阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　My husband, my four-month-old daughter and I set out on a five-day driving journey from California to Washington．We had to stop frequently because our little child needed to stretch from the car seat．

　　One of our stops, once we crossed the Oregon border, was at a Black Bear Diner．Walking towards the front door we noticed a gentleman standing at one side．He was clearly untidy, without shoes and wearing worn clothing．We passed right by him and opened the restaurant door．Then something told me to go back．

　　Holding my daughter, I turned around and said to the gentleman, “Sir．Are you hungry? ” He said, “Yes．” I then asked, “May we buy you something to eat? ” He responded with, “Sure, I can order something myself．”

　　My husband opened the door and the gentleman went straight to the counter．I told him to order whatever he wanted．The manager of the restaurant came over quite quickly and looked frightened．I spoke before he had an opportunity to．“This gentleman will have lunch with us today, ” I said．“Please add his order to our bill．” The manager said with a frown(皱眉), “Okay．” We turned to our table and the gentleman said, loudly and quickly, “Thank You! ” We were seated and upon completing our meal we were handed our bill．I asked my husband what the gentleman had ordered．One fresh orange juice, one coffee, one breakfast combination with a side of hash browns．

　　When we left the restaurant I looked for the gentleman but didn't see him, but that very small act just made my day．I hope in some small way we were able to add some joy to his life, even if only for a few minutes．

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阅读理解

　　When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on．" Mary responded in typical teenage fashion．From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course, " she recalls．

　　The show business thing worked out, of course．In her career, Mary won many awards．Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom, " I don't know how to use a computer, " she admits．

　　Unlike her 1995 autobiography(自传), After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes(糖尿病)．All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation(JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman．"I felt there was a need for a book like this, " she says．" I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease．"

　　But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches．In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news．First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes．In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts(甜甜圈)．Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up -again-and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her．Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet．

　　Although her disease has affected her eyesight, she refuses to fall into self-pity．"Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me? ' about something or other, " she insists．"It doesn't do any good．No one is immune(免疫的)to heartache, pain, and disappointments．Sometimes we can make things better by helping others．I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time．I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be．"

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　　Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely act of stealing or an even cheat．Either way, it could be the perfect crime(犯罪), because the criminals are birds-homing pigeons!

　　The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car：if you want the car back, pay up．Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside．Carrying the money in a tiny bag, the pigeon flies off．

　　There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa．What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind－one that avoids(避免)not only collecting money but also going out to steal the car in the first place．Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick：he gets money for things he cannot possibly return．Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad(advertisement)in the newspaper asking for help．

　　The thought is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned．Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3, 000 Taiwanese dollars–seems too little for a car worth many times more．

　　Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story．And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal．“We have more important things to do, ” he said．

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　　British police have begun a year-long programme of Olympic security tests, conducting sweeping searches of London 2012 venues and practising defensive counter-terrorism tactics(反恐策略)．

　　The exercises described are part of a broad range of tests to check how the police, government departments and emergency services would respond to any problems with the Games．

　　British police have been conducting security sweeps inside the Olympic Stadium in London as part of an anti-terror exercise ahead of next year's games．Officers have been searching sections of the stadium by hand, while sniffer dogs have been employed to search seats for traces of explosives．

　　The Metropolitan Police's national security coordinator for the London Olympics, Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, refused to remark on Tuesday over whether the death of Osama bin Laden had produced intelligence to suggest that the Games were being targeted by Al-Qaeda(基地组织)terrorists．

　　Chris Allison said, “Clearly I'm not going to go into any details of any intelligence, but put it this way, we have planned all of our Olympic plans on the basis of a severe threat from terrorism．We’ve looked at the various attack methods used by terrorists across the world, and put in place the necessary control measures here to make sure the terrorists couldn't be successful．”

　　Specialist officers from the police “rope access” team have been searching the floodlights at the Olympic Stadium to check for suspicious objects．

　　The British government's austerity drive has resulted in tough budget(预算)cuts for the police service in London．

　　But the government has insisted that the budget for Olympic security won't be affected by the cutbacks．

　　Security has been a serious concern for the Olympics since the killing of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Munich Games．

　　The London Games are seen as a high security threat particularly, as the Olympics offer an international platform for any terror group because there will be live events broadcast worldwide．

　　The 2012 London Summer Olympics begin July 27 and run through August 12．

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　　Americans with small families own a small car or a large one．If both parents are working, they usually have two cars．When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽车)

　　A small car can hold(容纳)four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded(拥挤)．A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel They could all travel together．

　　Mr．Hagen and his wife had a third child last year．This made them sell a second car and bus a van．Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel．When they arrive at their grandparents’ home, the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents．

　　Americans call vans motor homes．A motor home is always used for holidays．When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks．All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together．That is why motor homes have become very popular．In America there are many parks for motor homes．

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　　Dick was a twenty-year-old man．His father was a teacher and taught chemistry in a middle school and his mother worked in a shop．They lived a happy life until his parents died one night when suddenly an earthquake broke out．Luckily his sister took him to see their aunt in the city and they did not stay at home．Everything was destroyed in the earthquake and the two children got into trouble．Thanks to their aunt who was not rich enough, they grew up but they lived a hard life．His sister was so sad that she became a nun(修女)．After he finished middle school, he was introduced to an owner of a hotel and began to work there．

　　One day the young man fell to the ground while he was cleaning a window on the second floor．He was sent to the hospital and the doctor looked him over．One of his legs was broken and he had to be in hospital．He said to the nurse, “I'm a poor man, madam．Arrange a third-class ward(病房)for me, please．”

　　“Can't anybody help you?”

