A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex （反应）, I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.”

     In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility(谦恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．

     The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.

     In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见)．I remember a time, at age 17 ----- I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．

     But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．

We can learn from the first two paragraphs that __________ ．

       A．the author regretted his act of prejudice

       B．the blind woman needed the money badly

       C．the author was as poor as the blind woman

       D．the author was a native American

According to Paragraph 4, hearing the father’s words, the author was probably _____ ．

       A．rather hurt     B．very excited      C．deeply moved      D．greatly inspired

According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should ________ ．

       A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled

       B．try to experience different kinds of life

       C．treat others equally with love and respect

       D．think about one’s past as often as possible

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

       A．Learn from your past

       B．How my dream comes true

       C．A belief that will never change

       D．A priceless lesson in the street

A few years ago when my youngest son Matt was eight years old, we were getting things together to take to the Salvation Army (救世军) at Christmas time. The boys would go through their old 36  and give away what they didn’t 37 . I made cookies and got together blankets and clothes. After that Matt and I 38 the Christmas package to our local Salvation Army. We unloaded 39 and headed home.

40 we took the corner out of the parking lot, Matt 41 that a baseball glove he had put in the bag had 42 . He said, “Mom, we forgot my glove.” Just then he saw a little boy and his mom sitting on a bench on the side of a building 43 a small playground was. He said, “Mom, can we 44 so that I can give the glove to him?” I said, “ 45 .” And we drove to the side of the 46 and went through the gate.

Matt handed the boy the glove and said, “Here, Santa 47 me to give it to you.” He was so 48 to get it! His mom 49 and gave Matt a huge hug. Her eyes were full of tears. “It is the best 50 he could get,” she looked at us and said, “because the 51 thing I could get him this year was a baseball.”

When we got back in the car, Matt said to me, “Mom, God must have made me 52 the baseball glove inside so the little boy could have it — it was 53 to be!” That moment proved my 54 that everything happens for a 55 and I have tried my best to get people to see that ever since!

36. A. friends    B. ideas        C. toys             D. days

37. A. buy        B. eat          C. ensure          D. need

38. A. threw      B. delivered    C. posted          D. offered

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

40. A. When      B. Though     C. Until            D. Since

41. A. added      B. noticed      C. announced      D. remembered

42. A. found out  B. pointed out   C. missed out      D. fallen out

43. A. that        B. which        C. where          D. what

44. A. look over   B. climb over   C. pull over       D. roll over

45. A. Thanks     B. That’s right   C. You’re welcome  D. Sure

46. A. boy         B. road         C. bench           D. park

47. A. wanted     B. persuaded    C. allowed         D. forced

48. A. angry       B. nervous      C. happy          D. disappointed

49. A. sat down     B. stood up     C. went out      D. left behind

50. A. property    B. gift           C. material        D. information

51. A. first          B. worst       C. only            D. cheapest

52. A. leave        B. get           C. find            D. take

53. A. intended    B. planned      C. decided         D. meant

54. A. suggestion  B. chance        C. belief          D. thought

55. A. cause        B. reason        C. time           D. person

A few years ago, I was with a close woman friend in a grocery store in California．As we walked along the aisle (过道), we saw a mother with a small boy moving in the opposite direction and met us head-on (正面的) in each aisle．The woman barely noticed us because she was so angry with her little boy, who wanted to pull items off the lower shelves．As the mother became more and more annoyed, she started to yell at the child and several aisles later had progressed to shaking him by the arm．k+s-5#u 

At this point my friend spoke up．A wonderful mother of three and founder of a progressive school, she had probably never once in her life treated any child so harshly(严厉地)．I expected my friend would give this woman a solid mother-to-mother talk about controlling herself and about the effect this behavior has on a child．Instead, my friend said, “What a beautiful little boy．How old is he?” The woman answered cautiously, “He’s three．” My friend went on to comment on how curious he seemed and how her own three children were just like him in the grocery store, pulling things off shelves, so interested in all the wonderful colors and packages．“He seems so bright and intelligent,” my friend said．

The woman had the boy in her arms by now and a shy smile came upon her face．Gently brushing his hair out of his eyes, she said, “Yes, he’s very smart and curious, but sometimes he wears me out．” My friend responded sympathetically(表示同情地), “Yes, they can do that; they are so full of energy．”

As we walked away, I heard the mother speaking kindly to the boy about getting home and cooking his dinner．“We’ll have your favorite — macaroni(通心面) and cheese,” she told him．

The mother was angry with her baby because 　  　　．

A．the mother was very tired k+s-5#u 

B．the baby asked for more things

C．the baby ran madly in the store

D．the baby was pulling the goods off the shelves

We can learn from the passage that the author’s friend 　　   　．

A．treated her children well only     

B．was probably good to any child

C．liked the boy very much         

D．always wanted to help others

The author’s friend talked with the mother in that way to 　  　　．

A．show her sympathy for the woman

B．know something about the boy first

C．show her anger with the woman k+s-5#u 

D．make the woman realize children’s natural quality

With the story, the author most probably intends to tell us that 　　　  ．

A．we should respect a child’s nature

B．we should never blame a child

C．mothers usually share the same interest

D．mothers should try to be gentle and polite k+s-5#u 

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

52. People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

A few months ago I was at a bus stop in town in the evening. The bus came on time and I took the window seat. The bus route was by the seashore and I was enjoying the breeze (微风) while watching the sea waves. After a few minutes the bus made its next stop. A young boy and a girl got on. They were standing on my left when the bus pulled off. I looked at them curiously and realized that all the window seats were occupied (占据). They could sit but not together. Suddenly a different wave passed through my body and my inner mind gave me the advice to get up. I got up and offered them my seat. The young lady smiled kindly and said thanks. I occupied another seat and we parted our ways. I don’t remember whether I got off the bus before them or not.

       Months passed by. Suddenly one day while I was standing at the same bus stop waiting some time for the bus to arrive I heard a voice.

       “Excuse me, Uncle.” I looked in the direction of the voice. It was a beautiful young lady.

       Puzzled, I said, “I do not recognize you.”

       She said, “Do you remember you gave us your window seat?”

       Puzzled, I said, “Maybe, but what is so great in that?”

       She said, “If you had not given your seat that day, perhaps I would have not sat with my friend. By sitting together it helped us bridge a misunderstanding that had been between us forever. Do you know we are getting married next month?”

       “Good! God bless both of you,” I replied.

       The young lady again said thank you and went on her journey. I realized the importance of giving that day.

Why were the young boy and the girl standing on the bus?

A. Because they wanted to enjoy the sea view.

B. Because they couldn’t sit together.

C. Because there were no empty seats.

D. Because they preferred to stand.

The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means that the author had a feeling that ______.

A. he wanted to do something special        

B. the sea wave made him upset

C. a wave from the sea flooded him  

D. he wanted to make a sea wave in his heart

From the story, we can conclude that ______.

A. small things can create great happenings in life

B. it is giving rather than receiving that matters

C. offering one’s seat to others may win respect

D. we sometimes forget what happened in the past