I have a painfully vivid memory of my first homecoming from college, in December 1983. After three whole months away, I was back home with my brand new opinions, attitudes and tastes. How could they watch such terrible television programs? I, the English Literature major with Shakespeare and Milton and James Joyce, could hardly bear to sleep under the roof of a house whose few bookshelves held thrillers and bound editions of the Reader’s Digest. I’m sure my family was glad to see the back of me when, at the end of the holiday, I packed up my books and headed back up to university in the north of England.

   But the next year must have been even more painful to my parents: I didn’t show up at all. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with young people spending a little time away from their families and with their friends.  It’s part of growing up, something you need to do if you are to become properly independent. However, if you’re not going to be home for the festival, you should at least have the decency to telephone and say you’re not coming.

   In English we have an expression, “wet behind the ears.” A person who is wet behind the ears is so immature, that they don’t know how to dry the back of their head after a bath. Just before the following year’s holiday I fell ill, quite seriously so. I’m sure my own behavior contributed to my getting sick: staying out too late, not eating properly—perhaps you know someone like the person I was then. I lay in bed with a fever, feeling very sorry for myself.

   I’m sure you can guess who came to my rescue. My long-suffering parents got in their car and sped up the motorway to rescue their son from the consequences of his own irresponsibility.

   I hope I’m a better son now; if not, it’s getting a little late in the day if I want to change. I’ve worked in China for nearly 10 years and so I don’t get to see them as often as I like, but my parents are online all the time so we talk many times each week. And this Spring Festival I will be flying back to England for a visit. 

   I’m really looking forward to it.

1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. The author liked reading thrillers and the Reading Digest.

B. The author couldn’t fall asleep in a house with few books.

C. The author thought his parents were happy to see him back.

D. The author didn’t seem to share the same tastes with his parents.

2.What can we learn from the second paragraph?

A. The next year the author’s parents were very happy to see him.

B. The author went to see his parents during the second year in college.

C. If you aren’t going to spent an important day with your family, inform them in advance.

D. To leave away from family is not a proper way if you want to gain some independency.

3. If you are a person who is wet behind the ears, you are       .

A. old and experienced                  B. young and inexperienced 

C. young and experienced                    D. mature and experienced

4.We can infer from the last two paragraphs that       .

A. the author thinks he has become a good son

B. the author will be with his family the next Spring Festival

C. the author will not change himself to a better one because it is too late

D. the author keeps in touch with his parents through the Internet regularly

5.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Pleasant memories about Christmas

B. Horrible things happened in the past

C. Interesting memories about Christmas

D. Share with you some of my Ghosts of Christmas Past

 

WASHINGTON---At least four more U.S. air-traffic controllers are caught nodding off on the job at three separate airports across the nation, the government said Wednesday.
The controller working alone in the tower fell asleep and was out of communication for 16 minutes while a medical flight carrying a patient was trying to land at about 2 A.M. Wednesday at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
The FAA announced that it is also investigating a controller who fell asleep Monday at Boeing King County International Airport in Seattle and two controllers who were unresponsive at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee on Feb.19.
“I am sick of this,” Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, said in a statement. “We can’t have a system where some of the people responsible for safety are asleep at the switch.”
As the incidents pile up, sleep experts say it demonstrates that the agency faces a systemic issue with the thousands of people expected to work through the night in safety-critical jobs. Scientific research shows that workers on midnight shifts make more errors because it is so difficult for the body to adapt to sleeping during the day, they say.
The agency will add an extra controller at the 27 towers staffed with one worker on the midnight shift, the FAA statement said.
Representative John Mica, the Florida Republican who chairs the House transportation committee, criticized the decision to add controllers. “Only in the federal government would you double up on workers, averaging $161,000 per year in salary and benefits, that aren’t doing their job,” Mica said in a statement. Mica has pushed legislation that would allow as many as 90 smaller airports to switch from federal to private controllers.
“People have known these problems with fatigue（疲劳）have existed for years,” said John Goglia, a Boston-based aviation safety consultant. “They’re now showing up. The FAA is admitting they exist. Now the FAA needs to work on it.”
The four controllers in Nevada, Seattle and Texas have been suspended(暂时停职) during the investigations, the FAA said.
【小题1】The underlined part “double up on workers” means “______”.

A．add two more workers	B．staff two workers at a post
C．settle two workers in a double room	D．give the workers double pay

【小题2】According to John Goglia, fatigue problem ______.

