The Worst Part

Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house． I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad．

I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer． I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield． I even remembered to dial I first because it was long distance． “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him．

“Take it easy, kid,” he said． “I just didn’t get around to it． I was going to call this evening． The week isn’t over yet．”

I thought about that．

“Something on your mind?” he asked．

“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited．” Then I was sorry I said it．

“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time．”

I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun． I felt a little better, as long as we were talking． “How is Bandit?” I asked．

There was a funny silence． For a minute I thought the line was dead． Then I knew something must have happened to my dog．

“Well, kid―”, he began． “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled． “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”

“Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said． “When I had to stop along with some other truckers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet．” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part． I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”

56．From the story we know that             ．

A．Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays

B．Leigh was a deserted boy

C．Leigh’s dad lived in another city

D．Leigh’s mother often went to golf fames

57．What happened to Bandit?

A．It was frozen to death．                     B．It was let out of the cab and got lost

C．It was killed by a truck．                   D．It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain．

58．The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on” probably means “            ”．

A．Listen to reason  B．Stop talking         C．Calm down          D．Keep warm

59．The worst part in Leigh’s eyes may be that            ．

A．his dad got remarried                           B．his parents got divorced

C．his dad didn’t love him                       D．his mom didn’t take him to pizza

When I was young, I really doubted whether there was love between my parents． Every day they were busy earning money so that they could   36   the high tuition my brother and I needed． They didn’t   37   in the romantic ways that I read in books or saw on TV．

One day, Mom was sewing a quilt（被子）． I   38 sat down beside her． “Mom, I have a　39   here,” I said after a while． “Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very　40  voice．

Mom stopped her work and raised her head with   41   in her eyes． She didn’t answer immediately． She bent her head and continued to sew the quilt． I was   42   if I had hurt her． I was in great embarrassment and I was at a loss what to do． But at last she said, very   43  , “Susan, look at this   44  ． Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt． The thread really makes the quilt strong and lasting． If    45   is a quilt, then love should be a thread． It can hardly be seen, but it’s really there．   46   is inside．”

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until years later．

One day, Dad accidentally got　  47  while on duty． Ever since then he could no longer　  48　properly． Every morning and dusk Mom would help Dad walk slowly on the country road． Along the country road, there were beautiful flowers, green grass and trees． The leaves were gently glistening   49   the sun shining upon them． All of these made up the most beautiful   50   in the world．

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day． “Susan, don’t worry shout me,” he said gently． “I just like walking with your mom． I like this kind of life．” Looking into his eyes, I  51　what they meant．

The doctor had said Dad would   52  in two months． But that day never came． He   53 away in peace．

54  I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses． But from this   55  , I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, which makes life strong and warm…

Mistakes in         public notices can be seen here and there．

A．being translated           B．translating            C．having translated      　D．translated

It is really hard to find a nice place in this city        we can have a picnic．

A．where                        B．that                     C．which                 D．when

Tell good stories to little children        you may open up their mind to different cultures．

A．which                        B．a(chǎn)nd                    C．so                       D．that

―Do you really believe him? He is always changing his mind．

―But this time, it seems that he         to go．

A．will decide                  B．decides                C．decided               D．has decided

        advertisements are of great help, I don’t think we should entirely rely on them．

A．Since                         B．While                  C．Because              D．As

I      the saxophone at regular intervals for many years when I was a child．

A．played                        B．was playing         C．has played           D．has been playing

I have to go to school by bus today because my bike        ．

A．has been repaired        B．is repairing           C．was repaired        D．is being repaired

The game is not very difficult        you understand the rules.

A．before                        B．though                C．unless                 D．once