“It’s over! Thank goodness!”
School was over and I was tired. I sat at the front of the school bus.
Janie, the driver, always tries to break the uncomfortable atmosphere by talking. I try to listen politely, but usually I’m too busy thinking about my day. On this day, however, her talk was worth listening to.
“My father’s ill,” she said to no one in particular. I could see worry in her eyes. I had never seen her like this before. She always meets students with a smile.
With a sudden chance of interest, I asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
With her eyes wet and her voice unusual, she answered, “Heart trouble.” Her eyes lowered as she continued, “I’ve already lost my mum, so I don’t think I can stand losing him.” I couldn’t answer. My heart ached for her.
I sat on the seat thinking of the great pain my own mother was thrown into when her father died. I saw how hard it was, and still is, for her. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through that.
Suddenly I realized Janie wasn’t only a bus driver, which was just her job. She had a whole world of family and cares too.
I shouldn’t have been so selfish. I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver. I had judged her by her job and brushed her off as unimportant.
I shouldn’t have been so selfish and self-centered. Understanding people is an art.
1. When the students get on the school bus, Janie usually ________.| A．listens to music | B．talks about her own worry |
| C．sits on her seat without words | D．meets them with a smile |
| A．her father’s death | B．her mother’s pain |
| C．the ache of her own heart | D．the pain of Janie’s parents |
| A．thought of Janie as nothing but a driver | B．made only a few friends in the school |
| C．hardly thought of herself | D．never listened to others |
| A．losing parents makes people sad and helpless |
| B．understanding the people around us takes time |
| C．we should learn to understand the people around us |
| D．it’s not right to judge the people around us by their clothes |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Mr. Robin (知更鸟) had his house in a tree.
His four baby robins lived in it. They grew very fast. Soon the house was too little for them.
“It is time for you to fly,” said Mr. Robin. “Oh, we can not fly,” said the baby robins.
“You can, if you try, ” said Mr. Robin. A robin tried. He flew into a tree.
“Oh, how interesting!” said the little robin. “I like to fly. See me go!”
Then the other robins tried. In a little while they could all fly.
The robins could fly, but they could not sing. “No, Dad, we can not sing.”
“You can, if you try. Hear the other birds sing. Look at the pretty flowers and the blue sky. Then you will want to sing. Hear me sing to you. Now sing for me.”
One little robin sang. Then they all sang.
A little girl came by. “Wow, hear the birds sing!” she said. “How happy they are!”
1. How many baby robins lived in the house?| A．3. | B．4. | C．6. | D．7. |
| A．To fly. | B．To jump. | C．To look for food | D．To build houses. |
| A．Interested. | B．Bored. | C．Tired. | D．Worried. |
| A．They were poor. | B．They were rude. | C．They were happy. | D．They were sad. |
【推荐2】One day, I was sitting in a local coffee shop, and staring at this man in a wheelchair. He could move his head and parts of his fingers but nothing else. He had a servant who cut up his food and placed it on a special mechanically powered fork that he would use to eat.
He saw me staring at him and invited me to join him at his table. His name was Stephen. For several hours we sat at that table and we got to know each other on a deeply personal level. I had never known a man who was more radiant (容光焕发), more energizing to talk and get to know than Stephen.
Stephen used to be a very successful businessman in Denver. He was in the natural gas business. Thirteen years before, when he was forty, he was waiting for news of a natural gas discovery to occur any moment.
He said, “I had so much nervous energy. I saw the storm clouds gathering, and I decided to clean out the gutters (檐沟）rather than sitting around waiting for this gas well to come in.”
He climbed up the ladder to clear the piles of pine needles on the roof. As he backed up, he accidentally fell off the roof. He landed on his back. He was paralyzed (瘫痪) for the rest of his life, except for his head and his hand.
I asked him, “How do you do it all? How do you suddenly stop hiking, fishing, and running marathons?”
He said, “There are three things you have to do when something like this happens. The first thing you have to do is adjust. The second thing you do is adjust. And the third thing you do is adjust.”
