Jim was a 15-year-old boy living with his little sister, Joy. Their parents had passed away long ago. Jim took care of Joy by himself.

One day, Jim woke up at 3 in the morning as usual. When Joy was sleeping alone, Jim left their little house to deliver newspapers. As he did so, he found something unusual. One man was sitting in front of Jim’s house. Jim was so surprised that he stopped to look at him closely. It was an icy morning and he looked very old.

The poor old man didn’t have anything to cover himself with. Jim went into his house to get the old man a blanket(毯子). However, there were no extra blankets, so Jim thought hard and took his father’s coat. It was the only thing of his father’s that he had left. Jim wrote a short note. “Sir, I found you sleeping in front of my house. This is my father’s coat. I hope it fits you well.” He put the note in a pocket of the coat, and covered the old man with the coat. Then he went to work. When he came back three hours later, both the man and the coat were gone. Jim thought that it was the best thing he could have done with his father’s coat.

That afternoon, Jim hurried home after school because Joy was at home alone. However, Joy and the old man were standing in front of the house, and Joy shouted to Jim, “Brother！He’s our grandfather!”

The grandfather smiled and said, “Jim, I have been looking for you all around the country for eight years. I’m not rich. But I can take care of you two. Thank you for giving me the coat and letting me know what a good person my grandson is. This coat was the very one that I gave my own son, a long time ago.”

1.Jim looked after his little sister by himself because ________.

A. they were too poor B. their grandfather left them

C. he was old enough D. their parents had died

2. Jim got up early in the morning to ________.

A. take care of his sisterB. deliver newspapers

C. sit in front of the house D. find something unusual

3. What did Jim do when he saw an old man was sitting in front of his house?

A. He took a blanket and gave it to him.

B. He took his father’s coat to cover him.

C. He stopped and talked to him.

D. He wrote a letter to the police.

4. When Jim came back home that afternoon, Joy told him that ________.

A. the old man was their grandpa

B. the old man and the coat were gone

C. their grandpa was looking for them

D. she couldn’t find their father’s coat

5. Which of the following is NOT true about the old man?

A. He was happy to find his grandchildren.

B. He thought Jim was a good boy.

C. He was poor and could not take care of them.

D. The coat helped the old man find his grandchildren.

6. The best title of the passage is “________”.

A. Jim and JoyB. A newspaper boy

C. An icy morningD. Father’s coat

It all started when I was two years old. My parents didn’t get along and got divorced（离婚）. I hated that I couldn’t see both of my parents at the same time. So my dad, my younger sister, Alexis, and I went to live with my grandma and grandpa. We lived with them for almost six years. My mom, on the other hand, lived with her boyfriend Michael in Oklahoma. My life was really good, but when my mom called to check up on my sister and me, I cried myself to sleep. I missed her so much.

My life at my grandparents’ house was really nice. And then on Friday, May 15, 2002, my grandpa died of cancer. I cried for seven days straight. My dad and his new wife were worried about me. So they took me to the doctor and they said that I was too sad and that I needed to find something happy and healthy to do during the day.

I prayed（祈祷）to God every night saying that I was sorry for getting myself sick and I also prayed for him to take care of my grandpa. I still pray to this day. And now, at my mom’s house, she has a four-year-old girl, my half-sister, Macie. And I have my step-dad（继父）, Michael, there for me. I really like Michael. He’s really good to me and my sister. And at my dad’s house, I have two little brothers, Blake and Justin. Blake is two years old and Justin is ten months old. I have so much to be thankful for, but I’m still looking for more.

1. The writer had to leave her ________ when she was two years old.

A. father B. mother

C. grandpaD. grandma

【小题2 】The writer cried to sleep while her mother called to check up her because she _______.

A. hated her father B. hated her father’s new wife

C. missed her mother D. missed her grandpa

2.We can infer(推断) from the story that ______

A. The writer’s father and her mother didn’t treat her very well.

B. The writer wished that she could live both her father and mother.

C. The writer’s mother didn’t love her so she left her when she was only two.

D. The writer was taken to the hospital after her grandpa died. And the doctor asked her to take much medicine.

3.Half-sister means the writer and Macie have the same _________.

A. father but different mothers

B. mother but different fathers

C. grandmother but different grandfathers

D. grandfather but different grandmothers

4.How many brothers and sisters does the writer have?

A. 2B. 3

C. 4D. 5

  I was in my third year of teaching writing at Ralph High School in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Mikey, gave me a note from his mother. It explained his absence from class the day before:

    "Dear Mr. McCort, Mikey's grandmother, who is eighty years of age, fell down the stairs from too much coffee and I kept Mikey at home to take care of her and his baby sister so I could go to my job. Please excuse Mikey and he'll do his best in the future. P.S. His grandmother is OK."

    I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk. l said nothing. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my students. The writers of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually boring: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off."

    The students always said it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they produced excuse notes, they were excellent. So I decided to give the first class to study the art of the excuse note.

    “Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam to God' or 'An Excuse Note from Eve to God'. "Heads went down. Pens raced across paper. They had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.[来源:学|科|网Z

    The next day everyone had excuse notes. Heated discussions followed. But suddenly I saw the headmaster at the door. He entered the classroom and walked up and down, looking at papers, and then said. "I'd like you to see me in my office." My heart sank,

    When I stepped into his office, he came to shake my hand and said, "I just want to tell you that lesson, that task, was great. Those kids were writing on the college level. Thank you."

1.What did the writer do when he found the students dishonest?

A. He reported them to the headmaster.

B. He lectured them hard on honesty.

C. He had them take notes-n class.

D. He helped improve their writing skills.

2.We can learn that when Mikey was absent from the class, he was____.

A. somewhere enjoying himself

B. taking care of his baby sister

C. looking after his grandmother

D. studying the art of the excuse note

3.How did the writer usually find out his students' parental excuse notes were dishonest?

A. They were written in boring words.

B. He called their parents and found out the truth.

C. They were more like stories than facts.

D. The handwriting clearly looked like children's.

4.Which of the following is true?

A. The writer has many years of teaching experience.

B. The students are good at writing excuse notes.

C. The headmaster was angry with the writer.

D. Most of the excuse notes were written by the parents.

5.Which of the following best describes the writer as a teacher?

A. Honest.               B. Strict.                   C. Hardworking.    D. Wise.