Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves. That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?

  We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.

Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”

Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

Now in an American family, people can find that ____.

A.  children never live with their parents

B. grandchildren are supported by their grandparents  

C.  aged people are supported by their grandchildren

D.   not all working people live with their parents

The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.

A.  the old don’t like to live in a big family    

B.  the young can’t get enough money to support the old

C.  different generations have different lifestyles

D.  the old are too weak to live with the young

The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.

   A. old people in America lead a hard life     

B. old people in America enjoy banana bread

   C. she had no time to take care of her children 

D. old people are easy to get along with

Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.

   A. the baby brought them the image of life      

   B. the baby was clever and beautiful

   C. they had never seen a baby before      

   D. the baby’s mother would take care of them

A man found the cocoon (茧) of a moth (蛾). He took it home so that he could    1  the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small   2  appeared. He sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to   3  the body through that little hole. Soon it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had    4  as far as it could and it could go no further. It just seemed to be stuck. So the man, out of his kindness, decided to help the moth. He took a pair of scissors and cut off the  5___  bit of the cocoon. The   6  then came out easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriven (无用的) wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and   7  to be able to support the    8  , which would get smaller in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life   9  around with a swollen body and shriven wings. It was   10  able to fly.
What the man in his kindness   11  was that the small cocoon and the  12__of the moth to get through the   13  opening was a way to push fluid (液体)   14  the body of moth   15   its wings so that it would be ready to fly   16  it got out of the cocoon. Freedom and    17  would come only after the struggle. By taking the struggle away, he also took away the moth’s health.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were to   18  our lives without any difficulties, we would become disabled. We would not be as    19  as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance. Leave no room for   20   .

A woman in her sixties lived alone in her little cottage with a pear tree at her door. She spent all her time taking care of the tree. But the children nearby drove her  16 by making fun of her. They would climb her tree and then run away with pears,  17 “Aunty Misery” at her.
One evening, a passer- by asked to  18 for the night. Seeing that he had an  19 face, she let him in and gave him a nice   20  . The next morning the stranger, actually a sorcerer (巫师), thanked her by granting (允准) her     21 that anyone who climbed up her tree  22  not be able to come back down until she   23  it.
When the children came back to steal her   24  , she had them stuck on the tree. They had to beg her long   25  she gave the tree permission to let  26   go. Aunty Misery was free from the   27  at last.
One day another man    28  her door. This one did not look trustworthy to her,   29  she asked who he was . “I am Death, I’ve come to take you   30    me.” said he.
Thinking fast Aunty Misery said, “Fine, but I’d like to  31   some pears from my dear tree to remember the  32 it brought to me in this life. But I am too    33  to climb high to get the best fruit. Will you be so   34   as to do it for me?” With a deep sigh, Mr. Death climbed up the tree   35  and was immediately stuck to it. No matter how much he warned or begged, Aunty Misery would not allow the tree to let Death go.

A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.
【小题1】The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
A. his wife             B. his mother-in–law 
C. his own mother           D. no one
57. He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he was very rich           B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
C. he was anxious to get it      D. his business had been successful
【小题2】He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.

A morning rarely began so perfect. I took in the fresh air and felt my heart run into an enthusiastic rhythm. Though cool, the sun warmed my back as it rose over the horse from not far from my house. The slightest wind danced on my skin. Just enough to keep a runner form overheating. My ever-faithful jogging partner, a black dog named Nika pulled my leg with her mouth, mirroring my eagerness to start our run.
We raced forward with determination, ready to leap tall buildings and race against speeding trains. We pushed harder and ran faster, demonstration our skill and impressing passing motorists and neighbors.
We kept on running until we hit the Beast, a name for a very difficult, nearly two-mile long steep climb.
Only a few paces into the Beast, I gasped for air. Far short of superhero status, my enthusiasm and active steps were lost somewhere at the base of the hill. A vision of the newspaper and a cup of coffee waiting in my kitchen appeared, attracting me to turn back toward home.
With a glance I noticed Nika wasn’t doing any better. She continued to faithfully follow me, putting one paw in front of the other, but without her former eagerness. Her tiredness touched me. And in that moment, I felt a sudden spark of renewed determination to press on. I couldn’t allow this mountain to get the better of us. To improve both our spirits, I managed to shout, “Good girl, Nika! Keep going…you can do it!”
“I’m encouraging a dog, for heaven’s sake!’’ I needed to pull myself together. With a few simple words, I changed our course. One moment we were on the edge of quitting. The next, our feet picked up the pace and we continued. Though tired and discouraged myself, with a few kind words I impacted a dog’s ability to go further. I’m sure I could have completed the opposite with ill-chosen comments and an unpleasant tone. Instead, the Beast was defeated and we flew like heroes the rest of the way home.
Life is full of beasts to conquer. For some, it is the seemingly impossible climb of cancer. For others, their beast takes the shape of parenting a child or a teenager. Uphill climbs come in all shapes and sizes, common only in their ability to defeat, discourage and tempt tired travelers to quit. Sometimes all that’s needed is a few spoken, well-timed words of encouragement from a fellow runner – someone who sees the struggle, dares to jogs alongside, and cares enough to say, “Keep going! You can do it! You’re not alone. I believe in you!”
【小题1】 The writer starts the text by describing________.