A．is a known potential danger	B．has never appeared before
C．is common for day-time shift workers	D．seldom shows up at night

【小题3】Which statement is true?

A．A controller fell asleep without communication for 16 minutes in Knoxville, Tennessee.

B．A medical flight carrying a patient failed to land with the controller asleep.

C．Jay Rockefeller pays little attention to sleeping at the switch.

D．Mica refused to support the decision to staff more controllers on the midnight shift.

【小题4】We can infer from the passage that ______.

A．All the controllers in the US were working alone while they were on duty

B．The incidents are rooted in fatigue problems and those on midnight shifts need an extra nap

C．In the U.S. , thousands of people expect to work through the night in safety-critical jobs

D．The agency has added an extra controller at the 27 towers

On a trip to California, my family stopped for lunch. As we walked toward the entrance to the restaurant, a man, with a            beard and dirty hair, jumped up from a bench outside the restaurant and opened the door for us．Regardless of his            , he greeted us in a friendly way.

Once inside, my daughters whispered, "Mom, he          . " After we ordered our lunch, I explained, telling the kids to look            the dirt. We then watched other customers approach the restaurant but many             him. Seeing this rudeness truly upset me. The day I became a mother, I had determined to set a good             to my children. Yet sometimes when things didn't go right, being a good example was             . When our meal arrived, I realized I had left the car-sick pills in the truck．With the windiest trip ahead, the kids needed them, so I           myself from the meal and went to get them.

Just then, the "doorman" was opening the door for a couple. They rushed past him without even acknowledging his            . Letting them in first, I said a loud "thank you" to him as I             .

When I returned, we talked a bit. He said he was not allowed inside             he purchased food. I went back and told my family his            .Then I asked our waitress to add one soup and sandwich.

The kids looked             as we had already eaten, but when I said the order was for the "doorman", they smiled. When it was time to           our trip, I found the "doorman" enjoying his meal. Upon seeing me, he stood up and thanked me heartily. He then           out his hand for a handshake and I gratefully accepted. I suddenly           the tears in his eyes—tears of gratitude. What happened next drew great astonishment: I gave the " doorman" a          . He pulled away, with tears           down his face.

Back in truck, I fell into deep thought．While we can't choose many things in life, we can choose when to show gratitude．I said thanks to a man who had           held open a door for me, and also said thanks for that          to teach my children by example.

1.A．messy       B．clean  C．pretty D．bright

2.A．service     B．state   C．appearance         D．attitude

3.A．smokes    B．smells C．sighs   D．smiles

4.A．around     B．over    C．beyond        D．into

5.A．ignored    B．hated  C．missed         D．refused

6.A．target       B．rule     C．record         D．example

7.A．stressful   B．accessible   C．awkward     D．tough

8.A．excused   B．refreshed   C．prevented  D．forgave

9.A．company B．presence    C．challenge    D．attack

10.A．quitted  B．marched     C．exited D．approached

11.A．before   B．unless C．though         D．since

12.A．story      B．deed   C．desire D．demand

13.A．concerned     B．puzzled        C．excited        D．bored

14.A．make      B．start    C．continue     D．take

15.A．waved    B．washed        C．raised D．reached

16.A．watched         B．inspected    C．witnessed   D．noticed

17.A．hug         B．nod     C．lift       D．strike

18.A．slipping  B．rushing        C．rolling D．breaking

19.A．firmly     B．simply C．constantly   D．politely

20.A．journey B. wisdom C. community    D．opportunity        

 

The “Doorman”

On a trip to California, my family stopped for lunch. As we walked toward the entrance to the restaurant, a man, with a   36  beard and dirty hair, jumped up from a bench and opened the door for us．Regardless of his   37 , he greeted us in a friendly way．

Once inside, my daughters whispered, "Mom, he   38   " After we ordered our lunch, I explained, telling the kids to look   39  the dirt．We then watched other customers approach the restaurant but many   40  him．Seeing this rudeness truly upset me．The day I became a mother, I had decided to set a good   41  for my children．Yet sometimes when things didn't go right, being a good example was   42   When our meal arrived, I realized I had left the car-sick pills in the truck．With the windiest trip ahead, the kids needed them, so I   43  myself from the meal and went to get them．

Just then, the "doorman" was opening the door for a couple．They rushed past him without even acknowledging his   44   . Letting them in first, I said a loud "thank you" to him as I 45 ．

