John and Booby joined a wholesale company together just after graduation from college the same year. Both worked very hard. After several years, however, the boss promoted（提升）Bobby to the position of manager but John remained an ordinary employee（雇员）. John could not take it any more, so he sent his resignation(辞职信) and complained that the boss did not value（重视）hard working workers but only promoted those who said good words of him.

The boss knew that John worked very hard for the years. He thought for a moment and said, “Thank you for telling me, but I have a request. I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave. Perhaps you will change your mind and take back your resignation.”

John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find out anyone selling watermelons in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found out a man selling watermelons. The boss asked how much per kg, John shook his head and went back to the market to ask and returned to tell the boss $1.2 per kg.

The boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. Bobby went, returned and said only one person sold watermelons. $1.2 for a kg, $10 for 10kg and his watermelons added up to 340. On the table 58 melons, every melon weighs about 2 kg, bought from the south two days ago and they were fresh, red and good quality.

John was surprised and realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided not to go away but to learn from Bobby.

The story tells us that a more successful person is more concerned and thinks more. Chances are there in the daily details. For the same thing, a person sees one year ahead, while another sees only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, how could you win?

1.John wanted to stop his job in his company because_________.

A．Bobby was promoted but he was not

B．he didn’t want to say good words of his boss

C．he thought the boss didn’t take his hard work seriously

D．he didn’t want to be an ordinary employee

2.The boss asked John to find out where watermelons were sold in order to _________.

A．persuade him to stay in the company

B．prove he was a hardworking worker

C．buy some watermelons for the company

D．prove his abilities at work for himself

3.From what Bobby did, we can see that he was promoted only because _________.

A．he was a more concerned businessman

B．he knew how to do business

C．he was more experienced at work

D．he knew details about the watermelon market

4.We can conclude from the story that _________.

A．one should stop his job if the boss doesn’t think much of his work

B．it’s necessary to know the market when you buy a watermelon

C．detail plays a very important part in one’s success

D．one should get along well with his boss if he wants to be promoted

5.What can be the best title of the passage?

A．More Concerned, More Successful          B．How to Buy Watermelons

C．Who Is More Successful                  D．Proud John

The little boy said nothing because he was not b____ enough to be against his father.

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

________. He had more money than he could ever spend,　and　he was admired and looked up to by his community._____ _____ .He was not happy. All his life he had been pursuing happiness and struggling for happiness, but he had never been able to find it.

Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret of happiness.____ ___ .After many years searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was tired and penniless, but he knew that none of that mattered now because he had found the temple. He asked a wise, smiling monk(和尚)if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him to the stairs leading to the room.____ __ .He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man looked at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.

____ .Happiness is a choice that we can make. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then. Just look at the mirror and laugh. Let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all around you.

A. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple.

B. The man found the secret of happiness at last.

C. But he knew that something was missing in his life.

D. He climbed them with legs shaking with expectation and slowly opened the door.

E. There was once a very wealthy and successful man.

F. It is time we all realized that we were the secret of our own happiness.

G. It was difficult to find the temple in Nepal.

Should parents ever hit their children?

Research suggests many of us are likely to respond “no”, and public support for spanking (打屁股) has been falling over the years. But surveys also show that 75 percent to nearly 90 percent of parents admit spanking their child at least once.

I was raised in a zero-tolerance( 零容忍) home for disrespect, and my parents often turned to physical punishment. And, no, I don’t feel I was damaged by it.

Nothing is more annoying than watching ill-mannered behavior from children.

But there is data to suggest that a return to old-school spanking isn’t the answer.

Two years ago , Newsweek reported that it had found data suggesting that teens whose parents used physical punishment were more likely to become aggressive(好斗的).

Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire in America, has studied the topic of children and spanking for decades. He said that children who were physically punished have lower IQs than their peers. It may be that children with lower IQs were more likely to get spanked, but the punishment may have been counterproductive (反作用) to their mental development, as well.