He said, “By adjusting to your abilities, Bill, you have to change your self-expectations. If you can’t be a physical athlete any longer, then perhaps you can be a spiritual athlete.” He was.
1. The author noticed Stephen at the coffee shop because________.| A．he cut up his food | B．he ate in a special way |
| C．he was staring at the author | D．he looked very energetic |
| A．He accepted himself as he was. | B．He turned to the author for help. |
| C．He gave up exercising regularly. | D．He made new friends everywhere. |
| A．humorous and sensitive | B．sympathetic and caring |
| C．faithful and easygoing | D．optimistic and open-minded |
【推荐3】Last week, while visiting my dad with my daughter, we went to a restaurant for dinner. When we were seated, my dad asked the waitress if there were any soldiers eating at the restaurant. Then waitress said there was a soldier having dinner with his friend. My dad told the waitress to tell the soldier and his friend that their dinner was paid for! He also said that he did not want to be known as the benefactor(施主).
Then waitress later commented on my dad’s thoughtful behavior saying that she had never seen anything like this before. At a local college, she had studied opera and so she used this to thank my dad by performing a piece from The Pearl Fisherman. Her voice brought me to tears because it sounded perfect!
After a while, the soldier appeared at our table (I don’t know how he knew my dad paid the bill for him.) and said that he would be sent to the front the next morning and that he could not leave this country without saying “thanks” to my dad. My dad replied that it was he who wanted to say “thanks”. They shook hands as the soldier left.
Before we left, the waitress came by again. She did a magic show as another way to show her “thanks” to my dad. Her show was really great. My dad left her a note with email address asking for her next performance time in addition to a $ 50 tip.
Everyone witnessed something exemplary (可作榜样的) in the human spirit that night. I can only hope to see more of this in the future.
1. My dad offered help to the soldier and his friend in the restaurant probably because ______.| A．he wanted to know more about them |
| B．he wanted to thank them for all they had done |
| C．he wanted the waitress to thank him |
| D．he wanted the soldiers to know his kindness |
| A．she was asked to perform to the guests |
| B．she wanted to show off her wonderful skills |
| C．she wanted to attract more and more guests |
| D．she wanted to show her respect and thanks to the author’s dad |
| A．He gave something to author’s dad. |
| B．He gave a big tip to the waitress. |
| C．He did a magic show for the author and her father. |
| D．He said thanks to the author’s dad in person. |
| A．funny | B．understandable | C．honorable | D．worthless |
| A．find ways to thank others | B．learn to be grateful to others |
| C．try to learn from each other | D．respect soldiers and waitresses |
【推荐1】It was a stormy evening, and all that Neil could hope was to find a shelter that could keep him protected from the chilly wind and cold rain. After work he had to get home on time, as his busy schedule was preventing him from spending quality time with his family. The bus stop on the way provided temporary shelter, where Neil was becoming increasingly agitated(焦虑不安的) with every passing minute. All his evening plans were washed out.
“Sir, why don’t you buy a pack of groundnuts(花生) from me?” Neil looked around to see a man in rag standing by his side. “Oh, no, I’m not interested right now.” “Fried groundnuts will do you a world of good now. Moreover, you can also take some for your family.” The very mention of family brought a concern to Neil. His wife had specifically told him to come home early, if not for her sake, at least for the sake of their seven-year-old son.
When he was lost in thought, the groundnut seller had filled a bag with the remaining nuts and offered him an unexpectedly low price. But, Neil refused to buy them: “I do not want to buy anything at this point!” Suddenly, he heard a voice of a kid. “Dad, I want some money to buy books for the school.” He saw a ten-year-old boy, totally drenched from top to bottom, as though he had just run a race. He was talking to the groundnut seller. “Yes, yes, I’m ready to leave now. Come! How many books do you want? Why did you get wet in the rain? Your mother must be getting worried.”
Neil turned to the seller. There was an instant when they both made the perfect eye contact. Neil had the look of what it is to be a father. The groundnut seller did not say anything and gave the packet of groundnuts without saying a word. Neil pulled a note from his wallet, placed it in the man’s hand, and walked away without waiting for the change.
