Every street had a story, every building a memory. Those blessed with wonderful childhoods can drive the streets of their hometowns and happily roll back the years. The rest are pulled home by duty and leave as soon as possible. After Ray Atlee had been in Clanton (his hometown) for fifteen minutes he was anxious to get out.
The town had changed, but then it hadn't. On the highways leading in, the cheap metal buildings and mobile homes were gathering as tightly as possible next to the roads for maximum visibility. This town had no zoning whatsoever. A landowner could build anything with no permit, no inspection, no notice to adjoining landowners, nothing. Only hog farms and nuclear reactors required approvals and paperwork. The result was a slash-and-build clutter that got uglier by the year.
But in the older sections, nearer the square, the town had not changed at all. The long shaded streets were as clean and neat as when Ray roamed them on his bike. Most of the houses were still owned by people he knew, or if those folks had passed on the new owners kept the lawns clipped and the shutters painted. Only a few were being neglected. A handful had been abandoned.
This deep in Bible country, it was still an unwritten rule in the town that little was done on Sundays except go to church, sit on porches, visit neighbors, rest and relax the way God intended.
It was cloudy, quite cool for May, and as he toured his old turf, killing time until the appointed hour for the family meeting, he tried to dwell on the good memories from Clanton. There was Dizzy Dean Park where he had played little League for the Pirates, and there was the public pool he'd swum in every summer except 1969 when the city closed it rather than admit black children. There were the churches—Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian—facing each other at the intersection of Second and Elm like wary sentries, their steeples competing for height. They were empty now, but in an hour or so the more faithful would gather for evening services.
The square was as lifeless as the streets leading to it. With eight thousand people, Clanton was just large enough to have attracted the discount stores that had wiped out so many small towns. But here the people had been faithful to their downtown merchants, and there wasn't a single empty or boarded-up building around the square—no small miracle. The retail shops were mixed in with the banks and law offices and cafes, all closed for the Sabbath.
He inched through the cemetery and surveyed the Atlee section in the old part, where the tombstones were grander. Some of his ancestors had built monuments for their dead. Ray had always assumed that the family money he'd never seen must have been buried in those graves. He parked and walked to his mother's grave, something he hadn't done in years. She was buried among the Atlees, at the far edge of the family plot because she had barely belonged.
Soon, in less than an hour, he would be sitting in his father's study, sipping bad instant tea and receiving instructions on exactly how his father would be laid to rest. Many orders were about to be given, many decrees and directions, because his father (who used to be a judge) was a great man and cared deeply about how he was to be remembered.
Moving again, Ray passed the water tower he'd climbed twice, the second time with the police waiting below. He grimaced at his old high school, a place he'd never visited since he'd left it. Behind it was the football field where his brother Forrest had romped over opponents and almost became famous before getting bounced off the team.
It was twenty minutes before five, Sunday, May 7.Time for the family meeting.
From the first paragraph, we get the impression that ______.
A.Ray cherished his childhood memories.
B.Ray had something urgent to take care of.
C.Ray may not have a happy childhood.
D.Ray cannot remember his childhood days.
时间:2023-10-08 13:05:15
-
Every act of assistance or salvage,which has had a useful result,should give a right to ()remuneration.
A . obtainable
B . equitable
C . profitable
D . approvable
-
1. The small town became a tourist attraction and its only restaurant became so crowded that the ______________ had to eat at home every night.
-
How many stories does The Miguel Street consist of?
-
It is difficult to conclude what a(n)______ student does in his spare time because every student had different interests.
-
Why did Michael use almost every question that he had thought of and a few that he hadn’tthought of in the interview with Robert Mitchum?
-
My grandfather had always taken a __________ interest in nay work, and I had an equal admiration for the stories of his time.
A.splendid
B.weighty
C.vague
D.keen
-
In “The Story of an Hour”, when Louise Mallard first heard that her husband had died in a train accident she was heart broken, but later she realized that ______.
