Passage Nine

The sound of the rain hitting the windows wakes me up and it sounds just exactly as it did 15 years ago， which reminded me of my girlhood.

It was my second day of 1 and it was raining heavily. I could not 2 the habit I had at home ， so I fell asleep right at my 3 . I woke up to find myself not in the classroom but carried on Dad s back. We were halfway 4 . It was the last time I felt 5 to him.

After that， he never carried me or hugged me as other fathers did to their children. I was not bothered much by this 6 . I was proud of it， for I felt 7 and “grown up.” However， there were times when I felt depressed by not having sought 8 from him.

One day， I was writing Chinese characters as homework. I hated doing this more than anything. Dad came and stood behind me for a moment， 9 me scratching （划损） the paper. Then he said， “This kind of writing needs 10 .Your writing is not strong enough. Press harder.”

I followed his 11 for the next two words， but 12 I could see little improvement， I followed my own method—the 13 way. His advice did not improve my writing but our 14 . As I grew older， I found out that he had finished his 15 in Grade 6， which was the highest grade in town then， so he was considered to be a 16 . People used to ask him to write something to put on the walls， but he never felt very useful.

He often said to me， “As you can see， this family is going to count on you. We are 17 to improve you anything for your future. You have to get a good 18 to change the life for yourself.”

As a result of his 19 ， I have 20 it through high school and through college.

1. A. graduation B. employment C. college D. school

2. A. form B. resist C. follow D. break

3. A. dormitory B. door C. desk D. bed

4. A. sleep B. class C. school D. home

5. A. close B. near C. happy D. relaxed

6. A. gap B. thought C. action D. accident

7. A. lonely B. depressed C. independent D. comfortable

8. A. comfort B. help C. support D. explanation

9. A. helping B. directing C. watching D. blaming

10. A. skill B. patience C. time D. practice

11. A. introduction B. manner C. spirit D. advice

12. A. even if B. while C. as D. though

13. A. difficult B. slow C. efficient D. fast

14. A. relationship B. friendship C. love D. life

15. A. schooling B. life C. class D. expectation

16. A. writer B. scholar C. scientist D. specialist

17. A. tired B. glad C. useless D. ready

18. A. education B. boyfriend C. job D. writing

19. A. help B. expectation C. examination D. instruction

20. A. succeeded B. got C. made D. found