I never saw my father home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a “night out with the boys”. He had no bobbies but just took care of his family.
For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 am. He was always interested in my life-how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.
Nine years ago when I bought me first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked, was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, for I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father.
Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set（秋千）for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him, But again, I had laundry to do, and the house to clean.
The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1995, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the week before. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.
The call came at 4:40 am. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed（發(fā)誓）that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him ad really get to know him.
I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.
In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father, and even more about every single day.
【小題1】 We know from the reading that the father_____.

Jimmy doesn’t 1ike school and is always looking for excuses(借口)not to go．If he coughs，he asks his mother to write a note saying he has a cold . If he has a headache，he asks his mother to take him to the doctor during school hours．He spends more time at home than he does at school. Even when he is at school．he looks for excuses to go home early．
One day he came home from school in the middle of the morning．His father was of course
surprised to see him back so early．
“You’re home early．Jimmy，”he said“Is the school closed today?”
“No．Dad，”Jimmy said．“It’s open．But I came home early．”
“How did you do this?”his father asked him．“What did you say to the teacher?”
“I told her that I had a new baby brother and I had to come home and help you．’’
“But your mother has had twins．” his father said．“a boy and a girl. You have a baby brother and a baby sister．”
“Yes．I know, Dad．”Jimmy said“I’m saving my baby sister for next week．”
【小題1】Why is Jimmy always trying not to go to school?

Jimmy doesn’t 1ike school and is always looking for excuses(借口)not to go．If he coughs，he asks his mother to write a note saying he has a cold . If he has a headache，he asks his mother to take him to the doctor during school hours．He spends more time at home than he does at school. Even when he is at school．he looks for excuses to go home early．
One day he came home from school in the middle of the morning．His father was of course
surprised to see him back so early．
“You’re home early．Jimmy，”he said“Is the school closed today?”
“No．Dad，”Jimmy said．“It’s open．But I came home early．”
“How did you do this?”his father asked him．“What did you say to the teacher?”
“I told her that I had a new baby brother and I had to come home and help you．’’
“But your mother has had twins．” his father said．“a boy and a girl. You have a baby brother and a baby sister．”
“Yes．I know, Dad．”Jimmy said“I’m saving my baby sister for next week．”

1. 1.

   Why is Jimmy always trying not to go to school?

   1. A.
      Because he often coughs．
   2. B.
      Because he often has colds．
   3. C.
      Because he doesn’t like school．
   4. D.
      Because he always has a headache
2. 2.

   Jimmy spends most of his time       

   1. A.
      ．a(chǎn)t school
   2. B.
      ．a(chǎn)t home
   3. C.
      in the hospital
   4. D.
      ．in the 1ibrary
3. 3.

   One morning Jimmy’s father was surprised because          ．

   1. A.
      Jimmy came back early from school
   2. B.
      Jimmy’s school was closed
   3. C.
      Jimmy’s mother was ill
   4. D.
      Jimmy’s mother had two babies
4. 4.

   What excuse did Jimmy give to the teacher to go home early?

   1. A.
      He had a headache．
   2. B.
      He didn’t want to go to school．
   3. C.
      His father was busy with his work．
   4. D.
      He had a baby brother to look after．
5. 5.

   Jimmy didn’t tell his teacher about the twins because．

   1. A.
      he wanted to save one for another excuse
   2. B.
      he didn’t know the fact
   3. C.
      he didn’t like the baby sister
   4. D.
      his father asked him not to do so

Dear Annie,

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before, I have just never felt the need to do such a thing. I have always felt I was quite able to do everything by myself. But now I know I was wrong.

Sometimes you really need help in life, I guess. And that’s why I’m writing this letter to you.

I have a happy family. I love my children and they love me . I’m a mother of three children. I know well how to bring up (帶大)children, and two of them are already over twenty, so it is nothing new for me.

But now I have a serious problem:the Internet problem. My little son is just sixteen, and I feel he should do a lot of homework now , but he doesn’t seem to be interested in it . He can happily spend six or eight hours at a time on the Tnternet every day , He chats with pelple that he has never met before , but speaks little to us .He does lots of useless things on the Internet. And he sees red if you ask him to do his homework.

I just want him to be a good student . Now he seldomdoes his lessons at home. I’m afraid he will drop behind in his class soon. His father is a doctor , a very kind man . He never seems to be afraid of his father.

What can I do ?And don’t tell to talk to him. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But this is really a big problem in our family. I have tried everything I can think of . I

wonder how the Internet is so attractive(有吸引力的).You’re my last hope. Please tell me what I can do!

Yours,

Ellen Smith

(   ) 1. Mrs Snith wrote to Annie because　　　　　　　.

     A. she often asked others for help

     B. she thought she was a great mother

     C. she didn’t know how to stop his son surfing the Internet

     D. she didn’t know how the Internet was so attractive

(   ) 2.What might NOT Mrs Smith’s son do on the Internet?                        