　　“No, madam, ” answered Dick．“I have only a sister．She's a nun and she's poor, too．”

　　“I don't think so, ” the nurse said angrily．“Nuns usually marry God．And God is the richest in the world, you know! ”

　　“Well, then, ” Dick said with a smile．“Please arrange a first-class ward for me and post the bill to my brother-in-law．”

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists： Christmas cards and Christmas trees．

　　Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green．They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Face book and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends．If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage(邮费)or wasted paper．

　　However, especially for people who didn't grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail．The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world's first postage stamp three years earlier．His name was Sir Henry Cole．

　　They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century．Many people sent cards that were sold for charity．The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF．In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day．Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper．

　　When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)to mind-the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under．The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany．Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year．Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year．

　　Some people prefer artificial(人造的)trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative．However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum(石油)products and so have many contamination(污染)issues．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

More than tea in a cup

　　“You know, these cups bring to mind a tea quote(说法)I heard．” Mary's aunt said．

　　She poured tea．There were four of them and there were four totally different cups on the table．

　　They grabbed(拿起)their tea cups．

　　“What quote? ” Mary asked．

　　“Well, maybe I should rather say it is a story, ” aunt said, “I heard there was this wise teacher who took all his students for tea．They were surprised that all the cups on the table were different．They all took a cup and started drinking their tea, each looking at the cups of others．The teacher let them do that for a while and then said： “ Do you notice your behavior? You are all looking at each other's tea cup and I can see some of you with the chipped(有殊缺的)ones are even envious(羡慕的)of the finer cups of others．Is this not so? ”

　　The students agreed, amused by their own behavior．

　　“You may have wondered why you all had different cups, but I put them here on purpose．You see-they represent life itself．Life is like that tea–-and the cups are like the physical circumstances(状况)of your life．You all got the same thing in your cups-tea．And yet you cannot truly enjoy it in your envy of another's cup．It's just the same with life．You forget to enjoy your own life when you concentrate on envying the circumstances of someone else's life．

　　So now, close your eyes, and taste your own tea．Really taste it．And tell me – did it matter from which cup it came from? ”

　　Aunt finished telling her short tea story and they all sat in silence for a while, savoring(品尝)their tea．A sleepy fly buzzed(嗡嗡作响)past, a bird sang in the tree．And it really did not matter one bit from which tea cup they drank．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　One day a man saw an old lady, stranded(被困在)on the side of the road．Despite the dim light, he could see she needed help．So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out．

　　Even with the smile on his face, she was worried．No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so．Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry．“I'm here to help you, ma’am．By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson, ” he said．

　　The car had broken down but it was easily fixed．As he was tightening up the screws(螺丝)on the door, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him．She told him that she was from St．Louis and was only passing through．She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid．

　　Anderson just smiled as he closed her trunk(后备箱)．The lady asked how much she owed him．He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed．

　　A few miles down the road the lady saw a small café．The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair．She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase(清除)．The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain(劳累)and aches change her attitude when she served her．

　　The lady finished her meal and paid with a hundred dollar bill．The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door．She was gone by the time the waitress came back．The waitress wondered where the lady could be．

　　There was a note on the napkin： “You don't owe me anything．Somebody once helped me out the way I'm helping you．If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do： do not let this chain of love end with you．”

Under the napkin were four more ＄100bills．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Lisa was running late．She had a lot to do at work, plus visitors on the way; her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown．But as she hurried down the subway stairs, she started to feel uncomfortably warm．By the time she got to the platform, Lisa felt weak and tired-maybe it hadn't been a good idea to give blood the night before, she thought．She rested herself against a post close to the tracks．

　　Several yards away, Frank, 43, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop．They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying．

　　But when he heard the scream, followed by someone yelling, "Oh, my God, she fell in! " Frank didn't hesitate．He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails．"No! Not you! his girlfriend screamed after him．

　　She was right to be alarmed．By the time Frank reached Lisa, he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming．The train was about 20 seconds from the station．

　　It was hard to lift her．She was just out．But he managed to raise her four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge．That was where Lisa briefly re-gained consciousness, felt herself being pulled along the ground, and saw someone else holding her purse．

　　Lisa thought she' d been robbed．A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head．And she tried to talk but she couldn't, and that was when she realized how much pain she was in．

　　Police and fire officials soon arrived, and Frank told the story to an officer．Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown-just as he had been seconds after the rescue, which made her think about her reaction at the time．"I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die．"she explained．

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