When I returned, we talked a bit．He said he was not allowed inside   46  he purchased food．I went back and told my family his   47 . Then I asked our waitress to add one soup and sandwich．The kids looked   48  as we had already eaten, but when I said the order was for the "doorman" , they smiled．When it was time to   49  our trip, I noticed the "doorman" enjoying his meal．Upon seeing me, he stood up and thanked me heartily．He then   50  his hand for a handshake and I gratefully accepted．I suddenly noticed the tears in his eyes—tears of  51  .  What happened next drew great astonishment: I gave the " doorman" a   52  ! He pulled away, with tears   53  down his face．

Back in truck, I fell into deep thought．While we can't choose many things in life, we can choose when to show gratitude．I said thanks to a man who had   54  held open a door for me, and also said thanks for that   55  to teach my children by example．

1.                A．heavy          B．messy          C． long     D． grey

 

2.                A．service         B．status          C． appearance appearance D． attitude

 

3.                A．smells          B．smiles          C． sniffs    D． smokes

 

4.                A．into           B．over           C． around  D． beyond

 

5.                A．hated          B．missed         C． ignored  D． refused

 

6.                A．example        B．rule            C． record  D． target

 

7.                A．tough          B．accessible       C． awkward D． stressful

 

8.                A．withdrew       B．freed          C． prevented    D． excused

 

9.                A．company       B．effort          C． presence D． attempt

 

10.               A． quitted        B．exited          C． marched  D． approached

 

11.               A． before        B．though         C． unless    D． since

 

12.               A． demand       B．deed          C． experience    D． story

 

13.               A． concerned     B．puzzled         C． shocked  D． bored

 

14.               A． continue       B．start           C． take D． make

 

15.               A． waved        B．washed         C． raised    D． extended

 

16.               A． gratitude      B．affection        C． sympathy D． approval

 

17.               A． nod          B．hug            C．lift   D． clap

 

18.               A． streaming      B．slipping         C． rushing   D． breaking

 

19.               A． firmly         B．simply          C． constantly D． politely

 

20.               A． journey       B．wisdom         C． coincidence   D． opportunity

 

 

This week was busier than usual, and I was very tired today. All I wanted to do was to go home and enjoy a bowl of good hot soup.

But when I saw my daughter’s car, I knew that it was Bryan’s night. Since his parents separated, I had tried to have my six-year-old grandson spend a few hours with me at least once a week. I had always tried to make it a special time for him. We did many interesting things; Bryan loved all these activities, and so did I. But today I had to give up our evening. I said how tired I was feeling. “Bryan, I’m sorry. Tonight I don’t feel like having fun or playing games. We’ll have our night together some other time.” I saw the sadness in Bryan’s eyes. He said, “I like soup, Grandma.” I knew he meant “Please don’t send me away. Please let me stay.” I saw the shadow (阴影) in Bryan’s eyes. Something else was changing. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t want to have him come any more — not tonight, not next week, not ever. Finally, I said OK. I was glad to see his eyes light up. After I put the soup on the stove (炉子) and turned on the TV, I fell asleep.

When I woke up, there was a coat over my legs, and the soup was gone. Bryan was on the floor, reading a coloring book and watching a television show at the same time. The poor boy must have been so bored (烦躁的)! When he found I was awake, he ran over and gave me a big hug. “I love you, Grandma,” he said. “Haven’t we had a nice time together?” His big smile and happy eyes told me that this time he meant exactly what he was saying. That was the keyword — together. We had done nothing exciting or special. But we were together.

1.What does the underlined part (in Paragraph 2) mean?

A．It was time to cook hot soup for Bryan that night.

B．This was the evening when Bryan stayed with his grandma.

C．Bryan would have a good rest that night.

D．Bryan would stay with his parents that night.

2.Why didn’t the author want to stay with her grandson that night at first?

A．She was too tired to have fun or play games with him.

B．She was sick and wanted to have a good rest.

C．She was too busy and had to work overtime that night.

D．She had to prepare soup for the whole family.

3.How many times did the author describe Bryan’s eyes?

A．1.               B．2.                C．3.               D．4.

4.From the passage, we can infer that _____.

A．Bryan’s parents separated so he had to live with his grandma

B．Bryan was sad that night because his grandma didn’t play with him

C．the author wouldn’t want to stay with her grandson any more

D．the author and her grandson loved each other very much