On the first day of school we were challenged to get to know a new classmate. I was looking around， when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I found a little old lady with a warm smile.
She said， “Hi， handsome！ I'm Rose. I'm 87 years old. Can I give you a hug(拥抱)？” I laughed and heartily responded， “Of course！”
“Why are you in college at such a young， innocent(天真的)age？” I asked.
She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband， get married， have children， and then travel around.”
“No， seriously，” I asked. I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one！” She told me. We became instant friends.
Over the year， Rose became a campus icon(偶像)and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us.
“We do not stop playing because we are old； we grow old because we stop playing. Here are the secrets to staying young. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams， you die. We have many people walking around who are dead， and they don't even know it！” she said.
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability，” she added. “But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what they did， but rather for things they did not do.”
One week after graduation that year， Rose died peacefully in her sleep. She taught us by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

1. 1.

   Rose started college at the age of 87 in order to .

   1. A.
      marry a rich man 
   2. B.
      travel around the world
   3. C.
      make more friends 
   4. D.
      realize her dream
2. 2.

   Which of the following best explains “she was living it up” in the seventh paragraph？

   1. A.
      She was living a long life. 
   2. B.
      She was enjoying herself.
   3. C.
      She was spending a lot of money. 
   4. D.
      She was killing time.
3. 3.

   When you lose your dreams， you die because .

   1. A.
      there's no sense in living without your aim
   2. B.
      you can't sleep well every night
   3. C.
      you are too old and have to stop playing
   4. D.
      something is terribly wrong with your brain
4. 4.

   What would be the best title for the passage？

   1. A.
      Meet the Challenge      
   2. B.
      Never Waste Time
   3. C.
      Grow Up or Grow Old？ 
   4. D.
      Have You Got Ready？

It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed and said, “Of course!” And she gave me a big hug. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.
She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have kids and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously.”
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”
We became friends at once. Over the course of the year, Rose easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she was happy with the attention given to her from the other students. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet（宴会）. I’ll never forget what she taught us in her speech.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one useful thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity to do productive things. Have no regrets（遗憾；后悔）. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but we regret for things we did not do.”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to honor the wonderful woman!
【小题1】While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about _______.

It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me. She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed and said, “Of course!” And she gave me a big hug. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.
She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have kids and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously.”
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”
We became friends at once. Over the course of the year, Rose easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she was happy with the attention given to her from the other students. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet（宴会）. I’ll never forget what she taught us in her speech.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one useful thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity to do productive things. Have no regrets（遗憾；后悔）. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but we regret for things we did not do.”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to honor the wonderful woman!

1. 1.

   While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about _______.

   1. A.
      her age
   2. B.
      her life
   3. C.
      her purpose
   4. D.
      her dream
2. 2.

   By saying “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have kids and then retire and travel”, Rose was trying to be ___________.

   1. A.
      humorous
   2. B.
      amazing
   3. C.
      confident
   4. D.
      smart
3. 3.

   What else did Rose most probably say at the football banquet?

   1. A.
      “It seems that my young days are over.”
   2. B.
      “Don’t do much in order to stay young.”
   3. C.
      “The people who fear death are those with regrets.”
   4. D.
      “When we are old, we can do nothing.”
4. 4.

   The story of Rose in the text shows that ___________.

   1. A.
      it is good to make friends with old people
   2. B.
      it is necessary to have a college education for old people
   3. C.
      it is important to have a healthy body when people are getting old
   4. D.
      it is never too late to be what you can possibly be

    The first day of school our professor introduced someone we didn’t know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, “Hi, handsome man. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

  “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids, and then retire and travel.”

   “No seriously,’ I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. “I always dreamed of having college education and how I’m getting one!” she told me.

Over the course of the school year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled(尽情享受)in the attention bestowed(给予)upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. She leaned into the microphone and simply said, “we do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humour every day. You’ve got to have a dream, When you lose your dreams, you die. There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability.”

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

59. What qualities did Rose have according to the passage?

     A. Humourous and determined

     B. Critical and humourous

     C. Hard-working but indifferent

     D. Pretty but old

60. Why was Rose in college at such an age?

     A. To find a rich husband at such an age.

     B. To realize her dream of having college education.

     C. To further her education for a better job.

     D. To make more young friends.

6l. Rose once made a great speech.

     A. at the graduation ceremony.

     B. at a football banquet

     C. at an annual meeting

     D. at a baseball banquet

62. From what Rose said, we learn that

     A. everyone will end up growing older.

     B. we can’t stay young successfully.

     C. we can achieve much if we want to.

     D. dream is the key to success.