One day,not too long ago,the employees of a large company in St.Louis,Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door.The sign said,“Yesterday the person who had been hindering (阻礙) your  1  in this company passed away.We  2  you to join the funeral in the room that has been  3  in the gym.”?

At first everyone was sad to  4  that one of their colleagues had died,   5  after a while they started getting  6  about who this person might be.?

       The excitement  7  as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last  8  .Everyone wondered.“Who is this person that was hindering my growth?Well,   9  he’s no longer here!”?

One by one the   10  got closer to the coffin (棺材) and when they looked inside it,they  11  became speechless.They stood beside the coffin,  12  into silence,as if someone had  13  the deepest part of their soul.?

      There was a mirror inside the coffin—everyone who looked inside it could see himself.There was also a  14  next to the mirror that   15  ,“There is only one person who is capable to 16  limits to your growth:it is YOU.”?

You are the only person who can revolutionize your   17  .  You are the only person who can  18  your happiness,realization and success.You are the only person who can help yourself.Your life does not change when your boss changes,your friends change,your parents change,your partner changes or your company changes.Your life changes when YOU change,when you go  19  your limiting beliefs and when you realize that you are the only one 20 for your life.?

1. A.ability                   B.progress       C.talent                  D.practice?

2. A.demand                 B.allow         C.invite                  D.advise?

3. A.started                   B.prepared      C.opened                 D.created?

4. A.learn              B.receive        C.notice        D.find?

5. A.for             B.or                C.so                D.but?

6. A.angry                    B.sorry       C.curious             D.nervous?

7. A.grew                     B.appeared?    C.improved            D.developed?

8. A.sight                     B.attention?     C.appreciation              D.respect?

9. A.at least                  B.in fact?     C.at once                  D.in general?

10. A.employees            B.managers?  C.friends          D.citizens?

11. A.quickly         B.finally?       C.obviously          D.suddenly?

12. A.worried        B.depressed?   C.shocked            D.embarrassed?

13. A.broken          B.touched           C.stolen                  D.changed?

14. A.letter                   B.sign         C.mark                     D.page?

15. A.told                        B.warned           C.wrote                     D.read?

16. A.set              B.take           C.put               D.get?

17. A.business               B.heart        C.life                 D.success?

18. A.realize                 B.satisfy       C.influence        D.consider?

19. A.for                  B.upon         C.over               D.beyond

20. A.reasonable            B.responsible?C.suitable           D.valuable?

Help or Not

Dear editor,

During last year's winter holiday, I went shopping with my grandmother. We saw several beggars. Some of them were disabled, which made me feel sad. Among them were old people, young people and even children! When I wanted to help them, my grandmother stopped me. She told me they were not worth showing mercy to because some beggars cheated people out of their money. Should I help them?

                                                                                           Yours,

                                                                                           Mary from Guangzhou

Dear Mary,

       While I understand your grandmother’s point of view, I think that just because some beggars have cheated people, this doesn’t mean you should never help any beggars.

       Showing mercy to people who are not as fortunate as us is one of the kindest things we can do. While some beggars may use dishonest means to get money, most beggars will not. Even those who use dishonest means are probably hungry for food and feel they have no choice but to cheat people. It is important to be careful for your own safety. But if you want to help, you don’t necessarily have to give it to beggars in the street.

       Another way you can help is by donating money to the China Charity Federation. Visit its website at: www. china charity. cn.net.

18.From the grandmother’s point of view, we can learn that ________.

A. she has never helped the beggars.    

B. she believes not all beggars are honest

C. she has surely been cheated by some beggars  

D. she shows no pity for the poor

19. Mary felt sad for _______.

       A. her grandmother                                                 B. the disabled beggars 

C. the old people                                              D. herself

20. The editor suggests that Mary should _______.

       A. have her own mind                                      B. follow her grandmother

       C. do something for those unfortunate                D. help the China Charity Federation

21. The underlined word “donating” probably means _______.

       A. give out of kindness                                     B. put into a business

C. earn through an organization                         D. give in return for some kindness

One day a mime(啞劇演員)is visiting the zoo and attempts to earn some money as a street performer. As soon as he starts to draw a crowd，a zookeeper drags him into his office．The zookeeper explains that the zoo's most popular attraction，a gorilla(大猩猩)，has died suddenly and the keeper fears that attendance（出席人數(shù)） at the zoo will fall off．He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla. The mime accepts．

  The next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before the crowd comes．He soon discovers he can sleep all he wants，play and make fun of people and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime—the job he likes but loses．

    However, with days going by，he begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his．Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience, he climbs to the top of his cage，crawls across a partition(隔墻)，and dangles(懸掛)from the top to the lion’s cage. The lion gets angry at this. The scene is a fuel to the crowd．

    At the end of the day he is given a raise for being such a good attraction—Well，this continues for some time．The crowds grow larger，and the mime’s pay keeps going up.

