It was blazing hot, just like most July days. I stepped into a tiny ice-cream shop to cool off with a
chocolate ice-cream. It was an old woman bent over a table near the door. Her back was so badly twisted that her face nearly touched the tabletop. I sat down facing her a couple of tables away.
“Poor woman,” I thought, “What does she get out of life? Why God let people live so long past their prime?”
As I thought, another aged lady entered the shop and sat down with her. Soon the two of them were talking about childhood days. They talked of how little the shop had changed in 70 years... In minutes, the two of them were trembling with laughter.
I looked again at the first woman, then in the mirror on a nearby wall, catching a picture of myself. I was wearing a dirty shirt. She was well dressed in white, her hands sparking with gold rings. I was sad. She was laughing, smiling. I was putting the pieces of my life together. She had millions of wonderful memories to recall. I sat alone. She was sharing the day with a good friend. I was secretly worried about getting old. She was old, but it wasn’t hurting her.
As I left the shop, I thought of my foolish question about God letting people live past their prime. Why, that woman was more alive, more sensitive to life than I was. Age has not bent her spirit.
1.From the passage we know that the ice-shop _________.
A. changed a lot in the past B. had only a couple of tables
C. started its business 70 years ago. D. had only women shoppers.
2.What is the meaning of the underlined word “prime” in this passage?
A. miserable life
B. wonderful experience
C. long career
D. time of great strength, beauty, vigor(活力)
3. The writer implies all of the following except that _________.
A. the old lady had lived a full and satisfying life
B. the writer had more problems than the old lady
C. the old lady was very lonely and sad
D. the old lady had learned to enjoy the simple things in life
4. Which of the following is the conclusion the writer made about the old lady?
A. She was more alive and sensitive to life than the writer.
B. She considered the young man pitiable.
C. She was to be pitied for her old age.
D. People should not be allowed to live when they are too old.
5.Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
A. To tell us the life of old people
B. To show that old age does not mean being short of spirit.
C. To show the difference between the old and the young.
D. To make the reader have a pity on the old people.
The summer of 1975 I’d just graduated from college in Southern California and received a Ford Car for a 36 present. I had my first job, in Los Angeles. One Sunday night, thinking myself a very 37 gown-up, I 38 my uncle’s place in South Laguna after a visit, 39 admitting to him that I had less than an eighth of a tank of gas and no 40 to buy more on the way to L.A. I pulled onto the Pacific Coast Highway and watched the 41 move down as I headed north. When the engine started giving off strong smells, I 42 into a gas station. There was no self-serve then; there were no credit cards, no ATMs.
I 43 the guy at the station. I could write him a check for gas, I said, or I could 44 in my car and try to walk to a town with a 45 the next morning. As he was informing me that I could sleep in my car but he’d have me arrested, a station wagon pulled up to the next 46 . The driver—a thin, plain, middle-aged guy—overheard the tail end of my 47 request. As the attendant went to 48 him, he nodded at me. “ 49 her tank first,” he said.
“Really?” I said. 50 bloomed. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. But please. I just need two 51 worth. I just need to get home.”
“Fill it,” he 52 to the attendant. Then he turned to me, “You’ll do the same one day, for someone else.”
I keep looking for someone unlucky, hoping to save her 53 on the road. Meanwhile, in case she never shows up, I try for other acts of 54 kindness. That quiet driver is always at the pump a few feet away, instructing the attendant to fill mine 55 .
1.A. graduation B. birthday C. Christmas D. wedding
2.A. independent B. honest C. polite D. confident
3.A. reached B. left C. witnessed D. took
4.A. after B. without C. on D. by
5.A. time B. chance C. place D. cash
6.A. sun B. window C. needle D. clock
7.A. jumped B. walked C. looked D. pulled
8.A. seized B. pushed C. begged D. warned
9.A. sit B. sleep C. break D. fight
10.A. bank B. station C. hotel D. restaurant
11.A. door B. garage C. pump D. town
12.A. planned B. failed C. pretended D. suggested
13.A. serve B. attack C. charge D. treat
14.A. Open B. Start C. Fill D. Heat
15.A. Anxiety B. Nervousness C. Caution D. Hope
16.A. miles’ B. hours’ C. liters’ D. dollars’
17.A. explained B. repeated C. threatened D. ordered
18.A. night B. car C. gas D. money
19.A. unwilling B. unnecessary C. random D. extra
20.A. immediately B. quickly C. next D. first5
Steps must be taken _________ this kind of disaster will never happen again.
A. so that B. even if C. because D. as
It is necessary for children to exchange ideas with parents from time to time so that the generation gap between parents and children can be _________.
A. released B. replaced C. narrowed D. disappeared
“Mary looks hot and dry” “So _________ you if you had so high a fever.”
A. do B. are C. will D. would
I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no _________ of what I wanted to do.
A. sense B. difference C. hope D. chance
