The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house — something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh . . . that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means.
1. The writer’s first volunteer project was ________.| A．working on a poor trailer | B．helping a poor family |
| C．donating beds and bedding | D．dealing with a housing problem |
| A．the family lived in a trailer | B．he expected to get some toys |
| C．he didn’t know what a bed was | D．the boys had no bed to sleep in |
| A．a trailer | B．a truck | C．a pillow | D．a house |
| A．what they want to get may be unnecessary |
| B．they should not waste money on small things |
| C．they should do more volunteer work for the poor |
| D．what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow |
“Aren’t you cold, Dad?” I’d ask. “No,” Dad would reply. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
Many times I wondered whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was foolish.
One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad. It was a bright, clear day—and bitterly cold.
After we’d been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold.
“Daddy, my feet are cold.” I said.
“Yeah, it’s cold out here today,” he replied.
“Tell you what,” he said. “Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm.”
I was just a little girl at the time but I remember thinking, “How in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of mind.”
But he was my father, after all. I made circles in the snow. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow. I forgot about my feet being cold.
Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. “Aren’t you cold?” my husband asked one winter day. “No,” I replied. “I’m not cold—working too hard to be cold.”
I hope my husband has decided I’m both tough and smart. But I guess quite a bit of the time he thinks I’m foolish.
Wherever Dad is on that great big farm in the sky—I’m sure he can’t help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I’m working outside in the winter.
1. When the author’s feet felt cold, her father advised her to ________.
| A．go home alone first | B．keep walking in the snow |
| C．draw pictures in the snow | D．light a fire on the ice |
| A．forgettable | B．warm-hearted | C．crazy | D．cruel |
| A．Tough. | B．Smart. | C．Brave. | D．Foolish. |
| A．remember her tough and smart father |
| B．show how her father cared about her |
| C．describe memories of her childhood |
| D．explain why her father loved her so much |
3 . London Underground
The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.
1. What led the British government to build the London Underground?| A．Traffic jams and pollution. |
| B．Population and pollution. |
| C．Overcrowding and traffic jams. |
| D．The poverty and subway problems. |
| A．It made the tunnels larger. |
| B．It put fans in the tunnels. |
| C．It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels. |
| D．It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train. |
| A．be troublesome |
| B．become popular and fashionable |
| C．keep up with |
| D．seize |
| A．To relocate the workers’ homes outside London, the government built the subway. |
| B．There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened. |
| C．The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. |
| D．There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened. |
4 . Twenty-five years ago if you made a trip to the local library and searched for articles on global warming, you’d probably come up with a few from the leading magazines in the world. As an Internet search on global warming now shows, the subject has become as rooted in people’s mind as Madonna or microwave cooking.
With the possible exception of another world war, a giant planet, or an incurable disease, global warming may be the largest danger to our planet. For decades human factories and cars have sent billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and the climate has begun to show some signs of warming. If steps are not taken soon to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide sent into the atmosphere, the result could terribly affect human life. We have already seen growing destruction, such as drought and death in Sudan, flooding in Asia, bush fires in Indonesia, and fierce winter storms in central Europe.
The Republic of Maldives is barely above sea level. Its 250, 000 citizens are scattered across 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean. A strong typhoon could spell the end for the entire country, as could continued rising sea levels. The entire population would have to be moved away as the country disappears under the sea.
The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring phenomenon that keeps our planet at a comfortable temperature averaging 60.0F. Since the mid-nineteenth century, however, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased nearly 30% because of the increased use of fossil fuels to run cars, heat homes and power factories. Without controlling, the amount of carbon-dioxide by 2100 may increase by 30%-150% and could lift the average global temperature by up to 2.5 0F in the next 50 years.
1. With the first paragraph, the author intends to ________.| A．scold people for not paying enough attention to global warming |
| B．draw people’s attention to global warming |
| C．how to search for the articles on global warming |
| D．point out the serious effect of global warming |
| A．producing more greenhouse gases | B．causing more floods |
| C．making winter storms more fierce | D．starting more bush fires |
| A．has moved away their citizens |
| B．will be more likely to be destroyed by a strong typhoon than by the rising sea level |
| C．is mostly likely to be destroyed by the rising sea level |
| D．will have to move away most of their population |
| A．Because smaller countries are easier to be affected by global warming. |
| B．Because seaside countries are in danger of disappearing. |
| C．Because it’s necessary to rescue a country before the sea level rises. |
| D．Because the serious result of global warming could end a whole country. |
| A．can only affect the earth in an unfavourable way |
| B．is something easy to control |
| C．is caused by human act |
| D．will be good to us if it remains at a proper level |
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will（遗嘱）,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man.
1. Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _______.
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad | C．pay off the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
| A．Surprised. | B．Frightened | C．Satisfied. | D．Excited. |
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days | B．decided to give up his work in the factory |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends | D．had no idea what to do |
| A．tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．read his uncle’s will |
| C．buy some pictures |
| D．tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
