There was room for all of us, and sleeping bags kept the night chill away.We would listen to the
sound of the river, and hear the coyotes(丛林狼) howling along the hills not far away.
      Those were the cool summer nights of the mid nineties in Southern Alberta, Canada, when the fou
r children were young and we would lie on the trampoline(蹦床) in the backyard late at night, for the
sun would not set till late in July and August.We would look at the stars up above.It was a simple
painting of little white dots on a black canvas, but we would never grow tired of looking at it.As our
eyes surveyed that starry wonder we would see streaks of lights as meteors(流星) hit the atmosphere
and burn up, or we would follow the meteors'steady path across the sky till it would also disappear.
      These were the times when I would tell the stories of my own childhood and teach the kids life's
lessons that have been remembered to this day.I chuckle, as I recall the time when we heard a coyote
not far away, that I started a story about a bear sneaking (溜)up to the trampoline.The closer the bear
came (in the story )the closer the kids snuggled up to mom and I, until suddenly I let out this big daddy
growl and grabbed all the kids.They would startle and jump up and then all laugh, "Daddy, you scared
us!"
     Now the children are in their mid and late teens, but they fondly remember the starry nights on that
trampoline.Recently my oldest daughter on her wedding day sang a song for her parents, entitled I'll
always be your little girl.She wrote the music and words；it included a memory of those starry nights.
     I have learned as a parent that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children as they are growing
up is the time to tell them stories, or if telling stories is not that simple, perhaps read them a story.They
can read their own books and it will benefit them greatly academically, but telling or reading them a story
will create an inseparable bond(联系) with pleasant memories such as those late summer nights in the
starry sky.

1. The best title for this text should be ________.
A. An Important Lesson
B. A Father's Frightening Story
C. Memories of Starry Nights
D. A Parent's Story

2. What's the importance of telling or reading stories to children?
A. It can teach them much knowledge while they are listening to stories.
B. It will improve their listening abilities as well as their understanding abilities.
C. It will help them remember their happy moments in past days.
D. It can build up good links between parents and their children.

3. In this story, the writer compares the night sky to ________.
A. a black canvas with little white dots
B. little white dots
C. streaks of lights
D. the satellites'path

4. How did the writer feel when he was telling  the story on the dark night?
A. Frightened.  
B. Happy.
C. Sad.  
D. Worried.

     If there is one person who has left a deep impression on me,it's my teacher,Mrs Pathak,who was my
class teacher for three years.In my childhood,how I wished I had a mother or a sister like her.One moment she could be tough (严厉的) and strict,another moment caring and compassionate (富有同情心的)．
     She always encouraged us to tell the truth.For instance,if one had not done the homework,he need not
lie.She allowed us to make mistakes,saying we couldn't be perfect all the time,but we should try.
     Another thing she taught me early on was punctuality.She set a good example with her own behaviour.
She was always on time,so we students tried our best to be on time.
     She surprised us with her sense of humour.Her classroom teaching was always humorous.After class,
she talked to us and told us jokes.
     We really felt free to ask questions and Mrs Pathak would give the answers.If she did not know-there had been some occasions (场合)-she would say so.We all then tried to find out the answers.Whoever
came up with the answer was appreciated and given the due credit (应有的称赞)．Now I sometimes
wonder whether Mrs Pathak was pretending just to encourage us to explore and find answers by
ourselves.

1. According to the passage,which of the following is NOT suitable for describing Mrs Pathak?

A. Tough.  
B. Humorous.
C. Compassionate.  
D. Careful.

2. The underlined word "punctuality" in the third paragraph probably means________.

A. being on time  
B. being honest
C. being patient  
D. being clean

3. The underlined word "so" in the last paragraph means that________.

A. the answers were not right
B. she didn't know the answers
C. the answers were correct
D. she would give the answers

4. According to the passage,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Mrs Pathak asked us to tell jokes in class.
B. Mrs Pathak was always strict in the classroom.
C. Mrs Pathak thought telling truth was good.
D. Mrs Pathak liked asking questions herself.

5. In the author's opinion,why didn't Mrs Pathak give the answers to the questions sometimes?

A. Because she didn't like answering the questions.
B. Because she didn't know the answers to the questions.
C. Because she wanted the students to find them out by themselves.
D. Because she thought the students knew the answers already.