-
A.When Perrault published his first book in 1679, no story of the book had been known to people.
B.When Perrault published his first book in 1679, stories of the book were already well known.
C.When Perrault published his first book in 1679, few people were interested in the stories of the book.
D.When Perrault published his first book in 1679, all of the stories had been popular with everyone.
-
As a journalist,()had learned how to make his reporting vivid and credible by a skillful use of circumstantial detail. This power to make his characters alive and his stories credible is an inimitable gift.
A、Joseph Addison
B、Daniel Defoe
C、Samuel Richardson
D、Tobias Smollett
-
听力原文: Newsweek magazine on Monday retracted a report that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran after the story triggered protests in Afghanistan that killed 16 people and the White House criticized it.
"Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay," Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker said in a statement, a day after apologizing for the report.
The retraction came as the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department all heavily criticized the report and said it had damaged the U.S. image abroad. White House spokesman Scott McClellan had said it was "puzzling" that Newsweek had not retracted the story a day after apologizing for it.
The original report in Newsweek reported ______
A.that 16 Afghanistan prisoners were killed at Guantanamo Bay
B.that interrogators dishallowed the Koran at Guantanamo Bay
C.that interrogators heavily criticized U.S. policy at Guantanamo Bay
D.that prisoners of war were abused at Guantanamo Bay
-
The story of Leon Chameides tells us that he had to______.
A.conceal his real identity
B.hide away in a sewer
C.move from place to place
D.become a Christian
-
Professor Black had us _______ a composition every Friday.
A、to write
B、written
C、wrote
D、write
-
Edward rose early on the New-year morning.He looked in every room and wished a Happy New Year to his family.Then he ran into the street to repeat that to those he might meet.
When he came back, his father gave him two bright, new silver dollars .
His face lighted up as he took them.He had wished for a long time to buy some petty books that he had seen at the bookstore.
He left the house with a light heart, expecting to buy the books.As he ran down the street, he saw a poor family.
“I wish you a happy New Year.” said Edward, as he was happily passing on.The man shook his head.
“You are not from this country? ” said Edward.The man again shook his head, for he could not understand or speak his language.But he pointed to his mouth, and to the children shaking with cold, as if (好像)to say, “These little ones have had nothing to eat for a long time”
Edward quickly understood that these poor people were in trouble.He took out his dollars, and gave one to the man and the other to his wife.
They were excited and said something in their language, which doubtless meant, “We thank you so much that we will remember you all the time.”
When Edward came home, his father asked what books he had bought.He hung his head a moment, but quickly looked up.
“I have bought no books,” said he, “I gave my money to some poor people, who seemed to be very hungry then.” He went on, “I think I can wait for my books till next New Year.”
“My dear boy,” said his father, “Here are some books, more as a reward for your goodness of heart than as a New-Year gift”.
“I saw you give the money cheerfully to the poor German family.It was nice for a little boy to do so.Be always ready to help others and every year of your life will be to you a Happy New Year.”
1.Edward expected to ________ with the money he got from his father.
A.help the poor family
B.buy something to eat
C.buy some pretty books
2.Why did the poor man shake his head when Edward spoke to him?()
A.He couldn’t understand the boy
B.He wouldn’t accept the money
C.He didn’t like the boy’s language
3.How much did Edward give the poor family?()
A.One dolla
B.Two dollars
C.Three dollars
4.We know that Edward ________.
A.got a prize for his kind heart
B.got more money from his father
C.bought the books at the bookstore
25.What is the best title for the passage?()
A.New Year's Gift
B.Story of Buying Books
C.Father's Words
-
To Let or for Sale Two-storied furnished house, 75 Green Street, western suburbs, 1,250 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 dining room, private garage. Rent $950 per month. Sale $ 125,000. Tel: 283456 office time.
-
I teach economics at UCLA. Last Monday in class, I【36】asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that it had not been so good. Then he proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. His question【37】me of something I'd read somewhere before: "Every morning when you get up, you have a【38】about how you want to approach life that day," I said. "I choose to be cheerful." Then I told them a story.
