Never ______ such a good boss before I came to this company.

1. A.
   do I meet
2. B.
   I met
3. C.
   had I met
4. D.
   I had met

He met her at a party．She was so outstanding，with many boys around her，while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him．

At the end of the party，he invited her to have coffee with him．She was surprised，but due to being polite，she agreed．

They sat in a nice coffee shop．He was too nervous to say anything，and she felt uncomfortable，thinking，“Please let me go home．”

Suddenly he asked the waiter，“Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee．”

Everybody stared at him——so strange! His face turned red，but，still，he put the salt in his coffee and drank it．

She asked him curiously，“Why do you have this hobby?”

He replied，“When I was a little boy，I was living near the sea．I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee．Now every time I have the salty coffee．I always think of my childhood．I miss my hometown so much．I miss my parents who are still living there．”

While saying that tears filled his eyes．She was deeply touched．That's his true feeling，from the bottom of his heart．A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has responsibility of home．

Then she also started to speak，about her faraway hometown，her childhood, her family．That was a really nice talk，also a beautiful beginning of their story．

They continued to date．She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands；he was kind-hearted, warm and careful．He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story，the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life…And, every time she made coffee for him，she put some salt in the coffee．

After 40 years, he passed away，leaving her a letter which said，“My dearest，please forgive my whole life lie．This was the only lie I said to you—the salty coffee．

“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time．Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt．It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead．

“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything．

“Now I'm dying, I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth：I don't like the salty coffee．What a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!

“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you．Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life．If I can live for a second time，I still want to know you and have you for my whole life，even though I have to drink the salty coffee again．”

Her tears made the letter totally wet．

Someday，someone asked her,“What's the taste of salty coffee?”“It's sweet，”she replied．

After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt     ．

A．touched     B．satisfied    C．disappointed    D．embarrassed

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Salt coffee is more delicious and sweeter than sugar coffee．

B．The man ordered the salt coffee in order to create a chance to date with the girl．

C．The man had to have salty coffee all his life to keep his word．

D．The woman hardly believed the man's explanation at their first date．

From the passage we can see that the man is         ．

A．caring and kind-hearted      B．shy and sly

C．dishonest but responsible     D．warm and understanding

It is implied in the passage that the woman _____ when reading the letter left by her husband．

 A．was cheated by his husband's behavior    B．was touched by his husband's white lie

 C．felt sorry to know the truth too late       D．felt angry about his dishonesty

He met her at the party. She was so outstanding, with many boys around her, while he was so normal, with nobody paying attention to him.

At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but due to being polite, she agreed.

They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, thinking, “Please let me go home.”

Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.”

 Everybody stared at him---so strange! His face turned red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?”

He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea, and I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there.”

While saying that, tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell about his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home, and has a good sense of responsibility.

Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands: he was kind-hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married the prince, then they were living a happy life…And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee.

After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole-life lie. This was the only lie I said to you ---the salty coffee.”

“Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. Actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.”

“I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything.”

“Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don’t like the salty coffee. What a strange and bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!”

“Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for a second time, I still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again.”

Her tears made the letter totally wet.

Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” “It’s sweet,” she replied.

After ordering some salt to put into the coffee, the young man must have felt _________.

A. excited         B. satisfied          C. embarrassed        D. displeased

Why did the man have salty coffee all his life?

A. To change lifestyle.                   B. To please his wife.

C. To keep his word.                     D. To remember the past

What does the write mean by saying “she almost missed him”?

A. She meant to leave him on their first date.

B. She thought of him every now and then.

C. She nearly misunderstood his explanation.

D. She could hardly believe this simple fact.

From the passage, we can see that the man is ___________.

A. dishonest but responsible              B. shy but kind-hearted

C. caring and loyal                       D. warm and understanding

It is implied in the passage that the woman ___________ when reading the letter left by her husband.

A. was confused about his behavior          B. was touched by his white lie

C. felt sorry to know the truth too late    D. felt angry about his dishonesty

I met Jane Black in university, and soon we became friends．The first time I went to her home I found her family quite different from my own．
In my family, it was always important to place   1 when anything bad happened．
"Who did this? "my mother would scream about a dirty kitchen．
" This is all your  2 , Katharine, " my father would insist when the cat got out or the dishwasher  3 .
From the time we were little, my sister, brothers and I told on each other．We set a place for blame at the dinner table．
4 ,the Whites didn't worry about who had done what．They picked up the pieces and 5 with their lives．The beauty of this was driven home to me the summer Jane died．
In July, the White sisters and I decided to take a car  6 from their home in Florida to New York．The two older sisters, Sarah and Jane, were college students, and the youngest, Amy, had recently  7 sixteen．Proud of having a new driver' s license, Amy was excited about practicing her driving on the trip．She  8 her license to everyone she met．
The big sisters  9 the driving of Sarah' s new car during the first part of the trip, but when they reached _10_ crowded areas, they let Amy  11 ．Somewhere in South Carolina, we pulled off the highway to eat．After lunch, Amy got behind the wheel．She came to a crossroads with a stop sign．Whether she was nervous or just didn't see the sign no one would  12 know, but Amy continued into the crossroads without stopping．The driver of a large truck, unable to stop in time, ran into our car．
Jane was killed immediately．I was only  13 injured．The most difficult thing that I’ve ever done was to call the Whites to tell them about the accident and that Jane had died．Painful __14_ it was for me to lose a good friend, I knew that it was far worse for them to lose a child．
When Mr．and Mrs．White arrived at the hospital, they found their two daughters sharing a room．Sarah had a few cuts on the head and Amy' s leg was broken．They hugged us all and cried tears of   15 and of joy at seeing their daughters．They  16 away the girls' tears and made a few jokes at Amy as she learned to use her crutches （拐仗）.
To both of their daughters, and especially to Amy, over and over they simply said, "We' re so glad that you' re alive．"
I was  17 ．No blame．No accusations．
Later, I asked the Whites why they never talked about the fact that Amy was driving and had run a stop sign．
Mrs. White said, "Jane' s gone, and we miss her  18 ．Nothing we say or do will ever bring her back．But Amy has her whole life ahead of her．How can she _19____ a full and happy life if she feels we blame her for her sister' s death?"
They were right．Amy graduated from the University of California and got married several years ago．She works   20  a teacher of learning-disabled students．She' s also a mother of two little girls of her own, the oldest named Jane．

I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an Unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking,  36  she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.
Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my  37 . She wanted to know how I thought we should  38  things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew  39  about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her  40 . It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to  41  them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how  42  I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.
Mrs. Neidl’s  43  that year was, "Try it. We can always paint over it  44 !" I began to take  45 . I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing --- only things to be  46  upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and  47  create something.
The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was  48  in the program as "Student Art Assistant" because of the time and effort I’d put in. It was that year that I  49  I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.
Being on that stage-design team  50  Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more competent than I had thought, but I also  51  a strong interest and a world I hadn’t known existed. She taught me not to  52  what people think I should do: She taught me to take chances and not be  53 . Mrs. Neidl was my comforter when I was upset. Her  54  in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined  55 .