It was a bright spring afternoon when Freda told me she wouldn’t need me any more. I had just finished my four-hour work up and down the stairs of her three-storey home, cleaning the floor and washing the dishes. She was jeans and a sweater, sitting at the table I had just . A pile of papers spread around her. Her husband’s was going to be reduced by thirty percent. And they were trying to live as if it had happened. I felt sorry for her, but I also felt a sense of .
I had been cleaning Freda’s house for five years and had an unexpected relationship with the family. It was not just I had become an expert at scraping(刮掉) dirt stuck to their wooden floor, that I had learned exactly how to place toys on the girls’ beds. It was than that, for I felt I had become a part of their .
Freda stayed at home with the kids, I would often see her in the morning them to school. And I’d be there when they home at lunch for sandwiches and piano practice. I had them grow up. Now I was fired, but the thing was that I still wanted to keep scraping away the dirt and dust for the family.
I left Freda’s house that day, wondering about the of my relationship with my clients(主顾). Who am I them? As a matter of fact, I’m an employee—the lowest kind of employee. But I’m also a trusted of the family. I can’t help worrying about what happens around me.
A．stepping B．coming C．jumping D．moving
A．hanging B．making C．wearing D．changing
A．cleaned B．washed C．swept D．brushed
A．duty B．money C．work D．pay
A．already B．seldom C．never D．yet
A．regret B．surprise C．fear D．loss
A．started B．developed C．improved D．broken
A．why B．what C．that D．which
A．but B．and C．or D．for
A．less B．least C．more D．most
A．life B．story C．activity D．experience
A．as B．so C．since D．however
A．taking B．bringing C．meeting D．calling
A．left B．returned C．went D．marched
A．found B．noticed C．watched D．realized
A．possible B．great C．proper D．strange
A．meaning B．nature C．result D．importance
A．for B．to C．with D．at
A．hardly B．certainly C．probably D．merely
A．member B．person C．relative D．companion
I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a person.
I think my started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really . It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a(n) . I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I 43 to help. That was really a big for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of are still my best friends today.
A bigger cause of my new , however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my . Every time I came into her room, she was so because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never her, so I took her place. She let me that making others feel good make me feel good, too, when she died, I was , but I was very grateful to her.
I think I am a much person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not these experiences. They have me to care about other people more than about myself. I who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.
A．since B．before C．or D．unless
A．famous B．simple C．different D．skilled
A．education B．career C．tour D．change
A．talked B．wrote C．lied D．reported
A．careful B．lonely C．curious D．guilty
A．argument B．game C．experiment D．defence
A．dared B．offered C．hesitated D．happened
A．dream B．problem C．duty D．step
A．us B．which C．them D．whom
A．attitude B．hobby C．hope D．luck
A．friend B．partner C．guide D．guest
A．polite B．happy C．strange D．confident
A．bothered B．answered C．visited D．trusted
A．explain B．guess C．declare D．see
A．homeless B．heartbroken C．bad-tempered D．hopeless
A．quieter B．busier C．better D．richer
A．forget B．face C．improve D．analyze
A．forced B．preferred C．ordered D．taught
A．miss B．like C．wonder D．expect
A man who knows how to write a personal letter has a very powerful tool.A letter can be enjoyed,read and . It can set up a warm conversation between two people far apart(远离的)；it can keep a with very little effort.
I will give . A few years ago my older brother and I were not getting We had been close as but had grown apart. Our meetings were not ; our conversation was filled with arguments and quarrels; and every effort to clear the air seemed to only our misunderstanding. Then he a small island in the Caribbean and we touch .One day he wrote me a letter. He describeb his island and its people, told me what he was doing,said how he felt,and encouraged me to . Rereading the letter, I was by its humor(幽默)and clever expressions,These were all qualities for which I had respected my order brother but he no longer had them.I had never known he could write so .And with that one letter we became friends .
It might never have occurred to to write me if he had not been in a place where there were no ,For him, writing was a necessity, It also turned out to be the best way for us to get back in touch.Because we live in an age of communication(通讯),people often that they don’t always have to phone or email. They have a . And that is to write.
A．received B．rewritten C．returned D．reread
A．record B．promise C．friendship D．secret
A．an example B．a lesson C．an experience D．a talk
A．through B．together C．along D．away
A．brothers B．children C．fellows D．classmates
A．normal B．necessary C．pleasant D．possible
A．deepen B．start C．express D．settle
A．toured B．stopped over C．reached D．moved to
A．lost B．kept in C．needed D．got in
A．think B．write C．enjoy D．read
A．driven B．beaten C．surprised D．honored
A．never B．seldom C．sometimes D．once
A．realized B．judged C．thought D．expected
A．well B．often C．much D．soon
A．later B．anyhow C．too D．again
A．us B．anyone else C．someone D．my brother
A．mail services B．transport C．phones D．relatives
A．poor B．easy C．popular D．busy
A．believe B．decide C．argue D．forget
A．habit B．choice C．method D．plan
After the birth of my second child, I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced for a few days, I was to wait tables on my own. All went that first week. When Saturday night came, I was luckily the tables not far from the kitchen. , I still felt a little hard to carry the heavy trays (托盘)。
Before I knew it, the was full of people. I moved slowly, every step. I remember how I was when I saw the tray stand near the tables, it looked different from the one I was on. It had nice handles (手柄)，which made it to move around. I was pleased with everything and began to I was a natural at this job.
