Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the 16 tuition(學(xué)費(fèi)) for my brother and me. They don’t 17  in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. My father has a bad temper（脾氣）; it’s easy for him to lose his temper.
One day, my mother was sewing a quilt(縫被子). I 18 sat down beside her and looked at her.
“Is there any 19  between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.My mother stopped her work and raised her head with  20  in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt. 21 at last I heard my mother say the following words:“Susan,” she said 22  , “Look at this thread（線）. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable（耐用）. If life is a 23  , then love should be a thread. It can 24  be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is 25.
I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next  26  . At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. After they were 27, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk 28 on the country road. My father had never been so 29 . Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently shone through the leaves. All of these 30  the most beautiful picture in the world. The doctor had said my father would 31 in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk alone. We were all worried.
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day. “Susan,” he said gently, “to tell you the truth, I just like 32  with your mom. I like this kind of life.” 33  his eyes, I knew he loved my mother deeply.
Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this  34  , I understand that love is just a  35  in the quilt of out life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the1 tuition(學(xué)費(fèi)) for my brother and me. They don’t 2in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. My father has a bad temper(脾氣); it’s easy for him to lose his temper.
One day, my mother was sewing a quilt(縫被子). I 3sat down beside her and looked at her.
“Is there any 4between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.My mother stopped her work and raised her head with 5 in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt. 6 at last I heard my mother say the following words:“Susan,” she said7 , “Look at this thread(線). Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable(耐用). If life is a8, then love should be a thread. It can 9be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is10.
I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next 11. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. After they were12, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk 13on the country road. My father had never been so14 . Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently shone through the leaves. All of these15the most beautiful picture in the world. The doctor had said my father would16lin two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk alone. We were all worried.
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day. “Susan,” he said gently, “to tell you the truth, I just like 17with your mom. I like this kind of life.” 18his eyes, I knew he loved my mother deeply.
Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this 19, I understand that love is just a 20 in the quilt of out life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      expensive
   2. B.
      low
   3. C.
      cheap
   4. D.
      high
2. 2.
   1. A.
      play
   2. B.
      talk
   3. C.
      act
   4. D.
      perform
3. 3.
   1. A.
      silently
   2. B.
      carefully
   3. C.
      certainly
   4. D.
      happily
4. 4.
   1. A.
      money
   2. B.
      love
   3. C.
      time
   4. D.
      distance
5. 5.
   1. A.
      surprise
   2. B.
      pride
   3. C.
      disappointment
   4. D.
      satisfaction
6. 6.
   1. A.
      So
   2. B.
      But
   3. C.
      And
   4. D.
      For
7. 7.
   1. A.
      sadly
   2. B.
      excitedly
   3. C.
      regretfully
   4. D.
      thoughtfully
8. 8.
   1. A.
      trouble
   2. B.
      pleasure
   3. C.
      quilt
   4. D.
      cloth
9. 9.
   1. A.
      hardly
   2. B.
      often
   3. C.
      always
   4. D.
      ever
10. 10.
    1. A.
       valuable
    2. B.
       inside
    3. C.
       true
    4. D.
       priceless
11. 11.
    1. A.
       winter
    2. B.
       autumn
    3. C.
       summer
    4. D.
       spring
12. 12.
    1. A.
       free
    2. B.
       back
    3. C.
       fine
    4. D.
       ready
13. 13.
    1. A.
       continuously
    2. B.
       worriedly
    3. C.
       constantly
    4. D.
       slowly
14. 14.
    1. A.
       gentle
    2. B.
       perfect
    3. C.
       pleased
    4. D.
       thankful
15. 15.
    1. A.
       put up
    2. B.
       took up
    3. C.
       made up
    4. D.
       set up
16. 16.
    1. A.
       run
    2. B.
       recover
    3. C.
       stand
    4. D.
       work
17. 17.
    1. A.
       walking
    2. B.
       living
    3. C.
       sitting
    4. D.
       chatting
18. 18.
    1. A.
       Examining
    2. B.
       Seeing
    3. C.
       Noticing
    4. D.
       Reading
19. 19.
    1. A.
       practice
    2. B.
       observation
    3. C.
       experience
    4. D.
       activity
20. 20.
    1. A.
       thread
    2. B.
       thing
    3. C.
       jewel
    4. D.
       light

