I was living with my grandparents at the time. Our grandparents had recently retired. While they’d managed to save enough to buy a home, they were short on living expenses.
So, our grandfather took a job as doorkeeper of the Java school building. Keeping the entire building clean was a stressful job for one man. Realizing this, I began helping him after school, sweeping rooms and emptying waste baskets, for a small wage.
When winter arrived, he fired up the school’s furnace (火炉). He quickly realized how difficult it had become for him to shovel (铲) the huge pile of coal chips required to fill in the furnace. I volunteered to take on that job, a commitment that required me to set my alarm clock an hour earlier each morning. I’d go over to the school, and shovel a half ton of coal, enough to keep the fire burning for 24 hours. After finishing that task, I’d go home, change clothes, and eat breakfast. Then I’d head back to school, always at the last minute.
It was during those morning rushes to school that I discovered my superpower. On two mornings, at the very instant I stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the school, the first bell rang. That was the signal for students to head to class. This astonishing coincidence caused me to improve my precision. I carefully planned each phase of my morning activity. I paced myself. Often I’d step onto the school’s sidewalk just as the first bell rang. This accomplishment gave me enormous pride — and some strange feelings.
Decades later, at a school reunion, I happened to meet Harold Spiry, who had been in charge of ringing the bell by pressing a button in his office. I couldn’t resist boasting (吹嘘). I told Mr. Spiry about how well I had ordered my complex morning work back then, how my timing had been faultless. “Oh that,” he said. “Do you recall that my office windows looked out over the front of the building? I often saw you coming. And when you hit the sidewalk, I’d ring the bell.”
【小题1】What does the underlined word “this” refer to?| A．Grandparents’ lack of living expenses. |
| B．Granddad’s retiring as a doorkeeper. |
| C．Grandparents’ saving money to buy a house. |
| D．Granddad’s hardships in cleaning the whole building. |
| A．To avoid being late for school. | B．To help his granddad clean classrooms. |
| C．To fill coal into the school’s furnace. | D．To volunteer to empty waste baskets. |
| A．He had the ability to be on time. | B．He was good at morning activities. |
| C．He could do things at his own pace. | D．He could fire up the furnace alone. |
| A．Proud. | B．Surprised. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Regretful. |
