I love it at night. It’s peaceful. And when it cools down I sometimes do some ironing. I don’t really care for it. I work full-time and I am too busy for most housework. I remember the old woman who taught me to iron. I was about 15 and I had to get a job taking care of a woman to make a living. She had been an able-bodied, healthy woman until the accident that caused her to be paralyzed.
The woman sat in an electric wheelchair all day. She could only move her head and arms. She would tell me how to do things. She would teach me in great detail on the correct ways to do things. Her home was perfect and beautiful. She would follow me around in her electric wheelchair to make sure I did everything exactly right. I’m sure she had been a perfect homemaker. She would have me fold(折疊) everything, including socks. I would complain silently and wish terrible things on her. She taught me the right way to make the bed. I know sometimes she’d get frustrated(沮喪) and impatient with me. I knew she wanted to do it herself. But she never shouted or scolded. She only insisted I do it right. I didn’t like it much, but I did it.
Today I can iron pretty well. I know where to start on a shirt and the right way to do the trousers. Now when I think about it, I don’t think she is an old lady. I think she might have been about my age now. Anyway, when I iron, I think of her and silently thank her for all the things I learned.
【小題1】The writer used to take care of the lady because ________.

通讀下面短文 ，掌握其大意, 然后在各題所給的四個選項中選出一個最佳答案。
I stood in the doorway, watching my older brother carefully putting clothes into his bag. I coughed uneasily. Finally when Rocky  1  that I was there, he turned toward me with a sad smile.
“I’m  2 tomorrow,” he said.
“I know.” My  3 was almost a whisper (低聲). I was  4  at myself for being so weak, but I wasn’t about to cry.
“My  5  is early, but there is still  6  time to come to the airport,” he said. Seeing the  7 look on my face, he quickly added, “I promise I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”
I tried to say  8 , but didn’t. It is always  9  to keep quiet if you’re about to cry. “You promised you wouldn’t cry, ” he said to me, thinking that I was close to  10 .
I remember the day he taught me how to ride a bike.  11  I thought he was always right behind me, holding the seat to keep me from  12 . I was happy with this, but he knew he couldn’t hold me up all my life. He told me that one day he would have to let go.
His coughing stopped my thinking. What was left to say? How could I say  13  to the person who taught me everything?
The next morning I  14 , looked at my alarm clock, and realized he had left  15 ago. We never even said goodbye.
Goodbye, Rocky! Although he may have been many miles away, I knew he heard me, even if it was only an answer in his heart.

I love it at night. It’s peaceful. And when it cools down I sometimes do some ironing. I don’t really care for it. I work full-time and I am too busy for most housework. I remember the old woman who taught me to iron. I was about 15 and I had to get a job taking care of a woman to make a living. She had been an able-bodied, healthy woman until the accident that caused her to be paralyzed.

The woman sat in an electric wheelchair all day. She could only move her head and arms. She would tell me how to do things. She would teach me in great detail on the correct ways to do things. Her home was perfect and beautiful. She would follow me around in her electric wheelchair to make sure I did everything exactly right. I’m sure she had been a perfect homemaker. She would have me fold(折疊) everything, including socks. I would complain silently and wish terrible things on her. She taught me the right way to make the bed. I know sometimes she’d get frustrated(沮喪) and impatient with me. I knew she wanted to do it herself. But she never shouted or scolded. She only insisted I do it right. I didn’t like it much, but I did it.

Today I can iron pretty well. I know where to start on a shirt and the right way to do the trousers. Now when I think about it, I don’t think she is an old lady. I think she might have been about my age now. Anyway, when I iron, I think of her and silently thank her for all the things I learned.

1.The writer used to take care of the lady because ________.

    A. she wanted to learn to do housework

    B. she was a friend of the lady’s

    C. she had to earn some money

    D. she couldn’t find a room to live in

2.The underlined word ‘paralyzed’ in the first paragraph may mean ‘______’.

A. destroyed        B. deaf         C. seriously ill        D. unable to walk

3.The little girl was ______ when the lady taught her how to do housework.

    A. encouraged to learn              B. unwilling to learn

    C. delighted to learn               D. recommended to learn

4.Now the writer ______.

    A. is still afraid of the lady          B. hates the strict lady

    C. admires the disabled lady            D. is very grateful to the lady

完形填空（15分）

閱讀下面短文, 掌握其大意，然后從各題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項中，選出最佳選項。

I stood in the doorway, watching my elder brother carefully putting clothes into his bag. I coughed uneasily. Finally 　　36　　 that I was there, Rocky turned towards me with a sad smile.

“I’m 　　37　　 tomorrow,” he said.

“I know.” My __38____ was almost a whisper. I was 　　39　　 at myself for being so weak, but I wasn’t about to cry.

“My 　　40　　 is early, so there is still 　　41　　 time to come to the airport,” he said. Seeing the 　　42　　 look on my face, he quickly added, “I promise I won’t leave without saying goodbye.”

I tried to say 　　43　　 , but didn’t. It’s always 　　44　　 to keep quiet if you’re about to cry. “You promised you wouldn’t cry,” he said to me, thinking that I was close to 　　45　　.

I remember the day he taught me how to ride a bike. 　　46　　 I thought he was always right behind me, holding the seat to keep me from 　　47　　. I was happy with this, but he knew he couldn’t hold me up all my life. He told me that one day he would have to let go.

His coughing stopped my thinking. What was left to say? How could I say 　　48　　 to the person who taught me everything?

The next morning I 　　49　　 , looked at my alarm clock, and realized he had left　50　 ago. We never even said goodbye.

Goodbye, Rocky! Although he may have been many miles away, I knew he heard me, even if it was only an answer in his heart.

1.A. forgetting         B. realizing            C. watching         D. learning

2.A. arriving　         B. living　         C. coming　         D. leaving

3. A. voice             B. sound　          C. noise                D. word

4.A. glad　             B. moved　          C. angry　          D. pleased

5. A. ship　                B. flight　         C. train　              D. bus

6.A. enough　           B. little　         C. no　             D. busy

7. A. surprised　           B. excited　            C. sad              D. happy

8. A. anything　            B. everything　     C. something　      D. nothing

9.A. stranger　         B. better　         C. worse　          D. easier

10.A. tears             B. smiles　         C. words　          D. sadness

11. A. At last　            B. Since　          C. At first　           D. So far

12. A. riding　         B. running          C. walking          D. falling

13.A. goodbye　         B. hello　          C. yes              D. sorry

14. A. gave up　            B. stood up         C. looked up　      D. woke up

15.A. minutes　         B. hours　          C. days　           D. weeks