I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say .Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁)calls on the two families on the same afternoon.

At the first home, the son of the deceased woman said to me, ”If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died. ”At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today .That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate ,was more than she could take．It’s my fault that she’s dead.”

You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course------keeping mother at home, putting off the operation----would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?

There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.

The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.

A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needｓ,and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him，and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we don not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.

1.The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because_______.

A．he was minister of the local church

B．he wanted to comfort the two families

C．he was an official of the community

D．he had great pity for the deceased

2.People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because________.

A．they can’t find a better way of express their sorrow

B．they have neglected the natural course of events

C．they believe that they were the reason

D．the don’t know things often turn in the opposite direction

3.According to the main passage, the underlined part in Paragraph 4 probably means that________.

A．everything in the world is predetermined

B．there’s an explanation for everything in the world

C．the world can be interpreted in different ways

D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world

4.What’s the main idea of the message?

A .Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

B. Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault.

C Every story should have a happy ending.

D. In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away.

 

I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I  was 36  the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final   37 . During the test，the girl 38  next to me whispered something，but I didn’t understand. So I leaned(倾斜) over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me  39 I had an extra pen. She showed me that  40  was out of ink and would not write．I happened to have an extra one，so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk．

Later, after the test papers had been  41 the teacher asked me to  42 in the room when all the other students  43  . As soon as we were alone, she began to talk to me about  44 it meant to grow up；she mentioned how important it was to stand  45  your own two feet and be responsible for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about __46 _and emphasized the fact   that when people do something dishonest，they really  47 themselves．She made me promise that I would think  48  about all the things she had said. Then she told me I could   49 . I walked out of the room wondering   40  she had chosen to talk to me about all those things．

Later on，I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the gir1 next to me, it looked  51 I was copying answers  52  the girl’s test paper. So I came to find her and tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very strange to her that I hadn’t   53  anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test.  54  I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor   55  letting her use my pen, I was sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test．

1.                A．from           B．on             C．in   D．at

 

2.                A．lesson          B．test            C．class D．papers

 

3.                A．seat           B．seating         C．sitting    D．sit

 

4.                A．whether        B．why            C．where    D．that

 

5.                A．one           B．that            C．it    D．hers

 

6.                A．handed         B．turned in        C．given out D．marked

 

7.                A．work           B．read           C．stay  D．study

 

8.                A．gone out        B．were studying    C．were there    D．were dismissed

 

9.                A．how           B．why            C．what D．which

 

10.               A．by            B．on            C．to    D．with

 

11.               A．honesty        B．faith           C．confidence D．reliability

 

12.               A．improve        B．punish         C．cheat D．help

 

13.               A．well           B．highly          C．honestly   D．seriously

 

14.               A．leave          B．go on          C．sit down   D．refuse

 

15.               A．if             B．whether        C．why  D．how

 

16.               A．like            B．as though       C．as    D．that

 

17.               A．for            B．by             C．from  D．at

 

18.               A．mentioned      B．asked          C．answered  D．realized

 

19.               A．Long before     B．As long as       C．Just as D．Even though

 

20.               A．with           B．by             C．in    D．through

 

 

Enid's wedding(婚礼) dress arrived at five o'clock in the evening, just seventeen  36 before her marriage!

“I must try it on Mother!” she cried, as she ran   37 .Three minutes later Enid's cries brought her   38 up.The dress was much   39   for her. It was like a bag in the front, and the neckline looked all  40  . Enid was in   41 .

“Take it back to the dressmaker's,” Mrs Bale said.“She must   42  it tonight. Hurry now. Take it off and go.” The dressmaker's shop was closed.“Closed for One Week's Holiday,” said a   43 on the door. Fresh tears rose to Enid's eyes. She ran home again to her mother.

“This is unlucky,”Mrs Bale said.” But what are we going to do? 44  I ask Mrs. Peters to help? She was a dressmaker once. I'm sure she could change it for you.” Mrs. Peters was   45 in and began to work. She could see  46 was wrong. She had to   47 it narrower at the front, and that was a big job. Then she changed the neckline. In fact she made it again. At ten o'clock the work was finished, and Enid tried the dress on. It fitted her beautifully.

The three women were having a cup of tea   48  the doorbell rang .Mrs. Bale answered it and   49­­  into the worried eyes of a   50  woman. The woman was carrying a large flat   51 .“Does Miss Enid Bale   52  here?" she asked breathlessly. “Yes, she's my daughter.” “Oh, I am   53  I've found you! There's been a  54  .Your daughter has my wedding dress, and I've got   55  . And I'm getting married tomorrow!” She held out the box to Mrs. Bale.

