It was 1961 and was in the fifth grade. My marks in school were miserable and, the thing was, I didn’t really care. My older brother and I lived with Mom in a small multi-family house in Detroit. We watched TV every night for hours.
But one day Mom changed our world forever. She came home, turned off the TV, sat us down and said: “You boys are going to read two books every week. And you’re going to write me a report on what you read.” We complained about how unfair it was. Besides, we didn’t have any books in the house other than Mom’s Bible. But she explained: “I’ll drive you to the library.” So pretty soon the two boys were driven to Detroit Public Library in her white 1950 old car. I wandered reluctantly among the children’s books. I loved animals, so when I saw some books that seemed to be about animals, I started leafing through them.
The first book I read clear through was Chip the Dam Builder. It was about beavers(海狸). For the first time I was lost in another world. The experience was quite different from watching TV. There were images forming in my mind instead of before my eyes. Soon I began to look forward to visiting the library. I moved from animals to plants, and then to rocks. Between the covers of all those books were whole worlds, and I was free to go anywhere in them.
Now my older brother is an engineer and I am chief of pediatric neurosurgery(神经外科) at John Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. Sometimes I still can’t believe my life’s journey, from a failing student to this position, which takes me all over the world to teach and perform critical surgery.
But I know when the journey began—the day Mom turned off the TV set and put us in her old car for that drive to the library.
61. What changes the writer’s life according to the passage?
A. Watching TV. B. Reading a lot. C. Books on animals. D. Writing reports.
62. What did the mother request her sons to do?
A. The boys couldn’t watch TV before finishing their homework.
B. The boys should read two books with reports every week.
C. The boys should read and recite the Bible every day.
D. The boys could drive to the public library to read on weekends.
63. What’s the meaning of the underlined words at the end of Paragraph 2?
A. Reading rather carelessly. B. Reading very carefully.
C. Tearing the leaves off the book. D. Looking over the book slowly.
64. How was reading different from watching TV for the writer?
A. It was easier to finish a story by watching TV.
B. Animals on TV looked more vivid than in books.
C. By reading images formed in mind instead of before the eyes.
D. Reading meant costing more time than watching TV.
65. What else do we know from the passage?
A. The writer was born in a wealthy family. B. The writer’s mother was a good teacher.
C. Both boys are unsuccessful in their career. D. The writer is rather world famous now.