One evening I went out and left my
17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. On
this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girl
friend. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a
wonderful job of babysitting the younger children. Later, I discovered that
complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than
planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this
happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other
end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m.,
when the two younger children should have been in bed. and when the two older
children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson,” I
said. I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10∶30 on a winter night I had no
idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his
girlfriend’s house. After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend
answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone. I was not my usual
calm, rational(理智的)self.
After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t
trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were
with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children
over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. This was too good
to be believed. Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was
only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at
my parents home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s
gifts. Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my
children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful
expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father
of my son’s girlfriend.
1. The author went out
and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because________________.
.
A. she knew that her eldest son was a good
baby-sitter
B. she thought it no hard work to take care
of the younger ones
C. she believed he could do well with his
girlfriend’s help
D. she could not find a baby-sitter on that
winter night
2. When the author
called home that evening, she found that _______________.
A. two younger children had already been in
bed
B. the children were preparing a birthday
gift for her
C. her son was quarrelling with his
girlfriend
D. there was no one answering the telephone
3. What can you learn
from the underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph?
A. The author didn’t believe what her son
had told her.
B. The author had complete confidence in
her son.
C. The author believed her son was telling
the truth.
D. The author was moved by what her
children had done.
4. What might the
children do that evening?[來源: http://wx.jtyjy.com/]
A. They had a birthday party.
B. They framed some photographs.
C. They had their pictures taken.
D. They made some beautiful clothes.
5. What does the author intend
to tell us by the story?
A. Modem teenagers are not worth trusting.
B. It is no easy job to look after young
children.
C. It’s no good to have a girlfriend at an
early age.
D. Her children have a caring and tender
heart.
ely
y
