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Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are busy earning money. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. My father has a bad temper. When he’s tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.
One day, my mother was sewing a quilt (缝被子).
“Mom, may I ask you a question?” I said.
“What?” “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.
My mother stopped her work and raised her head in surprise. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she continued to sew the quilt.
I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. But at last I heard my mother say the following words: “Susan, look at the thread (线). Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. It makes the quilt strong. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there. Love is inside.”
I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. My dad got sick suddenly. My mum had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had a serious illness.
After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him.
“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked.
“Susan, don’t worry about me,” he said gently. “I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Looking at his eyes, I knew he loves my mother deeply.
Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But now, I understand that love is just like the thread. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.
1.At first the writer thought there was no love between her parents because of the following
EXCEPT ________.
A. they were always busy working
B. they didn’t act in a romantic way
C. her father became angry easily
D. they always expressed their feelings as they liked
2.The writer felt worried because ________.
A. her mum was angry with her
B. her mum didn’t know how to answer the question
C. she thought she hurt her mum’s heart
D. her mum’s answer was hard to understand
3. From the underlined sentence, we know that ________.
A. the writer’s dad nearly lost his life
B. the writer’s mum was seriously ill that day
C. the writer’s mum didn’t want to stay with the writer’s dad
D. the writer’s mum was worried about the writer’s dad so much
4.What can we learn from the writer’s dad’s words?
A. He had a special love to the writer’s mum.
B. He wouldn’t recover from his illness.
C. He wouldn’t care about his illness.
D. He didn’t like walking with the writer’s mum.
5.Which is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Love is the feeling in the deep heart.
B. The writer still can’t understand her parents now.
C. We should express our love to our family members.
D. The old people’s love is less than young people’s love.
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| Spread of Ebola Ebola began in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization reported that more than 20,000 people might have been infected (感染). Thousands of children lost their parents because of the illness and millions more no longer attended school. Ebola got worldwide attention when international medical workers in West Africa became infected and returned home for treatment. The spread of Ebola led to worldwide efforts to develop new medicine. The international community raised money and workers to deal with it. However, about 8,000 people have died from Ebola so far and doctors expect many more deaths. |
| Fear of flying In early March, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. The plane carried 239 people. It was flying from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur. Nine months later, the plane remains lost though China has been searching from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. In July, Malaysia Airlines had another accident. A missile (导弹) hit Flight 17 as it flew over Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew (全体工作人员) were killed. A few days later, a TransAsia Airways plane crashed (坠毁) in bad weather in Taiwan, China. Forty-eight people were killed. The next day, July 24, there was another terrible plane crash. An Air Algerie flight crashed in northern Mali killing all 116 people on the plane. The year ended with the crash of AirAsia Indonesia Flight 8501 into the Java Sea. All 162 passengers and crew are believed to have been killed. |
1.How many people died from Ebola?
A. More than 20,000. B. 116. C. Around 8,000. D. 239.
2.From the first passage, we know __________.
A. Ebola began in the West Asian countries
B. Ebola made thousands of children not attend school
C. doctors say there won’t be new cases of Ebola
D. people are trying to develop new medicine for Ebola
3. There are _________ plane accidents mentioned in the second passage.
A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 6
4.Which plane crashed into the Java Sea?
A. AirAsia Indonesia Flight 8501.
B. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
C. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
D. A TransAsia Airways plane.
5.Where can we read the passages?
A. In a medical report. B. In the newspaper.
C. In a scientific book. D. In a music magazine.
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Different countries have different greeting customs. Read this article to know more about the greeting customs in different cultures, and make sure you greet people in the right way next time you visit one of these countries.
France
French people greet each other with a handshake, but close friends kiss each other on both cheeks when they meet. They do this gesture when meeting and before leaving.
South Korea
In South Korea, it is a sign of respect for people to bow when greeting each other. In Korea, a bow is followed by a handshake. When shaking someone’s hand, it is polite to support the right forearm (前臂) with the left hand. However, South Korean women do not shake hands with Western men; instead, they bow slightly.
Brazil
Kissing women on the cheek is a common way of greeting. In a formal situation, a handshake is often done to show respect. Men should shake hands before and after meeting, and once they have become familiar with each other, a light hug is often given to each other.
Ghana
In a social situation, it’s polite to greet everyone in the room. A handshake is used in greeting, and one palm (手掌) must directly touch the other palm. It’s considered disrespectful to touch the back of the hand.
The Philippines
There are several ways of greeting people in the Philippines. An elderly person places his or her right hand on the forehead (前额) of a child to “bless” the latter. This is called “mano”. Relatives and family members greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Friends greet each other with a polite nod or a handshake.
1.Mike kisses a French boy Jim on the cheek, they may __________.
A. meet for the first time
B. be close friends
C. be in a social situation
D. be in a formal situation
2.The underlined word “gesture” here means “__________” in Chinese.
A. 动作 B. 礼节 C. 准备 D. 尊重
3.In Brazil, it is very common to __________ between good friends.
A. shake hands B. kiss on the cheek
C. bow to each other D. give a light hug
4.Which of the following is NOT true about the Philippines?
A. Friends greet each other with a polite nod or a handshake.
B. An old man blesses a child by putting his right hand on the child’s forehead.
C. It’s impolite to touch the back of the hand when shaking hands.
D. In the Philippines family members can greet each other with a kiss.
5.The best title for the passage is “__________”.
A. Greeting customs in different cultures
B. How to behave politely
C. All the ways to greet people
D. Friends should greet politely