1. Why did Neil become more anxious at the bus stop?| A．The rain stopped him from getting home on time. |
| B．The chilly wind made him feel colder and colder. |
| C．He thought of his boring and heavy work. |
| D．He couldn’t find a good place to keep off the rain. |
| A．He didn’t have enough money on him. | B．His family doesn’t like groundnuts. |
| C．He was in a bad mood at that time. | D．His family was a little poor. |
| A．Wet through. | B．Very excited. | C．Well dressed. | D．Sweat heavily. |
| A．The seller’s generous action. | B．His having a pity for the seller. |
| C．The seller’s greatness as a father. | D．His being moved by the seller’s son. |
【推荐2】The deadliest wildfire in California's history broke out on November 8, 2018. It burned for 17 days and consumed 153,336 acres. In all the fire cost $16.5 billion in damage, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings, living 50,000 homes and killing 85. The beauty of this beautifully named place was gone.
Shane Grammer works as a creative director for Disney's theme parks. When his childhood friend Shane Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney--- the only part of his house to survive---Grammer felt very sad, but didn't know how to help him. And then he had an idea. "I've got to paint that chimney," he told Inside Edition. "And it was an opportunity for me to express myself and be an artist." On December 31, Grammer spent three hours spray-painting a black -and-white image of a woman on the chimney---a reminder, perhaps, of the beauty of life, or even just of life itself.
Grammer posted the image on Instagram. And many viewers said that he had really brought beauty and hope. Suddenly, Grammer realized that what he had thought was that a purely artistic expression had morphed into something deeper, the nature of true art. “When the first mural(壁画) moved so many people in this community, I knew I had to come back up,” Grammer told KRCR- TV. Over a period of three months, he returned eight times, painting 17 portraits of victims and figures of the Bible on walls, pickups, and broken buildings. "There is hope," he explains. "There is beauty in the ashes.”
Grammer's work in Paradise has now become a movement. He has traveled to many places painting murals in dark places that badly needed some light, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, for example. "I want to do something powerful and create art that moves people," he says.
That first painting, on the chimney in Paradise, survived only a few months -the bulldozer(推土机) is a cruel art critic. Grammer couldn't be more delighted. It means that the spirit of Paradise is rising again.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The cause of the fire. |
| B．The damage caused by the fire. |
| C．The economic loss which resulted from the fire. |
| D．The reason why the beautiful place was gone. |
| A．Broke out. | B．Launched out. |
| C．Moved into. | D．Turned into. |
| A．Some people disliked it. |
| B．Grammer wasn’t satisfied with it. |
| C．The town was under reconstruction. |
| D．The bulldozer knocked it down by accident. |
| A．Caring. | B．Casual. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Indifferent. |
【推荐3】A Trip to the Forest
One day Bob took two of his friends into the mountains. They put up their tents and then rode off to a forest to see how the trees were growing. In the afternoon when they were about ten kilometres from their camp, it started to snow. More and more snow fell. Soon Bob could hardly see his hands before his face. He could not find the road. Bob knew there were two roads. One road went to the camp, and the other went to his house. But all was white snow. Everything was the same. How could he take his friends back to the camp?
Bob had an idea. The horses! Let the horses take them back! But what would happen if the horses took the road to his house? That would be a trip of thirty-five kilometres in such cold weather! It was getting late. They rode on and on. At last the horses stopped. Where were they? None of them could tell. John looked around. What was that under the tree? It was one of their tents!
1. John and his two friends went to the forest to _____.| A．build their camp |
| B．find their way home |
| C．enjoy the mountains in the snow |
| D．watch the trees in the forest |
| A．there was only one road to their camp |
| B．they couldn't decide which of the two roads led to their tents |
| C．there were no roads in the mountains at all |
| D．everything was covered by the white snow |
| A．John's house | B．the camp |
| C．the forest | D．the mountains |
| A．it was getting late | B．they were tired after running for a long way |
| C．they knew that they had got to the camp | D．they had seen John's house |