One day I was【39】to the college I taught in at Henderson, 17 miles away from where I lived. When a quarter mile was left down the road to the college, my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't【40】So I walked to the college. My secretary asked me what had happened. "This is my lucky day," I replied, smiling. "Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?" She was【41】. "What do you mean?" "I live 17 miles from here." I replied. "My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't.【42】it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway,within walking distance of the college. I'm still able to teach my class and get help from the tow truck. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been in a more convenient way." The secretary's eyes opened【43】and then she smiled.
I scanned the sixty faces before me.【44】it was a big crowd, no one made any noise. Somehow, my story had【45】them. In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful.
(36)
A.nervously
B.carefully
C.cheerfully
D.eagerly
-
()&39; s stories still had many unrealistic qualities: " tall tales" and unlikely coincidences. He is never a pure realist.
A.Henry James
B.Mark Twain
C.Nathaniel Hawthorne
D.Henry David Thoreau
-
No sooner had the thief disappeared into a side street______.
A.than the police arrived
B.as the police arrived
C.then the police arrived
D.when the police arrived
-
He suddenly called my name on the street, but I could not _____ where I had met him before.
A. remind
B. recall
C. record
D. reclaim
-
It was obvious that he had been drinking far too much from the way he came_____down the street.
A.toddling
B.hobbling
C.loping
D.staggering
-
Some stories say the three men had changed so much that their ()didn’t recognize them.
-
A few years ago it was common to speak of a generation gap between young people and their elders.Parents said that children did not respect and listen to them, while children said that their parents did not understand them at all.What had gone wrong? Why had the generation gap suddenly appeared? Actually, the generation gap has been around for a long time.Many people argue that it is built into every part of our society.
One important cause of the generation gap is the opportunity that young people have to choose their own ways of life.In a more traditional society, when children grow up, they are expected to live in the same area as their parents, to marry people that their parents know and like, and often to continue the family jobs.In our society, young people often travel great distances for their education, move out of the family at an early age, marry or live with people whom their parents have never met, and choose jobs different from those of their parents.
In our society, parents often expect their children to do better than they did, to find better jobs, to make more money and to do all the things that they were unable to do.Often, that is another cause of the gap between them.Often, they discover that they have very little in common with each other.
Finally, the speed at which changes take place in our society is the third cause of the gap between the generations.In a traditional culture, senior people are valued for their knowledge, but in our society the knowledge of a lifetime may become out of date.The young and the old seem to live in two very different worlds, separated by different skills and abilities.No doubt, the generation gap will continue in American life for some time to come.
1.The first paragraph tells us that ______.
A、the problem of the generation gap draws much attention from people
B、it is out of date to talk about the generation gap
C、children and parents are trying to understand each other
D、it is very important for people to frequently communicate with each other
2.In a more traditional society, old people_______.
A、have their children respect and listen to them
B、do not care for their children at all
C、expect their children to rebel against them
D、do not live together with their children
3.In American society young people________.
A、do not need to find jobs
B、leave home at an early age
C、have better education than their parents
D、marry people younger than them
4.Which of the following is NOT the cause of the generation gap______.
A、Young people like to depend more on themselves.
B、Parents do not love their children dearly.
C、American society changes rapidly.
D、Parents expect too much of their children.
5.The main idea of the passage is ________.
A、that the generation gap needs considering
B、when the generation gap is necessary in American society
C、why the generation gap exist
D、how we can reduce the generation gap
-
Up to 90,000 tourists crowd its streets and canals every day &8212;- faroutnumberingthe 55 ,000 permanent residents()
A.数量多于
B.少于
C.相等
D.差额
-
(thrill) All of us have read ________ stories in which the hero had only a limited an
(thrill) All of us have read ________ stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live.
-
No one had told Smith about a story in the damned book.
A. being
B. there being
C. there to be
D. there to have been