There was a young college student who played the piano in a bar every night. He  21  his home alone and found a  22  job to support himself. He was a good piano player，but sometimes a bit stubborn． People  23  work came out just to hear him  24  . But one night，an old gentleman told him he didn’t want to hear him play  25  want him to sing a song．

The young man said, “Sorry，I don't sing.”

But the customer was 26 .He told the waiter，“I’m  27  1istening to the piano，I want that guy to sing.”

The waiter  28  across the room, “Hey buddy!  If you want to  29 , sing a song. The  30  are asking you to sing!”

SO  31  ．He sang a song  unwillingly but   32  A piano player who had never sung  33    did so for the very time．And nobody had ever heard the song Mona．Mona Lisa was Sung  34  by Nat King Cole! The song of Mona Lisa was soon well―received among American young generations．

He had  35  he was sit （搁置不用）!He may have lived the rest of his life as a  36   piano player in a no―name bar, but because he had to sing, and he showed his gift, he went on to become one of the best一known entertainers in America．

You，too，have skills and abilities. You may not feel as if your “talent”  is particularly great，but it may be better then you think! And  37  you keep practicing，most skills can be improved． Besides，you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on  38  talent you possess! The better  39  is not “What ability  do I have  40  is useful?” It is rather “How will I use whatever ability I have!”

Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson River must remember the Catskill Mountains. They are a branch of the great Appalachian family, and can be seen to the west rising up to a noble height and towering over the surrounding country. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their beautiful shapes on the clear evening sky, but sometimes when it is cloudless, gray steam gathers around the top of the mountains which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will shine and light up like a crown of glory (华丽的皇冠).

     At the foot of these mountains, a traveler may see light smoke going up from a village.

     In that village, and in one of the houses (which, to tell the exact truth, was sadly time-worn and weather-beaten), there lived many years ago, a simple, good-natured fellow by the name of Rip Van Winkle.

     Rip's great weakness was a natural dislike of all kinds of money-making labor. It could not be from lack of diligence (勤劳), for he could sit all day on a wet rock and fish without saying a word, even though he was not encouraged by a single bite. He would carry a gun on his shoulder for hours, walking through woods and fields to shoot a few birds or squirrels. He would never refuse to help a neighbor, even in the roughest work. The women of the village, too, used to employ him to do such little jobs as their less helpful husbands would not do for them. In a word, Rip was ready to attend to everybody's business but his own.

      If left to himself, he would have whistled ( 吹口哨) life away in perfect satisfaction; but his wife was always mad at him for his idleness (懒散). Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was endlessly going, so that he was forced to escape to the outside of the house -- the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband.

Which of the following best describes the Catskill Mountains?

     A. They are on the west of the Hudson River.

     B. They are very high and beautiful in this area.

     C. They can be seen from the Appalachian family.

     D. They gather beautiful clouds in blue and purple.

The hero of the story is probably_____________.

A. hard-working and likes all kinds of work

B. idle and hates all kinds of jobs

C. simple, idle but very dutiful

D. gentle, helpful but a little idle

The underlined words "henpecked husband" in the last paragraph probably means a man who

    A. likes hunting        B. is afraid of hens

    C. loves his wife        D. is afraid of his wife

What would be the best title for the text?

     A. Catskill Mountains.        B. A Mountain Village.

     C. Rip Van Winkle.          D. A Dutiful Husband.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs．

   The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house.” It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of a horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”

    That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch．He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch．”

    He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, "See me after class.”

1.Why can the writer use Roberts's house to raise money for youth at risk programs?

  A. Because they are good friends.

  B .Because Monty Roberts has a poor childhood.

  C. Because Monty Roberts like to help youth．

  D. Because the youth has the same dream as Montv Roberts.

2.What do you think of Monty Koberts' goal of a horse ranch at that time?

  A. dream     B. romantic    C. real    D. false

3.What would happen after the teacher gave a note "See me after class.”?

