My parents operated a small restaurant in Seattle. It was open twenty-four hours a day, six days a week. And my first real job，when I was six years old，was 36 the diners’ shoes. My father had done it when he was young，so he taught me 37 to do it efficiently(有效地)，telling me to 38 to re-shine(再擦亮) the shoes if the customer wasn’t 39 .
Working in the restaurant was a cause of great 40 because I was also working for the good of the family. But my father 41 that I had to meet certain standards(标准) to be part of the team. I 42 to be punctual(守时的)，hard-working，and polite to the 43 .
I was 44 paid for the work I did at the restaurant. One day I made the mistake of advising Dad that he 45 give me $10 a week. He said,“OK. How about you paying me for three meals a day you have here? And for the times you bring 46 your friends for free soft drinks?” He 47 I owed him about $40 a week.
I remember returning to Seattle after being 48 in the US Army for about two years. I had just been promoted(升迁) to Captain at that time. And full of pride，I walked into my parents’ restaurant，but the 49 thing Dad said was，“How about your 50 up tonight?” I couldn’t 51 my ears! I am an officer in the Army! But it didn’t 52 as far as Dad was concerned，I was just 53 member of the team. I reached for the mop(拖把). Working for Dad has taught me the devotion to a 54 is above all. It has nothing to do with 55 that team is involved in a family restaurant or the US Army.
36
A. cleaning B. shining C. removing D. keeping
37.
A. why B. what C. when D. how
A computer with ten thousand books ____ to a school in a mountain village as a gift.
A. has offered B was offered C. are offered D. have offered
. Stand over there ______ you’ll be able to see the oil painting better.
A. but B. till C. and D. or
Making an apology is not the same as making amends. Sometimes we apologize just because it’s the easiest thing to do. What’s actually important is to identify where we go wrong, take full responsibility for our mistakes and , if possible, try to make up for them.
A recent case involving Hewlett-Packed, the US computer giant, shows the importance of presenting a sincere apology. The Chinese consumers who had bought notebook computers of certain models, which have been put on Chinese market since 2007, suffered a massive flash screen failures and overheating problems. Through investigation, Chinese AQSIQ (国家质检总局) identified these HP computers had quality problems and HP admitted this. HP made a proposal that they would extend the warranty (保修) period of such computers, but this could not satisfied the consumers. What they needed was a thorough description of the truth. HP has “sincerely” apologized. But the consumers remain angry, and say that only a product recall — as HP has done in the past — will prove that the apology is sincere.
Another apology that fell flat on its face was that of Thierry Henry, the famous French footballer. His deliberate handball in November 2009 created the goal which knocked Ireland out of the 2010 World Cup. The incident caused great anger in the football world, and eventually Henry issued an apology. Two days later, he wrote, “I’m not the referee…but if I hurt someone I’m sorry.” Better late than never, perhaps, but even then he passed the blame onto the referee!
Such high-profile cases, which attract a lot of publicity often under the spotlight, but similar incidents occur in our everyday lives. Stress caused by schoolwork and tiredness can sometimes result in outbursts of anger against friends and family. Have you ever lost your temper for minor reasons? After calming down, most people are quick to realize their mistake and apologize. But it’s just as important to identify what caused the error in the first place and take action to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
No one should hold a negative attitude to making a sincere apology. Empty words are easy to say, but they are as useless as they sound. A real show of remorse（痛悔;自责）demands hard work and commitment to put error right.
1.What does the author intend to tell us in the case of HP?
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A．A true apology needs sincere actions. |
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B．HP should recall all the faulty computers. |
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C．Good quality makes a good company. |
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D．A company should apologize and pay for their mistakes. |
2. According to the author, when we do anything wrong we firstly _________.
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A．make an apology face to face honestly |
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B．admit we were wrong and try to make the wrong right |
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C．take the responsibility for apologizing to others |
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D．choose the easiest thing to do |
3.We can infer from the case of Thierry Henry that _________ .
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A．it’s never too late to say “I’m sorry.” |
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B．writing an apology is not a good idea |
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C．Henry didn’t identify his fault. |
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D．the football fans were mad with Henry. |
4.Which of the following can best explain the word “commitment” in the last paragraph?
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A．Decision. |
B．Promise. |
C．Agreement. |
D．Responsibility. |
5. What’s the best title of this passage?
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A．What really puts things right |
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B．Don’t apologize easily |
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C．Making an apology — no one is out of exception |
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D．How to judge an apology — sincere enough? |
The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar (祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.
It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的）rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!
Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites (虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.
Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.
1. According to the passage, the phoenix _________ .
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A．is a handsome and eagle-like bird living in Arab |
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B．used to be seen when the Egyptians held religious activities |
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C．has never really existed in the world |
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D．is the king of all kinds of birds |
2. The reason why birds stand above flames is probably that _________ .
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A．the phoenix used to do so |
B．they may get rid of the mites |
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C．they want to burn their feather |
D．they can heat themselves |
3.Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
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A．The ancient Egyptians worshiped the phoenix. |
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B．The scientists have discovered why birds are attracted by fire. |
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C．The modern people still favor the idea of the phoenix. |
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D．The mythical tales about the phoenix were based on facts. |
4.Which of the following is closest to the underlined word “resurrection” in the 3rd paragraph?
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A．living forever |
B．offering warmth |
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C．coming back to life |
D．staying healthy |
5.What does the phoenix probably mean in the logo of a fire insurance company?
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A．Our company can protect you from being harmed by fire. |
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B．If your property is destroyed by fire, we will help you build it up again. |
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C．Our company will always be energetic and wealthy. |
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D．If needed, we will save you at the risk of losing lives. |
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填人一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为16 ~ 25的相应位置上。
As a child, I was always out exploring my local area, whether swimming at the beaches or hiking through the bush. Australia’s outdoor lifestyle had me hooked on adventure and nature. I always wanted to explore 16 else was out there. Going on family holidays to many of the East Coast beach towns was always 17 fun adventure into the 18 (know). I came to love the beauty of world, and began to recognize just 19 much the planet had to offer, even 20 my experience of it was only in my backyard.
Also, Australia is very remote and detached from the rest of the world. 21 (Europe) often drive into other countries for 22 summer vacations. We never had that luxury and international travel seemed all the more exotic and 23 (adventure) to me. Very often, we 24 (expose) to other countries through TV and movies, 25 I wanted to experience it for myself.
