Tell a story and tell it well, and you may open wide the eyes of a child, open up lines of communication in a business, or even open people’s mind to another culture or race.

People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them. For example, most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources, cultures, and times. They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education, but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.

“ Most local stories are based on a larger theme,” American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says, “ Cinderella(灰姑娘), or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness, appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world.”

Working with students in schools, Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories. She works with prisoner too, helping them knowing who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write, direct, and act in their own lives. If they don’t like the story they are living, they can rewrite the story. Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers. “For every advance in business,” she says, “ there is a greater need for communication.” Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship, she says.

Pugh spent several years in Nigeria, where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there. The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere, she says.

“I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,” she says, “ What I do is to focus on the value of the stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs. We are all storytellers. We all have a story to tell. We tell everybody’s story.”

1. What do we learn about American storyteller from Paragraph 2?

A. They share the same way of storytelling.

B. They prefer to tell the stories from other cultures.

C. They learn their stories from the American natives.

D. They find storytelling useful for both children and adults.

2. The underlined sentence (Paragraph 4) suggests that prisoners can _____.

A. start a new life                        B. settle down in another place

C. direct films                           D. become good actors

3. Pugh has practices storytelling with _____ groups of people.

A. 2              B. 3               C. 4             D. 5

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A. Storytelling can influence the way people think.

B. Storytelling is vital to the growth of business.

C. Storytelling is the best way to educate children in school.

D. Storytelling helps people understand themselves and others.

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1. Why did the boy start his job young?

A. He wanted to be famous in the future.

B. The job was quite easy for him.

C. His mother had high hopes for him.

D. The competition for the job was fierce.

2. From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A. excited          B. interested          C. ashamed             D. disappointed

3. What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A. She forced him to continue.              B. She punished him.

C. She gave him some money.              D. She changed her plan.

4. What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

A. The war between the boy’s parents.

B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

D. The fight between the boy and his father.

5. What is the text mainly about?

A. The early life of a journalist.

B. The early success of a journalist.

C. The happy childhood of the writer.

D. The important role of the writer in his family.

1. People with a poor memory often f________ things.

2. Spring is a s_________ when trees turn green and flowers open.

3. Don’t always d__________ on others. You should learn to rely on yourself.

4. George was born on June 1, so Children’s Day is also his b_____________.

5. With no adults around, it’s d__________ for children to swim in the river.

6. He caught a high f__________. His body temperature was as high as 40℃.

7. There are only five minutes left. We’ll have to walk q__________ to get there on time.

8. He is always happy and never w_________ about anything.

9. They offered me a ticket for the concert, and I a__________ it with delight.

10. The photo will r_______ me of the days when we were together.

在英语课堂上，你喜欢你的老师授课时只用英语，还是英语、汉语兼用？某英语杂志社就此话题邀请中学生发表看法。请你围绕“How do you prefer your English classes to be taught? In English only, or in both English and Chinese?”这个问题，参考所给要点，选择一种授课形式，写一篇英语短文。

注意：1. 词数100～120，短文开头已给出（不计词数）

      2. 参考词汇：atmosphere 氛围

      I prefer my English classes to be taught in …

Jim sold most of his things. He has hardly _______ left in the house.

A. anything                             B. everything     C. nothing            D. something

My parents live in a small village. They always keep candles in the house _____ there is a power out.  

A. if                             B. unless               C. in case                     D. so that

—Did Alan enjoy seeing his old friends yesterday?

—Yes, he did. He ________ his old friends for a long time.

A. didn’t see                B. wouldn’t see     C. hasn’t seen        D. hadn’t seen

George couldn’t remember when he first met Mr. Anderson, but he was sure it was _____ Sunday because everybody was at _______ church.

A. /; the                      B. the; /                 C. a; /                   D. /; a

The children went home from the grammar school, their lessons _______ for the day.

A. finishing                  B. finished             C. had finished     D. were finished 

—Now let’s move on to another topic. Do you follow me?

—_______, Professor.

A. No, I am not             B. Yes, I will          C. No, I haven’t     D. Yes, perfectly