1.                A．weeks          B．minutes         C．days D．hours

 

2.                A．upstairs        B．outside         C．back home    D．about

 

3.                A．husband        B．daughter        C．mother   D．neighbour

 

4.                A．smaller         B．shorter         C．too big   D．too long

 

5.                A．wrong          B．pleased         C．right D．waste

 

6.                A．love           B．tears           C．surprise  D．danger

 

7.                A．measure        B．make           C．repair    D．change

 

8.                A．voice          B．sound          C．notice    D．saying

 

9.                A．Will           B．Would          C．Shall D．Should

 

10.               A．sent           B．brought        C．pushed    D．taken

 

11.               A．neckline        B．all             C．nothing   D．what

 

12.               A．make          B．keep           C．change    D．take

 

13.               A．then           B．until           C．when D．while

 

14.               A．came          B．got            C．saw  D．looked

 

15.               A．short pretty     B．fat young       C．slim old   D．little quiet

 

16.               A．cup           B．dress          C．bag   D．box

 

17.               A．live            B．work           C．stay  D．wait

 

18.               A．delightful       B．sorry          C．angry D．glad

 

19.               A．dress          B．change         C．mistake   D．wish

 

20.               A．yours          B．hers           C．the other  D．others

 

 

We were flying to a meeting. I was in the middle    36 .I found that the young woman sitting next to me was very   37 and deep in thought. Then I asked her where she was from, where she was going and   38  she did.

She was a student and had been attending   39 in Poland-----the homeland of her father. Then she told me sadly that her father had    40    . She had chosen to attend college in Poland   41 her father’s wishes and their relationship had been  42  .They hadn’t forgiven each other  43  he died.

She seemed so sad. I looked at her, trying to   44  some words to say. I asked her if she had forgiven  45  for not realizing her father’s dream. She answered that she couldn’t forgive herself  and felt so  46 .Slowly, I began to tell her about forgiveness. I encouraged her to  47  that because I believed her father wanted that too. She should forgive herself  48  how awful she thought she had been.

I told her about  49  I had done as a teenager for which I had felt guilty for many years. How I was  50  with the choice of forgiving myself or to  51  feeling guilty for the rest of my life. I had  52  to forgive myself . The light in her eyes went on. She began to understand that she was  53   forgiven and could forgive herself. She could be  54  and happy.

How about you? Is there anything in your  55  for which you feel guilty?

1.                A．chair           B．room           C．seat D．class

 

2.                A．mad           B．sad            C．angry D．happy

 

3.                A．when          B．which          C．how D．what

 

4.                A．meeting        B．school          C．university D．party

 

5.                A．died           B．come          C．returned  D．left

 

6.                A．for            B．against         C．with D．on

 

7.                A．bad            B．good           C．worse    D．better

 

8.                A．since          B．after           C．when D．while

 

9.                A．find out        B．look up         C．go over   D．think of

 

10.               A．myself         B．yourself        C．himself    D．herself

 

11.               A．unhappy        B．guilty          C．lonely D．helpless

 

12.               A．trust           B．understand      C．realize    D．find

 

13.               A．as though       B．even though     C．if only D．no matter

 

14.               A．anything        B．nothing         C．something D．everything

 

15.               A．faced          B．forced         C．satisfied   D．challenged

 

16.               A．try            B．continue        C．start  D．consider

 

17.               A．picked         B．elected         C．selected   D．chosen

 

18.               A．totally          B．simply          C．already    D．hardly

 

19.               A．calm           B．quiet          C．free  D．safe

 

20.               A．house          B．life            C．family D．work

 

 

A well-known manufacturer of weighing machines produced a new model.

The machine had a computer inside it, and this computer could do wonderful things: it could weigh people very accurately; it could tell them their weight in their own language; and it could tell them what they should eat to reduce their weight.

The manufacturer decided to try out his machine before he sold it to the shops.

He looked around for a good place to put it and finally decided on an airport. There were always people at an airport from many different countries.

The first person to use the machine was an Italian woman. She stood on the machine, put a coin in and waited to hear her weight.

The machine took only a second or two to weigh her, decide on her nationality and the language she spoke, and figure out what kind of food she should eat.

“Good morning, madam,” it said in perfect Italian. “Your weight is 72 kilos, three more than it should be for a woman of your height, age and nationality. This is because you have been eating too much spaghetti. I suggest you eat more fruit and vegetables. Please have a nice day”.

The second person to use the machine was a Chinese girl. She stood on the machine, put a coin in and waited to hear her weight.

“Good morning, Miss," the machine said in perfect Chinese. "Your weight is 38 kilos, exactly the correct weight for your height, age and nationality. Continue to eat what you are eating. Please have a nice day.”

The third person to use the machine was a huge Australian woman. She walked up to the machine and looked at it for a long time. At last she found the courage to stand on the machine and put a coin in. The machine spoke immediately.  “Good morning. Will one of you ladies please get off?”

1.What could the computer do?

A．Weigh and talk to people.                 B．Translate information.

C．Give them diet pills.                      D．Make them lose weight.

2.What did the machine say to the Italian woman?

A．She was a little too light.                  B．She was a little too heavy.

C．She disliked spaghetti.                    D．She couldn’t speak Italian.

3.What did the machine say to the Chinese woman?

A．She should eat more.                    B．She could speak Chinese.

C．She would have a nice day.                D．She was fine.

4.What did the machine suggest about the Australian woman?

A．She was unwell.                        B．She was courageous.

C．She was too heavy.                      D．She had dieted well.