As a young boy, I sometimes traveled the country roads with my dad. He was a rural mail carrier, and on Saturdays he would ask me to go with him. Driving through the countryside was always an adventure: There were animals to see, people to visit, and chocolate cookies if you knew where to stop, and Dad did.
In the spring, Dad delivered boxes full of baby chickens, and when I was a boy it was such fun to stick your fingers through one of the holes of the boxes and let the baby birds peck on your fingers.
On Dad's final day of work, it took him well into the evening to complete his rounds because at least one member from each family was waiting at their mailbox to thank him for his friendship and his years of service. "Two hundred and nineteen mailboxes on my route," he used to say, “and a story at every one." One lady had no mailbox, so Dad took the mail in to her every day because she was nearly blind. Once inside, he read her mail and helped her pay her bills.
Mailboxes were sometimes used for things other than mail. One note left in a mailbox read, "Nat, take these eggs to Marian; she's baking a cake and doesn't have any eggs." Mailboxes might be buried in the snow, or broken, or lying on the ground, but the mail was always delivered. On cold days Dad might find one of his customers(顾客) waiting for him with a cup of hot chocolate. A young girl wrote letters but had no stamps, so she left a few buttons（纽扣）on the envelope in the mailbox; Dad paid for the stamps. One businessman used to leave large amounts of cash（现金）in his mailbox for Dad to take to the bank. Once, the amount came to $ 32,000.
Ten years ago, when I traveled back to my hometown on the sad occasion of Dad's death, the mailboxes along the way reminded（回想） me of some of his stories. I thought I knew them all, but that wasn't the ease.
As I drove home, I noticed two lamp poles(杆), one on each side of the street. When my dad was around, those poles supported wooden boxes about four feet off the ground. One box was painted green, and the other was red, and each had a long narrow hole at the top with white lettering: SANTA CLAUS, NORTH POLE. For years children had dropped letters to Santa through those holes.
I made a turn at the comer and drove past the post office and across the railroad tracks to our house. Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table when I heard footsteps. There, at the door, stood Frank Townsend, Dad's postmaster and great friend for many years. So we all sat down at the table and began to tell stories.
At one point Frank looked at me with tears in his eyes. "What are we going to do about the letters this Christmas?" he asked.
"The letters?"
"I guess you never knew."
"Knew what?"
"Remember, when you were a kid and you used to put your letters to Santa in those green and red boxes on Main Street? It was your dad who answered all those letters every year. "
I just sat there with tears in my eyes. It wasn't hard for me to imagine Dad sitting at the old oak table in our basement reading those letters and answering each one. I have since spoken with several of the people who received Christmas letters during their childhood, and they told me how amazed they were that Santa had known so much about their homes and families.
For me, just knowing that story about my father was the gift of a lifetime.
1.It can be inferred from the passage that the writer considered his travels with Dad as .
A. great chances to help other people
B. happy occasions to play with baby chickens
C. exciting experiences with a lot of fun
D. good opportunities to enjoy chocolate cookies
2.The writer provides the detail about the businessman to show that .
A. Dad had a strong sense of duty
B. Dad was an honest and reliable man
C. Dad had a strong sense of honor
D. Dad was a kind and generous man
3.According to the passage, which of the following impressed the writer most?
A. Dad read letters for a blind lady for years.
B. Dad paid for the stamps for a young girl.
C. Dad delivered some eggs to Marian.
D. Dad answered children's Christmas letters every year.
4.What surprised the children most when they received letters in reply( 回复) from Santa Claus every year?
A. Santa Claus lived alone in the cold North Pole.
B. Santa Claus answered all their letters every year.
C. Santa Claus had unique mailboxes for the children.
D. Santa Claus had so much information about their families.
5.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. The Mail B. Christmas Letters
C. Special Mailboxes D. Memorable Travels
The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” –-- and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer --- which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet ---used the title in 2008. A lovely bear --- popular in the US and UK --- that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London’s Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.
Most “i” products are targeted at （针对）young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition（定义）,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last ten years.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.
1.People use iPlayer to __________.
A. listen to music B. make a call
C. watch TV programs online D. read newspapers
2.We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is designed for _________.
A. young readers B. old readers
C. fashionable women D. engineers
3.The underlined word “ambiguous” means “__________”.
A. popular B. uncertain
C. clear D. unique
4.Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are __________.
A. portable B. environmentally friendly
C. advanced D. recyclable
5.The writer wants to express that __________.
A. “i” products are often of high quality
B. iTeddy is alive bear
C. the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products
D. the popularity of “i” products may not last long
What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
1.The passage mainly tells us that __________.
A. Man’s life will be different in the future
B. Future man will look quite different from us
C. Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes
D. Man’s organs’ functions will change
2.What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
A. Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.
B. Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner.
C. Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.
D. Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.
3.The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.
A. he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity
B. his brain has grown larger over the past centuries
C. he will use his brain more and more as time goes on
D. the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time
4.Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?
