甘肃省兰州市八中2013——2014高二英语期末阅读理解巩固练习试题1.doc

甘肃省兰州市八中2013——2014高二英语期末阅读理解巩固练习试题1 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ、Ｄ）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。 My parents lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s and I heard stories from both of them about how their lives changed because of it. The same was true of my in-laws whose lives were also affected negatively. For example, my husband’s grandfather owned a factory. Owing to the stock (证券) market crash, he lost the factory and went back to work in the very factory he’d once owned. He could no longer afford to send my father-in-law to college. My father-in-law worked full time as a pipe fitter and went to school part-time to earn his degree, which took seven years. Somehow, my husband and I never dreamed that we would live through anything similar. However, as they say, history often repeats itself. In 1929, the stock market crashed in the month of October. The same thing happened in 2008. My husband, who had invested (投资) all our money in the market, was in a state of shock. Each day the news was more terrible. “We’ve lost more than half of our wealth,” he told me. I just stared at him. “How can that be?” “I thought we had good, solid investments, but it seems I was wrong.” “Well, we do have pensions (抚恤金,” I said. “Hopefully, they won’t be affected. Since we have never lived a high lifestyle to begin with, I don’t think we have to worry.” “I did hope to leave our children and grandchildren a generous inheritance (遗产),” my husband said. He shook his head in disbelief. “We’ll still be able to give gifts. Love is the most important gift anyway.” Our children are grown and we always try to be generous to them and our grandchildren. “It just won’t be the same.” “The world is always changing,” I said. “You never know what will happen. The main thing is not to get discouraged. As long as we have our health and can afford the necessities of life, there’s no reason to be upset. When you have your health, you can always earn more money.” I hugged my husband and he kissed me in return. “I