　　Then one day when he is dangling over the lion he slips and falls．The mime is terrified. He starts screaming，  “Help me!”，but the lion is quick．The mime soon finds himself flat on his back looking up at the angry lion and the lion says, “Shut

up you fool! Do you want to get us both fired?”

The mime accepts the zookeeper’s offer because______________·

  A．he has been out of work

  B．he doesn’t like being a mime

  C．he likes performing at the zoo

  D．he is offered a higher pay there

How does the mime find the job dressing up as the gorilla?

  A．Hard and tiring．        B．Dangerous.

  C．Easy and funny．        D. Boring.

The mime’s first contact with the lion is to_________·

  A. find pleasure for himself          B. get the lion’s attention

  C．get his pay raised               D．win back his audience

The underlined words “a fuel” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by __________.

  A. frightening    B common   C．exciting   D. familiar

One day while walking along the bank of a river, a rabbit couple(夫婦) saw a wounded(受傷的) ant lying unconsciously(沒(méi)有直覺(jué)地) on the grass. The rabbit couple gently put the ant on the leaf(葉子) of a nearby plant. She soon recovered and saw the rabbit couple sitting beside her.

The ant remembered that she had found herself under the foot of a cat by chance and fainted(暈倒). She asked how she reached the leaf top. The rabbit couple told her what had happened. The ant thanked them and said she would help them when they needed help.

The rabbit couple went further up the river to enjoy the bright sun. They had been there many times and would spend many hours playing and relaxing in the sun.

One fine day, the couple were again on their way to the river while the ant was playing on the leaf of a tree. She saw the rabbit couple walking towards the river. A few hours later she saw the rabbit couple sleeping peacefully on the soft grass by the river. Suddenly she saw a lion moving towards the grass where the rabbit couple were sleeping. The loin saw the rabbit sleeping, and started walking quietly to attack them.

Realizing the hazard getting close to the rabbits, the ant jumped from the leaf to the lion’s shoulder and bit(咬) the lion’s back. The lion cried out in pain, waking the rabbit couple. The rabbits ran away quickly and the ant jumped off the lion’s back into the grass.

A white pigeon(鴿子) who watched this event cheered at the courage(勇氣) of the ant and told the whole story to the rabbits. The rabbit couple were moved and thanked the ant. They became best friends.

From the first three paragraphs, we can learn that _____.

the rabbit couple put the ant on the leaf of a plant to hide her

the ant was wounded after fighting with a cat

the rabbit couple and the ant knew each other very well before

the rabbit couple often went to the river

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

The ant was hurt by the lion.  

The ant was small but clever.

The white pigeon was as brave as the ant.  

The lion wanted to play a joke on the rabbit couple.

According to the passage, which is the correct order of the following events?

The ant jumped into the grass to hide.

The ant bit the lion’s back.

The lion moved towards the rabbit couple.

The rabbit couple saved the ant.

The ant saw the rabbit couple sleeping on the grass.

A. d,c,e,a,b      B. d,e,c,b,a      C. e,c,b,a,d      D. c,d,e,b,a

The underlined word “hazard” in the fifth paragraph probably means “_____”.

A. reality    B. warning     C. experience     D. danger

One of the most striking (顯著) characteristics of English life is the good manners of people from all walks of life. There is little noisy behavior, and practically no loud arguing in the street. People don’t rush excitedly for seats in buses and trains, but wait in queues at bus stops in a quiet and orderly manner.

English people are naturally very polite and never tired of saying “Thank you”, “I’m sorry” and “I beg your pardon”. If you follow anyone who is entering a building or a room, he will hold the door open for you. Many foreigners have commented on the remarkable politeness of the English people.

English people don’t like showing their emotions even in dangerous and tragic situation, and ordinary people seem to keep good-tempered and cheerful under difficulties. They often see the good aspect of things.

English people don’t like any boasting or showing off in manners, dress or speech. Sometimes they conceal their knowledge; a linguist, for example, may not mention his understanding of a foreigner’s language.

An Englishman prefers his own house to an apartment in a block of flats, because he doesn’t want his activities to be overlooked by his neighbors. “An Englishman’s home is his castle.”

Many Englishmen help their wives with housework. They clean the windows on Saturday afternoon, and they often wash the dishes after supper in the evening.

Although times may have changed and cultures have changed, too, the English people still have special characteristics which set them apart from other nationalities.

Which characteristic of English people is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Humorous.       B. Polite.     C. Modest.       D. optimistic(樂(lè)觀).

The underlined word “conceal” in Para 4 can be replaced by ______.

A. show off                      B. look down upon

C. hide on purpose                D. feel proud of  

In dangerous situations, English people ______.

A. are not afraid at all              B. try to be calm and brave

C. like to play jokes on others        D. become discouraged and sad

By saying “An Englishman’s home is his castle”, the writer means ______.

A. English people are fond of living in castles       

B. English people often decorate their houses very well   

C. English people prefer to have different houses from others’     

D. English people don’t like others to know much about their family life