One day 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 in your way to success passed away. We invite you to join the funeral （葬礼） in the gym.”

At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues （同事） 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 in my way? Well, at least he's no longer here!”

One by one the employees got closer to the coffin （棺材）. When they looked inside it they were speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul （灵魂）.

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 can stop yourself from succeeding: it is YOU.”

You are the only person who can change your life. You are the only person who can influence（影响）your happiness and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your family changes, when your friends change, when your boss changes, or when your company changes.

Your life changes when YOU change, when you realize that you are the only one responsible （负责的） for your life.

1. When the employees first heard the news, they were _____.

A．curious                   B．sad             C．surprised             D．excited

2. The employees went to the gym to _____.

A．play some sports                                         B．watch a ball game     

C．visit a dead person                               D．see a movie

3. The employees saw _____ in the coffin.

A．a dead man           B．a mirror          C．a picture             D．nothing

4. The company did this to _____.

A．play a joke on the employee                    B．show how to achieve success

C．explain the meaning of life                      D．show how to change the world

5. The story mainly tells us _____.

A．it's important to change oneself before one can succeed

B．it's everyone's duty to make a difference

C．it takes a long time to realize the importance of change

D．it's not easy to change the world around you

I won’t forget her advice
I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago. Her husband died of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insights（见解）with us.
The class was nearly over. She said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you an important thought.”
“Each of us is put here on Earth to learn, share, love, enjoy and give all by ourselves. We must make the best of every single day.”
Her eyes were beginning to water and she went on, “So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something you see — it could be a nice smell — perhaps of freshly baked bread, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly blowing the leaves in the trees.”
“Please look for these things, and love them. For, although it may seem common, these things are the stuff（素材）of life. They are the little things we are put here on Earth to enjoy. They are the things we often take for granted. We must make it a point to notice them, for at any time it can all be taken away.”
The class was completely quiet. We picked up our books and went out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole term.
I usually think of that teacher and try to enjoy all of those things that we sometimes overlook (忽略).
Take notice of something special you see during your lunch hour today. Walk barefoot along the beach at sunset. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we regret（后悔）, but the things we didn’t do.
【小题1】What happened to the teacher’s husband?

I won’t forget her advice
I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago. Her husband died of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insights（见解）with us.
The class was nearly over. She said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you an important thought.”
“Each of us is put here on Earth to learn, share, love, enjoy and give all by ourselves. We must make the best of every single day.”
Her eyes were beginning to water and she went on, “So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something you see — it could be a nice smell — perhaps of freshly baked bread, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly blowing the leaves in the trees.”
“Please look for these things, and love them. For, although it may seem common, these things are the stuff（素材）of life. They are the little things we are put here on Earth to enjoy. They are the things we often take for granted. We must make it a point to notice them, for at any time it can all be taken away.”
The class was completely quiet. We picked up our books and went out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole term.
I usually think of that teacher and try to enjoy all of those things that we sometimes overlook (忽略).
Take notice of something special you see during your lunch hour today. Walk barefoot along the beach at sunset. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we regret（后悔）, but the things we didn’t do.

1. 1.

   What happened to the teacher’s husband?

   1. A.
      He was ill.
   2. B.
      He died of a heart attack.
   3. C.
      He made a promise.
   4. D.
      He became a teacher, too.
2. 2.

   The high school teacher shared her insights with her students ____________.

   1. A.
      on her way to school
   2. B.
      on her way home
   3. C.
      at the beginning of class
   4. D.
      at the end of class
3. 3.

   The underlined word “breeze” (in Paragraph 4) means ____________?

   1. A.
      colourful cloud
   2. B.
      white snow
   3. C.
      light wind
   4. D.
      heavy rain
4. 4.

   What is the teacher’s advice?

   1. A.
      We should love life and enjoy things around us.
   2. B.
      We should share our important thoughts with others.
   3. C.
      We should never feel sorry for what we have done.
   4. D.
      We should do importand things and overlook little ones.

At noon the rush hour passed. There were few guests（顾客) in the snack bar. It was not crowded. When the boss of the snack bar was ready to have a rest to read a newspaper, in came an old lady and a little boy.

“How much money is a bowl of beef soup?” the grandma sat down, counted the money in her purse and ordered a bowl of beef soup. The grandma pushed the bowl to the little boy, who swallowed（吞咽) his saliva（口水), looking at his grandma and saying, “Grandma, did you really have lunch?” “Of course.” His grandma chewed（咀嚼) a piece of radish (萝卜泡菜) slowly. Very quickly, the little boy ate up the meal.

Seeing this, the boss went over to them and said, “Old lady, congratulations, you are lucky to have the free（免费的) food, because you are our 100^th guest.”

Afterwards, over a month or more, one day, the small boy squatted（蹲) across the snack bar, where he seemed to be counting something, The boss felt shocked（震惊的） when he happened to look out of the window.

When the small boy saw a guest walk into the snack bar, he would put a small stone into the circle he drew, but the lunch time had almost passed, there were only about 50 small stones in the circle.

The boss was quite worried and called up all his old guests. The guests started coming one after another.

“81, 82, 83…” the small boy counted faster and faster. At last, after he put the 99^th stone into the circle, he hurried to pull his grandma’s hand and went into the snack bar.

“Grandma, this time it’s on me.” the little boy said proudly. The grandma who was the real 100^th guest was served（被供应) a bowl of soup by her grandson. As his grandma as before, the little boy chewed a piece of radish in his mouth.

6. Grandma ordered only one bowl of beef soup because ______________.

7. Why did the boy put the small stones into the circle he drew?

8. Which can be the best title of the passage?