______ the great writer died. A. It’s a pity that 　B. What pity C. It’s shame that 　D. It’s pity that

 

 Once I spoke at a high school. After the speech, I was asked to see a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.

He was Matthew. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(障碍) and going for my dreams.

      I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain(抱怨). He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams.  He knew what he was talking about. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.

       When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles（障碍） than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion（冠军）. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”

       Last summer I got the news that Matthew had died and a letter Matthew had written me a few days before:

Dear Rick,

My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. The doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more. But I still smile as much as I can.

       I told you some day I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I’ll never make it. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you.

Thank you for loving me.

Your friend,

Matthew

1. The boy wished to meet the writer because ________.

A. he wished to take part in the Olympics

B. he admired the author very much

C. he hoped to make friends with the author

    D.  he enjoyed going in for weighting lifting

2. Which of the statements is TRUE?

A. Matthew was good at weight lifting.

    B. Rick had the similar disease as a child.

C. Rick encouraged the boy to become a champion. 

    D. Matthew never gave up in face of disease.

3. Why did the boy refuse the writer’s medal?

A. He didn’t need Rick’s pity.

B. Rick looked on the medal as the most important thing.

C. The gold medal was very dear to Rick.

D. He thought he was not worthy of it.  

4. What can be inferred from Matthew’s letter?

  A. Mathew was unhappy before death. 

  B. Mathew kept in touch with Rick .

  C. Mathew sent some pictures to Rick.

D. Mathew got an Olympic gold medal.

Today's word, pan, takes us back to the days of the gold rush in California.

   On January 24th, 1848, a man named James Wilson Marshall discovered gold in California. The news spread quickly. Thousands rushed west. They traveled on foot, on horseback and by boat to reach the gold fields. By 1849, the great gold rush was on. Towns and cities grew overnight. Throughout California --- in the mountains, along the streams and rivers --- thousands of people searched for gold.

   Some found areas of mountain rock thick with gold. These men got rich. But such areas were few and quickly claimed by the first men to find them. Others searched for gold in the rivers coming down the mountains. They were after pieces of gold that the rains had washed down from above .

   The only way to find this gold was by panning. First a gold miner put dirt in a metal pan and added water. Then he shook the pan so that the water would wash the dirt. Slowly, he poured the water out of the pan. If he was a lucky miner, pieces of gold would remain.

Across the nation, newspapers carried stories of the gold being found. Each one hoped that the place he claimed panned out well --- had some gold.

   For many, gold mining did not pan out. For a few, it panned out well. But in time, huge machines were built that could wash many tons of dirt at a time. Panning died out.

   The word, however, remained in the language. Today, Americans still say, “ It panned out well ,” when something they have done pleases them. A business, a discovery, a simple event pans out well if it is successful. Unhappily, sometimes things do not pan out.

   In recent years, the word pan has taken on another meaning. Today, it also means to criticize. How it got this meaning is hard to discover. But the job of a critic is to sometimes pan the work of a writer, artist or singer.

1.Why did so many people flood to California in 1848?

A. Because towns and cities there developed quickly.

B. Because the mountains in California were a great place for travel.

C. Because they wanted to get rich by looking for gold.

D. Because the land of California was fertile at that time.

2.The underlined part “It panned out well" in Paragraph 7 has the same meaning as “______”

A. Everything turned out well     B. Nothing could be worse

C. It's not the case              D. It's a pity

3.What is the purpose of this passage?

A. To tell us some stories about the gold rush.

B. To introduce the word "pan" in American English.

C. To teach us how to look for gold in rivers.

D. To introduce the history of the gold rush in California