It was shortly before midnight, and Dr Patricia was getting ready for bed. The phone rang on the end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.
The woman was her mother’s neighbor. Flora Harris had made the neighbor swear she wouldn’t tell her daughter she’d had a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbor wisely decided to disobey orders.
Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn’t. She lives in Washington, D. C, and her mother lives in California.
For the past year a half, Harris has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who’s 91 and has Alzheimer’s disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She’s often worried, not to mention exrtemely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, Harris is a doctor who treats the elderly.
“But it’s still tough,” she says. “I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it’s not a pretty picture. My father’s going to need diapers (尿布). There will come a time when he won’t recognize me and he’s easily excited. I worry he’s going to be violent and hurt my mother.”
So what do you do when you live a continent away from your aging, sick parents? There are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help, but you can’t oursource it completely.
【小題1】Why was the woman thought to have broken a promise?

It was shortly before midnight, and Dr Patricia was getting ready for bed. The phone rang on the end of the line was a woman about to break a promise.
The woman was her mother’s neighbor. Flora Harris had made the neighbor swear she wouldn’t tell her daughter she’d had a heart attack and was in the hospital, for fear her daughter would worry. The neighbor wisely decided to disobey orders.
Harris desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn’t. She lives in Washington, D. C, and her mother lives in California.
For the past year a half, Harris has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who’s 91 and has Alzheimer’s disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Harris is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She’s often worried, not to mention exrtemely busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Harris is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, Harris is a doctor who treats the elderly.
“But it’s still tough,” she says. “I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it’s not a pretty picture. My father’s going to need diapers (尿布). There will come a time when he won’t recognize me and he’s easily excited. I worry he’s going to be violent and hurt my mother.”
So what do you do when you live a continent away from your aging, sick parents? There are no magic answers. You can hire someone to help, but you can’t oursource it completely.

1. 1.

   Why was the woman thought to have broken a promise?

   1. A.
      She failed to take care of Flora.
   2. B.
      She was not supposed to call Harris at midnight.
   3. C.
      She couldn’t go to hospital on time.
   4. D.
      She told Harris about her mother’s illness.
2. 2.

   What can we learn about Patricia Harris from the passage?

   1. A.
      She thinks it harder to look after her parents the next few years.
   2. B.
      Her parents cannot take of themselves at all.
   3. C.
      She cannot do a demanding job.
   4. D.
      She cannot afford to go to California often.
3. 3.

   What does the underlined word “outsource” in the last paragragh mean?

   1. A.
      Arrange somebody outside to do a job.
   2. B.
      Work something out by oneself.
   3. C.
      Speak something out for help.
   4. D.
      Understand something.
4. 4.

   What’s the main idea of this passage?

   1. A.
      Aging people in the USA are increasing.
   2. B.
      The rate of heart disease is high in America.
   3. C.
      It is difficult to tend aging parents from afar.
   4. D.
      Harris advises on tending aging parents from afar.

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage and became the   36   of the loving eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a   37   bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and   38  it away in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and,   39   with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a   40   medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child   41  , the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was_ 42 __how to face her husband.

When the   43  and worried father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. "I Love You Darling"

The husband's totally   44   reaction is proactive(積極的) behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding   45  with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No   46   in attaching blame. She had also lost her only   47  . What she needed at that moment was consolation and   48   from the husband. That is what he gave her.

Sometimes we spend time asking who to   49  , whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. We   50  out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support.   51  , shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the_ 52  _thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don't multiply   53  , anguish and suffering by rejecting   54  .

