  53  to get my phone back with all the contacts, messages and photos I could have lost for ever. I was so  54  to Rhys and offered him some money, but he  55 .

As we drove back, we praised Rhys for his honesty.

1.A. electric car	B. mobile phone	C. radio	D. doorbell
2.A. hospital	B. company	C. school	D. home
3.A. found	B. changed	C. lost	D. bought
4.A. gone	B. new	C. busy	D. broken
5.A. accepted	B. returned	C. got	D. answered
6.A. before	B. because	C. after	D. if
7.A. coffee shop	B. post office	C. hotel	D. supermarket
8.A. follow	B. meet	C. catch	D. punish
9.A. slowly	B. back	C. alone	D. finally
10.A. driving	B. running	C. walking	D. riding
11.A. talked about	B. looked for	C. heard of	D. knew about
12.A. difficulties	B. fears	C. diseases	D. hopes
13.A. remember	B. know	C. tell	D. understand
14.A. realized	B. repeated	C. explained	D. believed
15.A. had	B. noticed	C. expected	D. finished
16.A. happen	B. matter	C. help	D. fit
17.A. called	B. visited	C. shared	D. sold
18.A. sorry	B. glad	C. sad	D. proud
19.A. useful	B. strange	C. grateful	D. polite
20.A missed	B. appeared	C. agreed	D. refused

 

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit (追寻) of the dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral（葬礼） is Wednesday.”  Memories flashed（闪现）through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. it’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce (回忆) about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it, ” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence (影响) in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things that he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral.” Jack said.

Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture … Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack tore （撕）open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope（信封）. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside,

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bernett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

Inside he found these words carved: “Jack. Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

“Oh. My God! This is the thing he valued most …”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

1.Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

A．Because he had no children or relatives.

B．Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

C．Because he thought he had to keep his word.

D．Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

2.Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

A．He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

B．He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

C．He had missed his son and his family for days.

D．He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

3.Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

A．College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Belser.

B．Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

C．Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

D．His present busy life washed away his children memories.

4.Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that _________.

A．Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

B．Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

C．Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

D．Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

5.Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A．The Good Old Times

B．The Lost Childhood Days

C．An Old Gold Watch

D．What He Valued Most

 

22. Jack’s grandpa was ______ from the fire by his neighbors, but died soon from serious burns.

A．rescued

B．recovered

C．resulted

D．Recognized