I am a music store owner. One day, when I was cleaning the instruments in my store, I saw an old man come in. His short steps dragged on the carpet. “Is 77 too old to learn the banjo (班卓琴)?”  he asked.
“You can learn to play it well,” I replied, holding back my doubts. My mind told me I was giving false encouragement. I reached the instructor’s schedule and gave the rates, the available time and the additional information that he would need. To my surprise and delight, the old man, Carl, began banjo lessons three days later with my most patient teacher.
With nothing to do at home but practice, Carl made surprising progress. After breakfast he practiced for his required half hour. While waiting for lunch he picked up his banjo again for just a couple of minutes. Since TV was difficult for him to see and hear, he often played the banjo in the evenings. Carl was always early for lessons so it was a surprise that he didn’t arrive one Tuesday.
The next morning I listened to the answering machine with sadness. “Carl’s in hospital,” the voice recorded.
Two months later, I shared the newspaper obituary with the banjo teacher. We both shed tears for a surprisingly clever banjo student.
Several months later, a woman came into the store carrying a plant. “This is for Carl’s banjo teacher,” she said. “I’m his wife, Mary.”
“Why did Carl want to play the banjo?” I asked. Mary took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Carl was at some show when he was 10 years old. He came close to the stage to watch the performers. When they were packing up their instruments, the banjo player said to Carl, ‘You want to see this up close?’ Carl climbed up on the stage and from then on he wanted to play the banjo.” Carl had waited 67 years to realize a dream! Mary gave the plant to me. “Thank you for the best six months of his life,” she said.
68. In Paragraph 2, the author’s reaction to Carl’s question showed that he ______.
A. was willing to help                   
B. didn’t want to encourage Carl
C. didn’t want to give him false encouragement 
D. encouraged Carl though he had doubts
69. How did Carl learn to play the banjo well?
A. By working hard.                    B. By taking short cuts.
C. By asking his wife to help him.        D. By finding the best teacher.
70. The underlined word “obituary” in Para.5 means a notice that _______.
A. announces somebody has died    B. announces somebody is needed
C. announces a good piece of news  D. announces a gift for somebody

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Soccer star, Rudy Kass, is likely to be allowed out of hospital today after having treats for mus-cle problems that stopped him from playing in an important European cup game in Frankfurt on Thursday.

    "The cause of the problem is still unclear. Something is eausing Rudy pain, but the doctors are not sure what, "said Rudy's doctor."I hope we will all know the answer tomorrow, so that treatment can begin."

Rudy, one of Germany' s highest paid centre - forwards, has been in hospital for two nights since suddenly leaving the field in the second half of a game that ended in his team' s defeat.

“I am Sure that result would have been different with him,” said the team’s manager, Klaus Koch. “But we were not willing to take any risks. The pain was unusual and we want to make sure that the problem is solved now once and for all.”

    Doetors say that it is hard to know if Rudy hurt himself while passing the ball, or whether the damage is the result of years of strain and stress. If so, it could mean the end of his career. Football fans wait nervously for the doctor's final assessment(評(píng)估診斷).

1. Which of these statements is true according to the passage?

     A. Rudy Kass is out of hospital.

     B. Rudy Kass plays for Frankrurt.

     C. Rudy Kass'team lost its last game.

     D. Rudy Kass' doctors can't agree with one another.

2. The second paragraph mainly tells us that ______.

     A .The cause of Rudy's pain is now unknown 

B. The treatment will begin soon

     C. Rudy's doctors are hard - working      

        D. Doctors are concerned about Rudy's pain

3.By saying “I am sure that the result would have been different with him”, Klaus Koch means that ______.

    A. he does not allow his team to take risks

    B. he is not happy with Kass' performance

    C. he thinks Kass should leave the team

    D. he believes the team would have won their last game with Kass

4. How do the fans feel?

    A. Frightened.   B. Happy.    C. Anxious.     D. Disappointed.

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