In the workplace, at home, in all areas of life, looking for a reason to laugh is necessary. A sense of humor helps us to get through the dull times, deal with the difficult times, enjoy the good times and manage the scary times.
Six-year old Hannah experienced one of the most frightening times of her life when she discovered she had cancer. And if she was to give life a shot, Hannah would have to suffer painful, almost endless medical treatments. At one point she lost all her hair due to chemicals pumped into her tiny body. On days when she felt strong enough to get out, she often covered her head.
One day while shopping with her mother, Hannah donned a ball cap with a fake small ponytail(马尾辫)sewn into the back. Unless one looked closely, she looked as if she had a full head of hair. Before long Hannah noticed a small boy staring at her as if he were trying to figure out what had happened to the girl. She tried to ignore him, but he followed her around the store. Finally, she took off her cap showing her shiny, hairless head. In a firm voice she warned, "This is what happens when you don't eat your vegetables!"
I don't know what became of the boy. As for Hannah, her sense of humor helped her get through one of life's scariest times.
As entertainer Bob Hope once said, "I've seen what a good laugh can do. It can transform tears into hope." And sometimes, a little more hope is all we need.
1. What did Hannah suffer when she had cancer? (no more than 10 words)2. Why did Hannah cover her head when she went out? (no more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word "donned" mean? (1 word)
4. What would the boy probably do after he heard Hannah's words? (no more than 10 words)
5. What can we learn from Hannah when we meet with difficulties in life? (no more than 20 words)
2 . One of the most stressful days of Susan McFrederick’s life was watching her son get wheeled away for surgery hours after he was born in 2011.
But after the operation, Susan burst into tears for a different reason: across the cut on their newborn sons back was a sweet winter scene, hand-drawn on his bandages（绷带）.
“There were rolling hills of snow, a pine tree and a snowman with a hat and broom, she recalled. It was extremely touching and comforting to know that somebody had taken the time to do that for my family. It was a moment I'll never forget.”
Susan soon learned the artist was her sons surgeon, Robert Parry, who discovered another way to use his hands in the mid-1980 s during his internship（实习期）at children's medical center. where he saw one of his colleagues cut out heart and shark shapes to decorate children’s bandages.
“My first reaction was, 'What is he doing? Hey, that’s kind of neat,’ ” Parry recalled. “I especially liked the reactions of the parents and the patients when they saw his artwork. The smiles took everyone's attention from the surgery. Then I decided to follow suit.”
Parry quickly graduated from his early hearts and sharks, and started to surprise families with drawings that captured young patients' personalities. From Snoopy to Spider-Man and bears to butterflies, there isn’t much he hasn’t drawn. Most kids want superheroes sports team logos or princesses, while babies often receive scenes with flowers trees and sea creatures During the last 30 years, Parry estimates he has left examples of his handiwork over the stitches（伤口缝线） of more than 10, 000 children.
“During a time of stress for families, it's nice to be able to help them smile and laugh," Parry said. This is something positive that I can do for them, which is what I like most about it.”
For Parry, the reward is knowing he hopefully made a difference in a child’s life, and except for his drawings on bandages, they can go on and live their lives and never know I was in it.” he said.
He's not ready to retire, but he's found a new hobby to keep his hands skillful in the years to come.
“I've taken up knitting（编织）,” Parry said. “Hats, sweaters, gloves---I enjoy it all. But mostly, I enjoy giving everything away.”
1. Susan burst into tears after her baby's operation because she was__________.| A．moved | B．amused |
| C．stressed | D．heartbroken |
| A．He was motivated by his patients. |
| B．He was inspired by his colleague. |
| C．He was required to learn the skill during his internship. |
| D．He was encouraged by Susan to show his genius for art. |
| A．devoted himself more to art than to medicine. |
| B．knew more about his patients than their parents. |
| C．took into consideration the tastes of individual patients. |
| D．created a large number of works beyond his expectations. |
| A．To get a reward from the artistic circle. |
| B．To win the admiration of his colleagues. |
| C．To make a difference in his dull medical career. |
| D．To lift the spirits of his patients and their parents. |
| A．He is eager to show others his new skills. |
| B．He enjoys trying new ways to help others. |
| C．He is looking forward to life after retirement. |
| D．He is more interested in knitting than drawing. |
3 . All through the long summer vacations, I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing — not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted I would be no good at it.