     A. Send e-mails to his friends         B. Prepare for his lessons

     C. Chat with strange people           D.Read the news

(   ) 3. What does the phrase “he sees red”mean in this passage?                   

     A. He feels sorry                    B.He feels happy

     C. He becomes frightened             D. He becomes angry

(   ) 4. What do you think of Mr.Smith?                   

     A. An irresponsible(不負(fù)責(zé)任的)father who nerver taught his son

     B. A very excellent doctor who was busy with his work and had no time to teach

his son

     C. A very kind man who loved his son

     D.A man who always made his son be afraid of him but failed

Dear Annie,

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before, I have just never felt the need to do such a thing. I have always felt I was quite able to do everything by myself. But now I know I was wrong.

Sometimes you really need help in life, I guess. And that’s why I’m writing this letter to you.

I have a happy family. I love my children and they love me . I’m a mother of three children. I know well how to bring up (帶大)children, and two of them are already over twenty, so it is nothing new for me.

But now I have a serious problem:the Internet problem. My little son is just sixteen, and I feel he should do a lot of homework now , but he doesn’t seem to be interested in it . He can happily spend six or eight hours at a time on the Tnternet every day , He chats with pelple that he has never met before , but speaks little to us .He does lots of useless things on the Internet. And he sees red if you ask him to do his homework.

I just want him to be a good student . Now he seldomdoes his lessons at home. I’m afraid he will drop behind in his class soon. His father is a doctor , a very kind man . He never seems to be afraid of his father.

What can I do ?And don’t tell to talk to him. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But this is really a big problem in our family. I have tried everything I can think of . I

wonder how the Internet is so attractive(有吸引力的).You’re my last hope. Please tell me what I can do!

Yours,

Ellen Smith

(   ) 1. Mrs Snith wrote to Annie because　　　　　　　.

     A. she often asked others for help

     B. she thought she was a great mother

     C. she didn’t know how to stop his son surfing the Internet

     D. she didn’t know how the Internet was so attractive

(   ) 2.What might NOT Mrs Smith’s son do on the Internet?                        

     A. Send e-mails to his friends         B. Prepare for his lessons

     C. Chat with strange people           D.Read the news

(   ) 3. What does the phrase “he sees red”mean in this passage?                   

     A. He feels sorry                    B.He feels happy

     C. He becomes frightened             D. He becomes angry

(   ) 4. What do you think of Mr.Smith?                   

     A. An irresponsible(不負(fù)責(zé)任的)father who nerver taught his son

     B. A very excellent doctor who was busy with his work and had no time to teach

his son

     C. A very kind man who loved his son

     D.A man who always made his son be afraid of him but failed

Dear Annie,

I have never written a letter to a newspaper before, I have just never felt the need to do such a thing. I have always felt I was quite able to do everything by myself. But now I know I was wrong.

Sometimes you really need help in life, I guess. And that’s why I’m writing this letter to you.

I have a happy family. I love my children and they love me . I’m a mother of three children. I know well how to bring up （帶大）children, and two of them are already over twenty, so it is nothing new for me.

But now I have a serious problem: the Internet problem. My little son is just sixteen, and I feel he should do a lot of homework now , but he doesn’t seem to be interested in it . He can happily spend six or eight hours at a time on the Internet every day , He chats with people that he has never met before , but speaks little to us .He does lots of useless things on the Internet. And he sees red if you ask him to do his homework.

I just want him to be a good student . Now he seldom does his lessons at home. I’m afraid he will drop behind in his class soon. His father is a doctor , a very kind man . He never seems to be afraid of his father.

What can I do ?And don’t tell to talk to him. We’ve tried that and it didn’t work. But this is really a big problem in our family. I have tried everything I can think of . I wonder how the Internet is so attractive（有吸引力的）.You’re my last hope. Please tell me what I can do!

Yours,

Ellen Smith

1. Mrs. Smith wrote to Annie because　　　　　

     A．she often asked others for help

     B．she thought she was a great mother

     C．she didn’t know how to stop his son surfing the Internet

     D．she didn’t know how the Internet was so attractive

2.What might NOT Mrs. Smith’s son do on the Internet?

     A．Send e-mails to his friends         B．Prepare for his lessons

     C．Chat with strange people           D．Read the news

3. What does the phrase “he sees red” mean in this passage?

     A．He feels sorry                    B．He feels happy

     C．He becomes frightened             D．He becomes angry

4. What do you think of Mr. Smith?

     A．An irresponsible（不負(fù)責(zé)任的）father who never taught his son

     B．A very excellent doctor who was busy with his work and had no time to teach

his son

     C．A very kind man who loved his son

     D.A man who always made his son be afraid of him but failed