Then, an old man came to me and said, “Excuse me, dear, my wife and I loved __ you work. It seems your tray stand has been very to you, but we are getting ready to now, and my wife needs her back.”
At first his did not get across. “What was he talking about!” Then I got it. I had set my trays on his wife’s orthopedic walker (助步器). I stood frozen as ice, but my face was . I wanted to get into a hole and .
Since then, I have learned from many mistakes such as the one I just , I have learned to be more and not to be too sure of myself.
A．manager B．assistant C．cook D．waitress
A．promised B．invited C．allowed D．advised
A．well B．quickly C．safely D．wrong
A．left B．given C．brought D．shown
A．Therefore B．However C．Otherwise D．Finally
A．kitchen B．street C．restaurant D．table
A．minding B．changing C．taking D．saving
A．angry B．calm C．sad D．happy
A．fixed B．trained C．loaded D．waited
A．slower B．lighter C．quieter D．easier
A．believe B．agree C．regret D．pretend
A．letting B．making C．watching D．having
A．useful B．familiar C．unusual D．interesting
A．rest B．order C．eat D．leave
A．bag B．walker C．tray D．coat
A．idea B．praise C．message D．need
A．cold B．full of joy C．pale D．on fire
A．lie B．hide C．defend D．stay
A．repeated B．discovered C．corrected D．described
A．careful B．patient C．honest D．practical
Born in America , I spoke English ,not Chinese , the language of my ancestors . When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese at my face , but I pushed them . My mom believed I would learn I was ready . But the never came.
On a Chinese New Year’s Eve , my uncle spoke to me in Chinese , but all I could do was at him , confused , scratching my head . “ Still can’t speak Chinese?” He me , “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown .”
“Hey ,this is America , not China. I’ll get some with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for .
“Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu ,” she said ,handing over a $20 bill . I the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.
I found the fish surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I should to the fishman. But he my English words and turned to serve the next customer .The laugh of the people behind increased their impatience. With every , the breath of the dragons (龙) on my back grew stronger—my blood boiling— me to cry out . “ Xian Sheng Yu , please.” “Very Xian Sheng ,” I repeated .The crowd erupted into laughter . My face turned and I ran back home , except for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket.
Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I should feel right at . Instead , I was the joke , a disgrace (丢脸)to the language.
Sometimes, I laugh at my fish , but , in the end, the joke is on . Every laugh is a culture ; every laugh is my heritage (传统) fading away.
A．custom B．games C．characters D．language
A．ahead B．around C．along D．aside
A．when B．before C．unless D．until
A．success B．study C．time D．attempt
A．aim B．joke C．nod D．stare
A．cared about B．laughed at C．argued with D．asked after
A．right now B．from now C．at times D．in time
A．decision B．permission C．information D．preparation
A．repeated B．reviewed C．spelled D．kept
A．farm B．stand C．pond D．market
A．guessed B．forgot C．doubted D．ignored
A．by B．as C．with D．from
A．second B．effort C．desire D．movement
A．forcing B．allowing C．persuading D．leading
A．bright B．blank C．pale D．red
A．open-mouthed B．tongue-tied C．empty-handed D．broken-hearted
A．service B．home C．risk D．root
A．trade B．deed C．challenge D．incident
A．it B．us C．me D．them
A．thrown B．lost C．divided D．reflected
A little girl lived in a simple and poor house on a hill. Usually she play in the small garden. She could see over the garden fence and across the valley a wonderful house with shining golden windows high on another hill. she loved her parents and her family, she desired to live in such a house and all day about how wonderful and exciting must feel to live there.
At the age when she gained some skill and sensibility (识别力)，she her mother for a bike ride the garden. Her mother finally allowed her to go, her keeping close to the house and not too far. The day was beautiful. The little girl knew where she was heading! the hill and across the valley, she rode to the of the golden house.
she got off her bike and put it against the gate post, she focused on the path to the house and then on the house itself. She was very disappointed when she that all the windows were and rather dirty.
So _ and heart-broken, she didn’t go any further. She and all of a sudden she saw an amazing . There on the other side of the valley was a little house and its windows were golden. Looking at her little home, she that she had been living in her golden house filled with love and care. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!
A．might B．should C．would D．must
A．Unless B．Although C．Since D．But
A．dreamed B．worried C．asked D．shouted
A．this B．that C．it D．which
A．different B．scientific C．musical D．basic
A．begged B．blamed C．invited D．paid
A．inside B．outside C．through D．along
A．insisting on B．relying on C．arguing about D．wondering about
A．traveling B．running C．riding D．walking
A．madly B．rapidly C．exactly D．possibly
A．Over B．Down C．Around D．Beside
A．windows B．steps C．center D．gate
A．Until B．As C．While D．Because
A．getting B．introducing C．leading D．moving
A．felt B．learned C．concluded D．found
A．transparent B．bright C．plain D．wide
A．anxious B．angry C．serious D．sad
A．turned around B．cheered up C．settled down D．dropped in
A．hill B．valley C．background D．sight
A．imagined B．decided C．realized D．guessed
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