A. He is hairless because hair is no longer useful.
B. He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses.
C. His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them.
D. He thinks and feels in a different way.
5.It is implied that __________.
A. human beings will become less attractive in the future
B. parts of our bodies will become poorer if they are not used often
C. human beings hope for a change in the future life
D. future life is always predictable（可预测的）
When I was fifteen, I announced to my English class that I was going to write and illustrate my own books. Half the students sneered. The rest nearly fell out of their chairs laughing. “Don’t be silly, only geniuses can become writers,” the English teacher said, “And you are getting a D this term.” I was so humiliated(羞辱) that I burst into tears.
That night I wrote a short sad poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the Capri’s Weekly newspaper. To my astonishment, they published it and sent me two dollars. I was a published and paid writer. I showed it to my teacher and fellow students. They laughed. “Just plain dumb luck,” the teacher said. I tasted success. I’d sold the first thing I’d ever written. That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck, that was fine with me.
During the next two years I sold dozens of poems, letters, jokes and recipes. By the time I graduated from high school, with a C minus average, I had scrapbooks filled with my published work. I never mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again. They were dream killers and if people must choose between their friends and their dreams, they must always choose their dreams.
I had four children at the time, and the oldest was only four. While the children slept, I typed on my ancient typewriter. I wrote what I felt. It took nine months, just like a baby.
A month later Crying Wind, the title of my book, became a best seller, was translated into fifteen languages and Braille and sold worldwide. I appeared on TV talk shows. I traveled from New York to California and Canada on promotional tours. My first book also became required reading in native American schools in Canada.
People ask what college I attended, what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer. The answer is: “None.” I just write. I’m not a genius. I’m not gifted and I don’t write right. To all those who dream of writing, I’m shouting at you: “Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Don’t listen to them.” I don’t write right but I’ve beaten the odds. Writing is easy, it’s fun and anyone can do it. Of course, a little dumb luck doesn’t hurt.
1.Why did many students laugh after hearing what the writer said?
A. Because they didn’t like him
B. Because they wished he could be successful as a writer
C. Because their teacher laughed, too
D. Because they felt it impossible for him to succeed
2.When the writer graduated from high school, ___________.
A. he had become a famous writer
B. he had made progress in his studies
C. his classmates and teachers changed their attitudes towards him
D. he decided he wouldn’t become a writer
3.What stopped him telling others about his writing?
A. The characters in his story. B. His teacher.
C. His early experience. D. His parents.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A. It is difficult for a person, who cares about what others say, to succeed.
B. It is important for a person to tell others what he wants to do.
C. It is necessary for a person, who wants to succeed, to take others’ advice.
D. It is impossible for an ordinary person to be a writer in the future.
5.Which of the following is the best title?
A. A famous writer B. I Hate My Classmates and Teachers
C. I Never Write Right D. A Genius Can Be a Writer
One day, a well-known speaker was invited to give a lecture to an audience of 200. He started his lecture by a $ 20 bill. He looked around the room, and asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” started going up.
He said, “I am going to this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He crumpled up (揉皱) the 20-dollar bill. He then asked, “Who wants it?” Still the hands were in the air.
“Well”, he replied,“ I do this ?” And he dropped it on the and started to step on it with his shoes. He picked it up. Now it was crumpled and .
“Now, who wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.
“My friends, we have all learned a very lesson. No matter what I did to the , you still want it because it doesn’t decrease in . It is still worth $20, with we can buy what we need.
Many times in our lives, we are , and trampled underfoot by the decision we and the circumstances that come our way. We feel we were worthless. But no matter what has happened or what may happen to us, you will never your value. Dirty or clean, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives is determined not by we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are . Don’t ever forget it.”
If you this lesson in mind, it will help you to again when you fall. Each time it makes you grow much stronger.
1.A. holding up B. picking up C. keeping up D. bringing up
2.A. Chats B. Voices C. Hands D. Talks
3.A. pass B. give C. show D. lend
4.A. ever B. even C. also D. still
5.A. on B. off C. up D. out
6.A. What for B. How come C. What about D. What if
7.A. floor B. desk C. shelf D. dustbin
8.A. usable B. small C. dirty D. old
9.A. meaningless B. amazing C. rare D. valuable
10.A. money B. paper C. book D. card
11.A. shape B. value C. quality D. size
12.A. which B. what C. that D. whose
13.A. warned B. pushed C. dropped D. reminded
14.A. prefer B. receive C. face D. make
15.A. as though B. even though C. if only D. only if
16.A. take B. lose C. miss D. win
17.A. how B. what C. where D. who
18.A. honest B. wise C. young D. special
19.A. keep B. forget C. impress D. leave
20.A. stand up B. put up C. take up D. jump up
--- Sweetheart! You will never believe this. I just won a car!
---________! I don’t believe it!
A. Cheer up B. Good work
C. Good Heavens D. That’s awful.
