My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values（价值观念） that helped me grow into an adult.

Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who asked me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to admit to her. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball.

I also learned from Steve that personal property（财产） is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog my father made with a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. David, and still remembered the smell of her perfume (香水) as she patted me on the shoulder.

Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most unforgetful in my mind. When I was twelve I killed an old brown sparrow(麻雀)in the yard with a BB gun. Excited, I screamed at Steve to come and take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is when it hurts you first, and then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The relationship between Mark and Steve.

B．The important lessons Mark learned in school.

C．Steve’s important role in Mark’s growth stage.

D．Mark and Steve’s respect for living things.

2.When Mark admitted his mistakes to Mrs. Holt, he ____.

A．was surprised                          B．felt frightened

C．was light-hearted                       D．cried before her

3.From the third paragraph, we can know that Mark _____.

A．had a shiny silver pen                    B．respected his teacher

C．hated his father very much                D．once owned a small wooden dog

4.To Mark, which is the most important lesson Steve taught him?

A．Respecting life.                         B．Being responsible for one’s behavior.

C．Being honest.                          D．Respecting others’ property

Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stairs（爬楼梯）. She was soon out of breath.（气喘吁吁）
“I think I had better go to the doctor, ” she thought.
She went to the doctor and told him her problem.
“I’m not at all surprised, ”he said. “It’s obvious （明显的）what your problem is.”
He examined her and then gave her some advice.“If you don’t do what I say, Mrs. Parker,” he said. “You will have a heart attack（心脏病）. It could kill you.”
Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor’s. She knew that she had to take his advice but that would not be easy and it would take time.
The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher’s shop（肉店）.
“I’d like ten pounds of steak (大块肉片), please,” she said.
“Certainly, madam,” the butcher(屠夫) answered and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale(秤).
“That’s just ten pounds,” he said.
“That’s big enough,” Mrs. Parker said.
The butcher worked out(计算) the price.
“At $ 4.99 a pound that will be $ 49.90, please. Would you like me to cut it into small pieces for you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat,” Mrs. Parker said.
“If you don’t want to buy it,” the butcher said angrily, “Why did you ask me to get it for you?”
“My doctor told me that I am overweight (超重的)and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked liked.”
【小题1】. Why did Ellen Parker visit the doctor?

My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values（价值观念） that helped me grow into an adult.
Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who asked me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to admit to her. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball.
I also learned from Steve that personal property（财产） is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog my father made with a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. David, and still remembered the smell of her perfume (香水) as she patted me on the shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most unforgetful in my mind. When I was twelve I killed an old brown sparrow(麻雀)in the yard with a BB gun. Excited, I screamed at Steve to come and take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is when it hurts you first, and then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?