Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
“I don’t sing,” said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”
The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent(天赋) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.
【小题1】The lady asked the player to sing a song because ________.

A．she had paid him for this

B．she knew him very well

C．she was tired of listening to the piano.

D．she enjoyed his singing

【小题2】Nat King Cole succeeded because ________.

A．the lady helped him a lot

B．he caught the chance(机会)

C．he continued to play in the bar

D．he played the piano well

【小题3】The words “sit on” in the passage probably mean “________”.

A．fail to realize	B．forget to use
C．try to develop	D．manage to show

【小题4】From the story we know if you have some talent, you should __________.

A．hide it and wait

B．ask others for help

C．pay no attention to it

D．work hard to improve yourself

【小题5】Which could be the best title(标题) for the passage?

A．Sing in the Bar

B．Achieve Success in Life

C．Never Lose Heart

D．Find Your Hidden（隐藏的） Talent

Once there lived an old man in a town. He always forgot a lot of things. So his wife always had to say to him，“Don't forget this.”

    One day he went on a long way alone. Before he left home，his wife said，“Now you have all these things. You need them on your way. Take care of your things on the way.” He went to the station. He bought a ticket and got on the train with it.

   About an hour later，the conductor began to see the tickets. He came to the old man and said，“Will you please show me your ticket?” The old man looked for his ticket in all his pockets but he could not find it. He was very worried.“I can't find my ticket. I really bought a ticket before I got on the train ” said the old man.

   “I think you are right. I believe you bought a ticket. All right，you don't have to buy another ticket ” said the conductor kindly. But the old man still(仍然) looked worried and said sadly，“You don't know why I'm worried. If I don't find my ticket，I can't remember my station. Where am I going? ”

1.The old man bought a ticket _______.

A. after he got on the train

B. before he got on the train

C. when the conductor told him to buy one

D. when he found he had no ticket with him

2.About an hour later，the conductor began _______.

A. to buy the tickets　　　

B. to look for the tickets

C. to check(检查) the tickets　

D. to show the tickets

3. The conductor told the old man that he didn't need to buy another ticket because _________.

A. the man was very old

B. he thought the old man had no money with him

C. the old man showed him the ticket

D. he believed the old man

4.The old man still looked worried because _________.

A. he couldn't get on the train.

B. he lost his ticket and a lot of money

C. he thought his wife would get angry with him

D. he forgot where he was going

5.Which of the following(下列) is right?

A. The old man went on the trip with his wife

B. The old man didn't find his ticket

C. The conductor was also an old man

D. The old man had to buy another ticket

 

Almost everyone likes dogs, and almost everyone likes to read about dogs. I have friend. He has a big police dog with the name Jack. Police dogs are very clever. Every Sunday afternoon my friend takes jack for along walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much. One Sunday afternoon a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time. He talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for walk. But the visitor still stayed. Jack became much worried. He walked around the room several times and then sat down in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention to Jack. He went on talking. At last Jack got angry. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he took the visitor’s cap in his mouth.

1. The young visitor stayed a long time in my friend’s house, didn’t he?

A．Yes, he was.

B．Yes, he did.

C．No, he wasn’t.

D．No, he didn’t.

2.Jack became worried because _______ .

A．he wanted to go out for a walk

B．he wanted to play with him

C．he didn’t know the young man

D．he wanted to eat something

3.Jack sat down in front of the visitor because he wanted _____.

A．the visitor to talk with him

B．to join the talk

C．to show the visitor how clever he was

D．the visitor to leave the house soon

4.The visitor went on talking and ______.

A．he didn’t like Jack

B．he paid no attention to his cap

C．he didn’t know that his cap was taken away by Jack

D．he paid no attention to Jack

5.At last Jack took ______ in his mouth.

A．food

B．nothing

C．the visitor’s cap

D．the visitor’s bag

 

When my grandmother was 89 years old ,she was having problems with her heart. My family went with her to the doctor, who told her that she needed an operation. However, the doctor said that because of my grandmother’s age, the operation could be dangerous. He went on to say that my grandmother would have a 40% chance of having a heart attack（心脏病） and a 30% chance of dying during the operation.

My grandmother, shocked ,quickly stopped the doctor and said,“Doctor, as long as you’re talking about statistics（数据），I have a statistic for you: there is a 100% chance of you not operating one me !”With these words, my grandmother got up and left the doctor’s office.

My grandmother might have been stubborn, but she was not a fool. So the next day she went to another doctor, and he also told her she needed an operation.

My grandmother asked the doctor. “If I were your mother, what would you suggest?” The doctor walked up to her, smiled, put his arm around her and said, “Mom, let’s do this operation!” She had the operation and came out fine.

My grandmother passed away（去世）a few weeks before her 97th birthday. However, because of her positive attitude（积极的态度）,she gave us ,her family and friends almost eight years of life to enjoy sharing with her.

1.The grandmother didn’t choose the first doctor because           .

A. he was afraid to do the operation.

B. he talked too much about the risks

C. he had never done such an operation

2.The second doctor’s words might have made the grandmother          .

A. nervous           B. unhappy            C. relaxed

3.We can tell from the story that the grandmother          .

A. wanted to be the second doctor’s mother

B. celebrated her 97th birthday with her family

C. lived through the operation by the second doctor.

4.The underlined word“stubborn” probably means        in Chinese.

A. 执拗的             B. 严谨的            C. 无知的

5.What can we learn from the story?

A. It is better to depend on statistics.

B. A positive attitude can change a person’s life.

C. A good doctor only cares for his patients’ health.

 

Have you ever been sad because you failed in something? If so, please remember, for often, achieving what you expect is not the most important thing. Here is a story to tell you why.

     One day a little boy decided to dig a hole behind his house after watching a science program. As he was working, a couple of boys stopped by to watch.  "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "I want to dig a deep hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly.  The older boys began to laugh, telling him that it was impossible to do it. Then they left.

      The little boy kept on digging and digging. Suddenly, a few small colorful stones caught his eyes. He collected them and put them into a glass jar patiently.  Humming a song, he went on digging. The jar was full soon. Then he talked to himself calmly and proudly, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I have found in the process (过程) of digging !"

     The boy's goal was too difficult, but it did cause him to go on, in other words, to cause us to keep working!

      Not every goal will be achieved.  Not every job will end up with a success.  Not every dream will come true.  But when you can't achieve your goal, maybe you can say, "Yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things that have come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. is the unexpected joy on the journey that really has a meaning.

1.What did the boy do after watching a program?

           A. He bought a glass jar.            

B. He started to dig a hole.

           C. He played with some visitors.

2.What did the older boys think of the little boy?

           A. He was silly.                      

B. He was strict.

           C. He was strong-minded.

3.When did the boy find the stones?

           A. Before he met the older boys.     

 B. When he wanted to give up digging.

           C. After the older boys laughed at him.

4.What does the underlined sentence "It is in the digging that life is lived.” mean according to the article?

           A. Life is to make a big success.      

B. Life is to find the colorful stones.

           C. Life is on the way to achieve the goal.

5.Which is the best title for this article?

           A. Enjoying the Process              

B. How to Achieve Goals

           C. A Journey through the Earth