One morning, a blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet .He held a sign which said,“I am blind. Please help me.”
There were only a few coins（硬币） in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat .He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and ask,“Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?”
The man said,“I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way.”
What he had written was,“Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.
The first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.
The first is: Treasure(珍惜)what you have. Someone else has less. Try your best to help those who need your help.
The second is: Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way.
【小题1】 From the passage we know that______.

A．the boy is the man’s son.	B．the man is one of his neighbors.
C．the boy is blind and needs help.	D．the boy works for the man.

【小题2】 On the sign what the man wrote was,“_______.”

A．Treasure what we have already had.

B．Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.

C．We are so lucky that we are not blind.

D．Try your best to help those who need your help.

【小题3】According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The hat began to fill up after the man wrote some words on the sign.

B．The man took away all the few coins from the hat.

C．The boy wanted to get enough money to go to school.

D．Nobody wanted to give any coins to the blind boy.

【小题4】The word“recognized”here in Chinese means______.

A．承认	B．接受
C．表扬	D．认出

【小题5】“____”is the best title for this story.

A．Be careful.

B．Be creative. There is always a better way!

C．Be kind to the blind!

D．Do not always get, but offer!

One day when some government officials(官员) were building a barn(谷仓), they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to make the mice inside the hole come out. A while later they indeed saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing(挤)out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they didn’t run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled(困惑), so they stepped near to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and couldn’t see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to escape.
After seeing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.
One serious American official said, “I think the relationship between those mice was that of king and guard(卫兵).” The other thought for a while and said, “That is why!”
A smart Frenchman said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife.” Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense.
A Japanese said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son.” Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed(表达) agreement another time.
At that moment, one Chinese asked, “Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?”
Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and stayed speechless. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame(羞愧), and did not dare to answer.
In fact, the true love is not built on friendship, loyalty(忠诚) or blood relationship.
Instead, it is based on no relationship.
【小题1】Neither of the two mice ran away immediately because ________.

A．one was biting the other

B．the mouth of the hole was too small

C．they were not afraid of smoke

D．one was trying to help the blind one

【小题2】 Why did the officials lower their heads in shame according to the passage?

A．They didn’t dare to answer.

B．They didn’t realize the importance of protecting animals.

C．They felt sorry they had driven a poor blind mouse away.

D．They didn’t express themselves much better.

【小题3】It is clear that ________.

A．all the mice came out of the hole easily

B．each of the people understood the relationship differently

C．the people wanted to kill the mice with smoke

D．the people knew one of the mice was blind at first

【小题4】The words “it made sense” probably mean ________

A．it was correct	B．it was strange
C．it was funny	D．it was sweet

【小题5】The best title for the passage is ________.

A．Two Lovely Mice	B．Help Produces Love
C．Love Is All	D．Friends in Need

One night I was sitting in my room half-listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy fought with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. I didn’t pay attention when Kevin rushed up the stairs with the hurt on his face.
About 20 minutes later, as I was walking upstairs I heard Kevin crying inside the bathroom. I knocked on the door and asked, “Hey Kevin, do you want to talk?”
No answer.
I tried again, “Why don’t you come out of there?”
Again, no answer.
So, joking around, I grabbed a stack of （一摞）cards and a pencil and wrote, “If you don’t want to talk, we can write notes to each other.”
An hour later I was still sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with two stacks of cards in front of me. One was blank and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his yucky feelings into words for me. As I read one of Kevin’s notes, tears came to my eyes. It said, “Nobody in this family cares about me. I’m not the youngest, and I’m not the oldest. Tommy thinks I’m silly and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he’s better at basketball. And you’re never around to even notice me.”
Tears came to my eyes as I wrote back to him. “You know Kevin, I really do love you and I’m sorry I don’t always show it. I am here for you and you are loved in this family.”
There was no answer for a while, but then I heard a tearing sound coming from inside the bathroom. Kevin, who had run out of cards wrote on a torn paper cup. “Thanks.”
I wrote back “For what?” it returned to me with “Loving me” on it.
Since then, I try my best to never only half-notice my family members any more. Kevin and I have a closer relationship now. And sometimes when one of us notices that the other is upset, we’ll smile and say “Write it on a paper cup.”
【小题1】The underlined word “yucky” most probably means ____.

A．upset

B．exciting

C．terrible

D．amazing

【小题2】What could be the reason that Kevin’s Dad doesn’t like him?

A．Kevin is not as clever as his brother.

