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.

阅读理解

　　A “dark horse” is one that shows unexpected racing speed and comes in first, even though the experts said he had little chance of winning.

　　In politics, an unknown candidate(候选人)for office who wins a nomination(提名)or election is called a “dark horse”.British Prime Minister Benjamin Disrael is believed to have been the first to use the phrase. In his novel, “The Young Duke”, published in 1831. Disrael described a horse race and told how the two top choices fell behind, while “a dark horse” which had never been thought of rushing past the grandstand (看台)in a sweeping triumph. From racing to politics was a short step. As a political phrase, "dark horse" appeared for the first time in the national Democratic Party congress of 1844. The. “dark horse” was James Knox Polk who be－e the 11th President of the United States.

　　Polk had been the leader of the House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839．He had also been Governor of the state of Tennessee. But as a national leader, he was considered a political nobody. Nevertheless, he surprisingly won the Democratic nomination and was elected President.

　　Martin Van Buren of New York, a former President, seemed sure of getting the nomination. But he opposed making the territory of Texas part of the United States as another state. He was against it because there was slavery in Texas. Van Buren did not want another slave state in the Union. As a result, he lost support among those Democrats who supported slavery.

　　At the 1884 congress, Van Buren could not get enough votes to win the nomination. The congress got into trouble. Therefore, the Democratic leaders decided that the only wise thing would be to run a “dark horse”, a man who could unite the party.

　　And so, one of the party leaders, George Bancroft, proposed the name of James Knox Polk. He won, and the party united behind him. And he defeated his opponent, Henry Clay of the Whig Party. After the 1844 congress, the “dark horse” candidates became an established fact of national political life.

　　One historian said, “The invention of the dark horse was in itself a remarkable product of our professional politics.” This made it possible for party leaders to choose candidates who were not tied to certain ideas. Therefore, they represented nothing and had developed few enemies.

1．The term “dark horse” is often used to refer to ________.

[　　]

A．a horse that can be in the lead all the time

B．a horse that can attracts attention for its dark color

C．a person that people think the first to succeed

D．a person who achieves some goal unexpectedly

2．The author introduced the novel “The young Duke” with the intention that ________.

[　　]

A．he would come to tell us about a "dark horse" in politics

B．he would point out how the nobleman appreciated horse racing

C．he would tell us how the dark horse rushed past the two top horses

D．he would describe the fierce competition in the party

3．The failure of Martin Van Buren in the nomination lay in the fact that ________.

[　　]

A．he opposed the territory of Texas becoming a part of the United States

B．he had already been president of the United States for four years

C．he couldn't get support from the Democrats who would keep slavery

D．he had made few achievements during his presidency

4．According to the author, Polk's being nominated and elected President is considered entirely ________.

[　　]

5．Nominating a candidate sometimes needs the invention of the dark horse. But it's only when ________.

[　　]

A．everyone in one party wouldn't make any enemies

B．there is quite a different point between groups of party members

C．each one in one party sticks to his idea

D．all the party members were not tied to certain ideas