1 . Did you hear about the rose that grew from the concrete? You know the one that shone in the middle of darkness and blossomed in times of misfortune?
It was December of 2000 and my dad had been in a coma (昏迷) for two weeks. Mom only had about $20 left because the rest of the money had been used to pay the hospital bills. She bought twenty bags of bananas with that money and sat on the roadside for eight hours until she sold them all. Since Mom had to sell bananas for a living, I had to stop going to school in order to take care of my four-year-old brother — at the time I was only in the third grade. I was too young to understand the whole situation. I was just glad that I didn’t have to go to school anymore so I could play soccer until mom came home at one in the morning.
A few weeks passed and I started expecting the nights when we would eat dinner together, as a family. Before this misfortune I had always complained about the food, but now I did not have any food and I had no one to complain to. For six months every day was the same: wake up in the morning, stomach hurting from hunger, ask the neighbors for food, feed my brother, play soccer until dark, and stare at the stars until mom got home. The day when dad left hospital was the first day when I came face to face with appreciation, although I was totally unaware of what the feeling was.
Now I’m eighteen years old and I believe that I’m the rose that learned how to grow from the crack in the concrete, the rose that blossomed in the dark when no one was around.
1. What troubled the author’s family?| A．Money was tight for them. | B．They had to live on bananas. |
| C．The children always complained. | D．They couldn’t afford his education. |
| A．He was going hungry. | B．He faced his father’s death. |
| C．He helped mom sell bananas. | D．He played soccer with his brother. |
| A．Misfortune makes people grow. |
| B．People should be helpful in hard times. |
| C．Society is the best school for young people. |
| D．Young people should be independent earlier. |
| A．A hard childhood | B．My hard-working mother |
| C．Life is like the cold concrete | D．Rose that grew from the concrete |
2 . If you had to name just one person on earth who is living his or her best life, David Copperfield would have to be among the finalists.
From his childhood in Metuchen, New Jersey, he has spent his whole life in the world of magic. When Copperfield was 10, he began practicing magic as “Davino the Boy Magician” in his neighborhood. By the age of 16, he was teaching a course in magic at New York University. As a teenager, Copperfield became fascinated with Broadway shows.
But it was hard to turn that interest into a career. Even his mother told him that he couldn’t do it. His father was the one who told him to live the impossible. His father’s dream was to be an actor but he ended up running a clothing store so he hoped that Copperfield could be different.
At first he lived beyond his means. He had his first TV special at 19, moved to California, rented a songwriter’s house and bought big cars. And then all of his hard-earned money disappeared. But it was the best thing in the world that happened, because that fear of losing everything has stuck with him ever since. He learned that it is OK to pursue his dreams, but he has to do it in a thoughtful way.
In his spare time, he often takes part in a program called Project Magic, which teaches magic in hospitals as a form of treatment. It helps patients regain dexterity(敏捷) and gives them new skills. As for donations, he keeps them very quiet as it makes him happier.
1. What is the right order of the things that happened to David Copperfield?a. He had his first TV special.
b. He practiced magic in his neighborhood.
c. He taught a course on magic at New York University.
| A．cba. | B．cab. | C．bac. | D．bca. |
| A．They supported him. | B．They were against it. |
| C．They had different views on it. | D．They weren’t concerned about it. |
| A．He lived a very successful life. | B．He made a really big mistake. |
| C．He couldn’t make ends meet. | D．He didn’t like his career. |
| A．It was organized by a hospital. | B．It is aimed at helping patients. |
| C．It has donated money to many kids. | D．It provides magic classes at low prices. |
