John, a famous musician, took his priceless antique violin and played it in the crowded subway station. The music from the violin was delicately streaming throughout the whole station. However, during the one-hour play, only six or seven people were truly appreciating the charming music. A three-year-old kid was so fascinated by the music that he forgot everything around. John only got 52 dollars for his work that day.

     However, in normal days, when John is about to hold a concert, one ticket can be sold at more than 100 dollars and it is extremely hard to buy a ticket even at such a high price. Therefore, later, many passers-by in the station that day felt deeply regretful for not recognizing the famous musician and missing such a valuable but cheap music feast.

     I have a very busy friend who had totally changed after knowing that his wife came down with incurable illness. He cooked by himself for the family and took a walk with his wife every day. Nonetheless, his wife still did not manage to conquer the illness and passed away after three months. After that, he often sighed miserably that due to his past busy life, he had missed a lot of beautiful time with his wife. But now, it is impossible to make up for it.

     It is no use crying over spilt milk. We have missed a lot of precious things in our life without knowing to cherish them.

    Actually, I also missed something precious before. The reason why we would have missed those precious things is less than simple: we had thought that we could still own them tomorrow.

     Nevertheless, tomorrow is actually by no means reliable. There was a famous Buddhist monk saying that in many people’s lives, they have only done two things: waiting and regretting. The result is that they were always too late to cherish what they had before they lost it. We would often claim to do something when we grow up, or when we have money or when we become old, etc. However, when we reach the condition we have expected, we could no longer realize our wish, because we have lost it by then.

1.The reason why people often regret may be that _______.

A. they are too busy to notice the beautiful things

B. they are too careless to cherish precious things

C. they are lazy to observe the surroundings

D. they think that it’s none of their business

2.The idea the author would like to get across to us seems that _______.

A. actions speak louder than words

B. a bad beginning makes a bad ending

C. the lost will never come back

D. each day brings its own bread

3.What method does the author employ to support his opinion？

A. By listing data.                          B. By comparing the details .

C. By explaining the procedures .                   D. By taking examples.

4.How do we understand the underlined parts “waiting and regretting”?

A. Many people will not cherish what they have until they lost them.

B. Many people cannot do well until they get older.

C. Many people know what they are doing.

D. Many people regret for what they don’t possess.

 

John, a famous musician, took his priceless antique violin and played it in the crowded subway station. The music from the violin was delicately streaming throughout the whole station. However, during the one-hour play, only six or seven people were truly appreciating the charming music. A three-year-old kid was so fascinated by the music that he forgot everything around. John only got 52 dollars for his work that day.
     However, in normal days, when John is about to hold a concert, one ticket can be sold at more than 100 dollars and it is extremely hard to buy a ticket even at such a high price. Therefore, later, many passers-by in the station that day felt deeply regretful for not recognizing the famous musician and missing such a valuable but cheap music feast.
     I have a very busy friend who had totally changed after knowing that his wife came down with incurable illness. He cooked by himself for the family and took a walk with his wife every day. Nonetheless, his wife still did not manage to conquer the illness and passed away after three months. After that, he often sighed miserably that due to his past busy life, he had missed a lot of beautiful time with his wife. But now, it is impossible to make up for it.
     It is no use crying over spilt milk. We have missed a lot of precious things in our life without knowing to cherish them.
    Actually, I also missed something precious before. The reason why we would have missed those precious things is less than simple: we had thought that we could still own them tomorrow.
     Nevertheless, tomorrow is actually by no means reliable. There was a famous Buddhist monk saying that in many people’s lives, they have only done two things: waiting and regretting. The result is that they were always too late to cherish what they had before they lost it. We would often claim to do something when we grow up, or when we have money or when we become old, etc. However, when we reach the condition we have expected, we could no longer realize our wish, because we have lost it by then.
55. The reason why people often regret may be that _______.
   A. they are too busy to notice the beautiful things
   B. they are too careless to cherish precious things
   C. they are lazy to observe the surroundings
   D. they think that it’s none of their business
56. The idea the author would like to get across to us seems that _______.
   A. actions speak louder than words               B. a bad beginning makes a bad ending
   C. the lost will never come back                   D. each day brings its own bread
57. What method does the author employ to support his opinion？
   A. By listing data.                          B. By comparing the details .
   C. By explaining the procedures .                    D. By taking examples.
58. How do we understand the underlined parts “waiting and regretting”?
   A. Many people will not cherish what they have until they lost them.
   B. Many people cannot do well until they get older.
   C. Many people know what they are doing.
   D. Many people regret for what they don’t possess.

During Christmas break from college, a young man wanted to borrow his father’s car to drive to a New Year’s Eve 　1 to be held in Vermont. The father’s was 　2 about the son hitting one of the roadblocks that people set up all over the place on New Year’s Eve. The 　3 that was reached was that the son would be allowed to use the car, but he would not drink at all.

