Three Boys and a Dad

 Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother.Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favorite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park.”he’d told his wife.“I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”

Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”---Mike,Randy, and Alex --- came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted“breakfast,daddy.” When food had not appeared on within thirty seconds,Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍) . Mike chanted“Where’s my toast,where’s my toast” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.

Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their eyes. Someone named “Not me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.

By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the fish bowl refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating（装饰）kitchen wall with his color pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the sitting room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.

At exactly 11:17, Brad called the daycare center(日托所).“I suddenly  have to go into work and my wife is away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously“Yes” because Brad was smiling.

1.When his wife left home, Brad expected___________.

A. go out for a walk in the park

B. watch TV talk show with his children

C. enjoy his first day off the work. 　　

D. read the newspaper to his children

2.Which of the following did Randy do?

　A. drawing on the wall      B. eating apple jam

C. feeding the fish          D. reading in a room　

3.Why did Brad ask the daycare center for help?

A. Because he wanted to clean his house.　        

B. Because he suddenly had to go to his office

C. Because he found it hard to manage his boys　　         

D. Because he had to take his wife back home.

4.The text is developed ____________.

   A. by space    B. by comparison      C. by process     D. by time

[1]A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he liked, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he covered. Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover     78    .　He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Finally he came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself,　"Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself."

   [2]The above story is similar with the journey of our Life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health, time with our family　 and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love.

   [3]One day when we look back, we will realize that we don't really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed.　

   [4]Life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition. Life is definitely not about work! work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of work and play, family and personal time. You have to decide how you want to balance your Life. Define your priorities, realize what you are able to compromise but always let some of your decisions be based on your instincts. Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim of human existence.

[5]So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate nature. Life is fragile, Life is short. Do not take life for granted. Live a balanced lifestyle , and enjoy life!　

1.What is the passage mainly about? (no more than 8 words)

____________________________________________________________

2.Complete the following statement with words from Paragraph3.(no more than 5 words)

It is too late to regret ______ when we realize we have wasted so much time on what we really don’t need.

3.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 1 with proper words. (no more than 8 words)

______________________________________________________________

4.List one of the suggestions that the author gives for our life. (no more than 12 words)

______________________________________________________________

5.What does the words “he”(Line 1, Paragraph 1) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)

　Some people are lucky enough to be born with a good sense of direction and even if they have only visited a place once, they will be able to find it again years later.
　　I am one of those unfortunate people who have poor sense of direction and I may have visited a place time after time but I still get lost on my way there. When I was young I was so shy that I never dared ask complete strangers the way and so I used to wander round in circles and hope that by some chance I would get to the spot I was heading for.
　　I am no longer too shy to ask people for direction, but I often receive replies that puzzle me. Often people do not like to admit that they didn’t know their hometown and will insist on telling you the way, even if they do not know it; others, who are anxious to prove that they know their hometown very well, will give you a long list of directions which you can not possibly hope to remember, and still others do not seem to be able to tell between their left and their right and you find in the end that you are going in the opposite direction to that in which you should be going.
　　If anyone ever asks me the way to somewhere, I always tell them I am a stranger to the town in order to avoid giving them wrong direction but even this can have embarrassing results.
　　Once I was on my way to work when I was stopped by a man who asked me if I would direct him the way to the Sunlight Building. I gave my usual reply, but I had not walked on a few steps when I realized that he had asked for directions to my office building. However, at this point, I decide it was too late to turn back and search for him out of the crowd behind me as I was going to meet with someone at the office and I did not want to keep him waiting.
　　Imagine my embarrassment when my secretary showed in the very man who had asked for directions of my office and his astonishment when he recognized me as the person he had asked.
　　60. What is the writer going to do when someone asks him for direction?
　　   A. He will direct the right way to the person willingly.
　　   B. He will reply to it by the means of being a stranger to the town.
　　   C. He will give the very person long list of direction.
　　   D. He is going to show the man an opposite direction.
　　61. Why did the writer consider himself to be an unlucky dog?
　　   A. Because of his poor sense of direction.
　　   B. Because he always forget the way to home.
　　   C. Because he did not have any friend.
　　   D. Because he used to be shy and dared not ask others the way.
　　62. How did the visitor feel when he was showed into the very room?
　　   A. He felt strange.                              B. He felt embarrassed.
　　   C. He felt very sad.                                   D. He felt astonished.
　　63. Who showed the right way to the interviewee according to the passage?
　　   A. Someone we don’t know.                 B. The writer did it for himself.
　　   C. The secretary did so.                        D. A warm-hearted old lady did it.