I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”  

At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone! ” And she swept it into the wastebasket.

I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth…?  

She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room——if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”  

Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control.” With that, she left the room.

After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.

1.Why did the author shout at the telephone?

A. He was mad at the telephone.

B. He was angry with his agent.

C. He was anxious about his wife.

D. He was impatient with the secretary.

2.What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?

A. She said nothing.                     B. She shouted at him.

C. She called the agent.                         D. She threw the phone away.

3.What made the author laugh?

A. His own behavior.                             B. His wife’s suggestion.

C. His changeable feelings.                      D. His wife’s sweet kiss.

4.What does the underlined word “antics”(in the last paragraph) refer to?

A. Smart words.        B. Unusual actions.

C. Surprising looks.    D. Anxious feelings.

A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a   11   , I had decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it   12   from my hand and crashed to the floor. The peas, like marbles(弹珠),   13   everywhere. I tried to use a broom(扫帚),     14   with each sweep, they just rolled across the kitchen.

For the next week, every time I was in the   15   , I found a pea——in a corner, or behind a table leg. They kept   16   . Eight months later I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it, and   17__   12 frozen peas hidden underneath．

    At the time I found those few remaining    18   , I was in a new relationship with a wonderful  __19   I’d met in a support group. After we married, I was reminded   20   those peas under the refrigerator, and realized that my   21   had been like that bag of frozen peas. It had scattered(分散). My wife had died; I was in a new city with a busy job, and with a son having trouble   22   his new surroundings and the   23   of his mother. I was a bag of spilled frozen peas; my life had come apart and scattered.

When life gets you   24   , when everything you know comes apart, and when you think you’ll never   25   , remember that it’s just a bag of scattered frozen peas. The peas can be   26   , and life will move on. You’ll find all the peas   27   , including the ones that are hardest to find. And when you’ve got them   28   you’ll start to feel whole again.

The life you know can break apart at any time. But you’ll have to   29   , and how fast you collect your peas depends on you. Will you keep scattering them around with a broom,   30    will you pick them up one by one and put your life back together?

1.A. drink                             B. fruit                                   C. vegetable                                  D. meat

2.A. moved                                    B. walked                    C. ran                                              D. slipped

3.A. rubbed                                   B. rolled                                C. grew                                           D. existed

4.A. but                                          B. and                                    C. although                                    D. so

5.A. bedroom                      B. living room             C. kitchen                             D. storeroom

6.A. getting up                     B. turning up              C. taking up                                   D. using up

7.A. found                                     B. ate                                     C. left                                              D. planted

8.A. presents                                B. cans                                  C. vegetables                       D. peas

9.A. man                               B. child                                  C. woman                             D. boy

10.A. of                                          B. for                                     C. with                                            D. in

11.A. wife                             B. life                                     C. son                                             D. friend

12.A. turning to                            B. leading to                         C. adjusting to                      D. adding to

13.A. thank                                    B. love                                   C. help                                            D. loss

14.A. down                                    B. near                                  C. close                                          D. wide

15.A. get it                                     B. make it                    C. take it                               D. leave it

16.A. grew                                     B. bought                    C. collected                                   D. frozen

17.A. eventually                           B. fortunately             C. properly                                    D. specially

18.A. both                                     B. all                             C. either                                         D. each

19.A. call on                                  B. put on                     C. bring on                                     D. move on

20.A. while                                    B. because                           C. since                                          D. or

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present．On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office，a street urchin (顽童)was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car，Paul？”he asked．

Paul answered，“Yes，my brother gave it to me for Christmas．”The boy was surprised．“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing？Boy，I wish…”He hesitated(犹豫)．

Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for．He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.

“I wish，”the boy went on，“that I could be a brother like that．”Paul looked at the boy in surprise， then he said again， "Would you like to take a ride in my car？”

“Oh yes，I’d love that．”

After a short ride，the boy turned and with his eyes shining，said，“Paul，would you mind driving in front of my house？”

Paul smiled a little．He thought he knew what the boy wanted．He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are？ the boy asked．

He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back， but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled (残疾的)brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There she is，Buddy，just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.

1.The street urchin was very surprised when ________．

A．Paul received an expensive car

B．Paul told him about the car

C．he saw the shining car

D．he was walking around the car

2.From the story we can see the urchin ________．

A．wished to give his brother a car

B．wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s

D．wished Paul could be a brother like that

3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ________．

A．to show his neighbors the big car

B．to show he had a rich friend

C．to let his brother ride in the car

D．to tell his brother about his wish

4.We can infer（推断）from the story that ________．

A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin

B．the urchin had a deep love for his brother

C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother

D．the urchin’s wish came true in the end

5.The best name of the name story is _________．

A．A Christmas Present

B．A Street Urchin

C．A Brother Like That

D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

Criticism (批评) is everywhere in life. It is up to you to decide how to react to it. Learn how to deal with criticism and lead a happier and more relaxing life.

Ask yourself how the criticism will affect you. Will you lose your job because of the criticism? Will you lose what is important to you because you are criticized? Will life stop existing if your opinions are not accepted? Surely not! So, don’t worry about it. Instead, remember that some criticism actually helps you make some improvements.

You absolutely cannot stop what people say. What you can do, however, is to change the way you react to criticism. If you let it upset you, then the blame is on you. You have the right to decide what to do with the criticism you receive.

Don’t be afraid to accept criticism. No one likes to be told that he is wrong. Yet, every single person has, at one time or another, been blamed for something. Realize that it’s normal. You may have received some strong criticism, but it doesn’t mean that you are foolish, or that you don’t have the ability to do something properly. If you are afraid to put your work out for others to see, you’ll  never know if you are a capable person. Try not to think of it in that way and don’t take it seriously. If you can learn to be optimistic, you will remove some stress and nervousness about what people think, thus becoming happier.

Consider where the criticism comes from. It may help you step back and examine what causes the criticism. Is the critic just trying to offer constructive criticism? It is much easier to accept correction or guidance from someone that has good intentions. This type of criticism is known as valid criticism, because there is a valid point or reason to it. On the other hand, there are critics that offer their advice just to be negative. This is commonly referred to as invalid criticism because it is often not of any use at all.

Do your best. And if someone doesn’t like what you’ve done, so what? It’s either valid criticism or invalid criticism. But you have the power to decide how you will allow it to affect you.

Title: How to deal with criticism

Will you like there______ a meeting to disscuss the matter?

1. A.
   be
2. B.
   being
3. C.
   to be
4. D.
   is