I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to sit at a little stoop (门廊), mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question; but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What’s in those books you’re always reading?” he asked casually. “Stories,” I answered “What kind?” asked somebody else without much interest.
Nor do I know what drove me to behave as I did, for usually I just sat there in silence, glad enough to be allowed to remain among them; but instead of answering his question, I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. The book was Sister Carrie. They listened bug-eyed and breathless. I must have told it well, but I think there was another and deeper reason that made them so keen an audience. Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man’s entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
The next night and many night thereafter, a kind of unspoken ritual (仪式) took place. As it grew dark, I would take my place in the center of the stoop and begin the evening’s tale. Some nights, in order to taste my victory more completely, I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte, and without warning tell them that that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true, of course; but I had to make certain of my new-found power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall.Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences, but for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store, I have an unreasoning love that will last forever.
1. Watching the boys playing baseball, the writer must have felt _____.| A．special and different |
| B．bitter and lonely |
| C．pleased and excited |
| D．disturbed and annoyed |
| A．broke the long silence of that summer evening |
| B．liked the book that he was reading |
| C．invited him to join in their game |
| D．offered him an opportunity that changed his life |
| A．the story was from a children’s book |
| B．the boys had few entertainments after dark |
| C．listening to tales was an age-old practice |
| D．the boys didn’t read books by themselves |
| A．experience more joy of achievement |
| B．play a mean trick on the boys |
| C．add his own imagination to the story |
| D．help the boys understand the story better |
| A．Reading is more important than playing games. |
| B．Friendship is built upon respect for each other. |
| C．One can find his position in life in his own way. |
| D．Adult habits are developed from childhood. |
4 . When I was a kid, I was close to my dad, but as I grew older, my dad and I grew further apart. We always had totally different opinions. He thought that college was a waste of time, but for me it was important to finish college. He wanted me to work my way to the top as he had done in his field, but I wanted a different life. There was a time when we did not talk with each other.
A few months ago, I heard that my 84-year-old dad was in poor health. When he called and asked whether I could move from Colorado back to Tennessee to help him, I knew he was seriously ill. I am his only child and so it was time to meet my father’s requirement.
Two weeks after moving back, we bought a boat and started fishing again. Fishing was one of the few things that we did while I was young and that we both enjoyed. It is strange but true that as we are fishing we are able to put things that have kept us apart for so many years behind us. We are able to talk about things that we have never talked about before. Fishing has been healing the old wounds that have kept us apart.
It is not important how many fish we catch. It is about enjoying the relationship that we have not had for years. I’m 62 and he is 84. When we are on the lake fishing, it is like two kids enjoying life. It is far better to find a way to put the unhappy past behind. I am so lucky to spend the happy time with my father in his last years. Now my heart is filled with love. A smile always graces my lips.
1. The author and his father became further apart because______________.| A．they had different views on things |
| B．they lived very far from each other |
| C．they only communicated by phone |
| D．they seldom went to see each other |
| A．Because his father invited him to go fishing. |
| B．Because he decided to live in a different city. |
| C．Because his father is ill and needs caring. |
| D．Because he regretted being rude to his father. |
| A．helps cure his father’s disease |
| B．is a good way to get close to nature |
| C．makes him realize the importance of exercise |
| D．offers a chance for them to communicate |
| A．The writer’s car is always breaking down. |
| B．Father intended me to be a fisherman. |
| C．I was unwilling to come back. |
| D．Father used to think it was useless to attend college.. |
| A．Forgiving Is Difficult | B．Fishing Brings Us Together |
| C．Memories of Old Days | D．My Beloved Father |
