My mother was a housewife. She thought that successful people spent a lot more time reading than watching TV. So she asked my brother and me not to watch too much TV, but to read two books every week in our free time. She would check them with marks, though she couldn’t read the book at all.
When I went to high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted cool clothes and hung out with friends. I became a C-student, but I didn’t care. One night I complained about not having enough Italian shirts. Then my mother gave me all the money and said I could get the money left to buy shirts if I finished buying all the things the family needed. I was pleased with that, but after I bought those things, there was no money left. I got to know how difficult it was for my mother to do all these. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. Finally, my dream came true and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story----a woman with little education greatly changed my life as a parent. So I believe there is no job more important than parenting.
【小题1】What did the writer’s mother do?

My mother was a housewife. She thought that successful people spent a lot more time reading than watching TV. So she asked my brother and me not to watch too much TV, but to read two books every week in our free time. She would check them with marks, though she couldn’t read the book at all.

When I went to high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted cool clothes and hung out with friends. I became a C-student, but I didn’t care. One night I complained about not having enough Italian shirts. Then my mother gave me all the money and said I could get the money left to buy shirts if I finished buying all the things the family needed. I was pleased with that, but after I bought those things, there was no money left. I got to know how difficult it was for my mother to do all these. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. Finally, my dream came true and I became a doctor.

My story is really my mother’s story----a woman with little education greatly changed my life as a parent. So I believe there is no job more important than parenting.

1.What did the writer’s mother do?

A．A worker.         B．A housewife       C．A teacher         D．A writer

2.Why did the mother ask her children to read books in their free time?

A．Because she thought successful people spent more time reading.

B．Because she thought books were interesting.

C．Because she wanted her children to be happy.

D．Because she wanted her children to be doctors.

3.Which was NOT the reason for the writer’s falling behind(落后)?

A．He only cared about clothes and didn’t study.

B．He spent more time hanging out with friends than studying.

C．He didn’t care that he went from being an A-student to a C-student.

D．He spent much time reading storybooks.

4.What was the writer’s dream?

A．To be a doctor.                         B．To be a teacher.

C．To be an A-student                      D．To find a good job.

5.The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A．mothers with little education change their children more.

B．his mother is cruel and unhelpful

C．there is a job more important than parenting.

D．his mother has an important influence（影响）on him.

I didn't like dogs before, but I am happy to have one now. Do you know why?

About two years ago, my wife, Cathy, got a little dog with a face only the dog's mother could love. We named her Gertie.

My wife sent her to be trained (训练） in a school. But this didn't go as planned. After only 2 weeks, she was made to leave the school. She had to spend every night with us in our bed - snoring so loudly that I couldn't get a good sleep. In the morning, my wife always let me walk Gertie. When I was free, Gertie always played with me.

Then, about six months after Gertie arrived, I felt that something in my heart was changing, and I was unable to stop it. I began to smile at people when I saw them in the street. I started calling my children, and to my surprise, they started calling me, too. I even tried to talk with my grandchildren over the phone. My wife and I both think that it is Gertie who has changed me.

Gertie is now nearly two years old and I love it very much.

46. At the beginning, the writer thought the dog _______.

      A. looked very lovely                  B. wasn't clever

      C. wasn't beautiful                     D. was quick in learning

47. After Gertie left the school, _______.

      A. she was sent away

      B. the writer couldn't sleep well

      C. she learned how to make friends with other animals

      D. the writer began to train her by himself

48. What does the underlined word "snoring" mean in Chinese?

      A. 打鼾             B.哭泣            C.咀嚼            D.说话

49. Which of the following is NOT true?

      A. The writer is an old man.

      B. The dog stayed in the school long enough for the training.

      C. The dog slept in one bed with the writer.

      D. The writer didn't telephone his children before.

50. What can we learn from the passage?

      A. The dog got good training in the school.

      B. We should try out best to help animals.

      C. The man likes the dog better than his wife,

      D. The man has become more friendly because of the dog.

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she’d said again, “it’s for Elizabeth.”
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me; she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易动感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface”.
As years passed I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came.
My hope turned to disappointment, then little interest and, finally, peace—it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside--- a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折叠) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
【小题1】The writer began to love her mother’s desk____________.