Some researchers make the argument that occasional open-handed smacks (用巴掌打) on the bottom are not only harmless but can have some benefit.

Last year, Marjorie Gunnoe, a psychologist at Calvin College, studied teens who have never been spanked. There are a greater number of children growing up without ever having been physically punished. Gunnoe’s research suggests they don’t turn out any better than those who were sometimes spanked.

There are some parents who simply cannot control their tempers. But I still believe that the best parents are the ones who are able to offer fair and firm discipline (管教) without ever turning to physical punishment.

What can we know from the research in the second paragraph?

A. Many of the parents made no response to the survey.  

B. More and more people support spanking in public.

C. Most parents have the experience of spanking their children.

D. Many of the parents think they should hit their children.

According to Marjorie Gunnoe’s research, ________ .

A. the children who have never been spanked do better than those who were sometimes spanked

B. instead of harmless, spanking can have a little benefit

C. spanking has little effect on the children’s future performance            

D. the teens who were often spanked are more likely to be aggressive

In the author’s opinion, the best parents are the ones ______.

A. who often use physical punishment        B. who never use physical punishment

C. who use physical punishment properly     D. who take physical punishment as useful tool

Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A. The author’s parents were strict with him when he was young.

B. The author thinks his parents’ spanking did no harm to him.

C. Murray Straus thinks spanking has nothing to do with children’s IQs.

D. Some parents spank their children because they can’t control their tempers.

C

One Sunday, my family had gathered at my parents’ house to feast upon Mom’s wonderful cooking. During the normal dinner chatter (闲聊), I noticed that my father was slurring (说话含混) his words. No one mentioned this during dinner, but I felt compelled to discuss it with my mother afterward.

We decided that there was something seriously wrong and that Dad needed to see the doctor.

Mom phoned me two days later. “The doctor found a brain tumor (肿瘤). It’s too large at this point to operate. Maybe they can do something then, but the odds are long.”

Even with the treatment, my father’s condition worsened, and the doctor finally informed us that this condition was terminal (晚期的). During one of his stays in the hospital, we brought our baby daughter Chelsey with us when we visited him. By this time he had great difficulty speaking. I finally figured out that he wanted Chelsey to sit on his stomach so he could make faces at her.

Watching the two of them together, I realized I was living an experience that would stay with me forever. Though grateful for the times they could share, I couldn’t shake the feeling of a clock ticking in the background.?

On the visit to my parents’ home during what we all know was my father’s last days, my mother took Chelsey from my arms and announced, “Your father would like to see you alone for a minute.”

I entered the bedroom where my father lay on a rented hospital bed. He appeared even weaker than the day before.

“How are you feeling, Dad?” I asked. “Can I do anything for you?”

He tried to speak, but he couldn’t make out a word.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you,” I said.

With great difficulty he said, “I love you.”

We don’t learn courage from heroes on the evening news. We learn true courage from watching ordinary people rise above hopeless situations. In many ways my father was a strict, uncommunicative man. He found it difficult to show emotion. The bravest thing I ever saw him do was overcome that barrier to open his heart to his son and family at the end of his life.

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The writer accompanied his father to a medical examination.

B．The writer’s father got worse after the removal of the brain tumor.

C．The writer was quick to notice the strange condition of his father.

D．The writer’s father had known about his illness before the writer discovered it.

2. What does the underlined sentence “the odds are long” mean?

A．There’s little possibility for Father to recover.

B．It takes a long time for Father to recover.

C．Father needs love and care from his family.

D．They need a proper time to operate on Father.

3.The father had never said “I love you” to the writer before because ________.

A．he believed in strictness and punishment

B．he was not so attached to the writer

C．he thought there was no need to tell the writer

D．he was not used to openly showing his emotions

4.What does the writer attempt to tell us?

A．We don’t often value health until we lose it.

B．Don’t wait to see a doctor till it is too late.

C．Life is short, so live your life to the fullest.

D．Bravely express your love for your family.