So he drove to Vermont, got completely 　4 and attempted to drive home. On the way home he hit a roadblock. He was told to 　5 the car and stand in a line of people that were being given the infamous sobriety (not drunk) 　6 . However, the policeman 　7 him out. He was 　8 standing off to the side while the other were 　9 the police officer how well they could walk a 　10 line, etc.

At 7:00a.m.,his father got up to answer the 　11 . There were 　12 policemen there. They asked him if he was the 　13 of that red FLAT. He replied, “Yes, I am.” One of the policemen asked him if he was driving the car the evening before and he said that his son had been the driver.

When the young man 　14 himself in front of the policemen, he knew he was in some sort of 　15 . Upon questioning, he

16 that he was driving the car, but when asked if he had been 　17 , he said, “No!” when the policemen asked if he could see his car, he was unable to remember the 　18 . He said that it was in the garage.

And when the four of them walked out to look at the car, instead of looking at the car he had driven the 　19 before, they saw a 　20 car parked there.

1. A. party　　　　 B. meeting　　　　　　 C. concert　　　　　 D. sports meeting

2. A. sure　　　　 B. worried　　　　　　 C. curious　　　　　　 D. anxious

3. A. suggestion　　 B. condition　　　　　　 C. conclusion　　　　　 D. agreement

4. A. excited　　　　　 B. tired　　　　　　　　 C. pleased　　　　　　 D. drunk

5. A. stop　　　　　　 B. get out of　　　　　　 C. drive　　　　　　　 D. get into

6. A. punishment　　　 B. test　　　　　　　　 C. education　　　　　 D. talk

7. A. gave　　　　　　 B. made　　　　　　　　 C. missed　　　　　　 D. found

8. A. considered　　　　 B. required　　　　　　　 C. suggested　　　　　 D. left

9. A. showing　　　　　 B. explaining　　　　　　 C. asking　　　　　　 D. telling

10 A. long　　 　　　 B. straight　　　　　　　 C. calm　　　　　　　 D. direct

11. A. telephone　　　 B. call　　　　　　　　　 C. doorbell　　　　　 D. question

12. A. many　　　　　 B. two　　　　　　　　　 C. four　　　　　　　 D. one

13. A. manager　　　　 B. father　　　　　　　　 C. student　　　　　 D. owner

14. A. stood　　　　　　 B. found　　　　　　　　 C. put　　　　　　　 D. took

15. A. danger　　　　　 B. test　　　　　　　　　 C. trouble　　　　　 D. accident

16. A. believed　　　　 B. told　　　 　　　　　 C. admitted　　　　　 D. said

17. A. driving　　　　　 B. hurting　　　　　　　 C. drinking　　　　　 D. missing

18. A. drive　　　　　　 B. test　　　　　　　　　 C. time　　　　　　 D. line

19. A. day　　　　 B. morning　　　　　　　 C. night　　　　　　 D. afternoon

20. A. similar　　　　 B. familiar　　　　　　　 C. police　　　　　　 D. damaged

 

July 21st，2007 was a typical English summer's day--it rained for 24 hours! As usual，I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house．Nothing was amiss．By the time I left work at 5 pm，however，the road into our village was flooded．Our house had never been flooded but，as I opened the front door，a wave of water greeted me．Thank God the kids weren't with me，because the house was 5 feet deep in water．We lost everything downstairs．And the plaster had to be ton off the walls，ceilings pulled down．

At first we tried to push on through．We didn't want to move the children out of home，so we camped upstairs．We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp．But after three months，we felt very sick，so we moved to a wooden house in a park．The house was small，but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place．Unfortunately，things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months．The life there was inconvenient．What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community（社区）．We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbors，and I'd never thought how much I'd miss that．

Although our situation was very had，it's difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what's happening elsewhere．I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought，“We didn't have a straw but（茅草房）that who swept away，and our house is still standing．We're lucky．”

We moved back home in August．With December coming，there's still reconstruction work to be done，so it's difficult to prepare for Christmas，But I can't wait--I'm going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support．This year，I won't need any gifts-living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions．Although we are replacing things，there's really no rush--we have our home back，and that's the main thing．

1．What does the underlined word “amiss” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Wrong．                B．Missing．               C．Right．                  D．Found．

2．It can be inferred from the text that the author _________．

A．was sick of staying upstairs

B．cared much about her children

C．could not stand living in a wooden house

D．did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood

3．Why does the author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?

A．Because her situation was not serious．

B．Because many other places were flooded．

C．Because she had been to Northern India．

D．Because some others suffered even more．

4．What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?

A．She valued human feelings more than before．

B．She realized she almost didn't need possessions．

C．She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed．

D．She thought her own home was the most important．