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I was a freshman in college when I met the Whites. They were completely different from my own
family, yet I felt at home with them immediately. Jane White and I became friends at school, and her
family welcomed me like a long-lost cousin. In my family, it was always important to place blame when
anything bad happened. "Who did this? "my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen. "This is all your
fault, Katharine, "my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher broke. From the time
we were little, my sister, brothers and told on each other.
We set a place for blame at the dinner table. But the Whites didn't worry about who had done what.
They picked up the pieces and moved on with their lives. The beauty of this was driven home to me the
summer Jane died. In July, the White sisters and I decided to take a car trip from their home in Florida
to New York. The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy,
had recently turned sixteen. Proud of having a new driver's license(驾照),Amy was excited about
practicing her driving on the trip. She showed off her license to everyone she met. The big sisters shared
the driving of Sarah's new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached less crowded areas,
they let Amy take over.
Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat. After lunch, Amy got behind the
wheel. She came to a crossroads with a stop sign. Whether she was nervous or just didn't see the sign
no one would ever know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping. The driver of a large
truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car.
Jane was killed immediately. I was slightly injured.
The most difficult thing that I've ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and
that Jane had died. Painful as it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to
lose a child. When Mr. and Mrs. White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a
room. Sarah had a few cuts on the head; Amy's leg was broken. They hugged(拥抱)us all and cried
tears of sadness and of joy at seeing their daughters. They wiped away the girls' tears and made a few
jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches(拐杖). To both of their daughters, and especially to
Amy, over and over they simply said, "We're so glad that you're alive. "I was astonished. No blame.
No accusations (谴责).
Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a
stop sign. Mrs. White said, "Jane's gone, and we miss her terribly. Nothing we say or do will ever bring
her back. But Amy has her whole life ahead of her. How can she lead a full and happy life if she feels we
blame her for her sister's death? "They were right. Amy graduated from the University of California and
got married several years ago. She works as a teacher of learning-disabled students. She's also a mother
of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane.
1. The author of the passage is _____.
A. Mrs. White's niece
B. Jane's school friend
C. The Whites' cousin
D. Sarah's friend from college
2. How did the author's parents differ from the Whites?
A. The author's parents were less caring.
B. The author's parents were less loving.
C. The author's parents were less friendly.
D. The author's parents were less understanding.
3. How did the accident occur?
A. Amy didn't stop at a crossroads and a truck hit their car.
B. Amy didn't know what to do when she saw the stop sign.
C. Amy didn't slow down so their car ran into a truck.
D. Amy didn't get off the highway at a crossroads.
4. The accident took place in ______.
A. Florida
B. California
C. South Carolina
D. New York
5. The Whites did not blame Amy for Jane's death because _____.
A. they didn't want Amy to feel ashamed and sorry for the rest of her life
B. Amy was badly injured herself and they didn't want to add to her pain
C. they didn't want to blame their children in front of others
D. Amy was their youngest daughter and they loved her best
