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 has been hindering(阻碍) your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to attend the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.”

At first everyone was sorry to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: “Who is this person that was hindering my progress? Well, at least he’s no longer here! ”One by one the employees got closer to the coffin (棺材) and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched 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 sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is you.”

You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when you change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.

1.The underlined word “funeral” in the first paragraph means ________.

A. an occasion when one admires himself in a mirror

B. a chimney from where smelly smoke comes out

C. a ceremony for burying or burning a dead person

D. an exhibition displaying varieties of treasures

2.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Last Respects                     B. A Strange Person

C. A Strange Company                D. A Road to Success

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The employees were shocked when they saw the dead person.

B. It is you yourself that can actually change your life.

C. In the mirror you can find how small you are in the world.

D. You can achieve your goal if you set limits to your growth.

4.It seems that the company is ________.

A. encouraging the employees to show respects to the dead

B. providing good working conditions for its employees

C. suffering a heavy loss due to its staff member’s death

D. trying to make its employees aware of their own potential

1 

Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so. “Health is the greatest wealth(财富),” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.　　     

Speaking about health, I can’t help telling you a funny story.　　

An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.　   

He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day.　　

A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.　　

“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”

1.The writer thinks that 　　　　.

A.        health is more important than wealth

B. work is as important as studies

C. medicine is more important than pleasure

D. nothing is more important than money

2.. The doctor usually tells his patient what to do 　　　　.

A. without examining the patient

B. after he has examined the patient

C. if the patient doesn’t take medicine

D. unless the patient feels pain

3. The underlined part means “　　　　”.

A. he will be well again            B. he wasn’t a healthy man

C. he was feeling worse than before   D. he was feeling better than ever

4. From the last sentence of the passage, we learn the man 　　　　 before the doctor told him not to smoke more than one cigarette a day.

A. didn’t smoke                  B. has smoked so much

C. was a heavy smoker             D. began to learn to smoke

Buster Brown was a thief and a good one too，he thought． He’d never been caught by the police because he never took chances．He was always prepared for any unforeseen event or emergency.
Confidently，he stood outside the house of his intended victim(受害者)and read the sign on the front gate of the house．“Don't worry about the dog—be aware of the owner!” it said．Buster smiled and found his way in．
The house looked quite normal outside，but inside it was very exotic with fascinating objects on display．As he began putting them into his bag，a dog came into the room．It stopped when it saw Buster，then wagged its tail madly and went over to him，licking his outstretched hand．  "Good boy，” Buster whispered． “What a great guard dog you are—trying to lick me to death.” Satisfied he'd made friends with the dog，Bluster began to wander round the house，choosing items to put in his bag．His skilled eye picked out only the best antiques(古董)：a pair of silver candleholders，a silver tea-and-coffee service，etc．．His new friend，the dog，sat and watched，as if wondering what was happening．
“Well，boy，” Buster whispered，finally．“That might do．Any more and I won't be able to carry it!” He swung the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on, nearly blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his hand.
"You're a very silly person," the figure in the doorway said, his voice dry and dust. As the man came closer, Buster could see he was well dressed. His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.
"You should have taken more notice of the sign outside," the man rasped. "I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars for 20 years. Fancy trying to rob the house of the world's greatest fortune-teller!"
【小题1】Why was Buster so confident?

If you enjoyed the spring-like sunshine over the weekend and thought the weather has finally turned a corner, you’re sadly mistaken．

Chilly  （寒冷的）days and grey clouds are forecast for the week—making it far too early to pack away the winter woollies．

Temperatures will struggle to rise above zero at night and fail to make double figures during the day．

People enjoy the spring sunshine in Sefton Park, Aigburth, Liverpool．Forecasters have predicted a return to chilly weather this week．

Met Office forecaster Charlie said, “It was a nice, dry, bright weekend in many parts and Monday is going to be a similar affair for many．”

“Temperatures will be between 5℃and 8℃, which is below average for the start of spring．”

The sun will disappear from the south of the country after today, with dry but cloudy conditions forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday．

Wednesday will be warmest of the three, with temperatures peaking at 9℃．But this is still two degrees below the March average for the district．

Overnight, temperatures will drop sharply, with lows of minus 3℃for the next three nights．

    “It will generally stay on the cold side of average,” said Mr. Powell．

The March misery comes at the end of the coldest winter for more than 30 years．

    Temperatures in December, January and February struggled to stay above zero, with the UK’s average 1．5℃, making it the deepest freeze since 1978—79．

It claimed there was just a one-in-seven chance of a cold December to February．

The agency also sadly predicted a “barbecue summer”, saying it was “quite optimistic” that it would be warmer and drier than average．

Following the two mistakes, the Met Office has dropped its long-range seasonal forecasts and will instead publish a monthly prediction for Britain, updated once a week．

In its defense, it says that while short-term forecasts are extremely accurate, Britain’s size and geographical position makes long-term predictions much more challenging．

It also points out that it gave warning of any heavy falls of snow this winter．

1．According to the passage, the weather on Tuesday in the south might be _______．

       A．dry but cloudy                                   B．sunny but chilly  

       C．sunny and warm                                D．cloudy and chilly

2．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

     A．British people can put away their winter clothes now．

     B．The Met Office has shortened its forecast range．

     C．The weather forecast becomes more and more accurate．

     D．The agency was quite confident of long-term predictions．

3．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

       A．The big chill isn’t over yet                   B．A warm spring finally arrives

       C．A heavy snow is on the way                 D．The Met Office drops forecasts

4．From the passage, we can conclude ________．

       A．the weather report is more and more important

       B．British people become worried about bad weather

    C．Britain has just experienced a very freezing winter

    D．The Met Office can always predict any heavy snow falls accurately