It all began with a stop at a red light.
Kevin Salwen was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006 . While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes Coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal.”Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered （纠缠）her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”
Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually, that’s what the family did. The project —crazy, impetuous （鲁莽的） and utterly inspiring — is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: “The Power of Half.” It’s a book that, frankly, I’d be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it. An impressionable child reads this, and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.
At a time of enormous needs in Haiti and elsewhere, when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes, the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference — for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help. In a column a week ago, it described neurological evidence from brain scans that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction. The Salwens’ experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.
Mr. Salwen and his wife, Joan, had always assumed that their kids would be better off in a bigger house. But after they downsized, there was much less space to retreat to, so the family members spent more time around each other. A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.
1.The best title for the passage should be “______”.
A. The Less, the Better
B. An Expected Satisfaction
C. Something We Can Live Without
D. Somewhat Crazy but Inspiring
2.What does the underlined word “inequity” most probably mean in Paragraph 3?
A. Unfairness. B. Satisfaction.
C. Personal attitude. D. Reasonable statement.
3. What does the underlined sentence “Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.” means? ______
A. Never give a quick answer to an idealistic teenager.
B. Unless a child is realistic, never give an answer immediately.
C. Give an answer if the child is reasonable.
D. Don’t respond to a child's demands firmly without consideration.
4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The Salwens regretted selling their house.
B. The relationship between the family members of the Salwens is much closer.
C. Small houses can bring happiness.
D. The Salwens intend to buy another big house.
5.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Mercedes Coupe is only an ordinary car which is quite cheap.
B. Unselfishness has nothing to do with people’s primary satisfaction.
C. Hannah asked her parents to do something charitable and they sold their house.
D. The writer’s children asked him to sell their house.
I’d meant to go to Miros that day. I’d packed my bag and was ready. The motor-boat in on time. The sky was cloudy, but the wind wasn’t too strong for the two-hour . I stood at my window, staring at the boat. Then I lost of her, an old light-house partly blocked my view of the harbor. A dozen passengers were their way there. I was about to join them --- when a man’s face at the light-house window.
This was strange, because the light-house had been empty, unused and for thirty years. It was stranger still --- because I’d seen that before. I couldn’t place it but it was, or had once been, familiar to me. I opened my window and across. “I know we’ve met before, but I can’t remember where.”
I him to open his if he could and answer me. He did neither. The face behind the glass motionless (静止). Seeing him more clearly now, I knew he was not looking at me. He seemed to be looking upwards, the clouds. How well I’d known that face, sometime, somewhere!
I again. “We met years ago. Was it in Athens in the 1950s? I used to live in Plaka.”
He didn’t reply nor give any that he’d heard. I went back further, to I was in the navy. “Perhaps we met at sea during the war,” and that thought at once him to mind. Commander Leftis! He was Commander Leftis of course! How could I have forgotten? I’d saved his life once. But surely he …
The motor-boat her bell. I turned my eyes. The wind had risen, but she was pulling . Laughing, I called, “Now I’ve missed her, and it’s your , Commander!”
As the boat drew away, the face at the window faded. minute it was there. Looking up, I could see the whites of the eyes. The minute it was gone.
Well, I didn’t rush to the light-house. I knew that Leftis was dead. He died at sea in 1963 or 1964. But there’s one other thing I ought to tell you: the motor-boat never reached Miros. It was lost in a storm, with all the passengers.
1.A. reached B. arrived C. went D. came
2.A. voyage B. crossing C. travel D. boating
3.A. sight B. way C. patience D. chances
4.A. searching B. finding C. making D. hurrying
5.A. placed B. existed C. occurred D. appeared
6.A. locked B. opened C. rebuilt D. chained
7.A. man B. face C. window D. light-house
8.A. jumped B. ran C. shouted D. screamed
9.A. expected B. hoped C. believed D. asked
10.A. became B. remained C. seemed D. grew
11.A. through B. after C. for D. at
12.A. persuaded B. repeated C. tried D. continued
13.A. suggestion B. answer C. sign D. action
14.A. when B. which C. where D. how
15.A. kept B. brought C. caused D. changed
16.A. beat B. rang C. turned on D. put on
17.A. up B. down C. in D. out
18.A. problem B. question C. duty D. fault
19.A. Each B. Every C. One D. Some
20.A. next B. rest C. other D. last
You __________ football after school. Why not go home and do your homework first?
A. always played B. have always played
C. are always playing D. have always been playing
The palace is heavily guarded, because inside its walls ________.
A. where sit the European leaders B. the European leaders there sit
C. sit the European leaders D. that the European leaders sit
Flying kites, ______ some researchers point out, can not only bring about joy to us, but also promote our physical and mental health.
A. which B. what C. as D. where
Your daughter would ______ a famous singer---she has a great gift for music.
A. make B. turn C. serve D. shape
