I was working as a consultant in a beer company, helping the president and senior vice-presidents form and carry out their new planning projects. It was really a great challenge.
At the same time, my mother was in the final stages of cancer.
I worked during the day and drove 40 miles home to be with her every night. It was tiring and stressful, but it was what I wanted to do. My commitment was to continue to do excellent consulting during the day, even though my evenings were very hard. I didn’t want to bother the president with my situation, yet I felt someone at the company needed to know what was going on. So I told the vice-president of Human Resources, asking him not to share the information with anyone.
A few days later, the president called me into his office.
I figured he wanted to talk to me about one of the many issues we were working on. When I entered, he asked me to sit down. He faced me from across his large desk, looked at me in the eye and said, “I hear your mother is very ill”.
I was totally caught by surprise and burst into tears. He just looked at me, let my crying subside(平息), and then gently said a sentence I will never forget: whatever you need.
That was it. His understanding and his willingness to both let me be in my pain and to offer me everything were qualities of sympathy（同情）that I carry with me to this day.
小题1:When the author was working in a beer company, his mother .
A．was concerned about him
B．drew the president’s attention
C．was seriously ill
D．was proud of her son小题2:Although he felt tired and stressed, he felt it his duty .
A．to help plan some new projects
B．to avoid bothering the president
C．to tell the vice-president his difficult situation
D．to do his job well and look after his mother小题3:Most probably, the president got the information from .
A．a relative of the author’s
B．the vice-president
C．the author’s good friends
D．the author’s workmates小题4:Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
A．Understanding Is Nowhere
B．Generous President
C．Sympathy Is Needed
D．An Unforgettable Memory
