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A

You are watching a film in which two men are having a fight. They hit one another hard. At the start they only fight with their fists. But soon they begin hitting one another over the heads with chairs. And so it goes on until one of the men crashes through a window and falls thirty feet to the ground below. He is dead！

Of course he isnt really dead. With any luck he isnt even hurt. Why？ Because the men who fall out of high windows or jump from fast moving trains， who crash cars or even catch fire， are professional. They do this for a living. These men are called stuntmen （特技表演者）.

There are two sides to their work. They actually do most of the things you see on the screen. For example， they fall from a high building. However， they do not fall onto hard ground but onto empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress （床墊）. Again， when they hit one another with chairs， the chairs are made of soft wood and when they crash through windows， the glass is made of sugar.

But although their work depends on tricks of this sort， it also requires a high degree of skill and training. Often a stuntmans success depends on careful timing. For example， he has to jump out of the way of the explosion （爆炸） just at the right moment.

Naturally stuntmen are well paid for their work， but their lives are always dangerous. They often get seriously injured， and sometimes killed.

1. Stuntmen are those who often ___ .

A. dress up as actors

B. prefer to lead dangerous lives

C. fight against each other for a living

D. perform seemingly dangerous actions

2. How do stuntmen earn their living？

A. By playing their dirty tricks.

B. By selling their special skills.

C. By crashing through windows.

D. By jumping from fast moving trains.

3. Falling from a high building， a stuntman___ .

A. is in great danger

B. needs no protection

C. is generally quite safe

D. will be covered with a mattress

4. What is the most important for a successful stuntman？

A. Being fast. B. Being brave.

C. Being exact. D. Being strong.

B

Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson， Arizona.

My earliest memories of my father are of a tall， handsome， successful man devoted to his work and family， but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him； as a school girl and young adult I feared him and felt bitter about him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight As and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends， I used to struggle to think up things to say， feeling on guard.endprint

On the first day of my visit， we went out with one of my fathers friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We walked along that afternoon， did some shopping， ate on the street table， and laughed over my sons funny facial expressions. My fathers strict rules were gone. Who was this person I knew as my father， who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around？ What had held him back before？

The next day my dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years， I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years， Im at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing， Im delighted with my new friend. My dad， in his new home in Arizona， is back to me from where he was.

5. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult？

A. He did not love his children.

B. He was too proud of himself.

C. He expected too much of her.

D. He was silent most of the time.

6. When she went out with her father on weekends， the author would feel ___ .

A. nervous B. sorry

C. tired D. safe

7. What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson？

A. More critical. B. More talkative.

C. Gentle and friendly. D. Strict and hard-working.

8. Who does the underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to？

A. The café owner.

B. The authors son.

C. The authors father.

D. The friend of the authors father.endprint