1、My mother was staring down at him along the full length of her nose. I wanted to say to her, Oh mummy, hes a very old man, and hes polite, and hes in some sort of trouble, so be nice to him. But I didnt say anything.ve never forgotten it before, he said.Youve never forgotten what? my mother asked.My
2、 wallet, he said. I mustve left it in my other jacket.Are you asking me to give you money? my mother said.No, Im offering you this umbrella to protect you and to keep, if you would give me a pound for my taxi fare just to get me home.Why dont you walk home?Oh, I dont think I could manage it. Ive gon
3、e too far already.The idea of getting an umbrella to shelter was very attractive.Its a lovely silk umbrella, the little man said. t you take it, madam? It cost me over twenty pounds, but that isnt important because I want to get home.I dont think its quite right that I should take an umbrella from y
4、ou worth twenty pounds. I think Id better just give you the taxi fare.No, no, no! he cried. I would never accept money from you like that! Take the umbrella, dear lady, and keep the rain off your shoulders.She took out a pound and gave it to the little man. He took it and gave her the umbrella. He s
5、aid, Thank you, madam, thank you. Then he was gone.Questions:1. Why did the mother stay very cool and distant when she was offered an umbrella?2. What was the first reaction of the narrator when the old gentleman asked her mother for help?3. What was the first reaction of the mother when the old gen
6、tleman asked a small favour of her?4. Why did the old gentleman just ask for one pound for such an expensive silk umbrella?5. What made the mother change her mind and agree to exchange the silk umbrella for just one pound?The Umbrella Man （Part Two）Come under here and keep dry, darling, my mother sa
7、id. Arent we lucky! Ive never had a silk umbrella before. Why were you so unpleasant to him? I asked.I wanted to be sure he was a gentleman. Im very pleased I was able to help him.There he goes, I said. Over there. Hes crossing the street. Hes in a hurry.We watched the little man. When he reached th
8、e other side of the street, he turned left, walking very fast.He doesnt look very tired, does he, mummy? He doesnt look as if hes trying to get a taxi, either.My mother was standing very still. Hes up to something. Come with me. We crossed the street together. It was raining very hard now, but we we
9、re under the silk umbrella.He said he was too tired to walk and now hes almost running.s disappeared! I cried. Wheres he gone?He went in that door! It was a pub. The room we were looking into was full of people and cigarette smoke, and our little man was in the middle of it all, without his hat and
10、coat, and moving towards the bar. When he reached it, he spoke to the barman. The barman gave him a drink. The little man gave him a pound. The barman didnt give him any change. The little man drank it in one go.Thats a very expensive drink, I said.He was smiling now. He went to where his hat and co
11、at were. He put on his hat. He put on his coat. Then very quickly, he took from the rack one of the many wet umbrellas, and left.Did you see that! my mother shouted.Sssh! I whispered. s coming out.He didnt see us. He opened his new umbrella and went down the road. We followed him back to the main st
12、reet where we met him first, and we watched as he exchanged his new umbrella for another pound. This time it was with a tall, thin man who didnt even have a hat or a coat. When it was over he went off again, this time in the opposite direction.He never goes into the same pub twice,I expect hes alway
13、s hoping for a rainy day.1. Why was the mother so unpleasant to the old man at first?2. What made the narrator and her mother believe that the old man was not telling the truth?3. What can be concluded about the silk umbrella that the old man sold?4. What can be inferred about the old gentleman?A St
14、ranger on the InternetIwas first introduced to the Internet when I was thirteen. While in real life I was a very shy and bookish girl, on the Internet I was a completely different person. I found myself able to talk to everyone online, and send e-mails saying things no one in my position would even
15、dare think of in real life. Im not exactly sure why, but I think it had something to do with no one being able to see my unattractive face.Withinjust a few months I became active in writers circles. I even created my own young writers club and through that made writer friends of all ages.remember th
16、e day I first met Jack in a chat room. Im not exactly sure how we got to talking but we did, and after that there was no stopping us. One thing that perked his interest considerably was my mention that my favorite author was John Durante.Wetalked about John Durante for an hour and there was a lot to
17、 talk about as John was a sort of unconventional writer who by his very nature invited discussion. His books were classified young adult but both Jack and I agreed that a person of any age could read them. Also, we both liked the unhappy endings that were present in many of the books. As Jack said,
18、it was just more realistic that way. The good guy didnt always win. I added that John was brave to be such a non-conformist. For some reason Jack found this amusing.were both very talkative. We drifted from one topic to another: writing, books, publishers, the unreliability of free e-mail services,
19、and the weather. In the end, when my mother told me to log off and get to bed, we exchanged e-mail addresses.Thee-mails continued for about six months after that. Jack and I had a lot in common: a dry sarcastic sense of humor, a love of books and writing and practical jokes, the same hair color, the
20、 same favorite food . Its amazing, though, how little we really knew about each other. I dont think we ever bothered to ask for each others full names even. He was Jack. I was Alice. Nothing more. I never knew his age, either. I estimated through his e-mails that he was a youngish adult, college-age
21、 maybe, and I think he could tell that I was a teenager, but neither of us mentioned it. None of these issues ever seemed to crop up. So many things were left unasked, and while I knew so much about him, I never really knew who he was.Jackwas the one who suggested the meeting, and at first I balked.
22、 Not because I was afraid he was a serial killer or something, but because I had never met any of my keypals offline and I didnt know how to act. But Jack could be gently persuasive, and I found myself agreeing to meet him in Central Park after school.was a bit nervous, and I told him that. He under
23、stood. s okay, he reassured me. The meeting will go fine. Ill ride my motorcycle from Worcester to Manhattan and you just walk. He asked me if I had a distinctive piece of clothing. I answered yes, a red silk windbreaker. He told me to wear it at the meeting so he could recognize me.can just see mys
24、elf now: a nervous little girl, fidgeting in her black skirt and crimson jacket, the wind playing with her long dark hair. Sitting on the park bench, waiting for The Moment to arrive.motorcycle pulled up and a tall and rather handsome dark-haired man was about to get off. He looked vaguely familiar,
25、 but just then a crazy Toyota ran straight into his motor and him. Jack! I screamed. Instantly the whole world of mine was overwhelmed by the flames.Questions1. What kind of person was the narrator in real life?2. What kind of person was the narrator online?3. What was the event that drew the two st
26、rangers together?4. What kind of person was Jack according to the narrator?5. Which of the following words can be used to describe the ending of the story?3A Letter from SunderlandAsI exited from the Sunderland train station, fear began to set in. I had just finished a six-hour plane journey followe
27、d by more than four hours on a train, and now I was supposed to find my way to my residence hall with a heavy suitcase. I was alone in a strange country and getting a little scared.Atthe moment, a cab miraculously appeared before my eyes. The driver swiftly put my luggage in the trunk and asked wher
28、e I was going. I somehow managed to mumble the address I had been given and we were quickly on our way. I think he asked me where I was from, but his accent was thick and hard to understand. I could have told him that my name was The United States.Soonmy uneasiness subsided and I realized where I was, England. Before now, it had seemed a distant dream. Back in the US, the University of Maine had offered me a scholarship and I had made the decision to spend a semester in the United
