I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming 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 (已故的) 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 badly, 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 its 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 do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.
【小题1】The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because     .

A．he wanted to comfort the two families	B．he was an official from the community
C．he had great pity for the deceased	D．he was priest of the local church

【小题2】People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because     .

A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow

B．they believe that they were responsible

C．they had neglected the natural course of events

D．they didn’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction

【小题3】According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that     .

A．everything in the world is predetermined

B．the world can be interpreted in different ways

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

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

【小题4】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

B．Every story should have a happy ending.

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

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

IF and WHEN often had lunch together. Their conversation always  36  on the things they hoped to achieve and they loved to talk about them.  ]

This particular Saturday when they met for lunch, WHEN  37  IF wasn’t in a great mood（心情）. After they sat at the usual table  38  for them, WHEN asked IF, “You don’t seem your usual  39  self(样子)?” IF replied,“Yesterday I saw a course I wanted to take. If only I  40  the time.”

WHEN knew exactly how IF felt and said, “I too saw a   41   and I’ m going to register when I get   42   money.” WHEN then questioned IF, “What about the new job you were going to apply for?” IF answered, “I would have applied, but my  43  broke down. I couldn’t type my resume(简历).”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been thinking about looking for another job also,  44  I’ll wait and when the weather gets  45  I will look then. I hate this awful weather.”

The man sitting nearby heard them talking about when this and if that. When he couldn’t  46  it anymore, he went to them and said, “I think I know  47  you could solve your problems.”

IF smiled and thought that even if he knew the  48  they faced, there was no way he could help!   49  , IF asked the man for advice. The man said, “Your conversation reminds me of an old   50  : IF and WHEN were planted, and nothing   51   .”

IF and WHEN both looked surprised and began to feel   52   of living their life for the “ifs” and “whens”. Finally they came to a(n)   53  : next time they met, there would be no “ifs” or “whens”; they would   54   talk about what they had  55  ! 

1. A. agreed 2. A. sensed	B. focused B. insisted	C. relied C. declared	D. took D. promised
3.A. cleaned	B. made	B. bought	D. reserved
4.A. sensitive	B. honest	C. cheerful	D. clumsy
5.A. had	B. spent	C. seized	D. valued
6.A. notice	B. job	C. course	D. chance
7.A. lucky	B. pocket	C. enough	D. paper
8.A. computer	B. fridge	C. camera	D. recorder
9.A. or	B. but	C. for	D. so
10.A. drier	B. colder	C. wilder	D. nicer
11.A. take 12. A. if	B. decline B. where	C. support C. why	D. watch D. how
13.A. changes	B. expenses	C. challenges	D. possibilities
14.A. Anxiously	B. Curiously	C. Surprisingly	D. Stubbornly
15. A. saying	B. story	C. habit	D. fiction
16.A. rose	B. grew	C. removed	D. remained
17. A. tired	B. proud	C. ashamed	D. aware
18. A. ambition	B. conclusion	C. description	D. agreement
19. A. even	B. only	C. still	D. thus
20. A. discussed	B. promised	C. arranged	D. achieved

 

 

Elizabeth and I are 18 now, and about to graduate．I think about our elementary-school friendship, but some memories have blurred （模糊）．What happened that day in the fifth grade when Beth suddenly stopped speaking to me? Does she know that I've been thinking about her for seven years? If only we could go back, and discover what ended our relationship．

    I have to speak with Beth．I see her sometimes, and find out school is "fine"．It's not the same．It never will be．Someone says that she's Liz now．What happened to Beth?

    I can't call her．Should I write? What if she doesn't answer me? How will I know what she's thinking?

    Yes, I'll write her a letter．These things are easier to express in writing．" Be-," no, " Li-," no, " Elizabeth," I begin．The words flow freely, as seven year old memories are reborn．I ask her all the questions that have been left unanswered in my mind, and pray she will answer．I seal my thoughts in the perfect white envelope, and imagine Beth looking into her mailbox．Will she know why I'm writing? Maybe she once thought of writing the same letter．

    As the mailman takes my envelope from me forever, I wonder if I've made the right decision．Do I have the right to force myself into Beth's life again? Am I simply part of the past? I have taken the first step．Beth has control of the situation now．

    One day has passed．Are my words lying on the bottom of the post office floor?

    Two days are gone．I'm lost in thought and don't even hear the phone ting．

    "Hello? It's Elizabeth．"

1.What can we learn about Beth?

    A．She had a quarrel with the author in the fifth grade．

    B．She moved to another school in the fifth grade．

    C．She is now called Liz instead of Beth．

    D．She hasn't seen the author for seven years．

2.Why does the author decide to write a letter instead of calling?

    A．She is sure that Beth will not answer．

    B．She's afraid that they'll quarrel on the phone．

    C．She doesn't know Beth's telephone number．

    D．It is easier to express her feelings in writing．

3.Which of the following the author might NOT mention in her letter?

    A．Their elementary-school friendship．

    B．Her future plan after graduation．

    C．Her expectations for Beth's reply．

    D．The questions about the endings of their friendship．

4.What might happen at the end of the story?

    A．Beth answers her letter two days later．

    B．The letter doesn't reach Beth at all．

    C．They make up their friendship．

    D．Beth refuses to make peace with her．

 

Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes (失礼) for the newcomers. A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pubs-starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters-you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability (社交) in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior. “If you haven't been to a pub, you haven't been to Britain.” This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists' Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers' rule of conduct for those wanting to sample “a central part of British life and culture”．
The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order.
【小题1】 The underlined word “sample” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．

A．taste

B．experience

C．test

D．record ．

【小题2】The culture of pub in Britain is so developed to ______.

A．encourage people to communicate with each other

B．encourage more people to consume drinks

C．attract more tourists to the pubs

D．form its own character of culture

【小题3】If you don't follow the local rules in a pub, ________.

A．you won't buy good local drinks

B．you may annoy the regular customers and bar staff

C．you may fail to feel the local culture

D．you might get into a dangerous place

【小题4】What may be the best title for the passage?

A．Self-service Pubs in Britain	B．British Local Pubs: Special Chat Places
C．Local Pub Culture in Britain	D．Manners in British Local Pubs

I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming 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 （已故的） 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 badly, 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 its 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 do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.
【小题1】The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because __________________.

A．he wanted to comfort the two families

B．he was an official from the community

C．he had great pity for the deceased

D．he was priest of the local church

【小题2】People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because _______________________.

A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow

B．they believe that they were responsible

C．they had neglected the natural course of events

D．they didn’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction

【小题3】According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that ______.

A．everything in the world is predetermined

B．the world can be interpreted in different ways

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

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

【小题4】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery.

B．Every story should have a happy ending.

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

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