Love Is Just a Thread

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the  ?　36　? tuition for my brother and me. They don't ?　37　? in the romantic ways that I read in books or  I see on TV. My father has a bad temper; it's easy for him to lose his temper.?

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I ?　38　? sat down beside her and looked at her.

“Is there any ?　39　? between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with ?　40　? in her eyes. She didn't answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

?　41　? at last I heard my mother say the following words:?

“Susan,” she said ?　42　?.“Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable(耐用的).If life is a

?　43　?,then love should be a thread. It can ?　44　? be seen anywhere or ?anytime, but it's really there. Love is ?　45　?.”?

I listened carefully but I couldn't understand her until the next ?　46　?.At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. After they were ?　47　?,every day in the morning and dusk(黄昏),my mother helped my father walk ?　48　? on the country road. My father had never been so ?　49　?.Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently shone through the leaves. All of these ?　50　? the most beautiful picture in the world. The doctor had said my father would ?　51　? in two months. But after two months he still couldn't walk alone. We were all worried.?

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.?

“Susan,”he said gently.“To tell you the truth, I just like ?　52　? with your mom. I like this kind of life.” ?　53　? from his eyes, I knew he loved my mother deeply.

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this ?　54　?,I understand that love is just a ?　55　? in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

36. A. expensive    B. low     C. cheap  D. high

37. A. play     B. talk     C. act      D. perform

38. A. silently B. carefully    C. certainly     D. happily

39. A. money  B. love    C. time    D. distance

40. A. surprise       B. pride   C. disappointment  D. satisfaction

41. A. So       B. But     C. And    D. For

42. A. sadly    B. excitedly    C. regretfully  D. thoughtfully

43. A. trouble B. pleasure     C. quilt   D. cloth

44. A. hardly  B. often   C. always       D. ever?

45. A. valuable      B. inside  C. true    D. priceless

46. A. winter  B. autumn      C. summer      D. spring

47. A. free      B. back   C. fine    D. ready?

48. A. continuously       B. worriedly   C. constantly   D. slowly?

49. A. gently  B. perfect       C. pleased       D. thankful

50. A. put up  B. took up      C. made up     D. set up?

51. A. run      B. recover      C. Stand  D. work

52. A. walking       B. living  C. sitting D. chatting?

53. A. Examining   B. Seeing       C. Noticing     D. Reading

54. A. practice       B. observation C. experience  D. activity?

55. A. thread  B. thing   C. jewel  D. light

He gave me the phone number in order ______ contact him when we are in need of help.

　 A. to 　 B. of me to  C. for me to 　 D. that I

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked!
Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
　　Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn't sure what to do. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.
　　Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake , even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
　　Since then, I've used that butterfly’s courage as an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting for.
【小题1】The writer changed his direction while walking down a path because he want__________.

A．To get close to a butterfly.	B．To escape a sudden attack.
C．To look over the bad situation.	D．To avoid getting his shoes dirty.

【小题2】What made the man feel funny?

A．Making the attacker pause.	B．Being stepped on by his mate.
C．Discovering the angry butterfly.	D．Being attacked by a butterfly.

【小题3】Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?
　　A. careless   B. amusing    D. aggressive      D. courageous
【小题4】From this experience the man learned_____.

A．how he should deal with attacks

B．how to deal with challenges in his life

C．people should protect butterflies

D．people should show sympathy to the weak

完形填空

　　Mr. and Mrs. Brown were going abroad for their holiday. They had a dog called Blackie which they liked very much, but they could not 1 him abroad with them, 2 they looked for a good place to 3 him while they were away, and at last found a place which looked after dogs very well while 4 were away. They took Blackie there just before they left 5 their holiday, and 6 said good bye to him.

　　At the end of their holiday, they got back to England 7 at night, and as they thought that the place where Blackie was 8 might be closed at that late hour ,they　　9　　to wait until the next morning when they were going 10 him.

　　So the next morning Mr. Brown got 11 his car and 12 off happily to 13 Blackie. 14 he reached home with the dog, he said to his wife, “Do you know, dear, I don’t think blackie 15　　his stay at that place very much. He barked (吠)all the way home in the car 16　　he wanted to tell me something.” Mrs. Brown looked at the dog 17 and then answered, “You are quite right, dear. He was certainly trying to 18　　you something. But he wasn’t trying to tell you that he hadn’t enjoyed his stay at that place. He was trying to tell you that you were bringing the 19 dog home. This 20　　Blackie!”

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