I will never forget what my old headmaster told me. Normally when you are only 15years of age you do not remember most of the things that are preached by your teachers. But, this particular story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I get reminded of this story.

        It was a normal Monday morning at an assembly, and he was addressing the students on important things in life and about committing ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

        An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

        His house was filthy, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbours could not stand the smell anymore, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

        The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

        He said nothing at all: he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

        Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment(专心，敬业). We should remain true to our course, although it may mean committing ourselves to things that people around us would normally disapprove. Just keep it in mind that commitment attracts wealth.

Why did the headmaster tell us the story?

      A. To enjoy ourselves.

      B. To teach us how to make money.

      C. To tell us the importance of commitment.

      D. To tell us not to look down upon beggars.

According to the passage which of the following is true?

      A. The old man made a living by begging.

      B. The old man was excited to be a millionaire.

      C. The old man became a millionaire by begging every weekday.

      D. The old man planned to became a millionaire.

Why did the police officer clean the old man’s house?

      A. Because the old man hired them to do so.

      B. Because they wanted to know how much money the old man had begged.

      C.Because the old man wanted to live comfortably.

      D. Because the neighbours could not bear the smell coming out of the oldman’s house.

What can we learn from the passage?

      A. Where there is a will, there is a way.

      B. Keep the general goal in sight while tackling daily tasks.

      C. Commitment attracts wealth.

      D. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series  of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
【小题1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.

Fear plays no part in this latest problem. “ I’m not afraid I’ll lose my children. I won’t lose my children. We live together, and nothing, nothing, ” she repeats, her voice rising when speaking to John’s lawyer, “ will stop me from being with my children. A law? Yeah, right. Don’t disturb me when it comes to my children. You are never going to win. If John wants to see them, I cannot stop him. He’s their father ---- I want them to see him! However, his visit in his present condition will disturb the children’s stable(稳定的) life.”

John, who has spent much of his time in California recently, has only hired a house for himself in Pennsylvania, according to his lawyer. “ If he’d like to stick to a regular life, I’d be more than happy to do that, ” Jane says. “ The best thing for any child of a divorced (离婚的) parent is a stable life. I want nothing more than for him to set up a stable life for himself, so that he can be part of making our children’s lives more stable.”

While matters of money and care won’t be settled for weeks, Jane hardly puts her life on hold. Last week the ABC network announced that Jane would return with her own show, Twist of Jane, in which she gives advice to other moms. Jane and her eight children will also return to ABC in a series of Jane Plus 8 specials showing them on various adventures. It’s a rest for Jane, who insists that she needs her new, busy life to provide for her family. “ I have to lead such a life, and I’m thankful that I’ve built it to the top where now I can support my children, ” she says.

And whether a bellicose (好斗的) dance judge or a bellicose former wife, Jane plans to keep on facing attacks on her. “ Some people try to knock me down --- only to make me more fierce, more protective, more determined to do better, ” she says. “ Go ahead, take me on. This will just make me stronger. ”

According to Jane in the first paragraph, the law ______.

   A. can’t take her children away from her

   B. can’t do anything with the case

   C. will best settle the problem

   D. will disturb her children

What does “ to do that ” refer to in the second paragraph?

   A. To live with John.

   B. To hire a house for John.

   C. To allow John to see the children.

   D. To ask John to set up a regular life.

What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?

   A. Jane’s life is very difficult.

   B. Jane continues to live as usual.

   C. Jane almost can’t control her life.

   D. Jane works very hard to live a happy life.

Which word can best describe Jane?

   A. Proud.        B. Fierce.          C. Determined.        D. Independent.

(10·四川E篇)

Fear plays no part in this latest problem．“I’m not afraid I'll lose my children．I won't lose my children. We live together, and nothing, nothing,” she repeats, her voice rising when speaking to John's lawyer, “will stop me from being with my children. A law? Year, right. Don't disturb me when it comes to my children. You are never going to win. If John wants to see them, I cannot stop him. He's their father??—I want them to see him! However, his visit in his present condition will disturb the children's stable (稳定的) life．”　 John, who has spent much of his time in California recently, has only hired a house for himself in Pennsylvania, according to his lawyer. "If he'd like to stick to a regular life, I'd be more than happy to do that，" Jane says. "The best thing for any child of a divorced (离婚的) parent is a stable life. I want nothing more than for him to set up a stable life for himself, so that he can be part of making our children's lives more stable. "

　 While matters of money and care won't be settled for weeks, Jane hardly puts her life on hold. Last week the ABC network announced that Jane would return with her own show, Twist of Jane, in which she gives advice to other moms．Jane and her eight children will also return to ABC in a series of Jane Plus 8 specials showing them on various adventures．It’s a rest for Jane．who insists that she needs her new，busy life to provide for her family．“I have to lead such a life．and I’m thankful that I’ve built it to the top where now I can support my children．”she says．

And whether a bellicose(好斗的)dance judge or a bellicose former wife，Jane plans to keep 0n facing attacks on her． “Some people try to knock me down—only to make me more fierce，more protective，more determined to do better，”she says．“Go ahead，take me on．This will just make me stronger．”

57. According to Jane in the first paragraph，the low　　　　　　 　

A. can’t take her children away from her

B. can’t do anything with the case

C. will best settle the problem

D. will disturb her children

58. What does “to do that” refer to in the second paragraph?

A. To live with John．

B．To hire a house for John．

C．To allow John to see the children

D．To ask John to set up a regular life.

59. What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?

A．Jane’s life is very difficult．

B．Jane continues to live as usual．

C．Jane almost can’t control her lire

D．Jane works very hard to live a happy life．

60. Which word can best describe Jane?

A. Proud．

B．Fierce．

C．Determined．

D．Independent

In the United States, when one became rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.    
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ “Keeping up with the Joneses”came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
【小题1】Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.