My father never wanted his children to know what he did for a living.Dad worked in Plant C.Lying beside lake Erie, it saw him in at sunrise and out at nightfall.Sometimes my mother would take my siblings (兄弟姐妹) and me to the public beach in our hometown of Ashtabula. she'd gather us round and point to the smokestacks, coughing clouds into the sky.
"Wave to daddy!" she'd shout. Four little hands would shoot into the air.I never knew what Dad did in Plant C, but during 34 years of hard work, he had surgery (手術) on his shoulder and hand.At 48, he had his first heart attack.He retired in 1993, right after the last kid graduated from college.But the damage was done.A few years later, the next heart attack killed him.
I saw my dad in Plant C only once, when I took dinner to him.That night, I looked at my father, covered in sweat and coal, and for the first time I knew why he was so often angry for no reason.
Recently my father' s friend, Toby Workman, walked me there.I knew my father never wanted me to see it.At every station, he described the job and the danger.It was like listening to a foreign language.I walked past many DANGER signs.Toby put his hand on my shoulder."look," he said, "you need to understand something.Your dad was a maintenance mechanic.He worked the most dangerous job.If something broke, he fixed it."
A few days later, my daughter graduated from college.I gave her the hard hat Toby handed to me as I left, and this notes: " Whenever you feel something difficult, put this on, look in the mirror, and remember your roots."
小題1:How many siblings does the author most probably have? ____.
A.Three siblings B.Two siblings C.One sibling D: Four siblings
小題2:Which of the following is TRUE of the facts about the author's father? ____
A.He didn't suffer a heart attack until he retired.
B.He worked in Plant C for 48 years in all.
C.He was hardly angry in his daily life.
D.He did physical work in Plant C.
小題3:When Toby Workman described the author' s father' s job, the author ____.
A.felt familiar with the job | B.didn’t quite understand |
C.wanted to learn a foreign language | D.decided to do the same work |
小題4:The author gave her daughter the hat, hoping that her daughter could ____.
A.remember her grandfather | B.overcome all difficulties by wearing it |
C.get encouraged by her grandfather | D.follow her grandfather' s work |