When I was a kid, my dad worked in a shop in the center of our town. Sometimes, I went to the shop with him and I made a little pocket money by buying things for his workmates. But I never paid attention to all the things and people around me.
One day, as my dad and I were driving to the shop, I looked out of the window of the car and I saw an old man standing at the street corner. There was a rose in his hand, he was smelling the rose. For some reason, our eyes met and we looked at each other for about twenty seconds. There was nothing unusual about this man but the meet was unusual to me. Up to that moment in my life, I had given no thought to anyone on the street, in shops or anywhere else. I had no interest out of my family.
But I was interested in that old man. For the first time I had interest in a stranger. What kind of life had he lived? Where had he been in his time?
Once a great man encouraged us to “stop and smell the rose”. Now I want to tell these words to you. Stop what you are busy with and try to fully understand things and people in your eyesight. If you don’t care about others on your road of life, then you are missing your life itself.
【小題1】How did the writer make a little pocket money?

It was a hot summer day. My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat. Just then the phone call came, the call changed that sunny and beautiful day into a cold and dark one.

When I saw my father answering the phone, he was crying. I’d never seen my dad cry before. My heart sank. What possibly could happen?

“Max, I’m so sorry,” I heard him say. That’s when it hit me. I knew that Suzie had died.

Max has been my dad’s best friend for years. Suzie, his daughter, had a serious illness. She knew she was different from other kids. Although she couldn’t live a normal life, she was still happy.

When Suzie and I were little girls, we spent quite a bit of time together. When Suzie was ten, she had to live in a hospital. About eight months before she died, we talked at least twice a week on the phone until the end. Suzie was always so excited to talk to me and wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate.

When Suzie and I first started calling each other, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong. I learned so much from her. She gave me more than I could ever give her. I will never forget her or the talks we had. I now know that I must never take anything for granted, especially my health and the gift of life.

1.That phone call on a summer day made the author very _________.

A. sad              B. dark             C. cold              D. disappointed

2.Which of the following is Not true?

A. The author’s day had never cried before.

B. Max was the best friend of the author’s dad.

C. Suzie was in bad health, so she was always unhappy.

D. Suzie enjoyed talking to the author on the phone.

3.The underlined word “it” probably refers to _________.

A. all the talks between Suzie and the author on the phone

B. Suzie’s serious illness

C. Suzie’s death

D. the first talk between Suzie and the author on the phone

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. The Gift of Life                                                B. A Cold Dark Day

C. Suzie’s Death                                                  D. My Friend Suzie

When I was a kid, my dad worked in a shop in the center of our town. Sometimes, I went to the shop with him and I made a little pocket money by buying things for his workmates. But I never paid attention to all the things and people around me.

One day, as my dad and I were driving to the shop, I looked out of the window of the car and I saw an old man standing at the street corner. There was a rose in his hand, he was smelling the rose. For some reason, our eyes met and we looked at each other for about twenty seconds. There was nothing unusual about this man but the meet was unusual to me. Up to that moment in my life, I had given no thought to anyone on the street, in shops or anywhere else. I had no interest out of my family.

But I was interested in that old man. For the first time I had interest in a stranger. What kind of life had he lived? Where had he been in his time?

Once a great man encouraged us to “stop and smell the rose”. Now I want to tell these words to you. Stop what you are busy with and try to fully understand things and people in your eyesight. If you don’t care about others on your road of life, then you are missing your life itself.

1.How did the writer make a little pocket money?

2.What was the old man doing when I saw him?

3.When did the writer have interest out of his family?

4.What is the main idea of this passage?

One day last winter my dad and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus（馬戲表演）．Finally，there was only one family in front of us．There were eight children．All were perhaps under the age of 12．You could tell that they didn't have much money．Their clothes were not expensive but clean．All of them were standing in line，two by two behind their parents．I could feel that the children had never seen the circus before．They were very excited．

The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted．He proudly answered，“Eight children’s tickets and two adults' tickets so that I can take my family to the circus．” The ticket lady answered the price．The man's wife looked sad．The father asked again in surprise，“How much did you say?” The ticket lady said the price again．The man didn’t have enough money．

How could he tell his eight children that he didn’t have enough money? At that time，my dad put his hand in his pocket，pulled out twenty dollars and dropped it on the ground（In fact，we were not rich）．

My dad picked up the money and said to the father，“Excuse me，sir．This fell out of your pocket．” The man knew what happened at once．He looked at my dad and took my dad’s hands．He was so thankful that he couldn't say a word．

My dad and I went back home．We didn't see the circus，but I would never forget that day．

1．How many people were there in the family in front of the writer?

2．Why were the children very excited?

3．Why did the man's wife look sad?

4．What kind of person was the writer's father?