My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more. They dragged “shmily” with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever was preparing the next meal. “Shmily” was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would reappear bath after bath. There was no end to the places where “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” were found on car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were put inside shoes and left under pillows. “Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel（壁炉架）and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents’ house as the furniture.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents’ game. Skepticism has kept me from believing in true love --- one that is pure and enduring (持久的). However, I never doubted my grandparents’ relationship. It was based on passionate（热情的）affection which not everyone is lucky enough to experience.

But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents’ life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily.” It was written in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother’s funeral bouquet (花束). As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s coffin and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came: S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You.

1.According to the passage, where may the word “shmily” be found?

a.in the flour containers

b.on the mirror

c.on the sheet of toilet paper

d.on pillows

e.on the furniture

A.a, b     B. b, c     C. a, d     D. b, e

2.The first paragraph is mainly about ________.

A.what the word “shmily” means

B.how the author’s grandparents played their special game

C.how the author appreciated her grandparents’ game

D.how the author’s grandparents cared for each other

3.The underlined phrase “pop up” in Paragraph 1 means ________.

A.appear    B. change    C. survive    D. work

4.According to the passage, the author _________.

A.thought the game was meaningless

B.believes everyone can experience true love

C.doubted the existence of true love at first

D.sometimes left “shmily” around the house

5.Grandpa tried to make Grandma comfortable by _______.

A.singing songs to her every day

B.painting the room yellow

C.encouraging her to go outside

D.helping her take a hot shower every day

 

A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.
But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.
The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.
He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."
A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.
In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.
【小题1】All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except     .

A．Pioneer can explore high-technology markets outside agriculture

B．Pioneer's sales representatives can upload information using Norand hand-held terminals

C．some of Norand's employees joined the Pioneer

D．it later led to the lower of profit-sharing checks of Pioneer's original employees

【小题2】The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to       .

A．the next thing he said was what I expected least to hear a CEO say

B．the next thing he said was the last thing I heard from a CEO

C．the next thing he said was what I expected most to hear a CEO say

D．the next thing he said was what I heard from the last CEO

【小题3】Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?

A．He felt hot in the room.

B．He wanted to look cool by doing this.

C．He was too excited.

D．He wanted to be close and frank with his employees.

【小题4】What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?

A．They felt he was a stupid CEO.

B．They felt he did not deserve their loyalty

C．They felt he was more trustworthy.

D．They didn't want to take risks with him.

A few years ago, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, where I was employed. purchased Norand Corporation. Pioneer's sales representatives in the field used Norand hand-held terminals to upload daily sales information and download new price and sales incentive information. Pioneer bought so many of these hand-held-terminals, the economies made the purchase of Norand look interesting. Owning Norand also allowed Pioneer to explore high-technology markets outside agriculture.

But after a few years, the emerging laptop PC technology made the hand-held units obsolete (已废弃的). Pioneer sold Norand at a loss. Pioneer always took a given percent of the annual profits to divide equally among all employees, so our profit-sharing checks were lower than if Pioneer had not purchased Norand. Additionally, my Pioneer stock was lower than it had been before the purchase of Norand. I was not pleased.

The CEO of Pioneer, Tom Urban, made annual formal visits to each of the Pioneer divisions to talk about the state of the business and to listen to employees' concerns. When he walked into the meeting room for his first visit after the sale of Norand, he acknowledged the group, remove his jacket, and neatly folded it across the back of the chair. He loosened his tie, undid his collar and rolled up his sleeves.The next thing he said was the last thing I ever expected to hear a CEO say.

He said, "I made a mistake buying Norand and I am sorry. I am sorry your profit-sharing was lower because of the purchase, and I am sorry your stock was hurt by the purchase. I will continue to take risks, but I am a bit smarter now, and I will work harder for you."

A great man and leader stood before us that day. As I sat listening to him, I knew I could trust him, and that he deserved every bit of loyalty I could give to him and to Pioneer. I also knew I could take risks in my own job.

In the brief moment of silence before the questions started, I recall thinking that follow him into any battle.

1.All of the following are the results brought by Pioneer's purchase of Norand except     .

A．Pioneer can explore high-technology markets outside agriculture

B．Pioneer's sales representatives can upload information using Norand hand-held terminals

C．some of Norand's employees joined the Pioneer

D．it later led to the lower of profit-sharing checks of Pioneer's original employees

2.The underlined sentence in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to       .

A．the next thing he said was what I expected least to hear a CEO say

B．the next thing he said was the last thing I heard from a CEO

C．the next thing he said was what I expected most to hear a CEO say

D．the next thing he said was what I heard from the last CEO

3.Why did Tom Urban remove his jacket, loosen his tie, undo his collar and roll up his sleeves before he spoke?

A．He felt hot in the room.

B．He wanted to look cool by doing this.

C．He was too excited.

D．He wanted to be close and frank with his employees.

4.What did the employees feel after Tom Urban apologized to them?

A．They felt he was a stupid CEO.

B．They felt he did not deserve their loyalty

C．They felt he was more trustworthy.

D．They didn't want to take risks with him.