Page, my younger brother by four years, has been braindamaged from birth. He does not speak, cannot hear and see poorly through his remaining eye. He stays home, staring at the television happily. But it wasn’t always this way.
On a lot summer morning, Mum had penciled “VISIT GRANDMA” for Page in large letters on a napkin before we left for the nursing home. No one expected to understand that this might be our last visit.
We arrived there and stepped into her room. The strokes had left grandma trembling and unresponsive. Her mouth hung open, and her wide eyes shut and opened quickly and stared but appeared not to see.
We stood round the bed, smiling uncomfortably, and saying that everything would be all right. For the first time, I was free to talk all I wanted.
Page was standing quietly next to the window with his face brilliant red, tears following from his eyes. Just then, he pushed through the group and made his way to the bed. He leaned over Grandma’s withered body and took her cheeks gently in his hands.
Those of us with healthy ears were deaf to the volumes being spoken in that wonderful, wordless exchange.
We kissed Grandma, and slowly walked out of the room one by one. I was the last to leave. “Bye, Grandma,” I said. As I turned to look at her one last time, I noticed her lips come together, as if she was trying to speak. Somehow, if for a moment, she gathered the strength to say goodbye.
That afternoon by Grandma’s deathbed, when none of us knew what to say, my speechless brother had said it all.
| A．Head bowed, he stood there, his cheeks wet with tears. |
| B．That is when I knew Page had reached her. |
| C．I tried to express my love to her. |
| D．I felt a rush of warmth deep inside me. |
| E．Nobody thought he would appeared and burst out crying. |
| F．But I could think of nothing to say to her. |
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【推荐1】Two things changed my life: my mother and a white, plastic, daisy bike basket. I have thought long and hard about it and it’s true. I would be a different person if my mom hadn’t turned a silly bicycle accessory (配件) into a life lesson I carry with me today.
It was summer and, one day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed — and there it was in the window. White, shiny, plastic and decorated with daisies, the basket seemed so appealing and I knew I had to have it.
“Mom, please can I please, please get it? I’ll do extra chores for as long as you say. I’ll do anything, but I need that basket. Please, Mom. Please?”
“You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believed was the coolest thing ever, “If you save up, you could buy this yourself.”
“By the time I make enough it’ll be gone!’
“Maybe Roger here could hold it for you,” She smiled at Roger, the bike guy.
“For that long? He can’t hold it for that long, Mom. Someone else will buy it. Please, Mom, please?”
“There might be another choice,” she said. My mother bought the beautiful basket and put it safely out of reach in some hiding place I couldn’t find. Each week I eagerly counted my growing nest egg earned by extra work here and there (washing the car, helping my mother make dinner, delivering milk around the neighborhood). And then, weeks later maybe, I counted, re-counted and jumped for joy. Oh, happy day! I made it! I finally had the exact amount we’d agreed upon.
Days later, the unthinkable happened. A neighborhood girl I’d played with millions of times appeared with the exact same basket fixed to her shiny, new bike that already had all the bells and whistles. I rode my bike fast home to tell my mother about this disaster, this horrible turn of events.
And then came the lesson I’ve taken with me through my life: “Honey, your basket is extra-special,” Mom said, gently wiping away my hot tears. “Your basket is special because you paid for it yourself.”
1. In Paragraph 1, the writer shows a sense of _________.| A．loneliness | B．gratitude | C．brightness | D．regret |
| A．waiting and sharing | B．crying and begging |
| C．working and saving | D．borrowing and returning |
| A．The fruit of one’s labor tastes sweeter. | B．After rain comes fair weather. |
| C．Hard work leads to success. | D．Tolerance and patience bring happiness. |
【推荐2】My parents divorced when I was 5, making my mother a single parent. We had little money, but my mum gave me a lot of love. Each night, she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life," Kemmons, you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it."
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again. Every day, my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me that no matter what those doctors said. I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough. She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her. A year later, I returned to school— walking on my own!
When the Great Depression(大萧条)occurred, my mum lost her job. Then I left school to support the family. At that moment, was determined never to be poor again.
My real change occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951.I was angry that the second-class hotel charged an extra $ 2 for each child. That was too expensive for the average American family. I decided to open a motel(汽车旅馆)for families that would never charge extra for children. 'There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly .mother was one of my strongest supporters. We experienced a lot of challenges. But with my mother's words deeply rooted in my soul. I never doubted we would succeed
Fifteen years later, we had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn. In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $ 1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situation. But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you.
