A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said．

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said．“I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important…Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said．

As busy as he was, he kept his word．Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered．Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture….Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone.” he said．

“What box?” Mom asked．

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’.” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him.” Jack said.

“I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days.” the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser” it read．Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

“Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser.”

“The thing he valued most was…my time”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant asked．

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said, “Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”

1．Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

     A．College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Bleser.

     B．Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

     C．Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

     D．His present busy life washed away his childhood memories.

2．Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that ______.

     A．Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

     B．Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

     C．Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

     D．Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

3．Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

     A．Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

     B．Because he had no children or relatives.

     C．Because he thought he had to keep his word.

     D．Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

4．Why did Jack say he needed some time to spend with his son?

     A．He was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

     B．He had promised to spare more time to stay with his son.

     C．He had missed his son and his family for days.

     D．He came to realize the importance of the time with his family.

When I was a sixth grader, kids were separating into groups, but I wasn't sure where I belonged．

Our teacher gave us a task called "secret friends" for the coming week．We were supposed to do nice things   1  our friends without letting them know who was doing it．We could leave   2  notes or cards either on their desks or in their backpacks．Before doing the task, with our eyes closed, from a basket, we   3  a name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend over the next five days．

Soon, the task was turned into a competition of giving   4  instead of notes．Everyone was getting cool presents except me．My friend followed the teacher's   5  without a fault．I received nothing but handmade cards with nice words about me．

On the last morning, I finally got a package．When I   6  it, the girls around all   7 ．It was perfumed powder, an "old lady" gift．My face went red．

I tried to forget about the   8  gift, but when the same girls   9  it again during the break in the bathroom, I joined in, "How stupid! My grandmother wouldn't   10  want it．" The girls laughed at my   11  and filed out of the bathroom．Washing my hands, I let the water run through my fingers  12    I thought about my words．It wasn't   13  like me to say things like that．

"I'm your secret friend．" It was Rochelle．" I' m sorry about the gift," she whispered to me, tears   14   down her face．

From a poor family, she was a   15  at school for those with rich parents．Yet she just took all the   16  and the horrible treatment silently．

I was sick to my stomach as my   17  words ran through my mind．She had heard everything．How could I have been so cruel?

Later I learned she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave me any cool present and her mum had given up her only luxury（奢侈品）

And I had   18  everything for her．

I told her that I had only said those things to try to   19  .

"We aren't that different from each other, are we?" She smiled   20 ．Her simple words, spoken from her heart, found their way straight into mine．

1.                A．behind         B．like            C．through  D．for

 

2.                A．convincing      B．rewarding       C．encouraging   D．reminding

 

3.                A．dragged        B．picked          C．found    D．drew

 

4.                A．chances        B．gifts            C．hope D．help

 

5.                A．guidance       B．admission       C．directions D．patterns

 

6.                A．discovered      B．held           C．grasped  D．opened

 

7.                A．blamed         B．commented      C．laughed  D．shouted

 

8.                A．special         B．embarrassing    C．worrying  D．delicate

 

9.                A．mentioned      B．suggested       C．showed   D．saw

 

10.               A．just            B．only           C．even D．ever

 

11.               A．remarks        B．reactions       C．suffering  D．feeling

 

12.               A．if             B．because        C．since D．as

 

13.               A．exactly         B．necessarily      C．normally   D．perfectly

 

14.               A．dashing        B．streaming       C．smoothing D．getting

 

15.               A．goal           B．wonder        C．centre    D．target

 

16.               A．challenge       B．ignoring        C．teasing    D．puzzle

 

17.               A．powerful       B．scary          C．tense D．hurtful

 

18.               A．ruined         B．disturbed       C．changed   D．broken

 

19.               A．turn off        B．fit in           C．get in D．show off

 

20.               A．optimistically    B．honestly        C．persuasively    D．understandingly

 

 

In 1883. John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought this was an impossible mission and told Roebling to forget the idea, but Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

    The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

    "We told them so." "Crazy men and their crazy dreams.'' "It's foolish to chase wild visions." Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap, Washington was never discouraged.

    One day he was lying on his bed in hospital, seeing the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment with the sunlight streaming through the windows, and a gentle breeze bowing the  flimsy white curtains apart when an idea hit him. He decided to make the best use of the only finger  he could move. Thus, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

    He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

    For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm until the bridge was finally completed.

1.Which of the following is true of Washington and his father?

A. They are hardworking and courageous.

B. They are stubborn and bold.

C. They are creative and persistent.

D. They are curious and modest.

2.In the third paragraph, the underlined phrase ''wild vision" refers to______.

A. the tragic accident

B. the building of the bridge

C. the brain damage

D. the discussion and persuasion

3.From the passage, we know that _______ when Roebling proposed building the bridge.

A. people all over America supported him

B. almost no bridge experts in the world supported him

C. his friends were strongly in favor of his idea

D. many people considered it would be a great project

4.The passage suggests that______.

A.NO pains, no gains.

B. Many hands make light work.

C. A lighted heart is a good medicine.

D. Passion creates wonder.

 

Today I felt very uncomfortable studying English as usual．My eyes were   1   and my mind was confused．I buried my head deep in the great pile of books．Many vocabulary words   2   my mind．As more and more entered，I   3   focus，and my   4  became crazy．The clock hands were pointing at twelve．I always   5   the time when I study．Without any fruitful results，I felt more   6   and tired．I   7   up and walked to the living room just to take a little break．8  that would make me feel better．The street lamps looked like stars outside the window．A few scattered（分散的）branches   9   shadows on the French window．Something seemed more   10  and quiet than before．I walked to the  11  slowly，and let my face press against it，  12   very carefully…oh my God!!…It’s snow! It was very bright and covered up the whole   13   while I was studying English painfully, so white and so quiet．At this moment, I was so  14   that I felt like I might burst into tears．The snow was like a spring   15   into my heart，and my eyes were shining with it．All my pain and tiredness  16   at this moment，as the snow dropped into my heart．

I quickly became calm again as the excitement went away．I sat on the bed silently，and drew the   17   to one side to let the white house and white tree stay just beside my bed．I thought this must be a（n）   18   from God，because I liked snow so much． 19   I was weakest and most helpless in this world，nothing could inspire me but   20  ．I should inspire myself from such a beautiful scene．

1．A．closed                   B．tired                    C．shining                D．weeping

2．A．left                       B．confused             C．filled                   D．impressed

3．A．lost                       B．got                      C．realized               D．changed

4．A．thoughts               B．feeling                 C．words                 D．concept

5．A．waste                   B．limit                    C．remember            D．forget

6．A．flexible                  B．guilty                  C．unhappy              D．curious

7．A．stood                    B．turned                 C．checked              D．hurried

8．A．Sure                     B．Maybe                 C．Immediately         D．Always

9．A．shook                   B．cast                    C．like                     D．printed

10．A．disappointing       B．frightening           C．bright                  D．light

11．A．shadow               B．lamp                   C．branch                D．window

12．A．looking                B．thinking               C．moving               D．cleaning

13．A．night                   B．house                  C．world                  D．mind

14．A．disturbed             B．excited                C．surprised             D．bored

15．A．pouring               B．delivering             C．drilling                D．rising

16．A．occurred             B．arose                   C．escaped               D．disappeared

17．A．bed                     B．curtain                C．desk                   D．book

18．A．anger                  B．smile                   C．gift                     D．punishment

19．A．As usual              B．As a result           C．At last                 D．At a time

20．A．snow                  B．God                    C．white                  D．beauty