Returning from a trip overseas, I felt that something was wrong between Keith, one of my two sons, and me. So I asked him, “Keith, have I done anything that really __21__your feeling?”

Immediately, he said, “Yes. Last Christmas you promised us a special    22    that I really wanted but you never gave it to me.”

The    23   was that I’d completely forgotten about it. I   24     , “Is there anything else I’ve done wrong, but didn’t apologized for?”

Again, his   25    was immediate, “Remember last Christmas when Mom said you had to go to the  26    because Stephen was going to be born? You left us at home and  27        in a hurry. Remember?”

“Well, you left and forgot the suitcase.” I couldn’t believe he  28     all the details! “After you came back from the hospital you were  29    . When you got home, the suitcase had been opened and everything had been thrown all over the place, and you   30   me.”

“And you didn’t do it?” I asked.

“No, I didn’t . I was just searching for my gift.”

My heart sank. I felt  31    . I hugged Keith and asked him to  32     me. His Honesty made me think of our other son, Kevin. Maybe I’d hurt his feelings, too. I went to ask him the same question. Kevin’s answer was as immediate as his  33    , “Last Christmas you promised us a special toy, but you forgot about it.”

Though Christmas had passed, I took my two sons to the store that day and bought them what I had promised. The  34    thing wasn’t the toy. The problem was I’d made a promise too  35     and didn’t keep it as their father.

21.A．showed             B．hurt             C．attended          D．expressed

22.A．candy              B．book             C．picture            D．toy

23.A．challenge          B．message        C．idea               D．fact

24.A．complained       B．apologized     C．continued        D. explained

25.A．suggestion         B．answer          C．memory           D．blame

26.A．hospital           B．church           C．school            D．garden

27.A．settled down      B．went on        C．set off            D．got up

28.A．knew               B．imagined       C．discovered       D．remembered

29.A．angry              B．worried          C．happy            D．satisfied

30.A．praised             B．punished       C．helped            D．educated

31.A．terrible             B．hopeless         C．inspired         D．encouraged

32.A．support            B．criticize         C．suspect           D．forgive

33.A．mother            B．brother           C．sister             D．father

34.A．strange            B．interesting      C．important        D．difficult

35.A．lightly             B．rudely            C．equally           D．truly

My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.
I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.
Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.
“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.
Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.
After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.
When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.
Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.
【小题1】The article is probably taken from       .

My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.

I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.

Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.

“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.

Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.

After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.

When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.

Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.

1.The article is probably taken from       .

 A. a newspaper    B. an advertisement  C. a detective story    D. a science book

2.What did the writer think of having good speech before the classes?

A. It was very useful.

B. It was nothing important.

C. It was impossible.

D. It was good for interviewing.

3. What were the writer’s problems when he was speaking?

a. He spoke too quickly.                 b. He never stopped once he started talking.

c. He seldom kept eye contact with people.  d. He didn’t give others time to ask questions.

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

4. From the sentence “but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself,” we know that _____.

A. the writer’s friends couldn’t understand him

B. the writer still couldn’t make eye contact

C. the writer improved a lot

D. the writer didn’t slow down

5.Through the passage, the writer wants to tell us that _____.

A. seeing a speech specialist is necessary

B. speech is an important skill to have

C. good speech can help you make friends

D. good speech gets good affect

My teachers suggested that I see a speech specialist (专家) in school.

I never really gave much thought to my speech. If other people understood what I was saying, then that was good enough. I didn’t mind repeating myself many times.

Before testing me, the speech specialist asked me what I thought of having good speech. I told her I thought it was not important.

“Well, when you are in an interview for a job, and they don’t know what you are saying, what are they going to say to you? Nice meeting you, bye,” she said.

Maybe good speech was important. I took part in 20-minute classes each week with the specialist.

After she tested me, she told me that I spoke too fast, and didn’t give enough eye contact (眼神交流). I learned that when I made eye contact with someone, it meant that I was talking to that person, and I could also see what he or she thought about what I was saying.

When my first speech class started, I found that I had been speaking too fast to be understood. Every time I spoke too fast, the specialist stopped me and told me to start again. At first, I got stopped after almost every other sentence. After a while, I felt my speech slow down. I wasn’t sure if people could understand me better, but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself.

Speech is an important skill to have. If you do have good speech, that’s a good thing, but if you don’t have it, it is never too late to improve.

1.The article is probably taken from       .

A．a newspaper                           B．an advertisement

C．a detective story                        D．a science book

2.What did the writer think of having good speech before the classes?

A．It was very useful.                       B．It was nothing important.

C．It was impossible.                       D．It was good for interviewing.

3.What were the writer’s problems when he was speaking?

a. He spoke too quickly.

b. He never stopped once he started talking.

c. He seldom kept eye contact with people.

d. He didn’t give others time to ask questions.

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

4.From the sentence “but my friends stopped asking me to repeat myself,” we know that _____.

A．the writer’s friends couldn’t understand him

B．the writer still couldn’t make eye contact

C．the writer improved a lot

D．the writer didn’t slow down

5.Through the passage, the writer wants to tell us that _____.

A．seeing a speech specialist is necessary

B．speech is an important skill to have

C．good speech can help you make friends

D．good speech gets good affect