  55   off all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

36．A．fruit                      B．treasure                C．a(chǎn)pple                     D．jewelry

37．A．water                    B．juice                      C．milk                       D．medicine

38．A．put                        B．pick                       C．keep                      D．take

39．A．interested             B．fascinated             C．puzzled                 D．frightened

40．A．helpful                   B．delicious                C．poisonous              D．sweet

41．A．cried                     B．slept                      C．spoke                    D．fell

42．A．confused               B．careful                   C．terrified                D．embarrassed

43．A．upset                    B．a(chǎn)nnoyed                C．excited                  D．disappointed

44．A．unexpected          B．unwanted              C．untouched            D．unorganized

45．A．mistake                 B．complain                C．fault                      D．duty

46．A．point                     B．doubt                    C．wonder                  D．reason

47．A．love                       B．confidence            C．child                      D．a(chǎn)pple

48．A．blame                    B．comfort                 C．scold                      D．comments

49．A．charge                   B．blame                    C．encourage             D．love

50．A．miss                       B．put                        C．run                        D．pick

51．A．Besides                 B．In short                 C．Above all               D．After all

52．A．hardest                 B．easiest                  C．happiest                D．smallest

53．A．trouble                  B．pleasure                C．pain                       D．a(chǎn)nxiety

54．A．responsibility        B．carefulness           C．sacrifice                D．forgiveness

55．A．Go                         B．Put                        C．Turn                       D．Take

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and loved the boy very much. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous（有毒的）medicine meant for adults in small dosages（劑量）. When the child fell down, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was shocked. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. The husband just said ‘I am with you, Darling’. The husband's totally unexpected reaction is active behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was comfort and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of viewpoint, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.
【小題1】The uncapped medical bottle was not put back into the cupboard because         .

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and loved the boy very much. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous（有毒的）medicine meant for adults in small dosages（劑量）. When the child fell down, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was shocked. She was terrified how to face her husband.

When the father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. The husband just said ‘I am with you, Darling’. The husband's totally unexpected reaction is active behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was comfort and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of viewpoint, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.

1.The uncapped medical bottle was not put back into the cupboard because         .

A．the husband was careless                 B．the wife ignored the matter

C．the husband was busy                    D．the wife wasn’t informed of the matter

2.What do we know about the bottle?          .

A．It contained poison only for adults          B．It was kept in the kitchen

C．It was broken by the child                 D．It appeared like a nice drink

3.The husband’s attitude towards his wife can be described as           .

A．optimistic         B．confident          C．considerate        D．generous

4.What did the writer intend to tell us about life?          .

A．Think of nothing and life will be easy

B．It is always useless finding who is responsible

C．Let go the negative side and we can enjoy life.

D．Life should give way to responsibility

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and loved the boy very much. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous（有毒的）medicine meant for adults in small dosages（劑量）. When the child fell down, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was shocked. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. The husband just said ‘I am with you, Darling’. The husband's totally unexpected reaction is active behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was comfort and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of viewpoint, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship

1. 1.

   The uncapped medical bottle was not put back into the cupboard because         

   1. A.
      the husband was careless
   2. B.
      the wife ignored the matter
   3. C.
      the husband was busy
   4. D.
      the wife wasn’t informed of the matter
2. 2.

   What do we know about the bottle?          

   1. A.
      It contained poison only for adults
   2. B.
      It was kept in the kitchen
   3. C.
      It was broken by the child
   4. D.
      It appeared like a nice drink
3. 3.

   The husband’s attitude towards his wife can be described as           

   1. A.
      optimistic
   2. B.
      confident
   3. C.
      considerate
   4. D.
      generous
4. 4.

   What did the writer intend to tell us about life?          

   1. A.
      Think of nothing and life will be easy
   2. B.
      It is always useless finding who is responsible
   3. C.
      Let go the negative side and we can enjoy life
   4. D.
      Life should give way to responsibility