When I was seven, my parents gave me a doll, a doll’s house and a book. The Arabian Nights, came wrapped in red paper. I was just ready to read when my mother walked into my room．

“Isn’t your doll just beautiful?” my mother asked. I looked at the doll, with fair hair in a pink dress----I’ll have to call her “she” because I never gave her a name. I folded my lips and raised my eyebrows, not really knowing how to let my mother down easily.

“This doll is different.” My mother explained, trying to talk me into playing with it.

Thinking the doll needed love, I hugged her tightly for a long time. Useless, I said to myself. Finally, I decided to play with the doll’s house. But since rearranging the tiny furniture seemed to be the only active possible, I lost interest. I caught sight again of the third of my gifts The Arabian Nights, and I began to read it. From that moment, the book was my constant companion.

Every day I climbed our garden tree, nestled among its branches, I read the stories in The Arabian Nights to my heart’s content. My mother became concerned as she noticed I wasn’t playing with either the doll or the little house. She insisted that I take the doll up the tree with me.

Trying to read on a branch 15 feet off the ground while holding on to the silly doll was not easy. After nearly falling off twice, I tied one end of a long vine around the doll’s neck and the opposite one around the branch, letting the doll hang in mid air while I read. I always looked out for my mother, though. I sensed that my playing with the doll was of great importance to her. So every time I heard her coming, I lifted the doll up and hugged her. The smile in my mother’s eyes told me my plan worked.

The inevitable(不可避免的) happened one afternoon. Totally absorbed in the reading, I didn’t hear my mother calling me. When I looked down, I saw my mother staring at the hanging doll. Fearing the worst of scolding, I climbed down in a flash, reaching the ground just as my mother was untying the doll. To my surprise, she didn’t scold. She kept on staring at the doll．

The next day, my father came home early and suggested he and I play with the doll’s house. Soon I was bored, but my father seemed to be having so much fun, I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Quietly I slipped out, picking up my book on my way to the yard. So absorbed was he in arranging and rearranging the tiny furniture that he didn’t notice my quick exit.

Almost 20 years passed before I found out why the hanging-doll incident had been so significant for my parents. By then I was a parent myself. After recalling the incident, my mother said all those years she had been afraid whether I would turn out to be a most loving and understanding mother to my son．

My mother often thanks God aloud for making me a good parent, pointing out that with education I might have been a rich dentist instead of a poor poet. I look back on that same childhood incident, recalling my third gift, the book in red-paper, and I take advantage of the experiences that have made me who and what I am. Sometimes I pause to wonder at life’s wonderful ironies （讽刺）.

1.Why didn’t the author give the doll a name?

A. Because the gift was given by her parents.

B. Because the girl didn’t care much for the doll.

C. Because her parents would give the doll a name.

D. Because the doll had little in common with her.

2.The author’s account of a childhood incident shows that, as a young girl, she viewed her parents as people who         .

A. hoped to shape their children’s future  

B. were unconcerned about their behavior

C. ruined their children’s dreams completely

D. might withdraw their love at any moment

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. The mother is now satisfied with her daughter’s career.

B. The daughter now regrets what she did when she was a girl.

C. The mother thinks the daughter’s achievements are unsatisfactory.

D. The daughter wishes that she had been allowed more freedom as a child.

 

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not.He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work.

　　 After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself.He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote.But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure.This is the shadowland(虚幻世界)of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

　 　One day Alex got a call, “We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year.” $ 6,000 was real money in 1960.It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more.Besides, he could write in his spare time.As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses.He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time.“Thanks, but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly,“I'm going to stick it out and write.”

　 　After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents.Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself,“There's everything you've made of yourself so far. I'm not sure I ever felt so low.”

　　 Finally his work was published in 1970.Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced. The shadows had turned into focus of attention.

　 　Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before.Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents. Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room. It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland.

56．Why did Alex give up his job?

A. Because he didn't like the working conditions.

B. Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living.

C. Because he wanted to be a full-time writer.

D. Because he felt he had no potential in his job.

57．What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A. He refused the job offer.

B. He was willing to give them a hand.

C. He expected them to pay him more money.

D. He would write in his spare time.

58. What kind of person is Alex?

A. Determined.　　 B. Modest.　　 C. Shy.　　 D. Brave.

59. Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A. Look before you leap.

B. Two heads are better, than one.

C. Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.

D. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

60. Which sentence is true according to the passage?

A. Ales found it was easy to earn his living by selling what he wrote.

B. Ales never double himself.

C. Ales got a job paying more than $6000 for him.

D. Ales want to be a self-employed writer.

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer， no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not. He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work.
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself. He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote. But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the shadowland (虚幻世界) of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
One day Alex got a call,“We need an assistant, and we’re paying $6,000 a year.” $6,000 was real money in 1960. It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment ,a used car and more. Besides, he could write in his spare time. As the dollars were dancing in Alex’s head, something cleared his senses. He had dreamed of being a writer--full time. “Thanks, but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly, “I’m going to stick it out and write.”
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents. Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself, “There’s everything you’ve made of yourself so far. I’m not sure I ever felt so low.”
Finally his work was published in 1970.Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience. The shadows had turned into focus of attention.
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before. Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents. Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room. It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence(坚毅) it takes to stay the course(持续到底) in the shadowland.
【小题1】Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn’t like the working conditions.

B．Because he couldn’t earn enough to make a living.

C．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer.

D．Because he felt he had no potential in his job.

【小题2】What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A．He refused the job offer.

B．He was willing to give them a hand.

C．He expected them to pay him more money.

D．He would write in his spare time.

【小题3】What kind of person is Alex?

A．determined

B．modest

C．shy

D．brave

【小题4】Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A．Look before you leap

B．Two heads are better than one.

C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.

D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer， no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not. He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work.

After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself. He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote. But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the shadowland (虚幻世界) of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.

One day Alex got a call,“We need an assistant, and we’re paying $6,000 a year.” $6,000 was real money in 1960. It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment ,a used car and more. Besides, he could write in his spare time. As the dollars were dancing in Alex’s head, something cleared his senses. He had dreamed of being a writer--full time. “Thanks, but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly, “I’m going to stick it out and write.”

After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents. Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself, “There’s everything you’ve made of yourself so far. I’m not sure I ever felt so low.”

Finally his work was published in 1970.Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experience. The shadows had turned into focus of attention.

Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before. Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents. Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room. It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence(坚毅) it takes to stay the course(持续到底) in the shadowland.

1.Why did Alex give up his job?

A．Because he didn’t like the working conditions.

B．Because he couldn’t earn enough to make a living.

C．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer.

D．Because he felt he had no potential in his job.

2.What did Alex express when he answered the call?

A．He refused the job offer.

B．He was willing to give them a hand.

C．He expected them to pay him more money.

D．He would write in his spare time.

3.What kind of person is Alex?

A．determined        B．modest           C．shy              D．brave

4.Which of the following can summarize the passage best?

A．Look before you leap

B．Two heads are better than one.

C．Hold on to your dream, and it will come true.

D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.