-
A
few
years
after
I
was
born,
a
stranger
appeared
in
our
small
town.
Dad
liked
this
attractive
newcomer
very
much
and
soon
invited
him
to
live
with
our
family.
The
stranger
was
quickly
accepted and was
around from then on.
As
I
grew
up,
I
never
questioned
his
place
in
my
family.
In
my
young
mind,
he
had
a
special
position. Mom taught me how to tell
good from bad, and Dad taught me to follow orders.
But the
stranger
was
our
storyteller.
He
would
keep
us
listening
for
hours
with
adventures,
mysterious
stories and comedies. If I wanted to
know anything about history or science, he always
knew the
answers.
He
knew
about
the
past,
understood
the
present
and
even
seemed
to
be
able
to
know
what would happen in
the future! With his help, my family even watched
a national ball game for
the first
time.
Both my
brothers and I enjoyed sitting around the
stranger. He made us laugh, he made us cry, and
he never stopped talking. Dad didn’t
seem to mind. However, Mom thought he was too
talk
ative.
Sometimes she
would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.
My dad didn’t
allow drinking, but the stranger encouraged us to
try it. He also made us feel that
smoking looked cool and manly. He
talked freely (much too freely!)
Fifty years has passed since the
stranger moved in and now I am fifty-four. I now
know that my
early childhood was
strongly influenced by the stranger. Many times,
he challenged the values of
my
parents,
yet
nobody
stopped
him
or
asked
him
to
leave.
What
is
his
name?
We
just
call
him---
“TV”.
He has a younger sister now. We call her
“computer”.
was
the storyteller in the family?
A.
Mom.
B. Dad.
C. TV.
D. Brother.
would Mom go to the kitchen while the rest of us
were with the stranger?
A.
Because the programs were not
interesting.
B.
Because she wanted to avoid the noise.
C. Because she
didn’t like to be with her family. D. Because she
needed to cook for her family.
3. From the passage, we
know __________.
A.
the stranger
told the writer not to smoke
B. the
stranger always argued with the writer’s parents
C. the writer’s
mother thought that the stranger was cool
D.
the writer’s father brought the stranger to his
family
is the
best title of the passage?
A.
A Stranger in My Childhood
B. A Serious Stranger
C.
The Stranger Taught Us Everything
D.
How TV Came into My Family
A news reporter
interviewed Olga Kotelko, a 96-year-old athletic
champion. She is an amazing old
lady.
Here is what she said about herself.
After 70 years of
competitions, I have over 750 gold medals. And two
years ago, I took part in my
last
competition
in
a
group
aged
from
90
to
94.
I
made
26
world
records.
And
I
know
these
records will be broken
by someone else in the future.
I
did
three
sprints---100
metre,
200
metre,
400
metre.
I
did
three
jumps.
I
did
long
jump,
high
jump
and triple jump. And I did five throws---shot put,
discus, javelin, hammer and weight. I also
like swimming, but I have no chance to
try it.
Some
people often say that they are too old to try new
things. But I think our age is just a number.
What makes the difference is not how
old we are, but how we get old. Even when we are
in our
nineties,
we
shouldn
’
t
think
we
are
old.
I
mean,
if
we
’
re
active
and
we
’
re
working
and
we
’
re
enjoying, that’s how we grow.
I think
genes
（基因）
play an important
role in our life, and then, of course, we need to
practise in
order to have skills for
any special activity, like athletic activity. But
I think, it’s our spirit that may
play
the most important role in our life.
I never stop trying in my
life. Some people think it is time for me to stop
at a certain point, but I
am enjoying
my choice and I am having fun. Why should I stop?
I am doing what I like. I like
traveling a lot, and I just want to
keep on going. I will keep on going until the last
day of my life.
That is when
I
’
ll have to stop.
1.. Olga Kotelko took part
in her last competition at the age of __________.
A.
90
B.
92
C. 94
D.
96
2.
She didn’t take part in
_
_________.
A.
the high jump
B. the javelin
C. a swimming
competition
D. a 200-metre race
Olga
Kotelko
’
s opinion,
__________ may play the most important role in
one
’
s life.
A.
skills
B. age
C.
genes
D. spirit
4. What can we
learn from the story?
A. Stop trying
if it is necessary.
B. You can stop
if you want to.
C. Work harder if
you’re not active.
D. Never stop
trying no matter how old you are.