B．He is neither the youngest nor the oldest.

C．Kevin doesn’t like to make friends with others.

D．Kevin is not good at playing basketball.

【小题3】What do we know about the writer?

A．She has two children in her family.

B．She didn’t pay enough attention to Kevin before.

C．She used to show her love to Kevin.

D．She has a closer relationship with Tommy after that.

【小题4】What does the writer want to tell us?

A．Everyone should show how they love their family members.

B．It’s hard to get on well with family members.

C．It’s important to keep peace in the family.

D．We should try our best to stop our children from fighting.

Two students started quarreling at school. One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began.
What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, disputants(争执者) sit down with peer mediators (同龄调解者). Peer mediators are usually students with special training in this kind of problems.
Peer mediators help disputants to talk in a friendly way. Here are some of the ways they use.
1. Express what you think clearly but don't say anything to hurt the other. Begin with "I feel" instead of "You always".
2. Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Don't stop the other person's words.
3. Keep looking at the other person's eyes when he or she speaks.
4. Try to see the problems on the other person's side.
5. Never put anyone down. Saying things like "You are foolish (愚蠢的)" makes the talk difficult.
6. Try to find a result that makes both people happy.
Peer mediators never decide on the winner. They don't decide who is right or who is wrong. Instead they help disputants to find their own "win-win" result. A "win-win" result can make everyone feel good.
Peer mediators' work is often successful just because it gets disputants to talk to each other. And getting disputants to talk to each other is the first step in finding a "win-win" result.
【小题1】 Peer mediators' work is _.

A．to teach lessons to disputants

B．to help find a way to make both disputants happy

C．to find out who starts the quarrel

D．to give students some special training

【小题2】What does the underlined phrase "put anyone down" mean in Chinese?
A. 贬低任何人 b.落后于任何人    
C. 奉承任何人 d.向任何人低头
【小题3】 What's the first step in finding a "win-win" result?

A．Letting disputants be afraid of peer mediators.

B．Letting disputants feel peer mediators are kind.

C．Getting disputants to talk to each other.

D．Making disputants feel good by telling funny stories.

【小题4】 During the talk, if peer mediators say "You are a fool."

A．disputants will realize they are wrong

B．disputants will understand peer mediators better

C．it is easy for peer mediators to decide who is right

D．it is hard for peer mediators to get a "win-win" result

【小题5】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．All schools have peer mediators.

B．Peer mediators are usually students.

C．When disputants are speaking, peer mediators can stop their words at any time.

D．Peer mediators can make disputants get a "win-win" result every time.

One day a strong cowboy was traveling on his horse when he saw a bar. He decided to stop for a few drinks, so he tied(拴) his horse outside the bar, walked into the bar and ordered two bottles of beer. This cowboy was new in town. He looked around and noticed some people making faces to him. He guessed that they might play some tricks (把戏) on him, but he said nothing and continued to drink. After drinking, he walked out of the bar and found his horse lost.
However, he kept calm, came back into the bar, and said slowly, " I don't know what you fools did to my horse out there… but I'm leaving in five minutes, and by then if my horse isn't back where it's supposed to be, well … I have to do here what I did in Texas!" The cowboy added, "And I don't want to do what I did in Texas!" After hearing these words, the other customers seemed a little bit frightened.
The cowboy went back to his seat and ordered another two bottles of beer. After five minutes, he walked out and found his horse tied where it was supposed to be.
Just as he was leaving, the boss of the bar came up and asked curiously (好奇地) , "What was the thing that you did in Texas but you didn't want to do here?"
The cowboy turned to the boss and replied in a low voice, " I had to walk home!"
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。（5分）
【小题1】 That day the cowboy tied his horse outside __________ before he wanted to drink.

A．the bar

B．he hotel

C．the store

D．the restaurant

【小题2】After a few drinks, the cowboy found his horse__________.

A．ill

B．dead

C．asleep

D．lost

【小题3】The cowboy drank __________of beer at the bar in all.

A．five bottles

B．four bottles

C．three bottles

D．two bottles

【小题4】In Texas, the cowboy had to __________when he couldn't find his horse.

A．walk home	B．argue with others
C．call the police	D．ask the boss for help

【小题5】 From the passage, we can know__________ .

A．the cowboy's look frightened the customers

B．the cowboy kept calm because he was strong

C．the cowboy also played a trick on the customers at the bar

D．The cowboy would fight with others if he couldn't find his horse