My grandparents

江西南昌二十六中 黃舒偉

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難詞探意

1. gab /g?b/ v. 嘮叨

2. cabinet /'k?b?n?t/ n. 儲藏柜

3. eulogy /'ju?l?d?i/ n. （頌揚死者的）悼詞

Part Ⅰ

My dad is a truck driver, and when I was little, he was gone most of the time, delivering wires and other livestock supplies around the Midwest. So my mom was almost like a single mother. My parents and I lived in a small house in Brighton, Colorado, where we had a big yard with plenty of room for our five dogs and two cats to run around. We moved there on my third birthday. My first memory was our neighbor Arlene handing me strawberries from her garden through a hole in the chain-link fence. She and her husband, Bill, lived next door.

Arlene spent a lot of time working in the garden, and I was always talking to her from our yard. I was a chatter-box. I think what drew me to Arlene and Bill is that they never got tired of listening to megab. I also think Arlene saw a lot of herself in me—we were both lonely, anxious kids—and that may be why she always took the time to listen to me. Bill too. It was a wonderful connection.

One day, my parents asked Bill and Arlene whether they'd watch me while they went out on a date. This worked well for everyone, so it became a somewhat monthly occurrence. Arlene and Bill didn't have kids. They had a spare room in their house, which became “my room”. I had acabinetand boxes of toys and books in that room. Arlene and I would do crafts together. We were always putting tiny decorations on things. Bill taught me how to ride a bike and later how to drive the lawn tractor and eventually a car. He was always fixing something in his garage and always smelled like oil.I would wander over to chatter to him, and he would always stop and listen to me, just like Arlene did.

When I was about five, I had an idea.My parents were watching TV when I spit it out: “What if I adopted Bill and Arlene as my grandparents?”My parents said I could go over and ask them tomorrow.

Reading

Check

1. What can we know about the author's father?

A. He is a taxi driver.

B. He is irresponsible.

C. He is pretty busy.

D. He is fond of the Midwest.

2. What took Arlene's lots of time?

A. Delivering wires.

B. Working in the garden.

C. Raising dogs and cats.

D. Fixing something in the garage.

3. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Going out with parents.

B. Watching TV in Arlene's house.

C. The author's putting tiny decorations on things.

D. The author's being looked after by her neighbors.

4. What's the attitude of the author's parents towards her advice in the last paragraph?

A. Supportive. B. Ambiguous.

C. Unclear. D. Indifferent.

Language

Study

Sentence for writing

My parents were watching TV when I spit it out: “What if I adopted Bill and Arlene as my grandparents?”

【信息提取】be doing sth when...意為“正在做某事，這時/突然……”。

【句式仿寫】門鈴響的時候，我媽媽正在做家務。

Part Ⅱ

The next day, I knocked on Bill and Arlene's door, sat down in their living room, and said, “Will you guys be my grandparents?” They started crying and enthusiastically accepted. Soon after, they printed out an adoption certificate, and it hung on their living room wall from then on. I remember being surprised that they took my offer so seriously—not because I wasn't serious but because I was just a kid. They could have laughed it off.Thinking of that moment still brings tears to my eyes.There is something truly magnificent about a child offering up her love and adults being so delighted to accept it. From the day I adopted them, I called Bill and Arlene Grandpa and Grandma. Pretty soon, my parents were calling them Dad and Mom. Even our animals loved Bill and Arlene and would often sneak out of our yard to visit them. Arlene always kept treats in her pockets for them.

Over the years, Bill and Arlene supported me in all my dreams. They encouraged me to apply for college, even though I didn't have the money to go. And when I got accepted to Colorado State University, they presented me with a fund. They told me they'd been putting away money since the day I adopted them. It took me five years, but I graduated with a degree in forest management, and now I work as a forest health technician for the Colorado State Forest Service. Since I've become an adult, I've learned more about my grandparents. Their lives weren't as perfect as they appeared to be through the fence. But the two of them always seemed genuinely happy in each other's company.

Arlene passed away in 2013, two days before our adoption anniversary. Bill gave hereulogy.In the end, he said, “Arlene leaves behind her husband and the greatest joy of her life, her granddaughter, Katie.”After the funeral, Bill gave me the ring he'd gifted to Arlene on their 25th wedding anniversary. It's a simple gold band that I wear on my ring finger as a reminder of the kind of love I wish to put into this world.

Reading

Check

1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A. The author printed out an adoption certificate.

B. Bill and Arlene felt touched and unexpected to be adopted.

C. The author was just a kid and was joking about the adoption.

D. Bill and Arlene started crying when seeing the author.

2. What's does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A. The author's animals.

B. The author's parents.

C. The author's grandparents.

D. The author's treats for animals.

3. What did Bill and Arlene do to support their granddaughter's dreams?

A. They saved money to fund her.

B. They helped her apply for college.

C. They hung inspiring pictures on her living room wall.

D. They spent five years accompanying her before her college graduation.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A. To review a book.

B. To recommend a travel destination.

C. To explain an experience in childhood.

D. To share an experience about adopting her grandparents.

Language

StudySentence for writing

Thinking of that moment still brings tears to my eyes.

【信息提取】動詞-ing形式可在句中作主語，謂語動詞常用單數形式。

【句式仿寫】大聲朗讀對我們學習外語很重要。