阅读理解。
Two men, Alan and Henry, both seriously ill, shared a hospital room. Alan was allowed to sit up in his bed and his bed was next to the room's only window. Henry had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours, of their wives, families, their homes and their jobs. And every afternoon
when Alan, in the bed next to the window, could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his
roommate all the things he could see. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their
model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm among flowers. Trees and skyline could be see
n in the distance. As he described all these, Henry, on the other side of the room, would close his eyes and imagine the
scene.
One warm afternoon Alan described a parade (游行) passing by. Although Henry could not
hear the band, he could see it in his mind. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should
he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It doesn't seem fair. Henry
felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy grew and soon
let him down. He began to find himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window- and that thought
now control his life.
Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, Alan began to cough. He was choking. Henry watched
in the dim room as the struggling man tried hard to reach for the button to call for help. Listening from
across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have called for a nurse. In
less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there
was only silence- deathly silence.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, Henry asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse
was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he struggled to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all
himself. He would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He looked out, but faced a blank wall.
1. Judging from the passage, the meaning of the underlined word "alien" in Paragraph 3 is "_____ ".
A. disappointing
B. sudden
C. new
D. strange
2. What finally happened to Alan?
A. He was moved to another room.
B. He died.
C. He switched his bed with Henry.
D. He was very sick
3. Henry, who had his bed switched, had expected .
A. to see the blank wall
B. to feel the joy of seeing the outside world
C. to feel the joy of breathing fresh air
D. to see more than Alan
4. Which of the following words could be used to describe Alan?
A. Kind-hearted and imaginative.
B. Well- informed and humorous
C. Talkative and funny
D. Cold-hearted and indifferent
