I have been employed by a charity organization for less than a year now and I have the privilege of
finding foster homes for abandoned children. It has always been my dream to work with adopted children
because I myself was an adopted child.
I was born in California in September of 1976 and was adopted in Ohio in March of 1977. I have no
memory of being told that I was adopted, however, I have always known. I have been told that I was
wanted and I was special.
Even though my parents provided me with lots of love, I was always annoyed by the questions about
my origin and my feeling of being unwanted. I constantly scanned every crowd I was in for another human
that looked like me or laughed like me.
I began searching for my birthparents in 1999 and I imagined every possible scene of my birth family.
I went to a local agency for support and five days later I met my birth mother. The story unfolded. She
flew me to Los Angeles the next day and I spent the weekend connecting with another person who looked
just like me. We have had a worthwhile relationship over the past years although she could not give me any
information about my birth father.
In June of last year a member of my birth father"s family contacted me. Now, he and I are just beginning
to get to know what it is like to be a birth child, Without the support of my parents who raised me I would
have never experienced the feeling of being truly wanted accepted. For that, I am forever grateful.
B. He is eager to work with them.
C. He is strongly against it.
D. He thinks it is painful. .
A. He feels that he can"t forgive his birth parents.
B. He understands his birth parents.
C. He misses his birth parents very much.
D. He is afraid of being hurt by them again.
B. To show how deep his desire to work with adopted children is.
C. To encourage other people to find their birth parents.
D. To show his love to his birth parents and his foster parents
My 14-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat at the same time. It was hanging at a (an) 1 clothing
store. The coat had a black velvet collar, delightful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label (标签) and a (an) 2 price
of $ 28.
We looked at 3 , saying nothing, 4 John"s eyes shone. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular just then
with 5 , but could 6 several hundred dollars now.
John 7 the coat. He turned from side to side, eyeing himself in the mirror with a serious, studied 8
that soon changed into a smile. The 9 was perfect. John wore the coat to school the next day and came
home wearing a big smile. "How did the kids like your coat?" I asked. "They love it." He said, carefully 10
it over the chair and smoothing it flat.
Over the next few weeks, the 11 came over John. Quiet, reasoned discussion was 12 argument. He
became more thoughtful and eager to 13 . "Good dinner, Mum," he would say every evening. One day when
I suggested that he might start on homework before dinner, John said, "You are right, and I guess I will."
When I 14 this to one of his teachers and remarked that I didn"t know 15 caused the changes, she
said with laughter, "It must be his coat!" At the library, we 16 to meet a friend who had not seen our children
for a long time. " 17 this be John?" he asked, looking up to John"s new height, assessing the cut of his coat,
and extending his hand, one gentleman to another.
John and I both knew we should never 18 a person"s clothes for the real person within them. But there
is something to be said for 19 a standard of excellence for the world to see, for practicing standards of excellence in thought, speech and behavior, and for 20 what is on the inside with what is on the outside.
| ( )1. A. second-hand ( )2. A. reasonable ( )3. A. each other ( )4. A. therefore ( )5. A. adults ( )6. A. spend ( )7. A. touched ( )8. A. gesture ( )9. A. color ( )10. A. pressing ( )11. A. happiness ( )12. A. because of ( )13. A. please ( )14. A. mentioned ( )15. A. when ( )16. A. happened ( )17. A. Should ( )18. A. watch ( )19. A. doing ( )20. A. comparing | B. expensive B. unbelievable B. one another B. however B. people B. cost B. buttoned B. expression B. price B. taking B. satisfaction B. instead of B. regret B. wrote B. how B. came B. Would B. judge B. showing B. connecting | C. big C. special C. the other C. but C. parents C. pay C. held C. attitude C. fit C. hanging C. change C. aware of C. complain C. reported C. what C. intended C. Must C. mistake C. speaking C. combining | D. cheap | ||||||||||||||||||
| 阅读理解。 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| There was room for all of us, and the sleeping bags kept the night coldness away. We would listen to the sound of the river, and hear the coyotes (土狼) howling along the hills not far away. Those were the cool summer nights of the mid-nineties in Southern Alberta, Canada, when the four children were young and we would lie on the trampoline (蹦床) in the backyard late at night, for the sun would not set till late in July and August. We would look at the stars up above and never grow tired of it. These were the times when I would tell the stories of my own childhood and teach the kids life"s lessons that have been remembered to this day. I chuckle (轻声地笑), as I recall the time when we heard a coyote not far away, and then I started a story about a bear approaching the trampoline. The bear came close (in the story), and the kids snuggled up to mom and me, until suddenly I"d let out a howl and grab all the kids and they would be frightened and jump up and then all laugh, "Daddy, you scared us!" Now the children are in their mid and late teens, but they fondly remember the starry nights on that trampoline. Recently my oldest daughter on her wedding day sang a song for her parents, entitled "I"ll always be your little girl". She wrote the music and words and yes indeed: it included a memory of those starry nights. I have learned as a parent that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children as they are growing up is the time to tell them stories, or if telling stories is not that simple, perhaps read them a story. They can read their own books, but telling or reading them a story will create a close relationship with pleasant memories such as those late summer nights under the starry sky. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. The passage is mainly about _____. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A. coyotes" effects on children B. the relationship between children C. the author"s unforgettable experiences D. the author"s memories of starry nights | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. The underlined part "snuggled up" probably means _____. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A. lay down B. got close C. gave in D. struggled forward | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. How do the children feel about their childhood? | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A. Very enjoyable. B. A bit regretful. C. Rather busy. D. Sort of dull. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. In the last paragraph, the writer mainly wants to express _____. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A. it is easy to tell stories to children B. kids should read stories themselves C. it is important to tell or read stories to kids D. it"s necessary to spend summer nights with kids | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 完形填空。 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Far out in the sea lived three Sirens,the three sisters of magic song. Half human and half bird,the Siren sisters sat in a field of flowers, 1 in voices that excited the hearts of men.The attractive songs were so 2 that ships were attracted to the 3 and struck to pieces on the rocks. No sailor nor ship had ever been known to 4 the island of the Sirens without being attracted to 5 . Acting on the advice of Circe, Odysseus made careful 6 against the Sirens．Before their ships came to where they could 7 the song, Odysseus had himself 8 the mast (桅杆), stuffed (堵住) the 9 of his men with wax (蜡) and ordered them to 10 his orders and gestures when they were passing the 11 island. Soon they came in sight of the 12 island, and the attractive song reached the ears of 13 . It moved him so much that he struggled in despair to 14 himself and shouted for his men to 15 the rich and flowery grass land of the singing sisters. But 16 paid any attention to him. The sailors kept straight on until they were 17 out of hearing. 18 his friends freed him and took the wax out of their ears. For 19 the Sirens had sung with no 20 . The eldest of the sisters, Partherope, loved Odysseus so much that she threw herself into the sea after his ships had passed. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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