“What is the most important thing you’ve done in your life?”The question was put to me during a presentation I gave to a group of lawyers.

     The answer came to me in an instant. It’s not the one I gave, because the situation was not right. As a lawyer in the entertainment industry, I knew the audience wanted to hear some amusing stories about my work with well-known people. but here’s the true answer:

     The most important thing I’ve ever done occurred on October 8,1990. I began the day playing tennis with an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while. Between points we talked about what had been happening in each other’s lives. He and his wife had just had a baby boy, who was keeping them up at night.

     While we were playing, a car came screaming up the road toward the courts. It was my friend’s father, who shouted to my friend that his baby had stopped breathing and was being rushed to the hospital. In a flash my friend was in the car and gone, disappearing in a cloud of dust.

     For a moment I just stood there, paralyzed(呆若木雞). Then I tried to figure out what I should do. Follow my friend to the hospital? There was nothing I could accomplish there, I convinced myself. My friend’s son was in the care of doctors and nurses, and nothing I could do or say would affect the outcome. Be there for moral support? Well, maybe. But my friend and his wife both had large families, and I knew they’d be surrounded by relatives who would provide more than enough comfort and support, whatever happened. All I could do at the hospital, I decided, was to get in the way. Also, I had planned a full day with my family, who were waiting for me to get home. So I decided to head back to my house and check in my friend later.

     As I started my car, I realized that my friend had left his truck and keys at the courts. I now faced another problem. I couldn’t leave the keys in the truck. So I decided to go to the hospital and give him the keys.

     When I arrived, I was directed to a room where my friend and his wife were waiting. As I had thought, the room was filled with family members silently watching my friend comfort his wife. I went in and stood by the door, trying to decide what to do next. Soon a doctor appeared. He approached my friend and his wife, and in a quiet voice told them that their son had died.

     For a long time the two held each other and cried, unaware of the rest of us standing around in pained silence. After they had calmed themselves, the doctor suggested they spend a few moments with their son.

     My friend and his wife stood up and walked past their families. When they reached the door, my friend saw me standing in the corner. He came over and hugged me and started to cry. My friend’s wife hugged me, too, and said , “Thanks for being here.”

     For the rest of that morning, I sat in the emergency room of that hospital and watched my friend and his wife hold the body of their infant son, and say goodbye.

     It’s the most important thing I have ever done.

     The experience taught me two lessons.

     First: The most important thing I’ve ever done happened when I was completely helpless. None of the things I had learned in university, in three years of law school or in six years of legal practice were of any use in that situation. Something terrible was happening to people I cared about, and I was powerless to change the outcome. All I could do was standing by and watching it happen. And yet it was critical that I do just that--- just be there when someone needed me.

     Second: The most important thing I’ve done almost didn’t happen because of things I had learned in classroom and professional life. Law school taught me how to take a set of facts, break them down and organized them. These skills are critical for lawyers. When people come to us for help, they’re often stressed out and depend on a lawyer to think logically. But while learning to think, I almost forget how to feel. Today I have no doubt that I should have leapt into my car without hesitation and followed my friend to the hospital.

     From that one experience I learned that the most important thing in life isn’t the money you make, the status you attain or the honors you achieve. The most important thing in life is the kids team you coach or the poem you write----or the time when youre just somebodys friend.

1.When he was asked about the most important thing he had done in life at a presentation, the author __________.

A felt it was not an interesting question           

B. thought for a while and spoke his mind

C. gave an answer from a lawyer’s point of view   

D. didn’t give the real answer

2.When he saw his friend rush to the hospital, the author could not decide whether to follow mainly because he thought _________.

A. He had to stay with his family             B. His friend did not need his help.

C. He would not be of much help                 D. the baby would be in the doctor’s care

3.What can we infer from the author’s description of the scene at the hospital?

A. He found out that he was in the way.             

B. He would have felt guilty if he had not been there.

C. He regretted that he went too later.

D. His friend would have felt better if he had not been there.

4.Which of the following is conveyed in this story?

A.Family and relatives can not take the place of friends.

B.More people are a great comfort when one is in trouble.

C.It is best to be here when someone needs you.

D.You can certainly help a friend if you want to.

5.The author learned from his own experience that_______.

A.what is taught in school is usually of no use.

B.a lawyer cannot learn much in classrooms

C.a lawyer should know people’s feeling first

D.he needs to be able to feel as well as think logically

6.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph suggests that the author_______.

A.is fond of writing poems

B.is going to coach the kid’s team

C.is determined to make friends with everybody

D.is fully aware of the importance of being helpful to those in need

 

【答案】

 

1.A

2.C

3.C

4.D

5.B

6.C

【解析】略

 

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科目:高中英語 來源:遼寧省沈陽二中2008-2009學(xué)年高三上學(xué)期期中考試(英語) 題型:001

聽力

第一節(jié)(共5小題;每小題1.5分,滿分7.5分)

聽下面5段對(duì)話。每段對(duì)話后有一個(gè)小題,從題中所給的A、B、C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)中個(gè)選出最佳選項(xiàng)。聽完每段對(duì)話,你都有10秒鐘的時(shí)間來回答有關(guān)小題和閱讀下一小題。每段對(duì)話僅讀一遍。

1.Which of the following countries isn’t mentioned?

A.Sweden.

B.Scotland.

C.Switzerland.

2.What is the probable relationship between the two speakers?

A.Husband and wife.

B.Waitress and customer.

C.Two school friends.

3.Where are they talking?

A.In the classroom.

B.In a shoe shop.

C.In a hospital.

4.How does John find Mary’s poem?

A.Quite good.

B.Quite bad.

C.Not too bad.

5.How are Tom and Rose getting along with each other?

A.Badly.

B.Well.

C.Sincerely.

第二節(jié)(共15小題;每小題1.5分,滿分22.5分)

聽下面5段對(duì)話。每段對(duì)話或獨(dú)白后有幾個(gè)小題,從題中所給的A、B、C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)中個(gè)選出最佳選項(xiàng)。聽完每段對(duì)話或獨(dú)白前,你將有時(shí)間閱讀各個(gè)小題,每小題5秒鐘;聽完后,各小題給出5秒鐘的作答時(shí)間。每段對(duì)話或獨(dú)白讀兩遍。

聽第6段材料,回答第6至7題。

6.Where is the department that the man wanted to go to?

A.It’s on the third floor.

B.It’s on the first floor.

C.It’s on the fourth floor.

7.What will the man probably do next?

A.To buy a pair of shoes.

B.To try the suit on.

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聽第7段材料,回答第8至10題。

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聽第8段材料,回答第11至13題。

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A.About 1,500.

B.About 20,000.

C.About 750.

20.What is t he woman?

A.A reporter.

B.A student.

C.An actress.

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