1. When Kemmons was a little child, what his mother usually told him was .| A．funny | B．touching |
| C．sad | D．encouraging |
| A．His previous business success of various levels. |
| B．His terrible experience in the hotel. |
| C．His mum's support: |
| D．His wife's suggestion. |
| A．Modest, helpful, and hard-working. | B．Careful, helpful and beautiful. |
| C．Loving, supportive and strong-willed.. | D．Strict, sensitive and supportive. |
【推荐3】Living on the Florida Emerald Coast, people view a hurricane (飓风) ‘as a common thing. So it is not unusual for a family to have several full gas cans and bottled water stored in their houses all summer.
Though unwilling to evacuate (撤离) from a hurricane, on September 15, my family was forced to leave our home for my grandfather’s house several miles away. We spent the early part of that evening watching the hurricane draw closer on the Weather Channel. Around nine o’clock, a loud sound shook the house, turned over the roof and carried it off. Soon came an indoor rainstorm.
Realizing the damage, my grandfather began to be afraid. The storm had started, but he still ran out into the heavy rain and wind to see how much of the roof was left. We got him back inside. I had never seen him so scared. Mom finally asked him to lie down in his room.
The leak (渗漏) had progressed rapidly. It soon became a race against time to protect what to be saved. Some people may think it necessary to save material things, but I hoped to save those items with emotional value, such as the photos. I still feared the storm, but I more feared the influence it brought.
The next morning, it started to clear up. Thankfully, my family came safely through the storm, though the same could not be said for the house. Only the wooden beams (梁) remained, but inside many of the things were safe. My mom and I had worked tirelessly through the night.
It was late, but we were still unwilling to go to bed. We discussed the rebuilding of the house. Under the beautiful sky, we suggested looking after my grandfather more often in the future. After this disaster, I realized the truth that the hurricane itself was not so terrible if we loved each other.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Many residents living near the coast tend to leave the place. |
| B．Many residents are unwilling to prepare for hurricanes. |
| C．Hurricanes often strike the Florida Emerald Coast. |
| D．Hurricanes seldom hit the Florida Emerald Coast. |
| A．To protect something outside. | B．To see the condition of the roof. |
| C．To avoid the danger in the house. | D．To know how serious the rain was. |
| A．Why the author feared the storm. | B．How the storm influenced the house. |
| C．How people helped each other in the storm. | D．What the author was ready to save from the storm. |
| A．The house contained many valuable things. | B．The house was destroyed in the disaster. |
| C．The house could be easy to repair. | D．The house survived the hurricane. |
【推荐1】I was at the funeral of my dearest friend - my mother. She finally had lost her long battle with cancer. The hurt was so intense; I found it hard to breathe at times. Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held the box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak, comforted me at my father’s death, and prayed for me my entire life.
When mother’s illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently married his childhood sweetheart, so it fell on me, the 27-year-old middle child, to take care of her. I counted it an honor. My place had been with our mother, preparing her meals, taking her to the doctor, reading the Bible together. Now she was in heaven. My work was finished, but I was alone.
Deep in sorrow, suddenly, I heard a door open and slam shut at the back of the church. Quick footsteps hurried along the carpeted floor. A young man looked around briefly and then sat next to me. He folded his hands and placed them on his lap. His eyes started to be filled with tears.
“I’m late,” he explained, though no explanation was necessary.
After several eulogies(悼词), he leaned over and commented, “Why do they keep calling Mary by the name of Margaret?”
“Because that was her name, Margaret. Never Mary.” I whispered, wondering who the stranger was anyway.
“Isn’t this the Lutheran church?”
“No, the Lutheran church is across the street.”
“Oh ...”
“I believe you’re at the wrong funeral, Sir.”
The solemnness(庄重)of the occasion mixed with the realization of the man’s mistake bubbled up inside me and came out as laughter. Sharp looks from other mourner(哀悼者)only made the situation seem more stupid. I peeked at the confused, misguided man seated beside me. He was laughing too, as he glanced around, deciding it was too late for an uneventful exit. I imagined Mother laughing.
At the final “Amen,” we rushed out a door and into the parking lot. “I do believe we’ll be the talk of the town. By the way, my name is Rick,” he smiled.
That afternoon began a lifelong journey for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral, but was in the right place. A year after our meeting, we were married at a country church. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time.
