The day was Thankful Thursday. It's a weekly tradition that my two little girls and I began years ago. Thursday has become our day to go out and make a positive contribution. On this particular Thursday, we had no idea exactly what we were going to do. At noon, I drove to a McDonald’s with my daughters because they kept complaining that they hadn’t had enough to eat at breakfast. There we saw some homeless people in the street and we bought lunch for them.
We were about to complete when we found a small woman standing at the corner, asking for change. We handed her some food, and then started to head home. Suddenly from the mirror of the car, I saw the woman waving at us, so I had to turn around and stopped where the small woman stood. She walked to our car, and said, "Thank you, lady! No one has ever done anything like this for me before." I replied, "Well, I'm glad that we were the first." Feeling uneasy, and wanting to move the conversation along, I asked, "So, when do you think you'll eat your lunch?"
She just looked at me with her huge, tired brown eyes and said, "Oh honey, I'm not going to eat this lunch." I was confused, but before I could say anything, she continued. "You see, I have a little girl of my own at home and she just loves McDonald's, but I can never buy it for her because I just don't have the money. But you know what…tonight she is going to have McDonald's!"
I don't know if the kids noticed the tears in my eyes. So many times I had questioned whether our Acts of Kindness were too small to have effect on those poor people. Yet at that moment, I realized the truth of Mother Teresa's words: "We cannot do great things — only small things with great love."
1.
According to this passage, the small woman was ______.
A. too happy to stand at the corner
B. too eager to ask for more food
C. too poor to buy McDonald’s
D. too busy to care for her daughter
2.
What can we know from the passage?
A. The author finally realized what she did was of use to the poor.
B. The author would stop doing her acts of kindness to the poor.
C. The author’s daughters found their mother cried at the end of the day.
D. The author’s daughters would make friends with the woman’s daughter.
3.
What would be the best title of the passage?
A. No Pains No Gains
B. No Pleasure Without Pain
C. No Small Act of Kindness
D. No Sweet Without Sweat
In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solution without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly , to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.
This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But , in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.
Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.
You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money , but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.
People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.
1.
The underlined word “pay it forward” means ____________________.
A. to repay someone who has helped you
B. to pay someone else who needs help
C. to help someone who has helped you
D. to help someone else who needs help
2.
What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?
A. We should learn to respect our grandparents.
B. We should work hard to get a good education.
C. We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help.
D. We should never forget to repay people for their help.
3.
From the passage we know_________________.
A. everybody needs help
B. more children need help than elderly people
C. it costs a lot of money to “pay it forward”
D. nowadays many people help others without being repaid
4.
By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be _____________.
A. unselfish B. mysterious C. honest D. unforgettable
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech．At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned．Fortunately, the moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser．When such moments occur, don’t worry about them, Just continue as if nothing happened．
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that don’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech – “ I have a dream”, you may notice that he stumble（结巴）his words twice during the speech．Most likely, however, you don’t remember．Why? Because you were fixing your attention on is message rather than on his way of speech-making. People care a lot about making mistakes in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition．But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-thought-out speech that express the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly．Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speakers’ attractiveness by making him more human．
As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being imperfect．Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely．
1.
The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ___________．
A．be smarter than you B．notice your mistakes
C．do better than you D．know what you are talking about
2.
You don’t remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ___________．
A．your attention is on the content
B．you don’t fully understand the speech
C．you don’t know what the speaker plans to say
D．you find the way of speech-making more important
3.
It can be inferred from the passage that ___________．
A．giving a speech is like giving a performance
B．one to two mistakes in a speech may not be bad
C．the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made
D．the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be
4.
What would be the best title of the passage?
A．How to Be a Perfect Speaker
B．How to Make a Perfect Speech
C．Don’t Expect a Perfect Speech
D．Don’t Expect Mistakes in a Speech
It is a matter of common observation that although incomes keep going up over the years，people never seem to become much better off! Prices are rising continuously．The condition is termed(称作) one kind 0f inflation, the money supply is becoming inflated so that each unit of it becomes less valuable．People have got used in recent years to higher and higher rates of inflation．
What could be bought ten years ago for one dollar now costs well over two dollars. It seems that this rate of inflation is tending to rise rather than to fall．If in the real world our money incomes go up at the same rate as prices，one might think that inflation does not matter．But it does when money is losing value，it lacks one of the qualities of a good money---stability (稳定) of value．It is no longer acceptable as a store of value；and it becomes an unsuitable standard of deferred(延期) payments．Nobody wants to hold a wasting possession，so people try to get rid of money as quickly as possible. Inflation therefore stimulates people spending，and prevents people from saving.
1.
What does inflation mean?
A．People’s money becomes more valuable
B．The problem of employment will be solved．
C．It’s easier for people to find better paying jobs．
D．Money keeps losing its value．
2.
From the passage．we can know inflation __________.
A．seldom happens B．is very common at present
C．is a must D．has become less in recent years
3.
According to the passage，if incomes and prices rise together ______
A．the business will become better B．money will hold its value
C．inflation won’t be a problem D．inflation will remain to be a problem
4.
In a period of inflation，people are likely to ______ ．
A．put much money on the stock market(股市)
B．stop spending money
C．hold on to money as a dependable possession
D．spend money as soon as possible
Pass Your Love On
Waiting for the airplane to take off, I was happy to get a seat by myself. Just then, an air hostess approached me and asked, “Would you mind 36 your seat? A couple would like to sit together.” The only 37 seat was next to a girl with her arms in casts (石膏绷带)，a black-and-blue face, and a sad expression. “ 38 am I going to sit there,” I thought immediately. But a soft voice spoke, “She needs help.” Finally, I 39 _ to move to that seat.
The girl was named Kathy. She 40 in a car accident and now was on her way for_ 41 .
When the snack and juice arrived, it did not take me long to 42 that Kathy would not be able to 43 herself. I considered 44 to feed her but hesitated, as it seemed too 45 to offer a service to a 46___. But then I realized that Kathy’s need was more 47 than my discomfort. I offered to help her eat, and 48 she was uncomfortable to accept, she 49 as I expected. We became closer and closer in a short period of time. By the end of the five-hour trip, my heart 50 , and the 51 was really better spent than if I had just sat by myself.
I was very glad I had reached 52 my comfort zone(地带) to sit next to Kathy and feed her. Love 53 flows beyond human borders（边界） and removes the fears that keep us 54 . When we 55 to serve another, we grow to live in a larger and more rewarding world.
1. A. losing B. changing C. taking D. bringing
2. A. comfortable B. suitable C. available D. favorite
3. A. No problem B. No way C. Nowhere D. No doubt
4. A. decided B. wanted C. regretted D. refused
5. A. was B. would be C. used to be D. had been
6. A. treatment B. travel C. pleasure D. business
7. A. see B. say C. realize D. recognize
8. A. eat B. feed C. choose D. support
9. A. offering B. needing C. stopping D. trying
10. A. impolite B. far C. good D. fast
11. A. interpreter B. neighbor C. passenger D. stranger
12. A. unusual B. direct C. important D. shameful
13. A. when B. although C. since D. as
14. A. refused B. wondered C. cried D. did
15. A. had warmed B. had jumped C. had broken D.hadcheered
16. A. life B. money C. time D. energy
17. A. below B. through C. across D. beyond
18. A. seldom B. never C. hardly D. sometimes
19. A. separate B. independent C. silent D. upset
20. A. happen B. offer C. wait D. continue
As we drew closer, I could see a whale ____________ by a pack of about six other killers.
A. attacking B. being attacked C. attack D. to attack