  A. Monty Roberts got very angry at this.

  B. The teacher would criticize him.

  C. The teacher wanted to tell him that his dream would come true．

  D. The teacher would encourage him.

The English, as a race, are very different from all other nationalities, including their closest neighbors, the French, Belgians and Dutch. It is claimed (声言) that living on an island  36  from the rest of Europe has much to do with it. Whatever the  37  are, it may be fairly stated that the Englishman has  38  many attitudes and habits which make them  39 from other nationalities.
Broadly speaking, the Englishman is a  40  , shy and reserved person who is fully relaxed only among people he  41  well. In the  42  of strangers or foreigners he often seems embarrassed. You have only to walk around a city any morning or evening to  43  the truth of this. Serious-looking businessmen and women sit  44  their newspapers or have a light sleep in a corner with no one speaking.  45 , to do so would seem most unusual to many foreigners. An Englishman pretending to be giving 46  to overseas visitors, once suggested, “On entering a railway carriage, shake hands with all the passengers”. Obviously , he was not being  47  . There is an unwritten  48 clearly understood code (规则) of behaviour which, if  49  , makes the person immediately suspect(怀疑).
In many parts of the world it is quite  50  to show openly their enthusiasm, emotion, excitement, etc. The Englishman is somewhat  51  . Of course, an Englishman lacks no deep feelings, in fact , no less deeply than any other nationality, but he tends to display his 52  far less. This is reflected in his use of  53 . Imagine a man making a comment on the great  54  of a young girl. A more emotional man might  55  her as “extremely beautiful,” “precious”, however, an Englishman might just say, “Um, she is all right.” The girl who heard this should not be angry because "not bad" and " all right" very often have the same meaning as "first class" " excellent" and this unique style of language use is common in England.

I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route．He replied,“You mean fortunately．”He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided．

    My attitude to the hill has now changed．I used to grumble as I approached it but now I tell myself the following．This hill will exercise my heart and lungs．It will help me to lose weight and get fit．It will mean that I live longer．This hill is my friend．Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I call get the same value for free．I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill．

    Problems are there to be faced and overcome．We cannot achieve anything with an easy life．Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree．Her activism and writing proved inspirational．She wrote，“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet．Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened，vision cleared，ambition inspired and success achieved.”    

   One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity(逆境)．From time to time we all face hardships，problems．accidents、afflictions and difficulties．Some are of our making but many confront us through no fault of our own．While we cannot choose the adversity we can choose our attitude towards it．

    Douglas Bader was 21 when in 193l he had both legs cut off following a flying accident．He was deter-mined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aces in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans．He was an inspiration to others during the war．He said,“Don't listen to any-one who tells you that you can’t do this or that．That's nonsense．Make up your mind，you'll never use crutches(拐杖)or a stick，then have a go at everything．Go to school，join in all the games you can．Go anywhere you want to．But never，never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.” 

    The biographies（传记）of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced．The common thread is that they did not become depressed．They chose their attitude．They chose to be positive．They took on the challenge．They won．

Nevertheless．there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity．

1. Which of the following is true according to the author of the passage?

A．Climbing hills on bicycles is the best way to take exercise．

B．People are silly to pay to go to the gym．

   C．Those who want to achieve success can't expect to live all easy lire．

   D．People's attitude towards adversity is the only factor that determines whether they will succeed．

2．By quoting what Douglas Bader said，the author intends to tell us“___________．”

A．Failure is the mother of Success．   

B．A fall into the pit，a gain in your wit．

C．If you venture nothing，you will have nothing． 

D．Nothing is difficult to the man who will try．

3．Following this passage，the author will further talk about___________．

  A．how his friend helped him to change his attitude towards the adversity he faced

  B．what steps to take to change your attitude towards the adversity you face

  C．what great people have in common

D．why it is important to keep optimistic in face of adversity

4．Which of the following can best function as the title of the passage?

A．Face adversity with a smile                       B．Different attitudes towards adversity

C．Nothing is impossible                            D．Life is full of adversity