In my time of sorrow, God gave me laughter. In place of loneliness, God gave me love. This past June, we celebrated our twenty-second wedding anniversary. Whenever anyone asks us how we met, Rick tells them, “Her mother and my Aunt introduced us, and it’s truly a match made in heaven.”
1. Only the author could take care of her mom mainly because __________.| A．her mom loved her much more than other children |
| B．she was the eldest daughter in the family |
| C．a lovely baby came into her brother’s family |
| D．she was the only child without a new family’s burden |
| A．Rick was late for the funeral because he didn’t know the name of deceased. |
| B．The author felt reluctant to undertake the work of tending her mother. |
| C．Rick remained at the funeral even though he knew he had made a mistake. |
| D．The author and Rick resembled in personality because neither could control emotions. |
| A．Margaret should be the name of Rick’s aunt. |
| B．The author was supposed to be at the Lutheran church. |
| C．The author and Rick met 22 years ago for the first time. |
| D．The mourners at the funeral considered the author’s joy improper. |
| A．Two Funerals at a Time | B．Hope Remains at the Funeral |
| C．A heavenly Encounter | D．Manners Matter at the Funeral |
【推荐2】After a terrible electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, the whole world became completely dark and quiet for Robert Edwards for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water at the base of the tree. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a plough and a wall. When Mrs. Edwards came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of Robert regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread, and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a convincing answer as to why this should have happened. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Robert lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock.
1. The reason for Robert’s attempts to kill himself was that ________.| A．he had to live in a dark and silent world | B．a terrible traffic accident happened to him |
| C．he was struck by the lightning once more | D．nobody in the world cared about him |
| A．Sheltering from the rain under a tree. | B．Driving a car. |
| C．Taking a walk with a stick. | D．Lying on the ground. |
| A．Robert’s wife sent for doctors immediately after the shock |
| B．many doctors came because Robert was badly injured |
| C．there was no accurate explanation for Robert’s recovery |
| D．a sudden injury in the head led to Robert’s recovery |
| A．Robert had been deaf and blind for nearly ten years. |
| B．Robert hid himself under the tree for 20 minutes. |
| C．Robert could hear his wife's shouting for help when he woke up. |
| D．The family's love helped Robert regain confidence to live. |
【推荐3】It was time for more difficult speech therapy. Delvin Washington said his name again and again, making sure to bite his lower lip to pronounce the V in his first name. The 18-year-old from Texas, US, has had to practise this every day since he woke up from a coma in late September.
Over half a year ago, Washington was preparing for the biggest day of his young life-graduating from high school. But on a cloudy day in May, he had a serious car accident.
He survived, but his life changed forever. His friends have left for college, his mom has returned to work and he recently began all-day physical rehabilitation. He is relearning almost everything, from the names of his best friends to simple physical tasks, like swallowing his saliva (唾液).
His friends and family have given him a lot of support. While Washington lay in a coma in hospital, friends and family filled his room during visits. They celebrated his 18th birthday in July while he was still unconscious.
Two days after Thanksgiving, eight friends from high school visited Washington at his home. The friends looked through photos on Facebook, showing them all to Washington. As he sat in his wheelchair, friends asked him to recognize the people in the photos, helping him recover his brain.
Washington’s popularity doesn’t come from nowhere. He was determined to become a police officer after college and behaved like a respectable police officer at school.
His high school principal, Eric Markinson, said Washington was always a gentleman. “He was incredibly gracious (和善的) and incredibly helpful,” he said.
His accident has damaged Washington’s brain. It has caused his left side, from his face to his feet, to all but shut down. His personality has also changed. The serious police officer behavior is gone. He laughs a lot and smiles when he sees children, his mom said.
Now Washington is working hard on all-day rehabilitation. So far, he has made tremendous (巨大的) improvement, said his therapist Lindsay Sims.
“I try to live as independently as possible,” Washington said slowly but firmly.
1. What happened to Delvin Washington last May?| A．He started to make improvements in his speech therapy. |
| B．He was seriously injured in a car accident. |
| C．He graduated from high school with good grades. |
| D．He suffered a heart attack and went into a coma. |
| A．They helped Washington make up for the lessons he had missed. |
| B．They worked together to collect money for Washington on campus. |
| C．They helped Washington realize his dream of becoming a police officer. |
| D．They regularly visited Washington and helped him with his rehabilitation. |
| A．Washington’s friendship with his friends. |
| B．Washington making great efforts to achieve his dream. |
| C．What makes Washington so popular at school. |
| D．How Washington is recovering his brain. |
